Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
Extend maternity leave by 3 months with pay in light of COVID-19
Gov Responded - 14 May 2020 Debated on - 5 Oct 2020 View Dan Carden's petition debate contributionsIn light of the recent outbreak and lock down, those on maternity leave should be given 3 extra months paid leave, at least. This time is for bonding and social engaging with other parents and babies through baby groups which are vital for development and now everything has been cancelled.
These initiatives were driven by Dan Carden, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Dan Carden has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Dan Carden has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Public Advocate (No. 2) Bill 2019-21 - Private Members' Bill (under the Ten Minute Rule)
Sponsor - Maria Eagle (LAB)
Tyres (Buses and Coaches) Bill 2017-19 - Private Members' Bill (under the Ten Minute Rule)
Sponsor - Maria Eagle (LAB)
While the Government recognises the personal challenges faced by people with addictions or dependencies such as alcohol, we subscribe to the view of successive Governments since the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, that it is not appropriate to give such conditions protected status under discrimination law. Alcohol addiction or dependency therefore remains specifically excluded from the Act’s definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010.
Addiction and dependency can however sometimes cause a disability – for example lung or kidney failure – or be the result of a disability, for example a mental health condition. Where the addiction arises due to medically prescribed drugs or other medical treatment – for example an individual who has an addiction to painkillers because they are prescribed following an accident or surgery – protection may also be available under the Act. We believe that this offers the right balance between protecting individuals on the one hand and employers and service providers on the other.
The rebate will be paid to liable council tax payers that live in a property in council tax bands A – D. In most cases, the occupants of a property are liable for the council tax, even if the bill is usually paid by the landlord. Where the owner of a house in multiple occupation is liable for the council tax, no rebate payment will be made, but the tenants can apply for support from their council’s discretionary fund if they are affected by rising energy costs.
The Government has responded to the recent Women and Equalities Committee report on Reform of the Gender Recognition Act stating our view that the position we set out in September 2020 is right and appropriate. The balance struck in this legislation is correct. The evidential and diagnosis requirements in the GRA ensure that the process is rigorous and provides assurance that the system is robust, whilst offering provision for people who wish to change their legal sex.
I refer the Hon Member to the guidance for local authorities available online at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councils.
Most supported housing providers are part of the social housing sector. Data shows that in 2021, only 2.3% of registered social housing landlord owned stock was non-decent (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants ). My department engages with local authorities, sector bodies and published independent research to understand issues with the quality of accommodation and support. In particular, we look to local authorities, as they are best placed to know their local supported housing markets, to identify problems with poor quality provision. We have learned a lot through the year-long pilots we have run, backed by £5.4 million of investment, in some of the areas of the country facing the most acute challenges. A core part of the pilots' work was to assess both accommodation standards, and also the support provided to tenants to ensure it was sufficient and tailored. The independent evaluation of the pilots will be published as soon as possible.
We are aware of a minority of supported housing landlords providing poor quality accommodation and insufficient support for residents, often at high cost to the taxpayer. It is completely unacceptable for anyone to abuse the Exempt Accommodation system, which is why we have invested over £5 million to support some of the worst affected areas.
We are clear that this issue in the sector must be addressed and we continue to work with councils to drive out rogue landlords so vulnerable people can access the accommodation and support they deserve.
The Department publishes annual data on local authority borrowing including the Housing Revenue Account Capital Financing Requirement (HRA CFR).
The latest data available were published on 2 December 2021 and can be found in the table here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-capital-expenditure-and-receipts-in-england-2020-to-2021-individual-local-authority-data.
Latest figures from the English Housing Survey show 12% of privately rented homes contain a category 1 hazard, half the number from 10 years ago, and 21% are non-decent down from 37% in 10 years ago. This is a great improvement but there is more work to be done.
We are committed to tackling the worst issues in the private rented sector – driving up standards, giving tenants greater security and supporting local authorities to crack down on poor practice.
