Daisy Cooper

As set out in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, we will bring forward legislation to ban conversion therapy. We will also launch a consultation before details of the ban are finalised to hear from a wide range of voices on how best to protect people from conversion therapy while protecting the medical profession, defending freedom of speech and upholding religious freedom. We are considering all options for the scope of a ban and will be engaging the appropriate stakeholders to gather views. We will ensure the action we take to stop this practice is proportionate and effective, with no unintended consequences. We have also undertaken research to understand practices, experiences and impacts associated with conversion therapy and will publish this in due course.

As set out in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, we will bring forward legislation to ban conversion therapy. We will also launch a consultation before details of the ban are finalised to hear from a wide range of voices on how best to protect people from conversion therapy while protecting the medical profession, defending freedom of speech and upholding religious freedom. We are considering all options for the scope of a ban and will be engaging the appropriate stakeholders to gather views. We will ensure the action we take to stop this practice is proportionate and effective, with no unintended consequences. We have also undertaken research to understand practices, experiences and impacts associated with conversion therapy and will publish this in due course.

As set out in the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, we will bring forward legislation to ban conversion therapy. We will also launch a consultation before details of the ban are finalised to hear from a wide range of voices on how best to protect people from conversion therapy while protecting the medical profession, defending freedom of speech and upholding religious freedom. We are considering all options for the scope of a ban and will be engaging the appropriate stakeholders to gather views. We will ensure the action we take to stop this practice is proportionate and effective, with no unintended consequences. We have also undertaken research to understand practices, experiences and impacts associated with conversion therapy and will publish this in due course.

This Government completely opposes any discrimination because of a person’s origins, including any perceptions of their caste.

The Tirkey v Chandhok case in 2014 established that it is likely that anyone who believes that they have been discriminated against because of caste could bring a race discrimination claim under the existing ethnic origins limb of the race provisions in the Equality Act because of their descent.

The Government considers, having also taken into account over 16,000 responses to a 2017 consultation on this issue, that the Tirkey judgment serves as a welcome clarification of the existing protection under the Equality Act – helping to deter those inclined to treat others unfairly or unequally because of conceptions of caste.

Since 2016, we have invested £4m to support schools in preventing and addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying. This programme concluded in March 2020 and continues to be evaluated, in order to increase our evidence base on what works in schools. We plan to publish the evaluation in due course.

The Government remains committed to helping teachers tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying, and are continuing to fund anti-bullying projects. The Department for Education announced £750k of funding in June 2020 for three charitable organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying.

The Department for Education is also rolling out new inclusive statutory Relationships Education in all primary schools and Relationships and Sex Education in all secondary schools, so that children leave school prepared for life in modern, diverse, Britain.

We want to ensure that all children, whoever they are, are kept safe in schools. Since 2016, we have invested £4m to support schools in preventing and addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, reaching 2,250 schools in England. This programme concluded in March 2020 and we are currently evaluating it.

In our 2019 Manifesto, we made clear our commitment to continuing to help teachers tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying, and the Government is continuing to fund anti-bullying projects. The Department for Education announced £750k of funding in June for three charitable organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying.

We consider the Public Sector Equality Duty in everything we do, including the continuing delivery of our anti-bullying work.

We want to ensure that all children, whoever they are, are kept safe in schools. Since 2016, we have invested £4m to support schools in preventing and addressing homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, reaching 2,250 schools in England. This programme concluded in March 2020 and we are currently evaluating it.

In our 2019 Manifesto, we made clear our commitment to continuing to help teachers tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying, and the Government is continuing to fund anti-bullying projects. The Department for Education announced £750k of funding in June for three charitable organisations, including a project for victims of hate-related bullying.

We consider the Public Sector Equality Duty in everything we do, including the continuing delivery of our anti-bullying work.

The Government has developed a strong national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about COVID-19. As part of this, we have utilised advertising in over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of participating publishers will be placed in the Commons Library.

As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on GOV.UK as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

The Government has developed a strong national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about COVID-19. As part of this, we have utilised advertising in over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of participating publishers will be placed in the Commons Library.

As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on GOV.UK as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

Officials in a number of different Government Departments work on the full range of issues relating to trade with the EU under the new arrangements set out in the Trade and Co-operation Agreement. It is not possible to disaggregate the level of full time equivalent staff resource involved specifically in engaging with EU Member States on the interpretation of their VAT rules which is one issue among many.

We do not systematically record where queries specifically relate to EU VAT regimes. However, questions on this topic have been raised numerous times in various cross-government engagement fora over the last year. Although we do not record the data, we always direct customers to the relevant guidance.

The Terms of Reference for the Cabinet Office’s investigation have been published on GOV.UK and deposited in the libraries of both Houses. The work will be concluded by the Second Permanent Secretary.

The Government does not comment on the specifics of an ongoing process.

The Border and Protocol Delivery Group, supported by HMRC and others, holds regular discussions with counterparts in EU Member States on all issues relating to the flow of freight and passengers.

It is not possible to provide a precise number for these contacts without incurring disproportionate costs.

The interpretation of each country’s VAT rules is ultimately a matter for the authorities of that country.

On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a statutory public inquiry into COVID-19 will begin in spring 2022. The Prime Minister also confirmed that bereaved families and other groups will be consulted before terms of reference are finalised. Further details, including in respect of the terms of reference, will be announced by the independent chair in due course.

I refer the Honourable member to Written Statement HCWS185.

The Government is working with the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments to improve the operation and efficacy of the Business Appointment Rules. The recommendations from Nigel Boardman’s report into the development and use of supply chain finance in government, as well as the forthcoming Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life will be considered as a part of this work, and an update to the Business Appointment Rules will be published this year.

I would advise the hon. Member to contact the Ombudsman directly at MP@ombudsman.org.uk for any general correspondence or queries about particular cases.

The Government will, of course, pass on correspondence and complaints to the Ombudsman but cannot intervene directly in the Ombudsman’s day-to-day business. Members can also raise issues with the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee who scrutinise the Ombudsman if they have concerns about how the Ombudsman engages with members.

The Government’s Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO) is responsible for producing the Service Standard (https://www.gov.uk/service-manual/service-standard) which guides government teams as to how they should design and produce content providing information regarding public services.

Government teams are required to make sure that all information is accessible across all channels, including online, phone, paper and face to face.

Government teams must also make sure that everyone can use their services, including disabled people, people with other legally protected characteristics, people who do not have access to the internet and/or lack the skills and/or confidence to use the internet. CDDO provides clear guidance on how to make non-digital parts of a government service as widely accessible as possible by providing a contact for users and providing forms in alternative formats for example, large print, braille or audio CD.

Guidance on significant life events is available on gov.uk as part of the places of worship guidance, and is kept under continual review.

In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening different sectors in England, guided by science and the
data. It is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions, so that we can see the impact of the steps we are taking before moving to the next step.

For that reason, we will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation.

On 10 May, the Government announced plans to proceed with Step 3 on 17 May. Based on the data, we have passed the four tests set out in the roadmap, which means that the planned easing of wedding and reception limits can continue as planned and set out in the roadmap.

Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 30 people in COVID Secure venues that are permitted to open. Receptions can also proceed with up to 30 people in a COVID Secure indoor venue, or outdoors, which includes private gardens.

On 13 May, the Government published further detailed wedding guidance : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil
-partnerships

Guidance will be updated again ahead of Step 4.

In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening different sectors in England, guided by science and the
data. It is important that we take a cautious approach in easing restrictions, so that we can see the impact of the steps we are taking before moving to the next step.

For that reason, we will continue to keep guidance and restrictions under review, in line with the changing situation.

On 10 May, the Government announced plans to proceed with Step 3 on 17 May. Based on the data, we have passed the four tests set out in the roadmap, which means that the planned easing of wedding and reception limits can continue as planned and set out in the roadmap.

Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 30 people in COVID Secure venues that are permitted to open. Receptions can also proceed with up to 30 people in a COVID Secure indoor venue, or outdoors, which includes private gardens.

On 13 May, the Government published further detailed wedding guidance : https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil
-partnerships

Guidance will be updated again ahead of Step 4.

The Government is already communicating the practical changes that follow Brexit for citizens and businesses and has been doing so since last year. This public information campaign has reached 99.7% of UK adults.

The Government has worked with the retail industry to ensure that they take the actions necessary to comply with new rules now that the UK has left the EU. This includes ensuring that their customers are aware of any charges if goods are sourced from within the EU or from further afield.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening different sectors in England, guided by science and the data.

We understand the unique significance that marriages and civil partnerships hold in people’s lives, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes restrictions on wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, as well as other forms of social contact. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Alternative wedding ceremonies are permitted in line with the regular wedding or civil partnership rules, in the same locations, at each step.

From 29 March, wedding and civil partnership ceremonies have been able to take place indoors or outdoors in COVID-Secure venues that are not expressly closed by the Regulations, or where a broader exemption applies. From 12 April, 15 people are permitted to attend. This approach allows couples to marry in legally binding licensed venues for wedding ceremonies (where outdoor options are limited) while remaining in line with the reopening of sectors and venues as set out in the roadmap. Wedding ceremonies should follow government guidance to reduce the risk of transmission.

Receptions (of up to 15 people) can resume from 12 April. The evidence shows that it is safer for people to meet outdoors rather than indoors. That is why receptions are only permitted outdoors at this Step and should be in a COVID-Secure venue.

From Step 3, no earlier than 17 May 2021, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 30 people in COVID-Secure venues that are not required to close, or where a broader exemption applies. Receptions can also proceed with up to 30 people in a COVID-Secure indoor venue, or outdoors, which includes private gardens.

Guidance for wedding and civil partnership receptions and celebrations can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-wedding-and-civil-partnership-receptions-and-celebrations

At each step, the limits on the number of attendees includes children of all ages, but not workers.

For further information, please refer to the guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships

In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening different sectors in England, guided by science and the data.

We understand the unique significance that marriages and civil partnerships hold in people’s lives, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes restrictions on wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, as well as other forms of social contact. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Alternative wedding ceremonies are permitted in line with the regular wedding or civil partnership rules, in the same locations, at each step.

From 29 March, wedding and civil partnership ceremonies have been able to take place indoors or outdoors in COVID-Secure venues that are not expressly closed by the Regulations, or where a broader exemption applies. From 12 April, 15 people are permitted to attend. This approach allows couples to marry in legally binding licensed venues for wedding ceremonies (where outdoor options are limited) while remaining in line with the reopening of sectors and venues as set out in the roadmap. Wedding ceremonies should follow government guidance to reduce the risk of transmission.

Receptions (of up to 15 people) can resume from 12 April. The evidence shows that it is safer for people to meet outdoors rather than indoors. That is why receptions are only permitted outdoors at this Step and should be in a COVID-Secure venue.

From Step 3, no earlier than 17 May 2021, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 30 people in COVID-Secure venues that are not required to close, or where a broader exemption applies. Receptions can also proceed with up to 30 people in a COVID-Secure indoor venue, or outdoors, which includes private gardens.

Guidance for wedding and civil partnership receptions and celebrations can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-wedding-and-civil-partnership-receptions-and-celebrations

At each step, the limits on the number of attendees includes children of all ages, but not workers.

For further information, please refer to the guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships

In the COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021, the Government has set out the gradual and cautious approach to reopening different sectors in England, guided by science and the data.

We understand the unique significance that marriages and civil partnerships hold in people’s lives, but we have to take necessary steps to limit transmission of COVID-19. This includes restrictions on wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, as well as other forms of social contact. By their very nature, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are events that bring families and friends together, making them particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

Alternative wedding ceremonies are permitted in line with the regular wedding or civil partnership rules, in the same locations, at each step.

From 29 March, wedding and civil partnership ceremonies have been able to take place indoors or outdoors in COVID-Secure venues that are not expressly closed by the Regulations, or where a broader exemption applies. From 12 April, 15 people are permitted to attend. This approach allows couples to marry in legally binding licensed venues for wedding ceremonies (where outdoor options are limited) while remaining in line with the reopening of sectors and venues as set out in the roadmap. Wedding ceremonies should follow government guidance to reduce the risk of transmission.

Receptions (of up to 15 people) can resume from 12 April. The evidence shows that it is safer for people to meet outdoors rather than indoors. That is why receptions are only permitted outdoors at this Step and should be in a COVID-Secure venue.

From Step 3, no earlier than 17 May 2021, weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are permitted for up to 30 people in COVID-Secure venues that are not required to close, or where a broader exemption applies. Receptions can also proceed with up to 30 people in a COVID-Secure indoor venue, or outdoors, which includes private gardens.

Guidance for wedding and civil partnership receptions and celebrations can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-wedding-and-civil-partnership-receptions-and-celebrations

At each step, the limits on the number of attendees includes children of all ages, but not workers.

For further information, please refer to the guidance for small marriages and civil partnerships - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships

The data obtained shows a total of 1472, an average of around 114 per year, pensions ceasing on remarriage or cohabitation for the period 2008 to 2020. The split of the data between those whose pension was stopped due to remarriage and cohabitation, and the breakdown between England, Wales and Scotland, and the number of survivor pensions restored on just compassionate grounds, is not available at this point.

The data obtained shows a total of 1472, an average of around 114 per year, pensions ceasing on remarriage or cohabitation for the period 2008 to 2020. The split of the data between those whose pension was stopped due to remarriage and cohabitation, and the breakdown between England, Wales and Scotland, and the number of survivor pensions restored on just compassionate grounds, is not available at this point.

I refer the Hon Member to my comments of 27 May 2020 at the Liaison Committee, HC 322. The matter is now closed.

The guidance was issued to schools to offer support for implementation for PPN 02/20 and 04/20 for the provision of supplier relief. These PPNs have now expired and the Cabinet Office has no plans to issue further PPNs for supplier relief. Contracting Authorities can still make their own arrangements for contractual relief.

Primary legislation states that the elections will go ahead in May 2021.

We continue to work closely with the electoral community, including electoral suppliers, and public health bodies to resolve challenges and ensure everyone will be able to cast their vote safely and securely - and in a way of their choosing.

Measures are planned to support absent voting at short notice. Guidance will be published in good time ahead of the polls and this matter will be kept under review. The House will be kept updated.

The Government has also engaged with the Parliamentary Parties Panel to ensure that views from political parties are taken on board.

Nominees’ reasons, if any, for declining an award are given in confidence and the Government does not comment on the reasons given.

It has always been the case that a small number of individuals have chosen to decline to receive honours.

The numbers of refusals for the Order of the British Empire broken down by award and honours round in the last five years for the Prime Minister's Lists can be found below. Figures for the British Empire Medal have been included as the award is closely affiliated with the Order of the British Empire.

As the figures show, refusal rates for honours remain extremely low. Individuals are not required to give reasons for refusing honours.

It has always been the case that a small number of individuals have chosen to decline to receive honours.

The numbers of refusals for the Order of the British Empire broken down by award and honours round in the last five years for the Prime Minister's Lists can be found below. Figures for the British Empire Medal have been included as the award is closely affiliated with the Order of the British Empire.

As the figures show, refusal rates for honours remain extremely low. Individuals are not required to give reasons for refusing honours.

Movements of goods from the EU will be treated the same as movements from the rest of the world after the end of the transition period. This means customs duties, including VAT, will be due, unless any relief or further agreement applies.

Pubs and bars are permitted to sell alcohol through delivery or via click and collect where remote ordering has been utilised.

The Government’s public health advertising is reflective of the UK’s diverse communities. We work with marketing agencies to address barriers by targeting audiences with bespoke communications, including providing translations of core campaign materials. This ensures our public health messaging reaches as many people as possible.

Departments publish details in their Annual Report and Accounts each year.

This information is not held centrally. Each department is responsible for its correspondence.

The Government has developed a strong national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about COVID-19. As part of this, we have utilised advertising in over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of participating publishers will be placed in the Commons Library.

As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

The Government has developed a strong national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about COVID-19. As part of this, we have utilised advertising in over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of participating publishers will be placed in the Commons Library.

As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

The Government has developed a strong national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about COVID-19. As part of this, we have utilised advertising in over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. A list of participating publishers will be placed in the Commons Library.

As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level.

Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQs 39766 and 41529 on 4 May 2020.

Ministers in the Department for Health and Social Care have overall responsibility for PPE supply. However, other ministers and officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Cabinet Office, the Department for International Trade, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are closely involved in many aspects of the work. The Cabinet Office involvement includes providing a web portal for businesses offering medical and non-medical support and seconding commercial staff to support the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS officials carrying out procurement.

All domestic electricity customers who have a direct relationship with a licensed electricity supplier will be automatically eligible for this Scheme.

Households without a domestic electricity supply contract are not eligible for the Scheme and we are exploring options for other ways in which they might receive similar support. This was raised in our technical consultation (Energy Bills Support Scheme – Managing the impact of the energy price shock on consumer bills) which closed on the 23 May. Responses to the consultation are being analysed and the Government response will be published in the summer.

The Government supports a proactive approach to continue to develop the next generation of vaccines. Despite the highly successful national vaccination campaign, it is important we continue to study how to produce Covid-19 vaccines that induce robust, long-term protective immunity and which are effective across mutating variants.

To that end, following extensive engagement with academic and industry stakeholders, the Vaccine Taskforce are working with other stakeholders across government, to explore the establishment of a UK-wide Predictive Immunology Network, formed of centres of excellence spread across the UK.

The aim is to ensure the network will utilise the collaborative approach that was so successful during the pandemic, to bring together industry, academia, and the NHS to work towards a common goal and answer key immunology questions on how to improve vaccines including the next generation Covid-19 vaccines.

The Government is not currently considering introducing a scheme to allow companies to offer employees fuel bank vouchers.

The Government understands the pressures households are facing with increased cost of living caused by global energy prices and has therefore announced a cost of living package worth a total of £37bn this year in support to households.

Data estimating the floor area of non-domestic properties, from which commercial roof space can be inferred, is available on www.gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-nd-need-2020. However, not all rooves are suitable for solar panels due to shading, orientation, and location.

