Clive Lewis

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.

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 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.

The Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy requires quoted UK companies and large unquoted UK companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) to disclose specified energy and emissions (generally Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, with some limited Scope 3 requirements such as business travel for unquoted businesses) in their annual reports. The costs, benefits and practicalities of wider Scope 3 emissions reporting requirements - including employee commuting emissions – is being assessed to help inform the Government’s decision on whether to endorse the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards in the UK. The Government will provide more information in due course.

On 25^th July Government published the Great British Energy Founding Statement, which outlined how the partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate will bring forward and derisk new offshore wind developments, stimulate new technologies in new clean energy sectors and invest in ports and clean energy supply chains. We will set out further detail in due course, as the partnership develops.

Last year, the Government consulted on the possible introduction of Mandatory Product Standards, in other words regulations to limit the embodied emissions of products.

In response, the previous Government set out it would not commit to introducing Mandatory Product Standards for any specific sector at that stage. Instead, it was planning to focus on introducing Voluntary Product Standards, which would be a necessary first step.

Voluntary Product Standards will establish definitions of low carbon products that can be used as a basis for policies such as green public procurement. The Government plans to consult on these standards in due course.

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.

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.

This government expects companies to provide high levels of service, both for customers and the environment and believes that customers should be at heart of challenging companies on their performance, which is why we have immediately announced that powerful new customer panels will be established. These panels will have the remit to do things like summon members of the executive and hold them to account.

Further detail will be set out in due course.

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and NI; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales.

The Government is committed to enacting a ban on Trail Hunting, and work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing. Further announcements will be made in due course.

After writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.

As part of PR24, Ofwat have introduced increased consumer protections through Price Control Deliverables which act to pull back funding from companies when they fail to deliver, helping to ensure customers are protected and money is returned if outputs are not being met.

Ofwat propose to require companies to report on progress against their price control deliverable outputs on a six-monthly basis and forecast performance for the 2025-2030 period. Where Ofwat consider a company is sufficiently off-track, they will consider what additional steps that they should take.

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.

Any decisions on the Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy policy need to be taken in the context of the Government’s missions, housing priorities, and the fiscal context.

Those unable to meet a shortfall in their rent can seek a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) from their local authority. DHPs can be paid to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit.

We will be reviewing the responses people have made to the previous government's consultation on Personal Independence Payment, which closed on Monday 22 July.

The proposals in this Green Paper were developed by the previous government. We will be considering our own approach to social security in due course.

Under the Equality Act 2010, health and social care organisations are required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people, as well as to everybody else. These changes are called reasonable adjustments.

NHS England has issued guidance for National Health Service commissioners with respect to the Reasonable Adjustments Digital Flag, also known as the Flag. The Flag has been developed to enable health and care workers to record, share, and view details of reasonable adjustments required by an individual across the NHS, wherever the person is treated.

In addition, NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss, including patients with sight or hearing loss. NHS England has completed its review of the AIS and aims to publish the revised AIS soon.

The emergency banning Order, restricting the sale or supply of puberty blockers, was introduced by the previous Government. The Order enables those who were already on a course of treatment with Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues, before 3 June 2024 from a UK based private or National Health Service provider, to continue to have them supplied. Those who were already on a course of treatment prescribed by an EEA or Switzerland registered prescriber can legally switch to a UK based prescriber to continue their treatment.

The expert Cass Review, which is one of the most comprehensive reviews of gender identity services for children and young people to date, states that the rationale for early puberty suppressing hormones to treat gender dysphoria is unclear and the effects on cognitive and psychosexual development are unknown. This Government will always act in the interests of patient safety, which is why the Secretary of State signalled his intention to renew the Order and consult on a permanent ban (subject to the outcome of the ongoing judicial review).

We are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. That is why NHS England and the National Institute of Health and Care Research, the research arm of the Department, are working together to commission a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The study team is now in place and are finalising their application for funding which will be assessed by an independent scientific review study ahead of the commencement of wider approvals, including ethics, and set up.

We will continue to monitor the impacts of the Order, including on mental health. Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, has examined evidence for a large rise in suicides claimed by campaigners. His paper, which was published on 19 July 2024, concluded that the data do not support the claim that there has been a large rise in suicide in young gender dysphoria patients at the Tavistock clinic.