We have strengthened local authorities’ enforcement powers, introducing financial penalties of up to £30,000, extending rent repayment orders and introducing banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders.
We will bring forward a White Paper later this year to set out a strategic vision for the Private Rented Sector. This will outline how our reforms will deliver a fairer, higher quality and more secure rental market.
Latest figures from the English Housing Survey show 12% of privately rented homes contain a category 1 hazard, half the number from 10 years ago, and 21% are non-decent down from 37% in 10 years ago. This is a great improvement but there is more work to be done.
We are committed to tackling the worst issues in the private rented sector – driving up standards, giving tenants greater security and supporting local authorities to crack down on poor practice.
We have strengthened local authorities’ enforcement powers, introducing financial penalties of up to £30,000, extending rent repayment orders and introducing banning orders for the most serious and prolific offenders.
We will bring forward a White Paper later this year to set out a strategic vision for the Private Rented Sector. This will outline how our reforms will deliver a fairer, higher quality and more secure rental market.
We have made excellent progress on our manifesto commitment to end rough sleeping this Parliament. The annual rough sleeping snapshot in 2020 saw a 37% reduction from the year before, and rough sleeping levels have fallen 43% since 2017.
To build on this progress, the Government will be spending over £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years, with multi-year funding enabling local partners to better plan services.
The Government will publish a White Paper later this year to set out our plans to introduce once-in-a-generation reforms to create a fairer private rented sector. We are working with the sector to develop and deliver a balanced package of reforms that reflects the needs of tenants and landlords, while also learning from the pandemic and its impact on the sector.
The Government’s consultation, ‘A New Deal for Renting: Resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants’ sought views on how the new system should operate. This received almost 20,000 responses, which we are carefully considering as we develop our response.
We are committed to bringing in a Better Deal for Renters to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market that works for both tenants and landlords. We will publish a response to the consultation as well as a White Paper detailing our plans for reform of the private rented sector later this year.
The Department uses a range of data from a variety of sources to inform our understanding of the private rented sector (PRS). The English Housing Survey (EHS) is our main source of information on the size and household/ dwelling characteristics of the PRS.
The EHS is badged as a National Statistic, which means it’s been deemed of the highest quality by the UK Office for Statistics Regulation, and we retained our badging in a recent audit of our methodologies. National Statistics must follow the principles and detailed practices outlined in the Code of Practice for Statistics (https://code.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/the-code).
Alongside the main EHS data release, we also publish an annual Technical Report which details the steps that the EHS goes through to meet the high standards of trustworthiness, quality and value required of it. The most recently published report is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-housing-survey-2019-to-2020-technical-report.
We are committed to reducing the time taken between applications being submitted to the department and decisions on selective licensing applications being communicated, that have recently been longer due to covid pressures. We are reviewing our processes and updating relevant guidance to ensure councils have the information they need.
The Spending Review commits to over £2 billion of funding to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping over the next three years. The detail of how this funding will be allocated will be determined in due course.
The Equality Act 2010 is continually kept under review to ensure that it operates as intended. A formal post-legislative scrutiny of the Act took place in 2015 and there are no current plans for a further such exercise.
The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement published on 16 December 2021 for 2022/23 makes available an additional £3.5 billion to councils in England, including funding for adult social care reform. This is an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4% in real terms, which will ensure councils across the country have the resources they need to deliver key services. In total, we expect Core Spending Power to rise from £50.4 billion in 2021/22 to up to £53.9 billion this year.
Most of the funding made available through the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced, acknowledging that local authorities are best placed to understand local priorities, such as tackling deprivation and levels of poverty within local communities.
This is not the only source of funding available to councils with regards to supporting vulnerable families. For example, recognising that some people may require extra support over this winter, vulnerable households across the country can also access a £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund provides £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials, which can include beds.