Solar is key to the Government’s strategy to decarbonise energy. The Government is supporting commercial rooftop solar deployment through capital allowances for spend on solar panels, exempting solar and storage used on site from business rates from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2035, and changes to energy performance standards for non-domestic buildings.

Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 already requires directors to have regard to the impact of their company’s operations on the community and the environment, amongst other things. The Government strengthened this requirement in 2019 by requiring directors to make an annual statement explaining how they have discharged their section 172 duty in practice over the previous reporting year.

The Government believes the most effective way to encourage companies to address environmental and other challenges is through a transparent corporate reporting framework. This month, the UK became the first G20 country to introduce mandatory reporting in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, for economically significant UK companies. This will ensure that businesses consider the risks and opportunities they face on climate change and encourage them to set out their emission reduction plans and sustainability credentials. The Government has also published a landmark Roadmap on Sustainable Investing, the first phase of which will introduce new economy-wide sustainability disclosure requirements.

Ofgem has updated its Consumer Vulnerability Strategy which set out its priorities to help protect gas and electricity consumers in vulnerable situations until 2025.

The energy price cap ensures prices for households fairly reflect the underlying costs of supply. The Government is faced with supporting households with the current high costs of energy with a £9.1bn package including an energy bills discount and Council Tax rebate.

A scheme operated by the NHS enables householders who use oxygen concentrators at home to receive a refund of the electricity costs used by the equipment.

16,448 live companies are currently registered at Companies House without any Directors as of 15th March 2022.

Existing Park Homes are eligible for support under the £500m Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Home Upgrade Grant. Constituents should contact their local authority to make enquiries.

Residents of park homes may also be eligible for insulation under the Energy Company Obligation scheme. This scheme is not a grant, but a levy placed on larger energy suppliers to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures to low income and vulnerable households across Great Britain. Relevant contact details are listed on the Simple Energy Advice website here: www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/pages/energy-company-obligation. The scheme can also be delivered in partnership with Local Authorities (LAs) via the LA flexible eligibility element of the scheme; constituents should contact their local authority.

The smart meter rollout is helping consumers manage their energy use while making Great Britain’s energy system cheaper, cleaner and more efficient.

After all costs, the smart meter rollout is set to deliver a £6 billion net benefit to Great Britain. The latest estimates of the costs and benefits can be found in the 2019 Cost Benefit Analysis of the smart meter rollout in Great Britain: www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019.

Research publications funded by UKRI are required to be open access, so any published findings will be accessible to all. Details of this specific project can be found at: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=BB%2FV011553%2F1.

As any responsible Government does, we manage our vaccine supply to meet our projected needs and to offer the best protection to those who need it, when they need it. The termination of the supply agreement with Valneva in September 2021 was made for commercial reasons, which remain confidential between Valneva and the Government.

Vaccine development is a complex and challenging process, which is why the Government seeks to achieve value for money for the UK taxpayer at all stages. As the pandemic progresses, we continue to assess and refine the vaccines in our portfolio, to ensure we continue to have access to those which offer the best long-term prospects in continuing to support the fight against Covid-19.

Thanks to this strategy, the UK currently has 3 approved vaccines in deployment and the UK’s vaccination programme continues to be a success with over 85% of the UK population [over 12s] double vaccinated and over 66% of the UK population [over 12s] have now received their booster or third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The Government has already taken action to give small businesses the space and flexibility to repay their bounce back loans. Under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), no repayments are due from the borrower for the first 12 months of the loan. The Government also covers the first 12 months of interest payments charged to the business by the lender.

In order to give businesses further support, the Government introduced the “Pay as You Grow” (PAYG) measures, which allow individual businesses to tailor their repayments to their individual circumstances. Under these measures, the lenders are required to give all businesses that borrowed under the BBLS the option to repay their loan over a period of up to ten years, as well as the option to move temporarily to interest-only payments for periods of up to six months, or to pause their repayments entirely for up to six months.

As indicated in the previous answer, the Government remains committed to establishing a new beneficial ownership register of overseas entities that own UK property. This register will help combat money laundering and achieve greater transparency in the UK property market. The Government has been exploring how best to implement the recommendations of the Joint Committee and when we introduce the Register it will be more effective, thanks to the broader powers we are now planning to give Companies House. This will also require primary legislation and we will legislate when parliamentary time allows.

Gas storage will not lower the price of gas in the short term as the United Kingdom exists in a global market.

Rough Storage could play an important part in Hydrogen storage as was set out in the Hydrogen Strategy, published in August 2021.

As set out in the Written Ministerial Statement I made on 2^nd November 2021 (HCWS366), the Government remains committed to establishing a new beneficial ownership register of overseas entities that own UK property. This register will help combat money laundering and achieve greater transparency in the UK property market. We will legislate when parliamentary time allows.

The Government remains strongly committed to the 1.5C target at COP26, and welcome initiatives to promote cleaner and renewable alternative to fossil fuel, to encourage development and energy security.

The Government responded to the Select Committee’s Call for Written Evidence as part of its inquiry that is available here: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1191/findings-of-the-report-of-climate-assembly-uk/publications/.

The Government is fully committed to supporting the independent businesses and communities that make our town centres successful as the nation responds to the impacts of the Covid-19 outbreak. Our package of support for businesses through this period totals over £352 billion including business grants, the coronavirus loan schemes and Job Retention Scheme, as well as deferral of income tax payments. This builds on major investment and action from Government to level up opportunity and prosperity across all areas of the country, including through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, the £220 million UK-wide Community Renewal Fund and the £3.6 billion Towns Fund.

The retail, hospitality and leisure business rates relief in England is worth over £6bn to eligible businesses in 2021/22 alone. We extended the moratorium on commercial landlords’ right to forfeiture for the non-payment of rent to March 2022, and we will introduce legislation to help landlords and tenants resolve historic Covid-19 rent debt through binding arbitration if necessary.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all workers can participate and progress in the labour market and building back better as we recover from COVID-19.

We will bring forward the Employment Bill in due course, and in the meantime we will continue to take necessary action to support businesses and protect jobs.

Employment rights remain unchanged under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Therefore, all workers’ right to holiday accrues to the extent and in the same way it did prior to being placed on to furlough under the CJRS, as provided by the individual’s statutory and contractual rights.

If a furloughed worker takes holiday, the employer should pay them their full holiday pay, calculated in accordance with BEIS guidance. Employers will be obliged to fund any additional amounts over the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant.

Further guidance to help employers manage holiday pay during Coronavirus is available on GOV.UK.

An agency worker can qualify for equal treatment after working for 12 weeks in the same role with the same hirer.

The working patterns of agency workers can be irregular. The regulations set out the effect of different types of absence or breaks on the 12-week qualifying period and provide for several circumstances in which breaks do not prevent agency workers from completing the qualifying period or cause the qualifying clock to pause.

The qualifying clock will pause if there is a break in service for any reason, where the break is no longer than six calendar weeks and the agency worker returns to the same role with the same hirer.

The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings. In the meantime, BEIS believes in a strong independent economic regulatory environment and support Ofgem in the core priority (amongst others) to help achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050 while maximising value for money for consumers.

As part of our commitment to the Future Homes Standard, which will ensure new build homes are future-proofed with low carbon heating and world leading levels of energy efficiency, we will consult on the feasibility of ending connections to the gas grid in new build homes.

We need to ensure the right legislation is in place to support the heating market through the transition to net zero. We will, therefore, review the overarching regulatory framework set out in the Gas Act 1995 to ensure the appropriate powers and responsibilities are in place to facilitate a decarbonised gas future that does not risk our energy security or lead to disproportionate impacts on consumers across the UK.

The Department has and continues to regularly meet with representatives from across the Hospitality sector to discuss how it can recover and build back from the pandemic. We have provided an unprecedented support package of £352 billion including grants, loans, business rates relief, VAT cuts and the job retention scheme.

The Restart Grant scheme aimed to support businesses in specific sectors to reopen as coronavirus restrictions eased across the country. One-off grants were given to eligible businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors.

The Restart Grant scheme closed on 30 June. There are no plans to retrospectively change the eligibility criteria for this scheme.

The Government intends to publish its planned consultation on opt-in switching and testing of opt-out switching soon.

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 requires traders to provide information on the total price of goods or services, inclusive of any applicable or additional taxes or delivery charges, at the point of sale. Where the total price of the goods or services, including any additional taxes or delivery charges cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, such as cross-border transactions, the manner in which the price is to be calculated must instead be communicated. This information must be given to the consumer in a clear and comprehensible manner, along with the right to cancel if this exists.

Any information that the trader gives the consumer as required by these requirements are to be treated as included as a term of the contract. Changes to any of this information, made before entering into the contract or later, are not effective unless expressly agreed between the consumer and the trader.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has provided a package of financial support to businesses, including those in the hospitality sector and suppliers to the sector. The total financial support package is over £407 billion.

Since March of last year we have provided an unprecedented package of financial support to the economy, including the wedding sector, which we keep under regular review.

The Government recognises the essential role of the insurance industry in providing the cover businesses need to operate. We are working closely with insurers, trade bodies and regulators to understand what more the industry can do to support individuals and businesses.

Employers should treat all job applicants courteously as well as being fair and objective in their selection of successful candidates.

The Government does not impose requirement on employers as to how they carry out recruitment. However, the law is clear that they must not discriminate unlawfully, for example on grounds of race, sex or disability.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe consumer products can be sold in the UK. Product safety legislation places obligations on distributors to act with due care to ensure products they are selling are safe. This includes online retailers selling goods via marketplaces. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has recently taken action to ensure that a number of non-compliant products being sold by overseas third-party sellers have been removed from sale and are recalled, including toys.

The OPSS is also engaging proactively with major online marketplaces to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe products. This includes developing a new voluntary commitment for online marketplaces to agree actions they will take to reduce the risks from unsafe products being sold online, enabling them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the safety of their consumers in the UK.

In order to ensure that the UK’s Product Safety framework is flexible and fit for the future, the OPSS is conducting a review. The review will ensure we have a framework that delivers safety for consumers while supporting businesses to innovate and grow and will consider the impact on product safety of non-traditional business models, including third-party sales.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe consumer products can be sold in the UK. Product safety legislation places obligations on distributors to act with due care to ensure products they are selling are safe. This includes online retailers selling goods via marketplaces. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has recently taken action to ensure that a number of non-compliant products being sold by overseas third-party sellers have been removed from sale and are recalled, including toys.

The OPSS is also engaging proactively with major online marketplaces to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe products. This includes developing a new voluntary commitment for online marketplaces to agree actions they will take to reduce the risks from unsafe products being sold online, enabling them to publicly demonstrate their commitment to the safety of their consumers in the UK.

In order to ensure that the UK’s Product Safety framework is flexible and fit for the future, the OPSS is conducting a review. The review will ensure we have a framework that delivers safety for consumers while supporting businesses to innovate and grow and will consider the impact on product safety of non-traditional business models, including third-party sales.

If a pub wishes to provide complementary live music for their seated food and/or drink customers, they can do this outdoors at Step 2. However, if a pub charges for admission, or admits an audience in addition to seated food and/or drink customers, this would be considered to be a live music event, which should only take place at Step 3. Any live music should adhere to safer working guidelines for pubs and restaurants, which includes the need to ensure that background music should be kept at a low volume and that customers should not be singing or dancing.

Yes. Businesses that are required by law to close will continue to be able to access grant support via the Local Restrictions Support Grant.

The current payment cycle will be for a 44-day period up to the end of the financial year, covering 16 February – 31 March 2021. It follows on directly from the first payment cycle, which covered 5 January – 15 February 2021.

The introduction of the UKCA mark on 1 January 2021 and the end of the UK's recognition of the CE mark is a consequence of the UK leaving the EU.

In order to help businesses to transition, products with the CE marking will be accepted on the GB market until 1 January 2022 (and longer in some cases). An assessment of the impact of introducing an end date to recognition of the CE marking on the GB market was published as part of recent secondary legislation. This found the change was likely to impose costs of around £36m over a 10-year period. It estimated that between 10,000 and 17,000 UK manufacturers and up to 135,000 UK wholesalers and retailers might be affected.

There are no plans to extend the recognition of CE marking on the GB market, as this would mean recognising EU regulations, even where there is divergence.

The Hon. Member’s letter of 28 September was transferred to HM Treasury and I understand a reply was sent from there on 3 November. I replied to the Hon. Member’s letters of 4 and 30 November on 21 January, outlining the package of support measures that are available to hospitality businesses.

I replied to the Hon. Member on 21 January outlining the package of support measures that are available to hospitality businesses.

Rights of representation, whether before domestic courts in Member States or EU institutions, are the preserve of the Single Market and so do not form part of the UK approach to negotiations with the EU.

The Government is aware that this is an important issue for stake holders, in particular UK-based trade mark attorneys.

Consistent with its overall approach to the UK’s exit from the EU, the government has laid legislation to change the ‘address for service’ requirement at the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) from EEA-wide to UK-only. Subject to legislative implementation, following the transition period only a UK address for service will be accepted for new trade mark applications and other IP rights. This change will also apply to registered rights when certain proceedings are brought before the IPO.

Officials are working closely with local authorities to deliver the Christmas Support Payment for ‘wet-led’ pubs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions.

Guidance for the Christmas Support Payment for ‘wet-led’ pubs is now available on GOV.UK:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/942452/christmas-support-payment-la-guidance.pdf.

The Local Restrictions Support Grant (Open) scheme provides Local Authorities with discretionary funding to support businesses in the hospitality, accommodation and leisure sectors who have been severely affected by local restrictions but are not required to close. Local Authorities will be eligible for this scheme when under Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions. The updated guidance for the period from 2^nd December has been published on GOV.UK:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-restrictions-support-grants-lrsg-and-additional-restrictions-grant-arg-guidance-for-local-authorities.

For those businesses mandated to close on a sector basis, regardless of the local restriction in place, such as nightclubs, the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Sector) will provide grants of up to £3000 per 28-day period. This guidance is also available on GOV.UK.

The Christmas Support Payment for ‘wet-led’ pubs is a one-off £1,000 grant to support the wet-led pubs during the festive period in Tier 2 and Tier 3. This guidance is also available on gov.uk.

Businesses mandated to close under Tier 2 and Tier 3 restrictions will be eligible for Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) payments of up to £3,000 per 28-day period. This guidance is also available on gov.uk.

From 2 December pubs in Tier 2 areas may only provide alcohol for consumption on their premises with a substantial meal. A wet-led pub may partner with outside caterers or local food businesses to enable them to provide substantial meals, subject to any conditions contained in their licence.

At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January we announced an end to Government support for thermal coal mining and coal power plants overseas, and we continue to keep our approach to other fossil fuel investments and financing overseas under review.

All investment involving critical infrastructure is subject to thorough scrutiny and needs to satisfy our robust legal, regulatory, and national security requirements.

The Government conducted a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project in 2016. The conclusions of the review were set out in a statement made by the then Secretary of State on 15th September 2016, Official Report, Column 1066. We regularly review our assessments to ensure that they remain accurate.

At the Spending Review in 2015, the Government committed to invest around £460m in nuclear research and innovation between 2016 to 2021.

As part of this commitment BEIS expects to invest around £180 million on the Nuclear Innovation Programme. This includes up to £46m which directly supports “fourth generation” advanced modular reactor R&D and upskilling of the nuclear regulators. The remainder of the funding includes projects and programmes that support both the development of these reactors as well as “third and third+ generation” reactor technologies.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s recent Ten Point Plan included a commitment of £170m for Advanced Modular Reactor R&D under the £385m Advanced Nuclear Fund.

PhD students are funded from a variety of sources, whether that is a research funder, their host institution, or if they are self-funded. Government funds PhD students through UKRI, which funds around 25% of the total PhD population in the UK.

UKRI have already taken steps to support PhD extensions working to ensure that all the students it funds would continue to receive their maintenance stipend during the lockdown and would not have to suspend their studies. UKRI-funded students in receipt of a costed extension will continue to receive this stipend during their extension period. UKRI announced on 11 November £19m of further support, making a total of over £60m of financial support available to students most impacted by the pandemic.

We encourage all PhD students to discuss with their supervisors how projects can be adjusted to complete their doctoral education to a satisfactory standard. Decisions on extensions are the responsibility of individual funders, and we expect research institutions to act flexibly based on what funding is available. We will continue to monitor how the pandemic is affecting PhD students and the wider research system.

Under the new national restrictions, hospitality businesses can remain open for takeaway (before 10pm and excluding alcohol), delivery and click and collect. Non-essential retail businesses can also continue to sell goods online for delivery and through click and collect. If a hospitality business is able to trade goods in a COVID-secure manner while following the new national restrictions and all other trade requirements, they may do so.

During the new national restrictions, hospitality venues may continue to offer food and non-alcoholic drink through delivery, takeaway prior to 10pm, and click and collect. Alcohol should only be sold from these venues via delivery or click and collect.

As part of the broader package of support measures announced on 2 November, we announced that we will change the Bounce Back Loan Scheme rules to allow those businesses who have borrowed less than their maximum to top-up their existing loan.

If a business has already received a Bounce Back Loan of less than 25% of the turnover they stated on their last application form, they will be able to apply to their existing lender to top up their existing loan to 25% of turnover or £50,000, whichever is lower.

The top-up will be on the terms of the original loan, that is, the term for the top-up will finish on the same date as for the original, as will the repayment holiday.

During the new national restrictions in place from 5 November, pubs and bars are permitted to sell alcohol through delivery or via click and collect where remote ordering has been utilised.

The deemed Marine Licence, which was granted by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 28 May 2020 as part of the Cleve Hill Solar Park Order 2020 (SI 2020/547), sets out the measures the developer of the Cleve Hill Solar Park must take to prevent pollution in the marine environment. The monitoring and enforcement of the conditions in the deemed Marine Licence are matters for the Marine Management Organisation.

Under the tiered system of Local Alert Levels, that applies until 5 November, pubs and bars in tier 3 (very high) areas can partner with outside caterers or local food businesses to enable them to provide substantial meals alongside alcohol, subject to any conditions to the contrary contained in their licence.

