Clive Lewis

The process under which estates can apply for interim compensation payments opened on 24th October. These payments are to be made to the estates of deceased infected persons, where interim payments have not already been received, in those cases where the deceased infected person was registered with an existing or predecessor scheme on or before 17 April 2024. Details on how to make an application can be found on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/infected-blood-compensation-estates

In June 2024 the Government paid £728.91m in interim compensation payments to 3,659 people who were infected and registered with the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS).

As of 30 June 2024, 4,606 people who were infected, or their bereaved partners registered with the IBSS have received interim compensation payments totaling over £1 billion.

The Government is committed to acting on the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry’s Report and providing compensation to victims as quickly as possible. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority is established in law and work is progressing to put the operational systems in place with the expectation of beginning payments by the end of this year. To date, over £1 billion has been paid in interim compensation to infected people who were registered with the existing Infected Blood Support Schemes and their bereaved partners.

There will be no immediate changes to the Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS). Under the current proposal published on 21 May by the previous Government, payments will continue to be made at the same level until 31 March 2025 and they will not be deducted from any compensation awards. From 1 April 2025, people who receive IBSS payments will continue to receive payments until such time that their case is assessed under the new Scheme by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. Once assessed under the Scheme, the applicant will be able to choose how to receive their compensation, either as a lump sum or periodic payments. I gave a statement to the House on Friday 26th July to update on the progress made on responding to the Infected Blood Inquiry and committed to providing regular updates on this work going forward.

The Government is clear that anyone entitled to the minimum wage should receive it. Robust enforcement action is taken against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.

HMRC enforces the minimum wage on behalf of DBT, and they investigate where they believe an employer is not paying the minimum wage. This includes considering all complaints from workers, conducting proactive enforcement activities in sectors considered high risk, and delivering educational activity to support employer compliance.

Construction on Blackstone's chosen site for its £10bn data centre investment in Blyth will be subject to securing appropriate planning permission. As part of the planning process, applicants may be required to carry out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) which may include an assessment of any issues around water scarcity and pollution, if it is considered that these could be impacted by the development. Whether a full EIA is required is a decision for the Local Planning Authority in the first instance.

Construction on Blackstone’s chosen site for its £10bn data centre investment in Blyth will be subject to securing appropriate planning permission. As part of the planning process, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) are carried out by applicants where a development is considered to have significant impacts on the environment. Whether a full EIA is required is a decision for the Local Planning Authority in the first instance.

The Government does not provide any specific tax incentives for data centres. The site chosen by Blackstone for its data centre investment in Blyth, Northumberland, is in an Investment Zone tax site within the North East Investment Zone designed to support new investment in Advanced Manufacturing and Green Industries. Guidance on eligibility for tax reliefs in Investment Zone sites is available on gov.uk. His Majesty's Revenue and Customs administers National Insurance, Stamp Duty Land Tax, Enhanced Structures and Buildings Allowance, and Enhanced Capital Allowance relief, and the relevant billing authority administers relief on business rates.

CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.

The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.

The Department plans to release the Full Business Cases (FBCs) for the two clusters next year, in line with the requirements for programmes in the Government Major Projects Portfolio.

We’re committed to securing the economic benefits for the UK from pioneering CCUS deployment. It is expected to add around £5 billion per year to the UK economy by 2050 and the backing of these first 2 CCUS sites sends a clear signal to investors that the UK is open for business. These new carbon capture and CCUS enabled hydrogen projects will create 4,000 new jobs and help sustain important British industries. Industry have also pledged to source 50 per cent of the supply chain from domestic companies.

(a) Emissions from data centres that occur in the UK - either directly at their locations or at power stations from their electricity use - are included in our published UK territorial greenhouse gas emissions totals, but cannot be attributed to specific data centres.

Data centres that are part of a quoted company, large unquoted company or large limited liability partnership are required to report on their emissions in their annual reports to comply with Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy.

(b) Water usage and its monitoring is overseen by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs.

CCUS will be vital to this government’s commitment to create good jobs in Britain’s industrial heartlands, ensuring a just transition for the industries based in the North Sea, and accelerating towards Net Zero.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the UK’s independent advisor on climate change, has said that CCUS is a ‘necessity, not an option’ for the transition to net zero. The International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both conclude that carbon capture can play a key role in decarbonisation.

The Government engages with a range of stakeholders during the policy development process.

At the recent Budget, the government took a number of difficult decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the foundations on public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability.

Ministers have met with representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector to discuss this issue and the department is aware of their concerns about the impacts of the increase to employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs).