The Government is committed to improving the home buying and selling process in order to make it quicker and less stressful. We recognise that on occasions, buyers can lose a property because they are 'gazumped' by the seller accepting a higher offer from another buyer.
To mitigate this risk, we have been exploring the adoption of voluntary reservation agreements. Buyers and sellers would make a legal commitment to proceed with the sale once an offer has been accepted and may include a financial commitment which would be surrendered to the other side if the party withdraws without good reason such as gazumping.
In order to be widely taken up, reservation agreements need to be attractive to buyers and sellers, and promoted by estate agents and legal representatives. Following behavioural insight research, work is now continuing to develop the agreements to make them an effective tool in improving the efficiency of home buying and selling and we hope to be able to evaluate their effectiveness next year
The Prime Minister’s 10-Point Plan and Net Zero Strategy sets out our blueprint for a Green Industrial Revolution. The plan invests in green technologies and industries; leverages billions of pounds of private sector investments to create and support up to 250,000 highly-skilled green jobs, and level up across the UK. It’s a clear plan to build back greener from the covid pandemic.
We have received Liverpool City Council's application for a selective licensing scheme. Each application is assessed on its merits against the statutory criteria. Timings can be affected by the complexity of an application and whether further information is required. We will update on the outcome of the application in due course.
The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) is part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Officials in the Equality Hub and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have discussed with the CDEI its Review into bias in algorithmic decision-making.
As part of its 2021-22 Annual Plan, the EHRC is developing guidance on artificial intelligence and the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), for government departments and public bodies. This is in response to recommendations from the CDEI as well as the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Additionally, as part of the planning process for the EHRC’s 2022-25 Strategic Plan, the Commission is engaging with key stakeholders, including the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Alan Turing Institute to build its capability to respond to the most pressing equality and human rights issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence.
This Government is committed to tackling the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy in the UK. As the Prime Minister has reiterated, this practice has no place in civilised society.
We are considering both legislative and non-legislative options to end conversion therapy practices for good. Officials have been reviewing the current legislative framework to see how harmful and unacceptable practices referred to as conversion therapy may already be captured by existing laws and offences. Where this is the case, we will look to ensure that the law is clear and enforced. Where conversion therapy practices are not already unlawful we are looking at the best ways to end these practices without sending them underground.
The Government is working at pace on ending conversion therapy and will outline in due course how it intends to proceed with an effective and proportionate response.
The information requested is not held centrally.
The Law Officers’ sponsorship and statutory superintendence of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is undertaken in accordance with the Framework Agreement between the Law Officers and the Director of the SFO, which was published in January 2019.
As set out in the Framework Agreement, The Law Officers regularly meet the Director and her senior leadership team to discuss the SFO’s work in tackling the top level of serious and complex fraud, bribery, and corruption. This includes regular Ministerial Strategic Boards, chaired by the Attorney General or Solicitor General, which oversee the strategic direction of the SFO and hold the SFO to account for the delivery of its strategic objectives.
The Prime Minister set up the No 10 Delivery Unit (10DU) in June last year as a new, powerful capability in the heart of government to drive forward his ambitious agenda for the country.
10DU focuses on core elements of the PM's mission - levelling up, recovery and reform of public services, jobs and skills, and net zero. It works as an integral part of No10, acting as the guardian of the centre's delivery priorities and the associated tools and techniques for effective delivery. As such, it supports capacity building in government departments and takes a leading role in the delivery of the Government's agenda.
The Prime Minister also holds ministers to account via Cabinet meetings and Cabinet Committees. To complement this, the Cabinet Secretary holds regular Departmental stocktakes on departmental delivery with Permanent Secretaries across government.
The timing of a statutory inquiry’s various stages are, under the Inquiries Act 2005, a matter for its independent chair to determine.
I refer the hon. Member to his previous Parliamentary Question answered on 24 May PQ 3128.
The government does not comment on the costs of ongoing litigation and will publish the costs at the conclusion of the case.