From 5 November, new national restrictions will replace the tiered system of local restrictions. Under these new national restrictions hospitality venues like restaurants, bars and pubs must close, but can still provide takeaway and delivery services.

No assessment has been made, but we will be working with the sector to understand the impact over the coming weeks.

In his Summer Economic Update, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a £2bn Green Home Grant scheme that will support homeowners and landlords in England to improve the energy efficiency of their properties, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions, and supporting a green economic recovery.

The funding will be spent on paying for accredited tradespeople to install a range of measures, for example insulation, to improve the energy performance of their homes.

Further detail on eligibility will be announced in due course, before the full launch.

The Ministerial Taskforces have been getting scientific input from Public Health England (PHE), who have been directly involved in the taskforce meetings, helping to resolve scientific issues as they draft the guidance. Each individual working group which produced the guidance published on 11 May had active PHE presence, and each set of guidance was produced in collaboration with them, the Health and Safety Executive and other Departments. That model was followed for both the pubs and restaurants, close contact services, and non-essential retail taskforces. The PHE staff who have supported the BEIS taskforces are in regular direct contact with those attending SAGE and have access to the PHE SAGE read-outs. They have endeavoured to reflect closely the SAGE recommendations and have also been responsible for putting some subjects pertinent to BEIS discussions to SAGE, such as persistence of COVID-19 on surfaces, and consideration of social distancing requirements under different scenarios. SAGE information is shared on its website: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister, in his speech on 3rd July, stated that a timetable for the reopening of closed sectors would be set out this week. The Prime Minister was clear he can only lift those remaining, national restrictions as and when it is safe to do so.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has now provided close contact services in England, except Leicester, with the certainty they need to reopen from Monday 13 July, subject to them following the COVID-secure guidelines.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has released new guidance to enable competitive grassroots sport to be played – starting with cricket from 11 July. DCMS also stated that outdoor pools can reopen to the public from 11 July followed by indoor gyms, pools and leisure centres on 25 July.

The Government will continue to work with those industries that are still closed to understand how best to reopen them safely, at the right time, guided by science.

The Government’s priority has been to act to reduce the high levels of Covid-19 infection and this is the best way to support businesses. The sooner the spread of the virus is controlled, the sooner businesses and communities can move towards reopening.

The Government has introduced a comprehensive package of support to help businesses during this difficult period. These include the small business grants, the coronavirus loan schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, deferral of VAT and income tax payment, and more.

As of 5 July, 1.1 million employers have taken advantage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), totalling claims of £27.4 billion and safeguarding 9.4 million jobs. The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been accessed by 2.7 million individuals .

Over 867,600 businesses have claimed £10.65 billion through the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).

As of 5 July, 1.1 million businesses have accessed over £45 billion worth of coronavirus loans, backed by Government guarantees. These range from loans of £,2000, to £200 million.

There has been significant support to date, and there is still funding to be disbursed. BEIS will continue to work closely with local authorities, businesses, and business representative organisations to understand whether there is additional need. Ultimately it is only by controlling the virus that the lockdown can be lifted, allowing businesses to re-open and operate more normally.

The Government has made no recent assessment. Like other copyright licensing schemes run in the UK, the collection of artist’s resale right is managed by collective management organisations on behalf of artists. These organisations are mandated by artists to collect on their behalf, and are responsible for publishing information on artist income generated from the resale right in annual transparency reports.

Pubs and restaurants will be allowed to have more than 30 people on the premises provided COVID-19 secure guidelines are being followed and other social distancing measures are still in place. This includes limiting those at a table to groups from a maximum of two households. These types of venues are not subject to the 30-person limit because of the way a gathering is defined in law. These types of venues can be thought of as being comprised of many smaller gatherings.

The Government have engaged with hospitality businesses to discuss various issues around reopening, including financial issues. This Department’s ministerial team are in regular contact with the industry. Work is ongoing to develop guidance with the assistance of representatives from the industry in order to get the sector reopened safely, in line with our approach with other businesses and sectors.

Further details on the £750m package of support for R&D intensive small and medium sized firms, to be delivered through Innovate UK, are now available on their website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-coronovirus-business-innovation-support-package

This includes guidelines on eligibility requirements and the full scope of competitions. In building this package Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, worked closely with BEIS and HMT to identify those organisations that it could offer effective support to, that would have struggled to access the wider packages of support my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had already announced. As part of the exercise Innovate UK will be funding projects that have not previously had Innovate UK funding. This will be subject to a competitive process and will initially aim to fund around 1200 companies.

Innovate UK transparency data is published on a monthly basis on the Gov.uk website and includes information on all funded projects. Additionally information on projects can be found online at Gateway to Research.

Further details on the £750m package of support for R&D intensive small and medium sized firms, to be delivered through Innovate UK, are now available on their website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-coronovirus-business-innovation-support-package

This includes guidelines on eligibility requirements and the full scope of competitions. In building this package Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, worked closely with BEIS and HMT to identify those organisations that it could offer effective support to, that would have struggled to access the wider packages of support my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had already announced. As part of the exercise Innovate UK will be funding projects that have not previously had Innovate UK funding. This will be subject to a competitive process and will initially aim to fund around 1200 companies.

Innovate UK transparency data is published on a monthly basis on the Gov.uk website and includes information on all funded projects. Additionally information on projects can be found online at Gateway to Research.

Further details on the £750m package of support for R&D intensive small and medium sized firms, to be delivered through Innovate UK, are now available on their website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-coronovirus-business-innovation-support-package

This includes guidelines on eligibility requirements and the full scope of competitions. In building this package Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, worked closely with BEIS and HMT to identify those organisations that it could offer effective support to, that would have struggled to access the wider packages of support my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had already announced. As part of the exercise Innovate UK will be funding projects that have not previously had Innovate UK funding. This will be subject to a competitive process and will initially aim to fund around 1200 companies.

Innovate UK transparency data is published on a monthly basis on the Gov.uk website and includes information on all funded projects. Additionally information on projects can be found online at Gateway to Research.

Further details on the £750m package of support for R&D intensive small and medium sized firms, to be delivered through Innovate UK, are now available on their website https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/access-coronovirus-business-innovation-support-package

This includes guidelines on eligibility requirements and the full scope of competitions. In building this package Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, worked closely with BEIS and HMT to identify those organisations that it could offer effective support to, that would have struggled to access the wider packages of support my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer had already announced. As part of the exercise Innovate UK will be funding projects that have not previously had Innovate UK funding. This will be subject to a competitive process and will initially aim to fund around 1200 companies.

Innovate UK transparency data is published on a monthly basis on the Gov.uk website and includes information on all funded projects. Additionally information on projects can be found online at Gateway to Research.

It is not the case that limited companies that have been trading for more than three years, whose last annual accounts showed a loss greater than half of their share capital, are necessarily excluded from the Bounce Back Loan Scheme.

The scheme is open to most businesses, regardless of turnover, who meet the eligibility criteria and who were established on or before 1 March 2020.

As part of the application form, borrowers are required to declare either that the business was not a business in difficulty on 31 December 2019; or if it was a business in difficulty [on 31 December 2019], that the business does not breach de minimis State aid restrictions. A business in difficulty is also required to declare it does not meet the temporary framework aid limits.

A business is considered in difficulty if it met any one of the following criteria on 31 December 2019:

• Individuals or companies that have entered into collective insolvency proceedings;
• Limited companies which have accumulated losses greater than half of their share capital in their last annual accounts (this does not apply to SMEs less than 3 years old);
• Partnerships, limited partnerships or unlimited liability companies which have accumulated losses greater than half of their capital in their latest annual accounts (this does not apply to SMEs less than 3 years old);
• Where the undertaking has received rescue aid and has not yet reimbursed the loan or terminated the guarantee, or has received restructuring aid and is still subject to a restructuring plan;
• A company which is not an SME where, for each of the last two accounting years: i) your book debt to equity ratio has been greater than 7.5; and ii) your EBITDA interest coverage ratio has been below 1.0.

The Small Business Grant Fund is targeted support for small and rural businesses that have potentially been hit hardest by the measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The scheme has been tied to the existing business rates system to enable Local Authorities to make payments as quickly as possible. Businesses that are eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rates Relief are eligible for support under the Small Business Grants Fund.

We continue to look at the issues of businesses that aren’t in-scope of the existing grants schemes and how best to provide support. Where business operate from premises with a rateable value in excess of £15,000, other schemes including the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant or the recently announced Bounce Back Loan scheme might be more appropriate.

On the 1 May 2020 the Business Secretary announced that a further up to £617 million is being made available to local authorities as a discretionary fund so that they can address cases that are out-of-scope from the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund and this could allow local authorities to make grants to businesses above the rateable value cap of £15,000 subject to them meeting the eligibility criteria of the discretionary fund.

As of 21 April, over £2.8bn worth of loans have been issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, to over 16,600 businesses. We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and lenders on regular and transparent data publication going forward.

The recent Feed-in Tariffs (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Order 2020 gives developers of a range of small-scale renewable energy projects an extra six months to complete the accreditation process to benefit from the Feed-in Tariffs scheme, reducing the impact of the Coronavirus on developers and community groups that have invested in low-carbon energy, but who could have been unable complete their construction and commissioning before the final deadline.

This emergency legislation was focussed on the projects most immediately affected by the Coronavirus, with deadlines between March and September 2020. The government is keeping the situation under review, including in relation to projects with deadlines beyond 30 September 2020.

The Government published on 24 June 2021 its response to the 2019 and 2020 consultations on introducing restrictions for high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) advertising across TV and online. The response outlined our intentions to introduce a 9pm TV watershed for HFSS products and a restriction of paid-for HFSS advertising online. These restrictions are being legislated for in the Health and Care Bill currently in Parliament. The restrictions are intended to come into force at the end of 2022.

The Government will appoint Ofcom as the statutory regulatory authority who will then be able to appoint a day-to-day regulator to carry out frontline regulation. Enforcement of advertising standards by front-line and statutory regulators is an arrangement already established for broadcast advertising. In order to ensure that HFSS advertising policy is proportionate and there is parity across media, we will introduce the same enforcement arrangement online.

The government does not require all filtered or altered content to be identifiable as such on social media.

However, the Online Safety Bill will impose new duties on social media companies to address the harm that may be caused by user-generated content, including altered or filtered content, on their services. These duties will apply to illegal content and other content that may have a serious adverse physical or psychological impact on children and, in the case of the largest social media companies, on adults.

The Government has committed to publishing the Online Media Literacy Strategy which will complement the regulatory regime to support online safety. The Strategy will empower users with the skills and knowledge they need to make safer and more informed decisions online. This will include promoting critical thinking skills, and understanding that the online environment is not always reflective of reality.

The ASA’s existing rules on social responsibility and misleading advertising are already applied to advertising of cosmetic interventions and advertising featuring digitally altered images.

The ASA held a public consultation on cosmetic interventions in 2020 and are following this up with a call for evidence on body image this year. The Government will remain closely in touch with the ASA as they undertake this consultation. The government will be launching the Online Advertising Programme (OAP) later this year which will explore how to address harms in the content and placement of advertising online, and to ensure the regulatory regime for the online advertising ecosystem is coherent, clear and effective. As part of this work, the Government will be considering whether any additional measures should be brought forward to address body image concerns.

The Ministerial Direction for the World Snooker Championships relaxed a number of Covid restrictions, including rules on capacity limits culminating in up to 4,000 people at an indoor seated venue for the Final.

For each pilot event a Public Sector Equality Duty impact assessment was carried out to consider the impact of this scientific study on groups with protected characteristics, including under 18s, those with disabilities, and pregnant people.

Under 18s were excluded from the World Snooker Championship as participants were asked to consent on the basis of the increased risk of COVID 19 transmission due to the relaxation of some risk mitigation factors (social distancing and capacity limits). It was considered that the disproportionate impact on under 18s not attending was justified.

It was considered that those defined as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable, including those who are disabled or pregnant may have been more at risk where the restrictions on social distancing and capacity limits were removed. The Science Board agreed that given the nature of the pilot programme it would not be possible to permit clinically vulnerable people to safely participate. The disproportionate impact of clinically vulnerable people not attending was considered justified on the basis that the policy only applies to pilot events in the programme.

Throughout the Events Research Programme (ERP) processes have been reviewed and adapted. After the World Snooker Championship, following stakeholder consultation and feedback from a number of disability groups, the ERP Science Board reviewed the approach of the ERP with respect to Clinically Extremely Vulnerable individuals attending pilot events. The current position is that the decision to attend an ERP pilot event lies with the individual. All attendees are required to fill out a consent form as part of the sign up process for the research programme. This takes into account the increased risk of COVID 19 transmission due to the relaxation of some risk mitigation factors (including removing social distancing).

Although those under the age of 16 may be competent to agree to provide consent to medical treatment (known as Gillick competence), the Programme's Science Board has recommended that most ERP events will not allow under 16s.

There has been no formal assessment of rent reductions received by site providers since the 2017 reforms came into effect. We were clear at the time the 2017 legislation was introduced that the changes would take time to achieve their intended effect, not only because the market would require time to adapt, but also because case law would need to be developed and the new provisions would not be immediately applied to existing agreements.

The government has committed a record £5 billion of funding through Project Gigabit to ensure hard to reach communities in rural areas are not behind and get access to world class broadband infrastructure. This has already started to be deployed and is not waiting for the end of the commercial rollout, building on the half a million rural homes and businesses already given coverage through our support.

In addition the government is investing £1 billion alongside the major mobile operators in the Shared Rural Network programme. This will mean that all four mobile network operators will provide 95 per cent combined coverage across the whole of the UK by the end of 2025, delivering strong 4G coverage irrespective of what network provider people use.

The Impact Assessment that accompanied the 2017 reforms did not propose a 40% reduction in rents. The 40% figure estimate referred to in the Impact Assessment was drawn from a report by independent economic analysts (Nordicity). The Impact Assessment made clear the difficulty of predicting the exact amount by which rents would fall, given the fact that the price paid for rights to install digital infrastructure is, in the first instance, a matter for private negotiation between operators and site providers.

Government’s aim was to reduce the cost of deployment, including the amounts paid for access to land, overall. We have not completed a formal assessment on average rent reductions since the 2017 reforms came into effect and therefore cannot comment on what the average rent reductions have been.

DCMS officials have engaged extensively with visitor economy stakeholders throughout the pandemic and will continue to meet with representatives from across the sector. I met with representatives of the Tenpin Bowling Proprietors Association on 28 January to discuss the financial impact on bowling alleys.

Bowling centre operators can continue to access the Government’s comprehensive support package - including the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes, new grant schemes, as well as various government-backed loans.

Alongside a range of other measures to support leisure and hospitality, the Government will continue to provide eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties in England with 100% business rates relief from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021. This will be followed by 66% business rates relief for the period from 1 July 2021 to 31 March 2022.

The Government has recently strengthened Ofcom’s telecoms consumer protection powers. In February 2020, Ofcom introduced new rules to ensure that customers receive important information about their communications service when their contract is due to end.

As the contract end date approaches, providers must inform their customers on: the date their contract ends; the services currently provided and the price paid; any changes to the service and price paid at the end of this period; and information about the notice period required to terminate the contract. Providers must also include information on prices available to other customers, such as new customers. This is to ensure that customers do not have to negotiate in order to find out what their provider’s best price is, and means people can see if they are losing out and whether to switch provider.

The audit referred to in the question was a specific audit by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) of the Department for Education (DfE). The DfE has been working closely with the ICO since the audit was undertaken in February 2020 to address all the recommendations and published its formal response in January 2021 in the House Library, paper reference DEP2021-0072.

The work being done by DfE in partnership with the ICO to address the audit recommendations, particularly around data sharing policy and strategy, will support good practice across the public, private and third sectors, in line with the aims of the National Data Strategy.

Officials from my Department are working closely with colleagues in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to explore whether there is a solution that can deliver public value and help the Society of Antiquaries and other Learned Societies to remain in situ at New Burlington House.

We do recognise the importance of the Society of Antiquaries, its collections and the historic site it is located in, but equally the government has a duty to maximise return to the public purse so we must explore options which balance the landlord and heritage interests in the situation.

This government is committed to supporting culture and heritage. The Society of Antiquaries recently received Culture Recovery Fund grant funding to support them during the pandemic and have been in receipt of National Heritage Lottery Fund project grants in recent years.

Outdoor funfairs and fairgrounds operated by travelling showpeople can reopen in Step 2 - no earlier than 12 April. These events will be subject to local authority approval. The rules on social contact outdoors will apply in these settings. For Step 2, this means groups must be limited to up to 6 people or 2 households.

Outdoor funfairs and fairgrounds will also need to be organised by a business, charity or similar organisation; comply with COVID-Secure guidance with reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission and the completion of a risk assessment; and ensure that those attending do not mix beyond what is permitted by the social contact limits (unless another exemption exists, such as for work purposes, or supervised activities for children).

Remaining outdoor entertainment, such as outdoor theatres, cinemas (except drive-in) and circuses, will reopen in Step 3 - no earlier than 17 May, and at least five weeks after Step 2, following a further review of the data and the four tests.

For the first round of the Culture Recovery Fund, in order to deliver the fund in time to support the sector, the Arts Council delegated fixed budgets to regional assessment panels to make decisions on the smallest applications.

When those panels were oversubscribed, and there were more organisations which met the criteria than could be funded, organisations were considered against the published Balancing Criteria and prioritised for funding accordingly. As such, a very small number of organisations (94) that applied to Arts Council England and met the primary criteria were not awarded funding on the basis of over-subscription, and how they compared to the Balancing Criteria. All of these applications were for less than £1m.

In general, success rates across Round 1 of the Fund were high, averaging 67% in the latest data we have.

Any unspent funds across the Arms Length Bodies will be allocated to the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund, which will deliver further support for cultural organisations during Spring and Summer 2021.

For the first round of funding in the Culture Recovery Fund, all organisations applying were asked to detail sources of income and levels of restricted and unrestricted reserves, to help the delivery bodies understand the financial position of each applicant up to 31 March.