The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500. This means that more than half of businesses (including charities) with NICs liabilities will either gain or see no change next year.

We are also expanding eligibility of the Employment Allowance by removing the £100,000 eligibility threshold, to simplify and reform employer NICs so that all eligible employers now benefit. Businesses and charities will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

The Government publishes Tax Information and Impact Notes (TIINs) for tax policy changes, which give a clear explanation of the policy objective and an assessment of the impacts. The TIIN for the employer NICs changes was published on 13 November 2024.

Within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving. More than £6 billion in charitable reliefs was provided to charities, Community Amateur Sports Clubs and their donors in 2023 to 2024. The biggest individual reliefs provided are Gift Aid at £1.6 billion and business rates relief at nearly £2.4 billion.

Norfolk County Council's Safety Valve agreement is currently under review. The local authority is working closely with the department and expert advisers on a plan to achieve a sustainable high-needs budget while delivering better outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. There is no set timetable for this review to be completed.

The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through its monitoring process and provides support and intervention if they go off track.

The department recognises the concerns the sector has about workforce recruitment and retention challenges. The department continues to work closely with the sector to understand these challenges. Early education and childcare is delivered by a mixed market of private, voluntary and independent provision who set their own rates of pay.

The department is uplifting funding rates to support providers in dealing with the costs they face, including staffing costs. Current national average funding rates are broadly in line with, or higher than, nursery fees paid by parents last year. For 2024/25, this includes an investment of £67 million to reflect the increase in the National Living Wage from April 2024. Local authorities are required to pass through a minimum of 95% of the funding to early years providers.

The government recognises how critical further education (FE) teachers are to unlocking opportunity, tackling disadvantage and equipping learners with the skills needed to secure high value work and boost employer productivity. While the government does not set or recommend pay in the FE sector, it is clear that remuneration is an important factor in teacher recruitment and retention.

The government continues to invest in FE teachers, including through additional funding of around £600 million across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. This will support FE providers to recruit and retain high quality teachers in critical subject areas where vacancy rates are high.

The government recognises how critical further education (FE) teachers are to unlocking opportunity, tackling disadvantage and equipping learners with the skills needed to secure high value work and boost employer productivity. While the government does not set or recommend pay in the FE sector, it is clear that remuneration is an important factor in teacher recruitment and retention.

The government continues to invest in FE teachers, including through additional funding of around £600 million across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. This will support FE providers to recruit and retain high quality teachers in critical subject areas where vacancy rates are high.

A new Ofsted and Care Quality Commission Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection framework was launched in January 2023. All local areas are due to receive a full inspection within five years, which will support local areas to achieve better outcomes and standards in line with our programme of reform. Ofsted publish final outcome reports on their website, and local areas are required to publish them on their organisation’s website.

Where a council does not meet its duties, the department can take action that prioritises children’s needs and supports local areas to bring about rapid improvement. The department works to monitor, support and challenge local authorities, working closely with NHS England to tackle weaknesses that sit with health partners.

The department collects a range of SEND performance metrics from local authorities on an annual basis and these are publicly available.

The department welcomes the publication of the Big Listen response. It will work with Ofsted to consider how outcomes for children with SEND or in alternative provision are better reflected in both the education inspection and the Area SEND inspection framework going forwards.

As an independent regulator, Ofwat carries out its statutory duties autonomously from the Government and instead is directly accountable to Parliament. The department therefore does not routinely monitor or assess how Ofwat carries out its duties.

An Independent Commission into the water sector regulatory system was launched by the UK and Welsh Governments on Wednesday 23 October. Through this review, we will look at long-term, wider reform of the water sector as a whole. This includes considering and clarifying the roles of regulators, as well as how to ensure water company infrastructure is secure and resilient to short- and long-term pressures.

Under section 2 of The Water Industry Act 1991, Ofwat must carry out their statutory duties to further their resilience objectives: to secure the long-term resilience of water companies’ water supply and wastewater systems; and to secure that they take steps to enable them, in the long-term, to meet the need for water supplies and wastewater services.

Published on 11 July, Ofwat’s draft determinations on water company investment from 2025-30 included a total expenditure of £88bn across the sector, including £6bn for climate adaptation measures such as securing water supplies, progressing 9 new reservoirs and developing 7 large-scale water transfer schemes.

The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.

Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.

Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

The Government is implementing a Water Demand Target to reduce the use of public water supply by 20% by 2037/38. As part of this, Defra is working with the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Environment Agency (EA) to determine how we can improve water efficiency and demand in data centres.