I refer the hon. Member to their previous Parliamentary Question answered on 24 May 2021 PQ3128.
The study will report to the Paymaster General no later than 14 March 2022. The Government will give full consideration to Sir Robert's study - which is separate from the independent public inquiry. The Government's response and Sir Robert's study will be published.
On 12 May, the Prime Minister confirmed that a public inquiry into COVID-19 will be established on a statutory basis, with full formal powers, and that it will begin its work in spring 2022. Further details, including the terms of reference, will be set out in due course.
The Cabinet Office publishes Freedom of Information statistics for central government bodies on a quarterly and annual basis, which are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics.
Government Departments respond to Freedom of Information requests in line with the legislation, including applying relevant exemptions where applicable.
Intensive collaboration with the private sector specifically on procurement has been, and continues to be, both necessary and essential for Government to properly manage and handle the Covid-19 crisis. During the most challenging periods, being able to procure at speed was critical in providing that response. Despite that, the Government has always made clear that all contracts, including all those entered into as part of the Government’s Covid-19 response, must achieve value for money for taxpayers and use sound commercial judgement. The details of all awards are published in line with Government transparency guidelines.
Proper due diligence is carried out for all government contracts and Government takes these checks extremely seriously. Government Departments, as individual contracting authorities, are responsible for ensuring that they have in place robust processes for spending public money fairly and achieving value for money for the taxpayer. This includes ensuring that appropriate levels of due diligence are undertaken on the supplier prior to award of contracts.
Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are publicly available and published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
We plan to publish details of companies that were awarded contracts via the high-priority lane for Covid-19 procurement, and who referred them to the high-priority lane, in due course. This commitment goes above and beyond usual transparency obligations.
I refer the Honourable member to Written Statement HCWS293.
The Government notes the work of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs and Treasury Committees, as well as the forthcoming Standards Matter 2 report from the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Once these reports have been published, we will consider their work alongside Mr Boardman’s recommendations, and set out a substantive Government policy statement to Parliament in due course.
Leaving the EU provides the UK with the opportunity to overhaul the public procurement regulations that govern how contracting authorities spend some £290bn of taxpayer’s money.
We received over 600 responses as part of the consultation exercise. The process of analysis of these comments is now complete and we are finalising our response to the consultation ahead of publication in the coming weeks.
As I announced in my written ministerial statement on 3 December 2020, it is the Government’s intention to review party and candidate spending limits for all polls within the legislative competence of the UK Government, other than local council elections in England which were uprated last year, with a view to uprating them in line with inflation since they were originally set. This will create a baseline for regular and consistent reviews of all limits in future.
In some cases, there has been a significant gap since the last time spending limits were raised - some, including those for political parties at UK parliamentary elections, haven’t changed since 2000. This impacts campaigning ability given inflationary costs of printing and communication, which is vital for parties and candidates to communicate their views with voters. Election spending limits are fixed in absolute terms. By updating for inflation, the limits remain in line with the original intent of Parliament when they were introduced.
The Cabinet Office is working with the University of Southampton to support the release of the Mountbatten archive whilst ensuring sensitive information, including personal data, is handled appropriately and in line with Freedom of Information Act.
Diaries from 1918 to 1934 have already been released. Further volumes will be released in due course as necessary sensitivity work is completed. This is in line with undertakings given by Earl Mountbatten in 1969 on the publication of the archive.
The Cabinet Office is working with the University of Southampton to support the release of the Mountbatten archive whilst ensuring sensitive information, including personal data, is handled appropriately and in line with Freedom of Information Act.
Diaries from 1918 to 1934 have already been released. Further volumes will be released in due course as necessary sensitivity work is completed. This is in line with undertakings given by Earl Mountbatten in 1969 on the publication of the archive.
The mailbox was available across government and with Parliamentarians. This was done through email correspondence to ministerial private offices and senior officials in the PPE sourcing programme, who then onward shared as they considered appropriate.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ182093 on 21 April 2021.