Applicants were also asked in their application to detail how Covid-19 had impacted financial viability (including how they had exhausted all other reasonable options such as viable alternative options for commercial, contributed and philanthropic income, and using their reserves/resources), and therefore why a grant was necessary.

The government has committed to reviewing the Gambling Act 2005 to ensure that it is fit for the digital age. Further details will be announced in due course.

As set out in the answer to Question 118541, ministers have met with a range of stakeholders ahead of the Gambling Act Review. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the government’s website at: https://www.gov.uk/search/transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases?content_store_document_type=transparency&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-digital-culture-media-sport.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport engages regularly with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent regulator of advertising, including on matters relating to gambling advertising. The ASA is currently consulting on proposed changes to the advertising codes aimed at further restricting the potential for gambling adverts to appeal to children or vulnerable people.

The UK–Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is the UK’s first major trade deal as an independent trading nation.

CEPA seeks to remove unjustified barriers to data flows to strengthen trade between our two countries. It requires both parties to maintain comprehensive legal frameworks that protect personal information.

CEPA does not alter the UK’s existing data protection framework, enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR. Under CEPA, the UK may adopt measures restricting data flows to achieve a legitimate public policy objective, including personal data protection and the ability to maintain an independent international data transfers regime. From the end of the transition period, the UK will preserve the effect of the EU's adequacy decision for Japan on a transitional basis, that will continue to provide robust protections for the international transfer of personal data.

Since Thursday 5 November, new national restrictions have been in force in England to control the spread of coronavirus and to limit contacts between households.

The Health Protection Regulation 5(1) states that no person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse. The exceptions to the restrictions enables people to leave their homes for the purposes of work where it is not possible for them to work from home.

This exception extends to professionals within the performing arts who are unable to train, rehearse or take part in performances for broadcasting or recording purposes at home. Other than for this purpose, theatres, concert halls and entertainment venues must close.This exemption does not apply to non professional activity within the performing arts in accordance with the wider restrictions.

Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

Nobody wanted to be in the position of having to introduce further National Restrictions. However as the Prime Minister said, with the virus spreading faster than expected we cannot allow our health system to be overwhelmed. Therefore, from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December indoor and outdoor leisure including tennis courts will need to close. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions.

In order for these measures to have the greatest impact, we will all need to sacrifice doing some things that we would otherwise like to do, for a short period of time. As soon as we're in a position to start lifting restrictions, grassroots sports will be one of the first to return.

People are still allowed to leave their homes for exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household or on your own, or with one person from another household or support bubble.The gravity of the situation has meant that we have been forced to take some tough choices. That meant having to deny extremely worthy candidates exemptions to the rules, including grassroots sport.

Sport and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.

Nobody wanted to be in the position of having to introduce further National Restrictions. However as the Prime Minister said, with the virus spreading faster than expected we cannot allow our health system to be overwhelmed. Therefore, from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December indoor and outdoor leisure including tennis courts will need to close. The National Restrictions are designed to get the R rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions.

In order for these measures to have the greatest impact, we will all need to sacrifice doing some things that we would otherwise like to do, for a short period of time. As soon as we're in a position to start lifting restrictions, grassroots sports will be one of the first to return.

People are still allowed to leave their homes for exercise and recreation outdoors, with your household or on your own, or with one person from another household or support bubble.The gravity of the situation has meant that we have been forced to take some tough choices. That meant having to deny extremely worthy candidates exemptions to the rules, including grassroots sport.

While adoption of the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) best practice age ratings by online platforms is currently voluntary, we welcome Netflix’s commitment to work towards complete coverage of its content under the BBFC’s ratings and support the BBFC’s drive to encourage other Video On Demand platforms to follow suit. By doing so, this will provide consumers, especially parents, with well recognised age ratings and consumer advice.

It is vital that children are protected from accessing age-inappropriate, harmful content online. The government’s Online Harms legislation will establish in law a new ‘duty of care’ on companies towards their users. The ‘duty of care’ will ensure companies have robust systems and processes in place to keep their users safe and will deliver a higher level of protection for children than for the typical adult user. Details of how the online harms legislation will protect children from harmful content will be published later this year in the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation.

Over the past year we have been working with the BBFC and industry to drive the voluntary adoption of the BBFC’s age rating symbols to Video On Demand platforms. Doing so will provide consumers with well recognised age ratings and consumer advice.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. The government has worked hard to ensure content is filtered in public places where children are likely to be, as well as at home. The major providers of public WiFi are committed to providing family friendly public WiFi wherever children are likely to be. A Friendly WiFi Logo was launched in 2014 to help parents identify the safest places to browse the internet.

The BBFC provides an independent framework for mobile network operators and defines content that is unsuitable for customers under the age of 18 based on their Classification Guidelines for film and video. There are no plans to require other internet providers who provide family friendly filters to use the BBFC’s framework.

As we announced on 16 October last year, we will not be commencing Part 3 of the Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017 and its provisions on age verification for online pornography as originally intended. Instead the online harms regime will include provisions to protect children from age-inappropriate content, including online pornography. Our Online Harms proposals will go further than the DEA’s focus on online pornography on commercial adult sites and provide a higher level of protection for children.

Details of how the online harms legislation will protect children from harmful content, including online pornography, will be published later this year in the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation.

The Online Harms White Paper set out the Government’s intention to publish an online Media Literacy Strategy to ensure a coordinated and strategic approach to media literacy education for all UK citizens. The Strategy is due to be published in spring 2021.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with Ofcom on a variety of issues, including online media literacy education. Information about Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the gov.uk website. The forthcoming Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper Consultation will set out more detail about the online harms regulator’s role in promoting media literacy education.

The UK’s negotiating objectives set out that our aim is to promote appropriate protections for consumers online and ensure the Government maintains its ability to protect users from emerging online harms. We will continue to carefully consider any interaction between trade policy and online harms policy.

Ministers and officials are engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, in developing the Online Harms Bill. This includes discussions with experts from the education sector. We will publish a Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper consultation later this year, which will include more detailed proposals on online harms regulation. We will continue to engage with stakeholders from the education sector, as well as industry, academia and civil society, as we develop proposals and move towards legislation.

My Department, working with the events sector and Public Health England, has carried out three pilot business events to ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help the sector reopen when it is safe to do so. However, we needed to pause the planned 1st October reopening of larger conferences and events as part of our response to the recent rise in Covid-19 cases.

Meetings of up to 30 can still take place in permitted venues, as per the Covid-19 Secure guidance for the visitor economy. Since 11 July, a range of outdoor events have been able to take place.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, including through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to monitor the situation facing companies across the UK.

Decisions on whether to start playing competitive fixtures is a matter for the leagues themselves.

The FA have defined non-elite football as the leagues below the National Leagues North and South. Those leagues continue to be able to admit spectators in line with government’s overall framework on the Return to recreational team sport framework and the FA’s supplementary guidance.

Football clubs, at all levels, form the bedrock of our local communities. There have been countless examples during the pandemic of football clubs across the country demonstrating their importance to their local area, volunteering both time and money during these difficult times.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses throughout the pandemic, including a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. Many football clubs have benefited from these measures.

Where it can, we will expect the top tiers of professional sport to look at ways in which it can support itself, with government focusing on those most in need. I also welcomed the Premier League announcement to advance funds of £125 million to the EFL and National League to help clubs throughout the football pyramid.

As the Prime Minister said on 22 September, the government recognises the implications of being able to admit spectators on sports clubs and is working urgently on what the government can do to support them.

As of 14 September non-professional performing arts activity, including choirs, orchestras or drama groups can continue to rehearse or perform together where this is planned activity in line with the performing arts guidance and if they can do so in a way that ensures that there is no interaction between groups of more than six at any time. If an amateur group is not able to ensure that no mingling takes place between these sub-groups of no more than six (including when arriving at or leaving activity or in any breaks or socialising) then such non-professional activity should not take place."

We will continue to work with the Performing Arts sector to understand how the new regulations affect those engaging in activity. We have always been clear that the easing of restrictions depends on the prevalence of COVID-19.

On 9 July, the Government published guidance for people who work in performing arts, including arts organisations, venue operators and participants which will help people understand how they can work and take part in the performing arts safely, and keep their audiences safe.

Organisers of all events including open air theatres will always need to go through the relevant approvals. Where required, they will need to be granted licences from local authorities and be set up to be COVID-secure adhering to social distancing guidelines and regulations.

beIN Media Group own the rights to broadcast Premier League football in the Middle East and North Africa. beIN Media is currently unable to operate in Saudi Arabia, so Premier League football cannot be viewed legally in Saudi Arabia at this time.

In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including the National Portfolio, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.

This package includes £90 million of support for National Portfolio Organisations so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. There is no upper limit for the amount of funding National Portfolio Organisations can apply for, and decisions on funding will be made on 30 June 2020.

In keeping with the arms-length principle, Arts Council England will determine whether and to what extent organisations receive funding.

The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult organisations within the Art sector, including National Portfolio Organisations, extensively to ensure we fully understand the impacts of Covid-19 and remain well placed to respond as it develops.

In order to support the sustainability of the Arts sector, including the National Portfolio, DCMS has worked closely with Arts Council England (ACE) to provide a tailored package of financial support. In March, ACE announced a £160m emergency response package to complement the financial measures already announced by the Government and to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.

This package includes £90 million of support for National Portfolio Organisations so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. There is no upper limit for the amount of funding National Portfolio Organisations can apply for, and decisions on funding will be made on 30 June 2020.

In keeping with the arms-length principle, Arts Council England will determine whether and to what extent organisations receive funding.

The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult organisations within the Art sector, including National Portfolio Organisations, extensively to ensure we fully understand the impacts of Covid-19 and remain well placed to respond as it develops.

Football clubs are the heart of local communities and have unique social value.

The Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses throughout this period, including a comprehensive and sizable package of direct fiscal support for business through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support. Many football clubs have benefited from these measures.

The Government is in regular dialogue with all the football authorities to understand their financial position - but has been absolutely clear that it expects football to look first at how it can support itself through these difficult times. To this end I welcomed the Premier League announcement to advance funds of £125 million to the EFL and National League to help clubs throughout the football pyramid. The EFL has also announced a £50m relief fund to help their clubs enduring immediate cash flow problems because of the coronavirus crisis.

We have made no such assessment. The local programming and content requirements for holders of local analogue commercial radio licenses are set by Ofcom under the relevant legislative framework – primarily the Broadcasting Act 1990 and the Communications Act 2003. These are matters for Ofcom.

In particular, Ofcom is required under section 314 of the Communications Act 2003 to publish and keep under review guidance for commercial radio licensees setting out the detailed local programming requirements that they consider it to be appropriate for local stations to carry.

The relevant guidelines were updated by Ofcom in 2018 to give local FM licensees greater flexibility in how and where local stations produce their programmes, while ensuring that listeners’ expectations for high quality local news and other content continue to be met. In drawing up the current guidance, Ofcom took account of the changing patterns of radio and audio listening and the views of radio listeners. The revised guidelines are published on Ofcom's website, and it will be for Bauer to make decisions about how to organise their services while still meeting their regulatory requirements - in particular, the requirements to produce local news and news programming.

The Government has long-term plans to legislate to reduce other burdens on commercial radio while maintaining protections for the provision on local news and extending these requirements to digital radio, where there are currently no such protections in place. We consulted on changes in 2017, and will bring forward legislation when Parliamentary time is available.

We have discussed with Arqiva a possible package financial support for commercial radio broadcasters in relation to transmission fees. Discussions are continuing with Arqiva and we hope discussions will conclude shortly. Our priority, in raising these issues directly with Arqiva, is to ensure that the interests of small commercial radio stations are reflected in any agreements.

We have discussed with Arqiva a possible package financial support for commercial radio broadcasters in relation to transmission fees. Discussions are continuing with Arqiva and we hope discussions will conclude shortly. Our priority, in raising these issues directly with Arqiva, is to ensure that the interests of small commercial radio stations are reflected in any agreements.

We hold frequent virtual forums and roundtables with representatives across all creative industries, including the Creative Industries Council, the Creative Industries Federation and many trade bodies, to help identify ways to support them through the crisis - most recently on Wednesday 22 April.

I would happily listen to any suggestions from honourable members across this House on how to support one the UK’s most successful industries.

The government is committed to a free and independent press. This is vital to a strong and fully functioning democracy where the powerful can be held to account without fear. For this reason, the government does not intervene in what the press can and cannot publish, including on their websites.

The Online Harms White Paper does not seek to prohibit press freedom. The regulator will not be responsible for policing truth and accuracy online. Where services are already well regulated, regulation will not be duplicated.

Officials are currently working with stakeholders to ensure online harms proposals protect journalistic content. Further details will be published in the full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper.

The Political Declaration stated that the UK is open to participation in certain EU programmes if it is in our interest to do so. While the Government has made the decision not to seek participation in Creative Europe’s 2021-27 programme, the Government is committed to supporting the UK’s thriving cultural and creative economy, and will continue to invest in the UK's cultural and creative sectors to support their world-class activity on the international stage. Domestic alternatives to Creative Europe will be considered in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s thriving cultural and creative economy, and will continue to invest in the UK's cultural and creative sectors to support their world-class activity on the international stage. While the Government has made the decision not to seek participation in Creative Europe’s 2021-27 programme, we will consider domestic alternatives in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. It should be noted that current UK beneficiaries will continue to benefit from EU programmes for the lifetime of the project, which in some cases goes beyond 2020.

I refer the hon. Member for St Albans to the answer I gave on 10 June 2022 to questions 13292, 13293, and 13294.

I refer the hon. Member for St Albans to the answer I gave on 10 June 2022 to questions 13292, 13293, and 13294.

I refer the hon. Member for St Albans to the answer I gave on 14 June 2022, to Question 13295.

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to have regard to the importance of the child or young person, and the child’s parents, participating as fully as possible in decisions, and being provided with the information and support necessary to enable participation in those decisions. All local authorities must have arrangements for information and advice and should ensure that advice and guidance for children and young people is tailored appropriately for them. All local authorities must publish a local offer about all their services. One of the requirements of local offers is that they must be accessible to the local population, which does include ensuring access those for whom English is not their first language. The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) code of practice also makes clear that the format of an education, health and care (EHC) plan is agreed locally. Local authorities must decide on the languages that EHC plans are available in, depending on local need.

In addition, it is the department’s aim, through the proposals set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper to provide parents and carers with a clearer understanding of the support that should be available to meet their child’s needs. This includes a proposal to standardise the EHC plan process to drive consistency in how needs are identified and assessed. The public consultation for the Green Paper is due to close on 22 July 2022.

Local authorities must provide information on personal budgets as part of their local offer. This should include a policy on personal budgets that sets out a description of the services across education, health and social care that currently lend themselves to the use of personal budgets, how that funding will be made available, and clear and simple statements of eligibility criteria and the decision-making processes. Personal budgets are optional for the child’s parent or the young person, but local authorities are under a duty to prepare a budget when requested. Local authorities must provide information about organisations that may be able to provide advice and assistance to help parents and young people to make informed decisions about personal budgets.

The department does not hold or collect information on the period of time between a pre-tribunal settlement for education, health and care provision being agreed and a settlement order being signed.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.

The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.

The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.

The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.

The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.

The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.

The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.

The government recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for children who are unable to live with their parents. We know that most children benefit from living with someone they already know and trust. Therefore, in recent years we have improved the support to these families.

The government issued statutory guidance in 2011 for local authorities about support for kinship carers. The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. The local authority should also have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services. This can include providing short breaks (respite) for families where they need this.

The government has also extended funding for the Family and Friends helpline, run by the Family Rights Group, which offers kinship families support, advice and guidance. In 2021 the government added kinship carers to the priority groups that local authorities must include in their school admissions Fair Access Protocols to include children in kinship care arrangements, and this year the government are providing funding of £1 million for the organisation Kinship to deliver more peer to peer support groups to kinship carers across England.

The department is aware from feedback from carers that the provision of support is mixed, and the Independent Review of Social Care, published on 23 May 2022, sets out a compelling case for more support for these families. The department is now looking at the recommendations, including those in kinship care, which will inform an ambitious and detailed government response and implementation strategy, to be published before the end of 2022.

From 1 April 2022, the UK Health and Security Agency has issued updated guidance on health protection in schools and other childcare facilities. The guidance contains practical advice on managing a range of infections and outlines the steps regarding self-isolation for those with a positive COVID-19 test result.

This replaces all guidance previously issued for the children’s social care sector. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-protection-in-schools-and-other-childcare-facilities.

It is open to all mixed sex schools to demonstrate how they comply with and apply any relevant statutory exemptions under the Equality Act 2010, where they are separating based on sex. Schools using the ‘diamond school’ model may be complying with the Act, but the onus is on school leaders to demonstrate that they are meeting their duties under the Act.

The department has published guidance on gender separation in mixed sex schools here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gender-separation-in-mixed-schools. The guidance is clear that if there is separation by sex, this needs to be justified by school leaders in terms of it why it is allowed under the Act.

Where a mixed sex independent school chooses to separate based on sex and this is not permitted under the Act, then it is open to them to divide into two separate single sex schools to regularise their position.

We are currently consulting on the principle of a minimum eligibility requirement (MER) for access to student finance for those intending to study a degree-level qualification.

We strongly believe that access to higher education should be based on a student’s attainment and ability to succeed, not their background. It is important that students, of all backgrounds, are not misdirected or encouraged towards courses that are unlikely to provide high-quality outcomes for them and good value for money.

Evidence shows that students with poorer entry qualifications are less likely to complete their degree and get a ‘good’ classification, and more likely to have worse employment and degree outcomes.

We are carefully considering the impact of the measures we have proposed and are seeking views on what would be a fair and proportionate level at which to set a minimum eligibility requirement, as well as the proposed exemptions. After our proposed exemptions are applied, 1% or fewer of total entrants would be affected by a minimum eligibility requirement set at either GCSE or A level. We will assess responses to the consultation before making the final decision.