Defra also works closely with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on plans to support the economic opportunities data centres bring, whilst making sure these developments are sustainable for local water supplies. The department will also continue to work with Ofwat to identify ways in which we can reduce overall water demand and achieve a secure supply of water for customers and the environment.

The Government is not opposed to airport expansion as long as it contributes to economic growth and is compatible with strict environmental standards. We are committed to achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 and have made early progress on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the introduction of a mandate from 1 January 2025 and our plans to legislate for a SAF revenue certainty mechanism. We are also committed to airspace modernisation.

Details of the proposals to expand Stansted Airport and the assessment of its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully considered as part of the statutory planning process. Its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully assessed as part of the statutory planning process held between January and March 2021.

The independent Planning Inspectorate granted planning approval in June 2021 and a copy of its decision notice and statement of reasons, including views on its impacts on environmental obligations can be found here.

The Government is not opposed to airport expansion as long as it contributes to economic growth and is compatible with strict environmental standards. We are committed to achieving the UK’s net zero target by 2050 and have made early progress on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) through the introduction of a mandate from 1 January 2025 and our plans to legislate for a SAF revenue certainty mechanism. We are also committed to airspace modernisation.

Details of the proposals to expand Stansted Airport and the assessment of its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully considered as part of the statutory planning process. Its impacts, including environmental impacts, were carefully assessed as part of the statutory planning process held between January and March 2021.

The independent Planning Inspectorate granted planning approval in June 2021 and a copy of its decision notice and statement of reasons, including views on its impacts on environmental obligations can be found here.

As set out in our answer of 9 December to Question 17570, in line with their fiduciary duty trustees of pension schemes have a responsibility to consider and review their approach to investment, stewardship and voting in light of the climate risks to their members. The Government has no current plans to change legislation.

Trustees have a fiduciary duty to make investment decisions in members’ best interests. Climate-related risk and opportunity is one of the major categories of financial factors of which trustees need to take account, in line with their fiduciary duty.

The Department introduced new requirements for schemes in 2021, based on the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The legislation requires trustees of occupational pension schemes, with assets above £1 billion, to manage climate-related risks and explain how they have done so in an annual TCFD report. The Pensions Regulator is responsible for monitoring compliance with the requirements and reviewed a sample of reports in 2024. The findings are available here: Review of climate-related disclosures by occupational pension schemes: Year 2 | The Pensions Regulator.

It is up to individual schemes, in line with their fiduciary duty, to choose whether to divest from companies that are not compliant with the UK’s climate commitments. In 2025, Government will consult on proposals for financial institutions, including insurance companies, to develop Paris Aligned Transition Plans which set out steps for reaching net zero. Pension schemes can utilise their stewardship approaches, namely voting and engagement, to nudge companies towards greener practices. There is no single approach to managing climate-related risk, but trustees typically use a combination of investment strategies and stewardship approaches to deliver the best outcomes for members.

Based on over 20 years of research, the Individual Placement and Support employment model is internationally recognised as the most effective way to support people with mental health problems to gain and keep paid employment. Individual Placement and Support services offer intensive, individually tailored support to help people to choose and find the right job, with ongoing support for the employer and employee to help ensure the person sustain their employment.

Randomised Control Trials demonstrated that Individual Placement and Support can achieve up to twice as many job outcomes for people with severe mental illness than traditional programmes. For example, in 2013, 55% of clients were found to be in competitive employment for at least one day compared to 28% of clients in the control group.

Individual Placement Support has been subject to several impact evaluation Randomised Control Trials. All trials have shown significantly better results, in terms of achieving competitive employment for Individual Placement Support participants, compared to conventional vocational rehabilitation services. On average, people who receive Individual Placement Support show employment rates of 30-40% compared to rates in the control group of 10-12%.

The severe mental illness Individual Placement Support programme aims to support an additional 140,000 people living with severe mental illness to access the services by 2028/29. This programme aims to reduce economic inactivity and increase labour market participation and retention for people with severe mental illness.

In August, 38,704 people had accessed Individual Placement services in the previous 12 months, meaning we are above our trajectory to meet the end of year target of 40.500 people accessing these services.

We continuously improve and iterate the Pension Credit application service to make the service more user friendly and accessible for citizens. New features are released regularly to the service in line with user research and feedback on the service from citizens and colleagues and in line with the Pension Credit policy.

We are streamlining all Pension Credit application routes by using information held internally to reduce the number of questions the citizen must answer.

A key objective of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme is to utilise end user research to understand how the application process should operate in the future and consider the opportunities on how services can be more user friendly and easily accessible for citizens.