The Prime Minister yesterday announced the appointment of Rt Hon Lord Geidt to serve as the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests. The Independent Adviser oversees the production of a List of Ministers' Interests, and the next publication will occur once Lord Geidt has concluded that process.
The Prime Minister yesterday announced the appointment of Rt Hon Lord Geidt to serve as the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests. Lord Geidt is a Crossbench Member of the House of Lords, a Privy Councillor and a former Private Secretary to The Queen. He brings a distinguished record of impartial public service and experience of Government to bear on the appointment.
The Prime Minister has agreed Terms of Reference for the role with Lord Geidt. These have been published on Gov.uk and will be deposited in the House libraries.
As part of these new Terms of Reference, and taking into account the recommendations of the Chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the Independent Adviser will now have the authority to advise on the initiation of investigations.
This information is not held centrally.
Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search
There are well-established procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the legal framework governing public procurement, to enable contracting authorities to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances.
Indeed, being able to procure at speed has been critical in providing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.
We have issued further updated guidance, Procurement Policy Note – Procurement in an Emergency (PPN 01/21) reminding contracting authorities of the options available to them when undertaking procurements in an emergency
Along with the above, we have recently published detailed proposals for a new and improved regulatory regime for public procurement, taking advantage of new freedoms now that we have left the EU. While these proposals have long been in development, they include specific measures to strengthen transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle
The Government has published a statement on gov.uk following the National Audit Office report.
There are well-established procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the legal framework governing public procurement, to enable contracting authorities to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances.
Indeed, being able to procure at speed has been critical in providing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.
We have issued further updated guidance, Procurement Policy Note – Procurement in an Emergency (PPN 01/21) reminding contracting authorities of the options available to them when undertaking procurements in an emergency
Along with the above, we have recently published detailed proposals for a new and improved regulatory regime for public procurement, taking advantage of new freedoms now that we have left the EU. While these proposals have long been in development, they include specific measures to strengthen transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle
The Government has published a statement on gov.uk following the National Audit Office report.
There are well-established procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the legal framework governing public procurement, to enable contracting authorities to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances.
Indeed, being able to procure at speed has been critical in providing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.
We have issued further updated guidance, Procurement Policy Note – Procurement in an Emergency (PPN 01/21) reminding contracting authorities of the options available to them when undertaking procurements in an emergency
Along with the above, we have recently published detailed proposals for a new and improved regulatory regime for public procurement, taking advantage of new freedoms now that we have left the EU. While these proposals have long been in development, they include specific measures to strengthen transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle
The Government has published a statement on gov.uk following the National Audit Office report.
There are well-established procedures set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, the legal framework governing public procurement, to enable contracting authorities to procure goods, services and works with extreme urgency in exceptional circumstances.
Indeed, being able to procure at speed has been critical in providing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However we have always made it clear that all contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines.
We have issued further updated guidance, Procurement Policy Note – Procurement in an Emergency (PPN 01/21) reminding contracting authorities of the options available to them when undertaking procurements in an emergency
Along with the above, we have recently published detailed proposals for a new and improved regulatory regime for public procurement, taking advantage of new freedoms now that we have left the EU. While these proposals have long been in development, they include specific measures to strengthen transparency throughout the commercial lifecycle
The Government has published a statement on gov.uk following the National Audit Office report.
In its Green Paper on Transforming Public Procurement, the Government has proposed legislating to require all contracting authorities to publish procurement data throughout the commercial lifecycle in a format compliant with the Open Contracting Data Standard. This should include supplier identifiers and spend data. The Government’s response to the consultation will be published in due course.
The Prime Minister has asked Nigel Boardman, a distinguished legal expert, to lead this review. Mr Boardman provided a declaration of interests and an assessment was made that there were no conflicts of interest arising.