The government is investing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations) in the National Skills Fund. This is a significant investment and has the potential to deliver new opportunities to generations of adults who may have been previously left behind.

Training offers funded through the National Skills Fund, including the free courses for jobs level 3 offer and Skills Bootcamps, have been developed to boost the supply of skills needed by employers and provide adults with a clear line of sight to a job. This training is delivered primarily at levels 3-5 because the evidence has shown that these skill levels are in high demand in the labour market.

The free courses for jobs offer give eligible adults the chance to access level 3 qualifications for free. Complementing this, Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses for adults, primarily at levels 3-5. They are co-designed with employers to respond to skill shortages.

In response to evidence of a national shortage of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers, we are investing £34 million to create up to 11,000 training places for Skills Bootcamps in HGV driving – these courses are at level 2. Since their launch in December, we know that many employers from the transport and logistics sectors are already benefiting from this offer.

Following the announcement at Spending Review of an additional £550 million for Skills Bootcamps over the spending review period, we will continue to expand the offer, ensuring that provision meets the needs of employers and the changing needs of the economy.

In addition, level 2 qualifications are funded through the adult education budget, which overall fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3.

I refer the hon. Member for St. Albans to the answer I gave on 28 January and 2 February 2022 to questions 111496 and 113691.

Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. School attendance is mandatory and parents have a duty, under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, to ensure that their child of compulsory age receives an efficient full-time education either by attendance at school or otherwise.

Following expert clinical advice and the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme, people previously considered to be particularly vulnerable, clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), and high or higher-risk are no longer advised to shield.

Children and young people previously considered CEV should attend school and should follow the same COVID-19 guidance as the rest of the population. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus. If, however, a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist. The NHS is also now vaccinating the most at risk 5 to 11-year-olds.

Schools are responsible for recording absence in the register using the most appropriate code in line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. As usual, school leaders continue to have discretion to grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances. Where a pupil is not attending school for reasons related to COVID-19, we expect the school to offer them immediate access to remote education. Schools must also have regard to the expectations for remote education which are available here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/statutory-obligations.

Regular attendance at school is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development. School attendance is mandatory and parents have a duty, under section 7 of the Education Act 1996, to ensure that their child of compulsory age receives an efficient full-time education either by attendance at school or otherwise.

Following expert clinical advice and the successful rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine programme, people previously considered to be particularly vulnerable, clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), and high or higher-risk are no longer advised to shield.

Children and young people previously considered CEV should attend school and should follow the same COVID-19 guidance as the rest of the population. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus. If, however, a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist. The NHS is also now vaccinating the most at risk 5 to 11-year-olds.

Schools are responsible for recording absence in the register using the most appropriate code in line with the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. As usual, school leaders continue to have discretion to grant leaves of absence in exceptional circumstances. Where a pupil is not attending school for reasons related to COVID-19, we expect the school to offer them immediate access to remote education. Schools must also have regard to the expectations for remote education which are available here: https://get-help-with-remote-education.education.gov.uk/statutory-obligations.

In the event of a person testing positive for COVID-19, childcare providers and nurseries should consider whether parents of children attending the setting and staff need to be informed of a positive case, taking account of factors such as known vulnerability. Education and childcare providers are best placed to decide how they wish to communicate this information but should not disclose any information that could result in an individual being identified.

Education and childcare providers are not expected to trace contacts of a positive case. NHS Test and Trace are responsible for identifying close contacts. As in any other setting, NHS Test and Trace will work with the individual who has tested positive to identify any close contacts.

The department trusts schools to manage their own budgets. The latest published data shows that financial health has held up well and that most academy trusts and maintained schools are in surplus. At the end of the 2019/20 academic year, 96% of academy trusts were in surplus or broke even compared to 94% the previous year. At the end of 2020/21 financial year, 92% of local authority maintained schools were in cumulative surplus or broke even compared to 88% the previous year.

For academies, the department is the primary regulator. Academy trusts’ Funding Agreements, the Academy Trust Handbook and the Academies Accounts Direction set a clear regulatory framework. The academy trust financial support framework provides trusts, and the public, with greater clarity on the circumstances in which we would offer financial support to financially vulnerable trusts, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-support-for-academy-trusts-in-financial-difficulty/financial-support-for-academy-trusts-in-financial-difficulty. It sets out more information about our expectations and requirements for receiving this support, and the conditions we may apply to ensure any support is managed effectively. As part of this activity, we work with trusts to develop and monitor a plan to return to a sustainable, well-managed position and helping them build their capacity. The department is transparent and publishes annual data on the financial support given academy trusts in financial difficulty, and to trusts supporting schools in financial difficulty. The data for academic years 2018-19 and 2019-20 can be found on GOV.UK, here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academy-trusts-receiving-esfa-financial-support-in-2018-to-2019 and here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1041460/Annex_9_additional_funding.pdf. Data for academic year 2020-21 will be published later this year alongside the 2020-21 Academies Sector Annual Report and Accounts.

The primary responsibility for maintained schools and the management of their finances, including schools in financial difficulty, rests with their local authority. Local authorities are required to publish schemes for financing schools, setting out the financial relationship between them and the schools they maintain. Each scheme will be different and tailored to local authority. The department’s role is to support local authorities in their efforts to strengthen the financial accountability and efficiency of the maintained schools’ sector.

The department also provides a range of information, tools, training, and guidance to help schools and trusts save money on day-to-day costs through the school resource management programme, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/schools-financial-health-and-efficiency.

The department is working to support all schools to remain open for face-to-face education and every ex-teacher that comes forward to help can make a difference to pupils.

The department’s campaign aims to further bolster the many supply staff that are already working in our schools and who have been throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. The call has just begun, agencies are continuing to recruit new candidates for our schools. The department are extremely grateful to all the teachers who are responding to our call to return temporarily to the classroom.

The department does not routinely collect data on supply staff, however, we are in close contact with supply agencies to monitor the interest they receive. The findings of our initial survey of agencies were published on Wednesday 12 January and this showed that at least 585 ex-teachers registered interest (between 20 Dec 2021 and 7 January 2022) in returning to the classroom to support schools.

The department have not asked for any data on the personal characteristics, such as age, of the people who have expressed an interest.

School leaders and staff have worked incredibly hard to make sure all pupils have been able to return to school safely. The department is extremely grateful to all the teachers who are responding to our call to return temporarily to the classroom to support schools whilst cases of the Omicron variant continue to rise.

This should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. The government is delivering the biggest funding boost for schools in a decade which will give every school more money for every child. This financial year, in 2021-22, mainstream school funding for 5 to 16-year-olds increased by 3.5% overall. In financial year 2022-23 it will increase by a further 5.8%, or £300, cash increase in funding per pupil, on average.

This funding boost will rapidly give schools the resources they need to rise to the challenges of COVID-19 response and recovery, increase teacher pay, and meet the cost of the Health and Social Care Levy, while continuing their work to raise attainment and educational outcomes for all children and young people.

Schools have the flexibility to make their own decisions on how to prioritise their spending to invest in a range of resources and activities that will best support their staff and pupils. Schools will be able to use their existing budgets to help with the costs associated with COVID-19 absences.

The department has re-introduced the COVID-19 workforce fund to provide financial support to eligible schools and colleges for absence costs from 22 November until 18 February. The fund is available to support schools and colleges facing the greatest staffing and funding pressures to continue to deliver face-to-face, high-quality education to all pupils.

All schools can access a range of school resource management tools to help them get the best value from their resources. Schools in financial difficulty should contact the Educational Skills and Funding Agency or their local authority.

The COVID-19 outbreak has shone a light on the life-changing role that teachers play in children’s lives. I recognise and am grateful for the extraordinary efforts that school leaders and staff have made to ensure pupils get the best possible education throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality, and we are taking action to support teachers to stay in the profession and thrive. Over two-thirds of teachers who started 5 years ago are still teaching today, and of those who started 10 years ago, nearly 3 in 5 are still teaching. However, we recognise that more needs to be done.

The department is creating an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers, to bring teaching into line with other prestigious professions such as law, accountancy, and medicine. Underpinning this is the initial teacher training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework. These ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least 3 years of evidence-based training, across ITT and into their induction.

We have also published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. These include the staff wellbeing charter and the workload reduction toolkit, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter and here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.

This year's remit to the School Teachers’ Review Body reiterates the government's commitment to raising teacher starting salaries to £30,000 and seeks recommendations for pay awards in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic year. This will give schools the opportunity to better plan their budgets as we make the uplifts required to progress towards a £30,000 starting salary.

We are looking to deliver this through balanced pay uplifts across the entire workforce, with investment targeted as effectively as possible to address recruitment and retention challenges and, ultimately, ensure the best outcomes for pupils.

Additionally, we will be offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for maths, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in years 1 to 5 of their careers. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.

In the remit letter to the chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has requested that the STRB provide their recommendations on the academic years 2022/23 and 2023/24 pay awards during May 2022.

Any pay award will be announced after the Secretary of State has reviewed the STRB’s report. As ever, we will work with colleagues across government to ensure we publish the STRB’s report and the government’s response as quickly as possible.

In the remit letter to the chair of the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB), my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has requested that the STRB provide their recommendations on the academic years 2022/23 and 2023/24 pay awards during May 2022.

Any pay award will be announced after the Secretary of State has reviewed the STRB’s report. As ever, we will work with colleagues across government to ensure we publish the STRB’s report and the government’s response as quickly as possible.

It is a criminal offence under section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008 to conduct an unregistered independent school. The department and Ofsted continue to investigate any schools, colleges, and universities where intelligence or evidence suggest that this offence is being committed. Section 97 of the act permits no-notice inspections of education providers believed to be operating as an unregistered independent school.

Between 1 January 2016 and 31 August 2021, 850 education providers were investigated leading to 412 inspections. These inspections have led to 114 unregistered schools being identified, and joint work between the department and Ofsted has led to 101 of these schools changing their provision to cease operating unlawfully. In addition, since 2016, 6 successful prosecutions have been brought against groups responsible for operating illegal education providers

The department has previously committed to taking forward measures to make it easier for Ofsted to investigate and gather evidence of breaches of section 96 of the act, and prosecute those responsible for running unregistered schools, including in the 2019 Integrated Communities Action Plan. Such measures are planned to be taken forward when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.

Physical education is an important part of a broad and balanced curriculum and should be taught to pupils of all ages. That is why it is the only foundation subject compulsory through all stages of the national curriculum. It is for schools to decide how much time should be dedicated to physical education and the department does not set specific expectations.

The department has invested £1.6 billion in primary PE and sport since 2013 through the PE and Sport Premium, and taken a range of actions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver on our School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which we will be updating next year. The department is also working to deliver on the nearly £30 million announced in October towards improving and opening school sport facilities in England, as well as to improve the teaching of physical education at primary school.

The guidance shares details of the digital platforms programme, which informs a school how to apply for a platform through our partners Microsoft and Google. Schools are also free to consider other providers with chargeable services in this area to deliver specific elements of online education, where they see fit.

The digital platforms programme is closing to new applications on 30 November 2021, after which schools can continue to apply for free licensing of the Microsoft and Google platforms, directly with those companies, or seek alternatives.

The guidance shares details of the digital platforms programme, which informs a school how to apply for a platform through our partners Microsoft and Google. Schools are also free to consider other providers with chargeable services in this area to deliver specific elements of online education, where they see fit.

The digital platforms programme is closing to new applications on 30 November 2021, after which schools can continue to apply for free licensing of the Microsoft and Google platforms, directly with those companies, or seek alternatives.

The department’s priority is to maximise the number of children and young people in face-to-face education or childcare and minimise any disruption, in a way that best manages the COVID-19 risk.

Whilst the Directors of Public Health have discretion over local public health measures within a national framework, the advice in the contingency framework does not reverse the national policy for self-isolation which changed on 16 August. Unless they test positive, fully vaccinated adults, children and young people aged under 18 years and 6 months are not required to self-isolate if they are identified as a close contact of a positive case of COVID-19. The contingency framework provides guidance on the following measures: testing, face coverings, shielding, attendance restrictions as well as educational visits and events.

The department is monitoring measures in regions and continually seeking to improve its understanding of their effectiveness. Current data which is publicly available on case rates is broken down by region. Attendance data for nurseries and schools is also available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Beyond the need to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department believes that it is up to educational establishments to decide what technology they need to meet their requirements in relation to their educational contexts and circumstances, and do not actively back or mandate individual products.

More information about digital education platforms can be found here: https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/digital-platforms/.

Beyond the need to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak, the department believes that it is up to educational establishments to decide what technology they need to meet their requirements in relation to their educational contexts and circumstances, and do not actively back or mandate individual products.

More information about digital education platforms can be found here: https://get-help-with-tech.education.gov.uk/digital-platforms/.

The department has distributed over 1.35 million laptops and tablets to disadvantaged pupils since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. On 22 October 2021, a further rollout of an additional 500,000 devices was announced. Our published guidance relates to devices delivered to schools as part of this programme and is intended to support users in making best use of devices they have received.

When purchasing devices, the department took account of the needs of schools and other users, availability and the need to achieve value for money. As a result, we provided devices from a range of different manufacturers. This has included large technology companies including Apple, Microsoft, Acer, Lenovo, Samsung, Dell, and HP and Tactus, a leading UK firm.

The department also has also offered, since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, support to schools to set digital education platforms offered by Microsoft and Google. Schools have told us that these platforms, which are free to use, meet their needs by offering real time communication and collaboration and education specific tools that can assist teachers, pupils and students to learn remotely. Schools can decide whether to make use of these resources or those provided by other organisations.

In the last academic year, 41 Tuition Partners were engaged in the National Tutoring Programme.

This year, all 41 Tuition Partners have been accredited and on-boarded, while a further 20 are on track to join through the department’s new ‘Open Access’ process.

The department has not yet finalised the data for how many sessions have been delivered during the autumn term. This information will be released after the end of this term.

In the last academic year, 41 Tuition Partners were engaged in the National Tutoring Programme.

This year, all 41 Tuition Partners have been accredited and on-boarded, while a further 20 are on track to join through the department’s new ‘Open Access’ process.

The department has not yet finalised the data for how many sessions have been delivered during the autumn term. This information will be released after the end of this term.

All payments from the £650 million catch up premium were allocated during the 2020/21 academic year. The COVID-19 catch up premium allocation guidance provides data on the funding provided at school and local authority level: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-catch-up-premium-provisional-allocations.

The catch up premium conditions of grant, which can be found on the page linked above, permit schools to carry any unspent funding forward to future years. There is no mechanism to confirm what amount has been spent by each school to date at a regional level from the allocations provided. Schools are held to account for their use of catch up premium as per their other forms of funding. The catch up premium guidance states that governors and trustees should scrutinise schools use of the catch-up premium and that Ofsted may discuss plans schools have to use the funding as part of their inspections. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/catch-up-premium-coronavirus-covid-19.

Information on the number of teachers who have retired and the number who have left the profession in each of the last five years is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2020.

Information on the number of teachers who have retired and the number who have left the profession in each of the last five years is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england/2020.

The department provides guidance to support schools with data protection activity via the General Data Protection Regulation toolkit for schools. The toolkit is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-protection-toolkit-for-schools. Schools are data controllers and are ultimately responsible for their own data protection procedures and compliance with legislation.

It is a school’s individual responsibility to assess the digital resources it uses from a data protection and privacy perspective. Further information on GDPR compliance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation.

The department provides guidance to support schools with data protection activity via the General Data Protection Regulation toolkit for schools. The toolkit is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-protection-toolkit-for-schools. Schools are data controllers and are ultimately responsible for their own data protection procedures and compliance with legislation.

It is a school’s individual responsibility to assess the digital resources it uses from a data protection and privacy perspective. Further information on GDPR compliance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation.

The department provides guidance to support schools with data protection activity via the General Data Protection Regulation toolkit for schools. The toolkit is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-protection-toolkit-for-schools. Schools are data controllers and are ultimately responsible for their own data protection procedures and compliance with legislation.

It is a school’s individual responsibility to assess the digital resources it uses from a data protection and privacy perspective. Further information on GDPR compliance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation.

Children aged 12 to 15 in England will now be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, following advice from the four UK Chief Medical Officers. Vaccinating children should help to reduce the need for pupils to have time off school and reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 within schools.

When a child is not well enough to not attend their school or college, as usual this may be recorded as authorised absence due to illness.

The updated Contingency Framework sets out the expectation that schools and colleges should offer remote education to any pupils unable to attend in person. It does not refer to specific platforms but does signpost the Department’s ‘Get help with remote education’ service which provides information, guidance and support on setting up remote education.

This includes the Department’s continued work with Google and Microsoft providers to deliver the Digital Education Platforms programme. The programme provides Government funded support for schools and colleges to get set up on one of two free to use digital platforms, which includes G Suite for Education (Google Classroom), and Office 365 Education (Microsoft Teams). The Microsoft and Google platforms were chosen as they are free to use to the education sector and had the unified technology and support to set up and deliver effective remote education provision.

The funding covers the technical set up of the platform including all staff and pupil accounts.

The updated Contingency Framework sets out the expectation that schools and colleges should offer remote education to any pupils unable to attend in person. It does not refer to specific platforms but does signpost the Department’s ‘Get help with remote education’ service which provides information, guidance and support on setting up remote education.

This includes the Department’s continued work with Google and Microsoft providers to deliver the Digital Education Platforms programme. The programme provides Government funded support for schools and colleges to get set up on one of two free to use digital platforms, which includes G Suite for Education (Google Classroom), and Office 365 Education (Microsoft Teams). The Microsoft and Google platforms were chosen as they are free to use to the education sector and had the unified technology and support to set up and deliver effective remote education provision.

The funding covers the technical set up of the platform including all staff and pupil accounts.

A trial of air cleaning devices in 30 schools in Bradford has recently been launched. It includes upper room ultraviolet and high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) devices to help understand their effectiveness. The Department for Education will monitor the outcomes from the trial.

Additionally, the Department has announced that CO2 monitors will be provided this term to state-funded nurseries, schools and colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding.