Some children and young people may be concerned by these changes. If they are already under the care of a Children and Young People’s mental health provider or the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, they can contact their team for advice. If they are not, their general practice team will be able to assess whether further referrals for mental health support are required. Patients can also be signposted to the advice on getting mental health support available on the NHS.UK website. Anyone in need of urgent support can contact NHS 111 and choose the mental health option, option two. Further details are available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/where-to-get-urgent-help-for-mental-health/

Professor Appleby’s paper is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-suicides-and-gender-dysphoria-at-the-tavistock-and-portman-nhs-foundation-trust/review-of-suicides-and-gender-dysphoria-at-the-tavistock-and-portman-nhs-foundation-trust-independent-report

The emergency banning order, restricting the sale or supply of puberty blockers, was introduced by the previous government. The Order enables those who were already on a course of treatment with Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues, before 3 June 2024 from a UK based private or National Health Service provider, to continue to have them supplied. Those who were already on a course of treatment prescribed by an EEA or Switzerland-registered prescriber can legally switch to a UK based prescriber to continue their treatment.

We will continue to monitor the impact of the emergency order, including on mental health and suicide. All child deaths undergo a multi-agency review by a Child Death Overview Panel and that information is reported to the National Child Mortality Database. There is a monthly exercise by NHS officials to check the waiting list against NHS records to identify any deaths.

Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, has examined evidence for a large rise in suicides claimed by campaigners. His paper, which was published on 19 July 2024, concluded that the data does not support the claim that there has been a large rise in suicide in young gender dysphoria patients at the Tavistock clinic.

This government has committed to implementing the expert recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. That is why NHS England and the National Institue of Health and Care Research – the research arm of the department – are working together to commission a study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones as a treatment option for children and young people with gender incongruence. The study team is now in place and are finalising their application for funding which will be assessed by an independent scientific review study ahead of the commencement of wider approvals, including ethics, and set up.

Children and young people who are unable to access puberty blockers when they have previously done so are strongly advised to meet with their clinician. We expect clinicians to be working with impacted patients to consider what the best care for them is going forward. We understand some children and young people may be concerned or distressed by the changes. If they are already under the care of a Children and Young People’s mental health provider or Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, they can contact their team for advice. If they are not, their general practice team will be able to assess whether further referrals for mental health support are required.

Professor Appleby’s paper is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-of-suicides-and-gender-dysphoria-at-the-tavistock-and-portman-nhs-foundation-trust

The Foreign Secretary's advice on arms sales follows the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, (SELC) including an assessment of commitment to IHL Compliance (SELC 2c) using a methodology that the Court of Appeal has accepted in judicial reviews. It draws on open-source evidence, intelligence, accounts of diplomatic and ministerial engagements, and correspondence with Israel.

That review process is underway. It is complex and requires careful consideration. The Government will make public its decision as soon as that process is complete.

As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, he is not able to look back on advice made available to previous Government Ministers. That review process is underway. It is complex and requires careful consideration. The Foreign Secretary has committed to being transparent when making decisions on International Humanitarian Law assessments.

As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, he is not able to look back on advice made available to previous Government Ministers. As was announced on 26 July, the Government will not be submitting observations to the ICC, in line with its position that this is a matter for the Court to decide on.

The UK greatly values our strong and longstanding relationship with the Caribbean and CARICOM. We most recently showed our solidarity through support to the regional response to Hurricane Beryl. The Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, looks forward to deep engagement with the leaders and peoples of these countries and to full and frank discussions with them on all issues of concern. Our government will prioritise supporting the resilience and prosperity of vulnerable islands. We are making a real difference to the lives of people today - including in the Caribbean - where we are investing in infrastructure, security, and prosperity, and helping build resilience to natural disasters and climate change.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.

State education is accessible to all children. All children of compulsory school age are entitled to a state-funded school place if they need one and the Department for Education works to support Local Authorities to ensure every local area has sufficient places for pupils.

Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.

Where a placement at a specific private school is necessary to meet the pupil’s needs in England, that school will be named in the pupil’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, and is reviewing the current arrangements for accommodation to ensure efficiency and value for money, including reducing the use of hotels.

The Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including those designed to increase service charge transparency.

Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact the remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.

We will announce further details in due course.

The Government will act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, including those designed to increase service charge transparency.

Over the course of this Parliament, the Government will further reform the leasehold system. We will enact the remaining Law Commission recommendations relating to enfranchisement and the Right to Manage, tackle unregulated and unaffordable ground rents, reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework, and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

The Government has made clear it intends to publish draft legislation on leasehold and commonhold reform in this session so that it may be subject to broad consultation and additional parliamentary scrutiny.

We will announce further details in due course.

The Government is committed to bringing the feudal leasehold system to an end.

As part of that commitment, we intend to reinvigorate commonhold through a comprehensive new legal framework and ban the sale of new leasehold flats so commonhold becomes the default tenure.

As set out in the King’s Speech, draft legislation will be published on leasehold and commonhold reform during this session.