This Government will continue to consider the recommendations made for reform of section 77 of the Act.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 14 April at Prime Minister's Questions [col312] setting out the Government's initiation of the Boardman Review.
The review's Terms of Reference were published on 16 April and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-the-development-and-use-of-supply-chain-finance-in-government-terms-of-reference.
The Prime Minister has asked Mr Boardman to conduct a review that will look into the decisions taken around the development and use of supply chain finance (and associated schemes) in government, especially the role of Lex Greensill and Greensill Capital. The full terms of reference are set out at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-the-development-and-use-of-supply-chain-finance-in-government-terms-of-reference
The review will report to the Prime Minister by 30 June 2021. The Government will publish and present to Parliament the Review’s findings and the Government’s response in due course thereafter.
Correspondence between the Cabinet Office and the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crothers-bill-government-chief-commercial-officer-cabinet-office-acoba-recommendation
As is best practice, the Government is currently conducting post-legislative scrutiny of Part 1 of the Transparency of Lobbying Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014. Earlier this year, Ministers met stakeholders, including industry and civil society representatives, and sought their views on the legislation, including the scope and effectiveness of the Register of Consultant Lobbyists. The work is ongoing and publication of the memorandum will likely now be after the conclusion of the Boardman review so that any findings can be taken into account.
On 23 April, the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the management of outside interests in the Civil Service. The Committee published this letter on 26 April. It can be found here:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5623/documents/55584/default/
The Cabinet Secretary’s letter sets out a series of steps to improve processes. This programme of work will also take account of any recommendations that emerge from Nigel Boardman’s review.
The Civil Service Management Code sets out, at paragraph 4.3.4, the requirement that civil servants must seek permission before accepting any outside employment which might affect their work either directly or indirectly. The applicable principles are those set out in the Business Appointment Rules. The Civil Service Management Code is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-servants-terms-and-conditions .
Where the civil servant is a member of the departmental board any outside employment, as well as other relevant interests will be published as part of the Annual Report and Accounts or other transparency publication.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 14 April at Prime Minister's Questions [col312] setting out the Government's initiation of the Boardman Review.
The review's Terms of Reference were published on 16 April and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-the-development-and-use-of-supply-chain-finance-in-government-terms-of-reference.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 14 April at Prime Minister's Questions [col312] setting out the Government's initiation of the Boardman Review.
The review's Terms of Reference were published on 16 April and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-the-development-and-use-of-supply-chain-finance-in-government-terms-of-reference.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 14 April at Prime Minister's Questions [col312] setting out the Government's initiation of the Boardman Review.
The review's Terms of Reference were published on 16 April and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-into-the-development-and-use-of-supply-chain-finance-in-government-terms-of-reference.
As is best practice, the Government is currently conducting post-legislative scrutiny of Part 1 of the Transparency of Lobbying Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014. Earlier this year, Ministers met stakeholders, including industry and civil society representatives, and sought their views on the legislation, including the scope and effectiveness of the Register of Consultant Lobbyists. The work is ongoing and publication of the memorandum will likely now be after the conclusion of the Boardman review so that any findings can be taken into account.
The Cabinet Office has been working with Lord Pickles on reviewing and improving the regime governing the acceptance of employment following departure from Government. This ongoing work will also take into account any lessons learnt from the Boardman review.
The Cabinet Office has been working with Lord Pickles on reviewing and improving the regime governing the acceptance of employment following departure from Government. This ongoing work will also take into account any lessons learnt from the Boardman review.
The Government has no plans for legislation on this matter.
The Ministerial Code is the responsibility of the Prime Minister of the day and customarily updated and issued upon their assuming or returning to office. The Code sets out the standards of conduct expected by the Prime Minister of all who serve in Her Majesty’s Government. It provides guidance to Ministers on how they should act and arrange their affairs in order to uphold these standards and lists the principles which may apply in particular situations.
It is the Prime Minister’s responsibility to set standards of behaviour for members of the Executive, and to account for the actions of the Government.