The new monitors will enable staff to identify areas where ventilation needs to be improved and provide reassurance that existing ventilation measures are working, helping balance the need for good ventilation with keeping classrooms warm.

Health and safety law states that employers, including schools, colleges, and nurseries, must make sure that there is an adequate supply of fresh air in enclosed areas of the workplace. This has not changed during the COVID-19 outbreak. This can be provided by natural means, mechanical ventilation, or a combination of both. Most schools, colleges, and nurseries are likely to have adequate ventilation already, including those that were built or refurbished using 'Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools'.

From 6 September, the Department for Education started to dispatch CO₂ monitors to schools, colleges, and nurseries. The monitors will allow schools, colleges, and nurseries to assess how well ventilated spaces are and to encourage them to take action to improve ventilation where necessary. The Department has committed to supplying around 300,000 CO₂ monitors to schools, colleges, and nurseries across England in the autumn term.

There is a long standing requirement for employers to put in place measures to ensure workplace safety where a significant health and safety risk is identified for a new or expectant mother. Pregnant staff and their employers should follow the advice set out in our operational guidance, and in the Department of Health and Social Care and the Health and Safety Executive COVID-19 advice for pregnant employees.

The COVID-19 advice for pregnant employees provides recommendations for pregnant women beyond 28 weeks and those who have underlying health conditions that may place them at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19, where a more precautionary approach is recommended.

If employers cannot put the necessary control measures in place, such as workplace adjustments or working from home, they should suspend the pregnant worker on paid leave. This is in line with normal requirements under regulation 16(3) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The Department would expect employers to manage this at a local level.

On 24 February 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a further investment of £102 million to extend the 16 to 19 tuition fund into the 2021/22 academic year. On 2 June 2021 we announced a further £222 million to extend the 16 to 19 tuition fund for an additional two years until the 2023/24 academic year.

The fund will have a continued focus on targeting additional tuition at young people who need the most support. Eligibility for the 16 to 19 tuition fund in the 2021/22 academic year is being broadened to include economic disadvantage, in addition to low prior attainment. Including these students allows providers to offer tuition to all disadvantaged students who have been impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, while still maintaining focus on low prior attainment.

To ensure that those with the least time left have the opportunity to progress, the government is also giving providers of 16 to 19 education the option to offer students in year 13, or equivalent, the opportunity to repeat up to one more year if they have been particularly severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. While we expect most students will continue to progress to a suitable destination (such as higher education or into employment), this option will ensure that those who have been most severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak have sufficient options to complete their education.

The Government has recognised British Sign Language (BSL) as a language since 2003. BSL is not a compulsory part of the National Curriculum, although schools are free to offer BSL as part of their wider school curriculum or as part of a varied programme of extra-curricular activities. Some schools may also offer accredited BSL qualifications to support pupils' achievements in the language. ​

The Department is aiming to introduce a GCSE in BSL as soon as possible, provided it meets the rigorous requirements that apply to all GCSEs. Officials are currently working closely with subject experts and Ofqual to develop draft subject content. The Department plans to consult publicly in due course. Officials are also engaging with Ofqual to ensure the subject content can be assessed appropriately and will be working with stakeholders to ensure that a wide range of views is reflected.

The requested information is not held by the Department. The Department does not have an employer-employee relationship with the school workforce and does not collect information on employment tribunal cases.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy are responsible for the Agency Worker Regulations. An individual claiming an employer is in breach of those regulations may take their employer to an employment tribunal.

£83 million was announced in the Spending Review for 2021-22 to ensure that post-16 providers can accommodate the upcoming demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds from 2022 and 2023. On 18 May, we launched a bidding round to which eligible providers could bid for funding. Providers eligible to bid for this funding were 16–19 academies, 16–19 free schools (inclusive of university technical colleges and maths schools), sixth form colleges and further education colleges. The bidding round closed on 21 June. Specialist post-16 institutions were not eligible to bid.

We are investing £300 million in 2021-22 via High Needs Provision Capital Allocations to support local authorities to deliver new school places and improve existing provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities, almost four times the amount provided to local authorities in 2020-21. It is for local authorities to determine how to best use this funding to address their local priorities, and in doing so they can work with any appropriate institution in their area, including specialist post-16 institutions.

The Department allocates condition funding each year to schools and those responsible for school buildings to maintain and improve the condition of their estates. We have allocated £11.3 billion in condition funding since 2015, including £1.8 billion committed in the financial year 2021/22.

Schools and other eligible institutions access funding through different routes depending on their size and type. The per pupil amount of funding available is calculated using the same funding formula.

Local authorities, larger multi-academy trusts and large voluntary-aided (VA) school bodies receive an annual School Condition Allocation (SCA) to invest in capital maintenance and upgrades across the schools for which they are responsible.

Smaller multi-academy, or stand-alone trusts, VA schools not part of large VA school bodies, and sixth form colleges are instead able to bid to the Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) each year.

Special post-16 institutions (SPIs), with students funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, are eligible for condition funding, which they access through an annual SCA, rather than bidding to the CIF.

All schools, including eligible SPIs, also receive funding to spend on their capital priorities through an annual Devolved Formula Capital allocation.

Capital allocations are published on GOV.UK.

The government has been considering Alternative Student Finance carefully, alongside its other priorities, as it concludes the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding and responds to the detailed recommendations of the independent panel chaired by Sir Philip Augar.

We will provide an update on this matter when we conclude the Post-18 Review.

Respite care services (also known as ‘short breaks’) for disabled children are provided on the basis of an individual assessment of each child and family’s needs. Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, we have ensured that respite care services for disabled children and their families have been allowed to continue to operate. This applies to services which care for children in and away from home.

To support local areas, the government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including children’s services.

In addition to statutory services, we are providing £27.3 million to the Family Fund in the 2021-22 financial year to support over 60,000 families on low incomes raising children and young people with disabilities or serious illnesses. Grants can be used for a range of purposes, including family breaks.

We are also providing £200 million for all secondary schools, including specialist settings, to deliver face-to-face summer schools. Schools are being encouraged to target provision at pupils who are most likely to benefit from increased support, which may include disabled children and those with special educational needs.

This is alongside wider support funded through our Holiday Activities and Food Programme across the country which provides healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children. This has been expanded to every local authority across England this year – backed by up to £220 million. It builds on previous programmes, including last summer’s, which supported around 50,000 children across 17 local authorities. Our guidance is clear that the provision should be inclusive and accessible.

Children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing is a priority for this government. We are committed to helping all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in all education settings, make up education lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Since June 2020, we have announced more than £3 billion of additional funding to support education recovery in schools, colleges and early years settings – this will have a material impact in closing gaps that have emerged. Schools will continue to be able to access a package of support from September 2021. The package provides support to children aged 2-19 in schools, 16-19 providers and early years. It expands our reforms in two areas where the evidence is clear that our investment will have significant impact: high quality tutoring targeted at those that need it most and high-quality training for teachers. The one-off Recovery Premium for state-funded schools for 2021/22 will further help schools to provide their disadvantaged pupils with a boost to academic and pastoral support. This is in addition to the £650 million catch-up premium shared across state-funded schools over the 2020/21 academic year, to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. While education settings cannot provide specialist clinical care, the support schools and colleges are providing to their pupils following the return to face-to-face education should include time devoted to supporting mental health and wellbeing, which will play a fundamental part in supporting recovery.

We have consistently prioritised children who attend specialist settings by providing additional uplifts both in the Catch-up Premium this academic year and the Recovery Premium for the next academic year, in recognition of the significantly higher per pupil costs they face. In addition, special schools will receive additional funding to ensure these settings can provide 1:1 tutoring for their pupils. Children will further benefit from additional funding to ensure that teachers in schools and early years settings are able to access high quality training and professional development. We know that high quality teaching is the best way to support all students, including those with SEND.

We are working with education settings, the relevant Royal Colleges and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that health and wellbeing issues for SEND pupils are prioritised. DHSC have identified provision for children and young people with SEND in their NHS recovery planning. The COVID-19 mental health and wellbeing recovery action plan, published in March 2021, references various areas of support. £31 million will be used to address particular challenges faced by individuals, including £3 million for community respite services.

The Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme, which provides healthy food and enriching activities to disadvantaged children, has been expanded to every local authority across England this year – backed by up to £220 million. Our guidance is clear that the provision should be inclusive and accessible. We will continue to support local authorities to deliver services that meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. Education, health and care plan quality and timeliness is something we have been monitoring through the COVID-19 outbreak and continue to do so, and we provided £40.8 million for the Family Fund in 2020-21 to support over 90,000 families on low incomes raising children with disabilities or serious illnesses. This included £13.5 million to specifically respond to needs arising from the COVID-19 outbreak.

Amended statutory guidance for schools in respect of safeguarding titled ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) was published on 6 July 2021, alongside revised departmental advice on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in school: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999348/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2021.pdf.

The guidance has been strengthened and updated following the consultation on proposed changes to KCSIE and the departmental advice, as well as findings from the Ofsted review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges. We will continue to consider what further changes are needed for KCSIE 2022, following a further consultation later this year.

The statutory guidance for inter-agency working titled ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ received a technical update in December 2020. We are currently assessing what changes may be needed following the publication of the Ofsted review. Working Together guidance will also need to be consulted upon and we will provide a date for this in due course.

Amended statutory guidance for schools in respect of safeguarding titled ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (KCSIE) was published on 6 July 2021, alongside revised departmental advice on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in school: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/999348/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2021.pdf.

The guidance has been strengthened and updated following the consultation on proposed changes to KCSIE and the departmental advice, as well as findings from the Ofsted review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges. We will continue to consider what further changes are needed for KCSIE 2022, following a further consultation later this year.

The statutory guidance for inter-agency working titled ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ received a technical update in December 2020. We are currently assessing what changes may be needed following the publication of the Ofsted review. Working Together guidance will also need to be consulted upon and we will provide a date for this in due course.

In summer 2020, the Department announced a £1 billion catch-up package to help tackle the effect of lost teaching time as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, including a £350 million National Tutoring Programme (NTP) for disadvantaged pupils.

The NTP for 5 to 16 year olds has two pillars:

• Schools can access high quality, subsidised tuition support from approved Tuition Partners.
• Schools in the most disadvantaged areas have been supported to employ in-house Academic Mentors to provide tuition to their pupils.

Schools have not directly received funding to access the NTP. Through approved Tuition Partners, they will have access to high quality tuition, with the cost to schools subsidised by 75%. The core salary for Academic Mentors employed through the NTP will also be covered by the Department (£19,000 pro-rata). Schools are free to use additional catch-up funding to pay the remaining cost of both NTP Partners and Academic Mentors should they wish to do so.

Since the launch of the programme in November 2020, over 240,000 pupils have been enrolled to receive tutoring across over 5,000 schools. Of those enrolled, over 195,000 have already commenced tutoring.

Schools provide free school meals for eligible pupils during term time. Beyond that, billions of pounds of welfare assistance is in place to support families, young people and children.

The COVID Local Support Grant, established by the Department for Work and Pensions and operated through local authorities in England, is there to support the hardest hit families and individuals with food and essential utility costs. This grant has been extended for a final time, with a further investment of £160 million, to cover the period up to 30 September 2021.

This grant is further to the £269 million invested since the scheme (previously known as the COVID Winter Grant Scheme) launched in December 2020.

The funding remains ring-fenced, with at least 80% targeted to assist with food and bills, and at least 80% for families with children. Local authorities have discretion to decide how to allocate government funding in their areas, recognising that they are best placed to understand local needs.

The Department has recently laid out quality and accreditation standards for tutoring providers to be accredited in delivering tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). We will be publishing the quality and accreditation standard as part of the launch of open access, where tutoring organisations will then be able to apply to be accredited. The Department is still finalising the website, and this will be released in due course.

There are currently over 26,000 tutors supporting over 186,000 pupils across England access tutoring provision.

The Department does not hold data on how many tutors we have outside the UK. Ensuring that tutors are suitably qualified, knowledgeable, and trained is key to the delivery of high quality tuition, and it is the responsibility of individual tuition partners to set their own suitability and eligibility criteria for tutors working on the NTP. There is an expectation that stringent suitability criteria are in place across all tuition partners which not only appropriately reflects the provision offered but also meets schools’ expectations.

The Department sets high standards for the NTP. Tuition partners must follow all applicable laws and regulations, pay their tutors fairly, and make sure high minimum standards of tutor qualifications are in place. Ongoing monitoring of all organisations involved in the programme is in place to make sure tutoring is of high quality.

The Department has recently laid out quality and accreditation standards for tutoring providers to be accredited in delivering tutoring through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP). We will be publishing the quality and accreditation standard as part of the launch of open access, where tutoring organisations will then be able to apply to be accredited. The Department is still finalising the website, and this will be released in due course.

There are currently over 26,000 tutors supporting over 186,000 pupils across England access tutoring provision.

The Department does not hold data on how many tutors we have outside the UK. Ensuring that tutors are suitably qualified, knowledgeable, and trained is key to the delivery of high quality tuition, and it is the responsibility of individual tuition partners to set their own suitability and eligibility criteria for tutors working on the NTP. There is an expectation that stringent suitability criteria are in place across all tuition partners which not only appropriately reflects the provision offered but also meets schools’ expectations.

The Department sets high standards for the NTP. Tuition partners must follow all applicable laws and regulations, pay their tutors fairly, and make sure high minimum standards of tutor qualifications are in place. Ongoing monitoring of all organisations involved in the programme is in place to make sure tutoring is of high quality.

The requested information is not available.

The Department collects details of teachers working in state funded schools in England through the annual School Workforce Census. The census does identify those teachers who are employed via a service agreement, but not whether they are a supply teacher.

Teachers not currently working in state funded schools in England are not specifically identified as supply teachers. A teacher who has left a state funded school having been a supply teacher may subsequently return to employment as a permanent contracted teacher, and vice versa.

We have regularly discussed a range of COVID-19 related issues with representatives from the higher education (HE) sector, through the Higher Education Taskforce, which was established in August 2020, and through meetings with representatives of the HE sector, including University Vice Chancellors, the National Union of Students, the Union for Colleges and Universities and the devolved administrations. This has included discussions on the approach to planning for the new academic year in September 2021.

From step 4 of the roadmap, we can confirm there will no longer be restrictions on the approach to teaching and learning in HE settings as a result of COVID-19. There will be no requirement for social distancing or other measures. Providers are, therefore, able to shape their courses without restrictions to face-to-face provision.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many providers have developed their digital offering and, as autonomous institutions, some might choose to retain elements of this approach. However, they will not have to do this because of COVID-19 restrictions, and our expectations are very clear: universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and ensure it is accessible to all students.

We expect providers to have contingency plans to deal with any identified positive cases of COVID-19 or outbreaks. HE providers should communicate clearly to their students what they can expect from planned teaching and learning under different circumstances and scenarios, so that they are able to make informed choices.

The Office for Students, as the regulator for English HE providers, has made it clear that they must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected.

We have updated our HE guidance to support the return of students for the new academic year, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.

We will continue to keep these measures under review, informed by the latest scientific evidence and advice.

On 24 June 2021, the Department published the annual pupil premium allocations, which shows how much pupil premium funding each school and local authority will receive in the 2021/22 financial year. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2021-to-2022.

Total pupil premium funding is increasing to more than £2.5 billion in 2021/22 financial year, up by £60 million from the previous financial year. This reflects an increase in funding in approximately two thirds of schools, as more children have become eligible for free school meals (FSM). The increase is spread across the country, with pupil premium funding increasing in 87% of local authorities. For comparison, 77% of local authorities saw an increase in their total pupil premium funding last year.

The pupil premium rates for the 2021/22 financial year will be the same as in the 2020/21 financial year:

1. £1,345 per head for the number of primary aged pupils recorded as claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years (“Ever6-FSM”)
2. £955 per head for the number of eligible secondary-aged pupils (Ever6-FSM)
3. £2,345 per head for ‘Pupil Premium Plus’, which supports the needs of Looked After children (paid to local authorities) and those who left care in England and Wales through adoption or other court orders (paid to schools).

For mainstream and special schools, the Department has based pupil premium funding for the 2021/22 financial year on the October 2020 census data, instead of using the January census. Alongside the annual pupil premium publication, we have also published the financial impact of moving to using the October census which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pupil-premium-effective-use-and-accountability.

The move to using the October census brings the pupil premium in line with how the rest of the core schools’ budget is calculated. The change also provides earlier clarity for schools on their allocations. From next year, the annual pupil premium allocations will be published in March.

The effect of the census change should not be viewed in isolation. We are investing in an ambitious education recovery programme worth £3 billion. This includes £302 million for the Recovery Premium, to further support disadvantaged pupils with their attainment. This is on top of the £14 billion additional school funding we are providing over three years. The additional funding schools will receive through the Recovery Premium alone will far exceed the financial effect of the census change.

The Department published its formal response in January 2021 in the House Library, paper reference DEP2021-0072. This contained an undertaking to publish an update in June.

A further update to the original publication detailing progress and the recommendations that have been successfully met will now be placed in the Libraries of both Houses on or before 22 July 2021.

This government believes it is important that all students, including those with neurodiverse conditions and/or disabilities receive an appropriate level of support wherever and whatever they choose to study, and is committed to ensuring that all students receive the support they need to enable them to study alongside their fellow students on an equal basis.

We do not hold information on whether a further education and skills learner has a registered neurodiverse condition. Adult (19+) further education and skills learner participation (which includes apprenticeships) in the 2019/20 academic year by primary learning difficulty and/or disability and/or health problem as self-declared by the learner can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a87f0184-c377-46df-b8d7-8c73d7aca865.

This government expects all higher education (HE) providers to fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to be making reasonable adjustments for all students, including students with neurodiverse conditions, and disabled higher education students, not just those in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

In terms of funding, DSA is available in addition to the standard support package to help students with the additional costs they may face in HE because of their disability, including long-term health conditions, mental health conditions or specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid. It is available to full-time and part-time students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, alongside support available from HE providers, and in line with the recommendations of the student’s DSA Needs Assessment. There is no list of approved disabilities; to receive DSA, any student must be eligible for the main support package and disabled in line with the definition contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disabled students and students with neurodiverse conditions should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HE providers. DSA is available in addition to these for the provision of more specialist support (for example, British Sign Language interpretation).

This government believes it is important that all students, including those with neurodiverse conditions and/or disabilities receive an appropriate level of support wherever and whatever they choose to study, and is committed to ensuring that all students receive the support they need to enable them to study alongside their fellow students on an equal basis.

We do not hold information on whether a further education and skills learner has a registered neurodiverse condition. Adult (19+) further education and skills learner participation (which includes apprenticeships) in the 2019/20 academic year by primary learning difficulty and/or disability and/or health problem as self-declared by the learner can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a87f0184-c377-46df-b8d7-8c73d7aca865.

This government expects all higher education (HE) providers to fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to be making reasonable adjustments for all students, including students with neurodiverse conditions, and disabled higher education students, not just those in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

In terms of funding, DSA is available in addition to the standard support package to help students with the additional costs they may face in HE because of their disability, including long-term health conditions, mental health conditions or specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid. It is available to full-time and part-time students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, alongside support available from HE providers, and in line with the recommendations of the student’s DSA Needs Assessment. There is no list of approved disabilities; to receive DSA, any student must be eligible for the main support package and disabled in line with the definition contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disabled students and students with neurodiverse conditions should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HE providers. DSA is available in addition to these for the provision of more specialist support (for example, British Sign Language interpretation).

This government believes it is important that all students, including those with neurodiverse conditions and/or disabilities receive an appropriate level of support wherever and whatever they choose to study, and is committed to ensuring that all students receive the support they need to enable them to study alongside their fellow students on an equal basis.

We do not hold information on whether a further education and skills learner has a registered neurodiverse condition. Adult (19+) further education and skills learner participation (which includes apprenticeships) in the 2019/20 academic year by primary learning difficulty and/or disability and/or health problem as self-declared by the learner can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a87f0184-c377-46df-b8d7-8c73d7aca865.

This government expects all higher education (HE) providers to fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to be making reasonable adjustments for all students, including students with neurodiverse conditions, and disabled higher education students, not just those in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

In terms of funding, DSA is available in addition to the standard support package to help students with the additional costs they may face in HE because of their disability, including long-term health conditions, mental health conditions or specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid. It is available to full-time and part-time students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, alongside support available from HE providers, and in line with the recommendations of the student’s DSA Needs Assessment. There is no list of approved disabilities; to receive DSA, any student must be eligible for the main support package and disabled in line with the definition contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disabled students and students with neurodiverse conditions should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HE providers. DSA is available in addition to these for the provision of more specialist support (for example, British Sign Language interpretation).

This government believes it is important that all students, including those with neurodiverse conditions and/or disabilities receive an appropriate level of support wherever and whatever they choose to study, and is committed to ensuring that all students receive the support they need to enable them to study alongside their fellow students on an equal basis.

We do not hold information on whether a further education and skills learner has a registered neurodiverse condition. Adult (19+) further education and skills learner participation (which includes apprenticeships) in the 2019/20 academic year by primary learning difficulty and/or disability and/or health problem as self-declared by the learner can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/a87f0184-c377-46df-b8d7-8c73d7aca865.

This government expects all higher education (HE) providers to fulfil their responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to be making reasonable adjustments for all students, including students with neurodiverse conditions, and disabled higher education students, not just those in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

In terms of funding, DSA is available in addition to the standard support package to help students with the additional costs they may face in HE because of their disability, including long-term health conditions, mental health conditions or specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia.

DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid. It is available to full-time and part-time students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, alongside support available from HE providers, and in line with the recommendations of the student’s DSA Needs Assessment. There is no list of approved disabilities; to receive DSA, any student must be eligible for the main support package and disabled in line with the definition contained in the Equality Act 2010.

Disabled students and students with neurodiverse conditions should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HE providers. DSA is available in addition to these for the provision of more specialist support (for example, British Sign Language interpretation).

The government’s guidance to schools is clear that, whilst anyone can be a victim of abuse, schools and colleges should recognise that some groups of children, including LGBTQ+, are potentially more at risk than others from child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment. Therefore, when we developed the relationships, sex, and health education (RSHE) curriculum, we worked with a wide range of stakeholders and representative groups. We made sure that care and attention were taken when developing the support and guidance for LGBTQ+ pupils and their teachers. The RSHE curriculum teaches pupils how to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Pupils are taught how to report concerns and seek advice when they suspect or know that something is wrong.

Part 1 of the ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance provides advice on peer-on-peer abuse, including the indicators and signs to look for, how to identify it, and how to respond to reports. Part 5 of ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ provides detailed guidance on managing reports of child-on-child sexual violence and sexual harassment. The Department for Education’s ‘Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Between Children’ advice includes more detailed information on what sexual violence and sexual harassment look like, important context, legal duties, and advice on a whole-school approach to preventing abuse.

We have asked schools to dedicate time from INSET days to focus on training and preparations for delivering the RSHE curriculum and safeguarding. We are also extending our designated safeguarding lead support and supervision programme, with a specific focus on sexual harassment and abuse, and will share the learning from that work with all schools. We have also set up a specific National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ‘Reporting Abuse in Education’ helpline to offer advice and make referrals when necessary. The number is 0800 136 663.

International students are a vital and valued part of our higher education sector. I speak regularly with my counterparts across the government about how various COVID-19 policies may affect students, with a view to minimising burdens for students while maintaining public health. I remain in close contact with Department for Health and Social Care Ministers responsible for the Managed Quarantine Service.

Quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel is a necessary measure taken in order to stop the spread of potentially harmful variants of COVID-19 into the UK. International students on the ‘red list’ are still able to enter the UK if they have been in or transited through a 'red list’ country in the last 10 days, but they are required to quarantine in a managed quarantine hotel on arrival for ten days as set out in the guidance.

The government recently published an update to the International Education Strategy, stressing the UK’s commitment to international students. The strategy contains a number of specific commitments to improve the international student journey, prioritising international student experience.

The Department has encouraged examination boards to set their fees appropriately based on the costs involved with alternative arrangements in 2021. The Department worked at pace with Ofqual to provide clarity to examination boards, and the wider sector, on how alternative arrangements to examinations in 2021 would work.

Examination boards are responsible for setting their examination fees. Although examinations did not take place this summer, examination boards are incurring a range of costs as part of their processes that will lead to the awarding of qualifications. Examination boards need to cover these costs, and they will make commercial decisions on fees and refunds on that basis.

Examination boards have stated that they do not intend to profit from any reduction in their costs this year. Statements from individual examination boards can be accessed on their websites. Given the unusual circumstances this year, it is not possible for them to have certainty about their 2021 costs in advance. It is for individual examination boards to publish any details on costings and rebate arrangements.

The Department has encouraged examination boards to set their fees appropriately based on the costs involved with alternative arrangements in 2021. The Department worked at pace with Ofqual to provide clarity to examination boards, and the wider sector, on how alternative arrangements to examinations in 2021 would work.

Examination boards are responsible for setting their examination fees. Although examinations did not take place this summer, examination boards are incurring a range of costs as part of their processes that will lead to the awarding of qualifications. Examination boards need to cover these costs, and they will make commercial decisions on fees and refunds on that basis.

Examination boards have stated that they do not intend to profit from any reduction in their costs this year. Statements from individual examination boards can be accessed on their websites. Given the unusual circumstances this year, it is not possible for them to have certainty about their 2021 costs in advance. It is for individual examination boards to publish any details on costings and rebate arrangements.

When a variant of COVID-19 is classed as a variant of concern, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) will increase targeted testing in that area to help suppress and control any possible new cases and better understand the new variants.

The reintroduction of face coverings for pupils, students or staff, may be advised for a temporary period in response to particular localised outbreaks, including variants of concern. In all cases, any educational drawbacks should be balanced with the benefits of managing transmission.

In Enhanced Response Areas, Directors of Public Health have discretion to recommend supervised in-school testing, or that secondary schools reintroduce face coverings in indoor communal areas including classrooms, subject to an assessment of the educational impact against public health benefit.

The Strengthened Support Packages are now the process for escalating any education-based interventions. NHS Test and Trace has set up Regional Partnership Teams (RPTs) made up of Public Health England (PHE) Regional Directors; Contain Regional Convenors; and Joint Biosecurity Centre Regional Leads to support local areas in managing outbreaks. Local Authorities or Directors of Public Health who are concerned about the impact of variants of concern on nurseries, schools and colleges should first and foremost engage with their RPTs. We continue to work closely with other government departments throughout the response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including PHE and DHSC, as well as stakeholders across the sector.

Our policy on the system of controls is kept under review and based on the latest scientific and medical advice including in the context of prevalence, new variants and progress of the vaccination programme. We will continue to develop comprehensive guidance and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils, students and parents.

We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for the 2021-22 financial year. These reforms include the re-allocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology, mathematics and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs, as well as the removal of the London Weighting element of the Strategic Priorities Grant.

The OfS has publicly consulted on these proposals, and responses from universities, students and others will be taken into account before any final decisions on allocations are made.

The OfS is analysing the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for the 2021-22 financial year. These reforms include the re-allocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology, mathematics and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs, as well as the removal of the London Weighting element of the Strategic Priorities Grant.

The OfS has publicly consulted on these proposals, and responses from universities, students and others will be taken into account before any final decisions on allocations are made.

The OfS is analysing the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

We have asked the Office for Students (OfS) to reform the Strategic Priorities Grant for the 2021-22 financial year. These reforms include the re-allocation of high-cost subject funding towards the provision of high-cost subjects that support the NHS and wider healthcare policy, high-cost science, technology, mathematics and engineering subjects, and subjects meeting specific labour market needs, as well as the removal of the London Weighting element of the Strategic Priorities Grant.

The OfS has publicly consulted on these proposals, and responses from universities, students and others will be taken into account before any final decisions on allocations are made.

The OfS is analysing the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.

Hotel quarantine is in place to prevent the spread of potentially harmful COVID-19 variants in the UK. There is a need to have strict rules in place to prevent the vaccine effort from being undermined. As is the case for any international arrival, the costs of quarantine are borne by the traveller, and the costs are the same for any individual arriving in the UK from (or via) a red list country.

However, the department’s officials have worked closely with the higher education (HE) sector and colleagues across the government to ensure that UK residents who are facing significant financial hardship (including international students, due to their visa status) will have the opportunity to apply for a deferred repayment plan when booking their managed quarantine hotel room. Travellers who are eligible will be referred to a government debt collection agency (“Qualco”), who will perform an independent financial assessment and determine an appropriate payment plan. Information on the deferred repayment plan can be found on GOV.UK.

In addition, students experiencing financial hardship should speak to their HE provider about the support available. The government has made an additional £85 million of student hardship funding available to HE providers in the 2020/21 academic year. This is in addition to the £256 million of government-funded student premium funding already available to HE providers to draw on for the 2021/21 academic year. This support can be used to help all students, including postgraduates and international students, who can be confident in expressing concerns about hardship to their provider without any impact on their immigration status.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Joint Council for Qualifications has published clear guidance for centres to support them to determine teacher assessed grades. The guidance provides detailed information to schools and colleges on the grading process and the different factors that need to be accounted for. Teachers have the flexibility to use a range of evidence to determine students’ grades, including the use of optional questions provided by exam boards.

The sets of questions with mark schemes were provided to centres on 31 March 2021. Exemplar responses were provided to centres on 12 April, to assist teachers with marking these questions and making fair, objective, and consistent judgements of the standard of a student’s performance. The sets of questions were made openly available on 19 April.

In addition to the guidance and the assessment materials, exam boards have provided grade descriptors and exemplification materials to support teachers in making an evidence-based judgement of the grade at which each student is performing. This will ensure that there is a common basis to all teacher assessed grades.

To ensure qualifications are fair, students will be assessed only on what they have been taught. Centres can draw on a range of evidence to make their assessment. This range and flexibility in the assessment approach means that qualifications cannot be moderated in the way, for example, that non-examined assessments can be in normal years. We trust teachers to make judgements of the grades reflected by their students’ evidence. They are best placed to understand their students’ performance. To support teachers, exam boards will check centres’ approaches to assessment and provide external quality assurance, including the review of a sample of grades. Head teachers will also have to sign a head of centre declaration form to confirm they support the grades submitted. Parents and pupils can have confidence in the grades awarded this summer. As set out in the guidance, this year’s quality assurance process is not designed to moderate grades but will support teachers to do what is needed and ensure centres adhere to the exam boards’ requirements, in order to ensure outcomes are as consistent as possible.

All schools should be calm and orderly environments. The Government is pursuing an ambitious programme of work to improve behaviour in schools. Earlier this month we commenced the Behaviour Hubs programme, investing £10 million to help schools develop and sustain a culture where good behaviour is the norm. We are reforming training as part of the Early Career Framework, so that all new teachers will be shown how to effectively manage behaviour in their first two years in the profession from September 2021. We will be consulting on how we can help head teachers remove phones from the school day and other revisions to the Department’s behaviour and discipline and expulsions guidance later in the year.

The Department’s programme of work to improve behaviour is in response to Ofsted judgements, Department for Education teacher surveys and wider research conducted prior to the COVID-19 outbreak which consistently show that managing pupil behaviour has been a longstanding and serious challenge for some schools, and particularly so in a secondary context.

The Department has been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office since the audit was undertaken in February 2020 to address all the recommendations and published its formal response in January 2021 in the House Library, paper reference DEP2021-0072.

The Department has undertaken to publish an update to the audit in June 2021 and further details regarding the release mechanism of the full audit report will be contained in this update.

The Government is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards, ensuring all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can read fluently and with understanding. By ensuring high quality phonics teaching, the Government wants to improve literacy levels to give all children a solid base upon which to build as they progress through school and help children to develop the habit of reading widely and often, for both pleasure and information.

Turn on the Subtitles (TOTS) is a campaign to persuade broadcasters to turn on same language subtitles by default for children’s television (Key Stage 2 and 3). The Department has recently made an assessment of the evidence behind the TOTS campaign and the current evidence is inconclusive over whether turning on the subtitles improves children’s reading.

It is the choice of parents and guardians whether their child watches television with subtitles on.

Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. The Department has updated its advice to schools on the planning and booking of educational day and residential visits: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#educational-visits.

It is in line with the Government’s roadmap to recovery, as set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021.

We recognise that outdoor activity and access to nature is a fundamental part of childhood which supports children’s mental health and wellbeing and understanding of the importance of the natural world. We also know that some children have good access to natural spaces whilst others do not, such as those living in areas of high urban disadvantage.

The national curriculum includes content in different subjects which promotes understanding of the natural world. Primary science and geography give pupils a firm foundation for the further study of the natural environment in secondary school, through teaching about climate, the habitats of plants and animals and how environments can change, which can include positive and negative impacts of human actions. In secondary school, pupils continue to study ecosystems, including positive and negative human interactions with ecosystems and their impact on biodiversity, and are taught about how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments, and the climate. The teaching of this content can be supported by direct contact with the natural environments.

We want headteachers to have as much discretion as possible over how they use their funding. It is for schools to decide how to teach the curriculum and what wider pastoral and extra-curricular activity to put in place, based on the needs of their pupils and drawing on evidence of effective practice. Schools’ core funding is rising per financial year by £2.6 billion in 2020-21, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20 funding levels.

To support children from disadvantaged backgrounds to have better access to natural environments, the department has provided funding for the ‘Children and Nature Programme’, working alongside Natural England and the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs. The programme is supporting three delivery projects which aim to demonstrate and improve understanding of the effectiveness of interventions in nature, particularly for schools with the highest proportions of disadvantaged pupils in England.

We also recognise the important role wraparound childcare and other out-of-school activities, such as outdoor education, can play in providing enriching activities which support children’s physical and mental health and wellbeing. That is why we have ensured, for the duration of the national lockdown, that these activities have been able to stay open for all children eligible to attend school on site, where it is to support certain essential purposes, and for vulnerable children and young people under any circumstance.

As of 8 March 2021, in line with the wider return of pupils to school, these settings are now able to open for all children. Vulnerable children and young people can continue to attend under any circumstance, with parents of other children able to access this provision for their children where it is:

• Reasonably necessary to support them work, seek work, undertake education or training, address a medical need or to attend a support group.
• Being used as part of their child’s efforts to obtain a regulated qualification, meet the entry requirements for an education institution, or to undertake exams and assessments.
• Being used by electively home educating parents as part of their arrangements for their child to receive a suitable full-time education.

As set out in the ‘COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021’ guidance, we have also committed to ensure all children will be able to access outdoor education and activity provision under any circumstance, from 29 March, in line with when schools close for the Easter holidays. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021.

We are also exploring the option of introducing a new GCSE in Natural History after receiving a proposal from the exam board OCR. We have had an initial discussion on the proposal with OCR. We have made no commitment to introduce the GCSE at this stage. We, and the independent qualifications regulator Ofqual, will determine whether the proposal meets all the necessary conditions to sit alongside our rigorous suite of reformed GCSE qualifications.

The bursaries offered by the Department for initial teacher training (ITT) are intended to incentivise applications to ITT courses. The Department does not use a fixed methodology to decide bursaries but does take account of a number of factors when considering the bursary offer in each subject, including historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need. The Department also prioritises English Baccalaureate subjects to provide young people with a strong academic foundation that keeps options open for work and further study.

The bursaries offered for initial teacher training (ITT) are reviewed before the start of the annual recruitment cycle. In doing this, the Department considers factors such as historic recruitment, forecast economic conditions, and teacher supply need. Being able to change bursary amounts gives flexibility in responding to the need to attract new teachers and ensures money is spent where it is needed most.

It remains the case that all trainee teachers on tuition fee-funded ITT routes can apply for a tuition fee loan, so they do not have to pay the fee up-front. They can also apply for a means-tested maintenance loan of up to £12,382 to support their living costs. Additional means-tested funding is available from Student Finance England for trainees in particular circumstances, including those with children, adult dependants or those who have a disability.

Rapid testing is a vital part of the Government’s plan to supress COVID-19. Since January 2021, we have been delivering the programme of rapid asymptomatic testing for the primary school, secondary school and further education college workforce, and this includes supply teachers and support staff.

The school workforce includes all staff who are school based, including those in maintained nursery schools and schools-based nurseries.

Schools and colleges should offer testing to teaching and non-teaching staff members, such as support staff, clinical practitioners and therapists. Non-permanent members of staff should also be offered testing, such as trainee teachers on placement in school and the supply workforce.

In addition to testing in schools, employment agencies who employ over 50 staff and are registered in England can also register to order tests for employees who cannot work from home: https://www.gov.uk/get-workplace-coronavirus-tests.

Lateral flow testing may also be available through local councils. Rapid lateral flow test sites can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/find-covid-19-lateral-flow-test-site.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/966866/210224_Schools_guidance.pdf.

There is a clear and accessible route for private candidates to receive a grade this year, at the same time as other candidates. Private candidates will be expected to work with a centre to be assessed on a range of evidence, as other candidates will be. Ofqual and the exam boards will issue guidance to support centres assessing private candidates. This evidence could include evidence created with another established education provider.

Regarding evidence gathered externally, subject to consultation, Ofqual’s head of centre guidance states: “Centres should bear in mind when making judgements… authentic evidence from other centres or established educational providers where a student might have studied during the course or such evidence from where a student has studied with the support of a specialist teacher or tutor. Exam boards will provide further guidance to support centres in how they can determine whether evidence is likely to be authentic, including where they may normally rely on evidence that has been produced with certain types of provider without the need for detailed checks.” Further guidance will be provided by exam boards shortly. Further information regarding Ofqual’s head of centre guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/965648/6749-3_Summer_2021_GQs_-_Info_for_Heads_of_Centre.pdf.

Centres will be expected to provide to private candidates a description of the main elements of their approach to assessment before they register with them. This means that private candidates have the opportunity to choose a centre and approach that is suitable for the evidence they are able to provide.

The Department conducted a two week consultation with Ofqual, starting on 15 January 2021, which sought the views of students, parents, schools and colleges and employers on the proposals for examinations and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, and the alternative arrangements that would be used where examinations do not take place.

As part of the consultation, the Department engaged with a number of stakeholders including awarding organisations, such as the International Baccalaureate, to discuss their views on the proposals.

On 25 February 2021, the Department announced that, to achieve fairness for students, other general qualifications that are not GCSEs, AS or A levels, such as the International Baccalaureate, should not be subject to examinations and will be awarded in a similar way to GCSE, AS and A levels. Alongside this, the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) has also confirmed to its UK schools that examinations will not take place this summer.

Ofqual are currently undertaking a consultation on the regulatory framework that will allow awarding organisations including the IBO to award VTQs and other general qualifications this year. The response to this consultation will be published as soon as possible to allow final arrangements to be communicated to students, schools, and colleges.

The Department conducted a two week consultation with Ofqual, starting on 15 January 2021, which sought the views of students, parents, schools and colleges and employers on the proposals for examinations and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, and the alternative arrangements that would be used where examinations do not take place.

As part of the consultation, the Department engaged with a number of stakeholders including awarding organisations, such as the International Baccalaureate, to discuss their views on the proposals.

On 25 February 2021, the Department announced that, to achieve fairness for students, other general qualifications that are not GCSEs, AS or A levels, such as the International Baccalaureate, should not be subject to examinations and will be awarded in a similar way to GCSE, AS and A levels. Alongside this, the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) has also confirmed to its UK schools that examinations will not take place this summer.

Ofqual are currently undertaking a consultation on the regulatory framework that will allow awarding organisations including the IBO to award VTQs and other general qualifications this year. The response to this consultation will be published as soon as possible to allow final arrangements to be communicated to students, schools, and colleges.

The Department conducted a two week consultation with Ofqual, starting on 15 January 2021, which sought the views of students, parents, schools and colleges and employers on the proposals for examinations and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, and the alternative arrangements that would be used where examinations do not take place.

As part of the consultation, the Department engaged with a number of stakeholders including awarding organisations, such as the International Baccalaureate, to discuss their views on the proposals.

On 25 February 2021, the Department announced that, to achieve fairness for students, other general qualifications that are not GCSEs, AS or A levels, such as the International Baccalaureate, should not be subject to examinations and will be awarded in a similar way to GCSE, AS and A levels. Alongside this, the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) has also confirmed to its UK schools that examinations will not take place this summer.

Ofqual are currently undertaking a consultation on the regulatory framework that will allow awarding organisations including the IBO to award VTQs and other general qualifications this year. The response to this consultation will be published as soon as possible to allow final arrangements to be communicated to students, schools, and colleges.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) invited local areas to submit proposals for reorganising local government in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Somerset. In December 2020, MHCLG received four proposals for Cumbria, two for North Yorkshire and two for Somerset. These proposals are currently being consulted on, and MHCLG are planning for a decision on the final outcome of the proposals received to be made by summer 2021.

The government will assess each proposal on its respective merits and the Department for Education will be contributing its assessment of the impact on children’s services and education to MHCLG’s overall assessment. Each proposal will be assessed against three criteria, which are: whether the proposal would improve local government and service delivery across the area of the proposal; how much local support it commands across the area of the proposal; and whether the area of any new unitary council would cover a credible geography. All of these proposals will be considered after the consultation and before a decision is made on which option, if any, to implement. The eventual decision would also be subject to Parliamentary approval.

The Department has published guidance on transport to schools and other places of education to help those responsible for the provision of dedicated transport to put in place proportionate safeguards to minimise the risk of transmission of COVID-19. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-to-school-and-other-places-of-education-autumn-term-2020/transport-to-school-and-other-places-of-education-autumn-term-2020.

Dedicated transport to schools and other places of education often carries the same group of children or young people on a regular basis. They do not mix with the general public on those journeys which helps to limit the number of other people with whom they come into contact.

Those involved in the provision of home to school transport must do all that is reasonably practicable to maximise social distancing where possible and minimise the risk of transmission. What is practicable is likely to vary according to local circumstances.

Wherever possible it is recommended that children and young people from different schools do not travel at the same time or, if they do, the children from each school should sit together as group. However, the Department acknowledges that distancing and grouping may sometimes not be possible. Where this is the case, other measures become even more important such as increased cleaning of vehicles, washing of hands and opening windows for ventilation.

At each stage of the Department's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice. The Department has worked closely with other Government departments, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, and to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

The Department also works closely with the NHS Track and Trace and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and following their research the Department issued guidance on keeping spaces well ventilated. There are a number of tools, beyond ventilation, to reduce airborne transmission of COVID-19 (including engineering interventions), and research on these technologies is ongoing.

The findings from all this developing work will, in due course, inform our guidance and standards for school buildings.

Current evidence recommends that the way to control COVID-19 is the same, even with the current new variants. The PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ which have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak set out in our published guidance, which includes ventilation, continue to be the right measures to take. These measures create an inherently safer environment for children, young people, and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. PHE keeps all these controls under review, based on the latest evidence. Schools therefore need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Our guidance signposts to further advice from the health and safety executive on air conditioning and ventilation during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance can be found here: https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm.

The government does not impose a limit on the number of university places available to international students.

The government remains clear that our world-leading universities, which thrive on being global institutions, are, and will always be open to international students. On 6 February 2021, the government published an update to the International Education Strategy. At the heart of this update, we reaffirmed our commitment to the ambitions of the 2019 strategy to increase the number of international students hosted in the UK to at least 600,000 per year by 2030. These ambitions will be supported through the efforts of our International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith.

Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has worked closely with partners across the education sector, and with higher education (HE) providers, to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the disruption it has caused to students’ education, including for those who will be applying to university for the 2021 admissions cycle. This has included introducing a number of flexibilities to assist visa holders in the UK who have been impacted by global travel and health restrictions, including: the ability to engage via distance/blended learning for the duration of the 2020/21 academic year; offering extensions of visas for those whose leave expired; relaxing the rules on visa switching in the UK; and confirming that existing international students who have been studying by distance/blended learning will remain eligible to apply for the new Graduate route, provided they meet the other requirements of the route.

We encourage universities to be flexible when making offers to students whose education has been disproportionally and adversely impacted from the COVID-19 outbreak, to ensure they are able to receive fair offers for 2021. The department will continue to work closely with universities to ensure that places are available for everyone with the talent and ability to succeed in higher education.

As a result of flexibility shown so far, the UK remains an attractive study destination with the number of international students at UK HE providers reaching a record high of 560,000 in the 2019/20 academic year, an increase of 12% from the previous year. While these recent figures are encouraging, we are not complacent and will continue to do our utmost to continue to attract and support international students.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the UK should use and who should be offered them. JCVI advises that the first priorities for the COVID-19 vaccination should be the prevention of mortality and the maintenance of the health and social care systems. As the risk of mortality from COVID-19 increases with age, prioritisation is primarily based on age.

For phase 1, this will capture all those over 50 years of age, and all those 16 years of age and over who are clinically extremely vulnerable or have certain underlying health conditions. This captures almost all preventable deaths from COVID-19 and will include thousands of staff in the education, childcare and children’s social care workforce.

For phase 2, the JCVI have advised that prioritisation should continue to be based on age. They advise that an age-based approach remains the most effective way of reducing death and hospitalisation from COVID-19 and will ensure more people are protected more quickly. The second phase of the vaccine rollout will begin from mid-April and will aim to offer every adult aged 18 and over a first dose of the vaccine by 31 July.

The government is working closely with partners across the education sector to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and the disruption it has caused to young people’s education, including for those who will be applying to university for the 2021 admissions cycle.

Higher education providers in England, as autonomous bodies, independent from government, are responsible for their own recruitment decisions. We have discussed this year’s arrangements with the devolved administrations, where different approaches are always taken to exams, for example in Scotland where students take Scottish Highers rather than A levels.

On 25 February, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that students in England will receive grades determined by teachers, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught. There have been frequent and ongoing discussions with devolved administrations to discuss various matters relating to aligning processes where possible. This has included discussion affecting transition to university for students.

At every stage since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, decisions have been informed by the scientific and medical evidence, both on the risks of COVID-19 infection, transmission, and illness, and on the known risks to children and young people not attending school and college, balancing public health and education considerations.

The overwhelming evidence is that the risk to children and young people from SARSCoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is low, but the risks to children and young people of being out of school and college are high and increase the longer restrictions on education are in force. Whilst schools and colleges can be places where transmission occurs, there is no strong evidence of them driving largescale community transmission. Rather, case rates within schools and colleges have been shown to reflect those in the local community, and risks are reduced further in such a controlled environment by having appropriate mitigations and systems of control in place. Based on the recent data from the Office for National Statistics, the risks to education staff are similar to those for most other occupations.

That is why the Government’s priority has been keeping education and nurseries fully open, with a consistent message that schools, colleges and nurseries should be considered last when implementing restrictions, and first when restrictions can be lifted. As such the Government has taken, and continues to take, other steps across society and the economy to manage the spread of the virus, to allow restrictions on education to be lifted.

The Government’s Roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with schools and colleges, taking into consideration the scientific evidence, now published by Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-19-scientific-evidence-supporting-the-uk-government-response. The Roadmap sets out indicative, “no earlier than” dates for the steps which are five weeks apart. These dates are wholly contingent on the data; before taking each further step, the Government will review the latest data on the impact of the previous step against four tests. This is a cautious approach to easing lockdown, which is guided by the data, in order to avoid a surge in cases which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS and claim more lives before people have the chance to receive a vaccine. This approach maximises the value in breaks in the easing of measures to allow this assessment and help maintain control, including around school holidays, which the Chief Medical Officer has said is a natural firebreak at Easter. Even as restrictions are lifted, adherence to the nonpharmaceutical interventions that are still in place to reduce transmission remains essential.

Schools are able to choose to use a proportion of their catch up premium to support catch up in the next academic year.

The Department recognises that it may be challenging for schools to deliver effective catch up measures during school closures. We have asked for schools to strategically plan the catch up support required for their pupils when schools reopen fully. The Education Endowment Foundation has published resources to help schools implement a catch up strategy using evidence based approaches. These resources are available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/covid-19-resources/guide-to-supporting-schools-planning/.

In January 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, committed to working with parents, teachers and pupils to develop a long term plan to help pupils make up their learning over the course of this Parliament. As an immediate step to support early years, schools, and colleges, on 24 February 2021 the Department committed an additional £700 million to support summer schools, tutoring, early language interventions, and a new one-off recovery premium. Further detail on this support and funding will be shared in due course.

Based on the Government’s assessment of the current data against its four tests for relaxing COVID-19 restrictions, the Department will no longer be asking schools to limit attendance and from 8 March all year groups should be allowed to attend school. The latest data suggests that infection rates have fallen across all ages, including in children and young people.

From 8 March, all primary pupils should attend school. All secondary pupils will be offered testing and those who consent to testing should return to face-to-face education following their first negative test result. Testing is voluntary but strongly encouraged. Pupils not undergoing testing should attend school in line with the phased return arrangements in their school. Head teachers in secondary schools can phase the return of their pupils during the first week as they carry out on-site asymptomatic testing. Where secondary schools are operating a phased return to allow for testing, the Department expects schools to provide remote education.

School attendance will be mandatory for all pupils and the usual rules on school attendance will apply again from 8 March, including parents’ duty to secure their child’s regular attendance at school.

The Department has published updated guidance which outlines the actions school leaders should take to minimise the risk of transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) in their school from 8 March. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963541/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

30 hours free childcare is an entitlement for working parents of three and four-year-olds. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours.

The Childcare Bill policy statement, published in December 2015, is clear that students will not qualify for 30 hours free childcare. However, students who undertake paid work in addition to their studies and meet the income requirements will be eligible for the additional hours. This means they do not have to physically work 16 hours a week but need to earn the equivalent of a week of 16 hours at national minimum wage or national living wage (currently just over £7,250 a year).

Students with children aged three and four will qualify for the universal 15 hours free childcare entitlement in England, regardless of the income or employment status of the parent, allowing them to access 15 hours per week of high-quality early education for their child.

Those undertaking a master’s degree are able to apply for a postgraduate master’s loan of up to £11,222 for help with course fees and living costs, which may include childcare.

Students starting a doctoral degree on or after 1 August 2020, can apply for a postgraduate doctoral loan of up to £26,445 which can also help with course fees and living costs, including childcare.

In cases where full-time students have additional needs that are not met through the student support system, support already available to them from their education institutions, they may be able to apply for help through Universal Credit. It remains the case that to be eligible for 85% reimbursement of childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare a claimant must be in employment.

Further details on claiming Universal Credit, and Universal Credit Childcare, as a student can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/universal-credit-and-students.

The Government is keen to minimise disruption and has put in place specific measures for allied health profession students, like paramedicine, that includes ensuring that students on placement have access to broadly equitable support as for NHS staff, such as being classed as essential workers for the purpose of testing and access to travel, school and childcare places, and having access to appropriate Personal Protective Equipment for placement duties.

Health Education England (HEE) is working with system partners to ensure any impact on training and placements is minimised; including supporting universities to rearrange interrupted clinical placements and finding alternatives such as using simulation where that is appropriate.

We know that the health and wellbeing needs of students must be prioritised and NHS England & Improvement and HEE have been working closely with universities and placement providers to ensure students have the support they need, including access to NHS mental health support.

Ministers and officials from the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care have regular discussions on these issues.

The Department updated part three, the safer recruitment section, of our statutory safeguarding guidance ‘keeping children safe in education 2020’ on 18 January 2021 to reflect legal changes following the UK’s exit from the European Union, including guidance on checking the past conduct of individuals who have lived or worked overseas. Further details on this statutory safeguarding guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

Selection tests are part of the admission arrangements of individual grammar and partially selective schools, and it is for the admission authorities of those schools to decide the content of the test, in line with the School Admissions Code. Different tests are therefore used by different schools or within different local authority areas. Selection tests are administered locally, and the Department does not routinely collect information on individual test results. The Department does not intend to undertake such a data collection exercise at this time.

There are protections within the system to ensure admission arrangements are fair, including consultation duties and rights of objection to the independent school’s adjudicator.

It is a key priority of the government to ensure that as many students graduate on time this year and we are working closely with other government departments including the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure this.

We also recognise that this is a difficult and uncertain time for students, but we are working with the higher education (HE) sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. If providers are unable to facilitate good online or in-person tuition, they should seek to avoid charging students for any additional terms they may need to undergo as a consequence – avoiding effectively charging them twice.

Eligible full-time undergraduate students whose universities require them to extend their studies in the current 2020/21 academic year up until 31 August 2021 will qualify for means-tested long courses loans for the additional period of study to help them with their living costs.

Eligible full-time students who will need to retake either all or part of a year of study in the academic year 2021/22 from September 2021 onwards, may qualify for additional tuition fee loan support for their repeat study in the academic year 2021/22. Full-time undergraduate students qualify for fee loan support for the length of the course, plus one extra year if needed, less any years of previous study. A further year of fee loan support in addition to the standard entitlement can be paid in certain circumstances where students need to repeat a year of their current course for compelling personal reasons (which may include reasons associated with the COVID-19 outbreak). In addition, eligible students will qualify for partially-means tested loans for living costs for a repeat year or part-year of study.

Universities and other HE providers are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees within maximum fee limits set by regulations. In deciding to keep charging full fees, HE providers will of course want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and help students progress their qualifications.

It is a registration condition of the Office for Students (OfS) that HE providers must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience for all students and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed. If HE providers are unable to facilitate good online or in-person tuition, they should seek to avoid charging students for any additional terms they may need to undergo as a consequence, avoiding effectively charging them twice. Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the HE provider and student.

The government has been clear that universities are expected to maintain quality and academic standards and the quantity of tuition should not drop. Universities should seek to ensure all students, regardless of their background, can access their studies remotely. The OfS monitors online teaching to ensure standards are met, and there is an established process in place for students with concerns about their education.