As set out in the Minister for the Constitution and Devolution’s letter of 24 July 2020 to GRECO, the Government has now commenced post-legislative scrutiny of Part 1 of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014.
In January, I hosted two discussions with stakeholders to gather views, including with industry and civil society representatives. These stakeholders were also invited to feed in the views of their wider networks. The Government is currently considering the views gathered and will set out its position in due course.
The Government has published on gov.uk a statement following press coverage regarding the NAO report.
The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee (COARC). We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.
The Government has published on gov.uk a statement following press coverage regarding the NAO report.
The process of implementing the Boardman recommendations began immediately, and the programme is being assured by the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee (COARC). We committed to provide an update on implementation six months after publication.
Since 2010, this Government has been at the forefront of opening up data to allow Parliament, the public and the media to hold public bodies to account and has introduced a range of measures to increase transparency in public sector contracts. At present, the Government has no plans to legislate in this area.
The government monitors policies and procedures, such as the Business Appointment Rules, and whether or not they can be improved on an ongoing basis.
Details of policy announcements will be made in the usual manner.
In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not usually disclosed.
Further to the answer of 4 November, the Cabinet Office has undertaken an extensive programme of stakeholder engagement over many months to gather a range of views to shape our proposals on procurement reform. The Procurement Transformation Advisory Panel was designed to draw together experts from each part of the procurement community – suppliers, lawyers, academics and international experts.
This Government is fully committed to transparency, and ensuring all requests for Freedom of Information (FOI) are handled appropriately. All requests are considered in an applicant-blind manner, regardless of - for example - the occupation of the applicant. The Cabinet Office FOI process complies with relevant protections under the Data Protection Act 2018.
Under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the Cabinet Minister issues a Code of Practice, available on gov.uk, which provides guidance and advice to public authorities on the handling of Freedom of Information Requests. In addition, and in line with practice since 2005, the Cabinet Office provides advice to Departments, to ensure cases are handled consistently, and sensitive material handled appropriately. A Clearing House was established in 2004 and has operated in different forms since the FOI Act came into force in January 2005 as an advice centre to coordinate complex requests across Whitehall. There is now no stand alone Clearing House team, but coordination functions are carried out by a number of staff members who have a range of wider responsibilities. Policy responsibility for Freedom of Information transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Cabinet Office in 2015.
Being able to procure at speed has been critical in providing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We welcome the NAO report which recognises that the government ‘needed to procure with extreme urgency’ and ‘secured unprecedented volumes of essential supplies necessary to protect front-line workers’.
All contracts, including those designed to tackle coronavirus issues, must continue to achieve value for money for taxpayers, use good commercial judgement and the details of any awards made should be published as soon as possible in line with Government transparency guidelines.
Robust processes are in place for the award of government contracts. PPE offers were assessed using the same eight step process, including quality checks, price controls and other due diligence, no matter where the original referral came from. This eight step process has been published in the NAO’s report. For further details please see the statement on gov.uk.
We are committed to transparency in public procurement. Details of central government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. We regret that some details have not been uploaded in a timely fashion. All will be published as soon as possible and significant information is already available online.
The forthcoming Green Paper on transforming the UK’s public procurement regulations will strengthen our longstanding and essential policies that are fundamental to public procurement including transparency, ensuring value for money and fair treatment of suppliers. As part of this, we will propose legislating to reinforce that contracting authorities would need to publish basic disclosure information, including the basis of award decisions.
We have always accepted that there are lessons to be learned from how we responded to this unprecedented global pandemic and the government is fully committed to doing so. We will address the NAO report’s recommendations in due course. As I stated in my answer on 12 November, we are engaged in both internal and external audit to review how our procurements during this period have been conducted.
The service to offer coronavirus (COVID-19) support has closed. Information for businesses seeking to offer coronavirus support is available at https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-support-from-business
Government departments are responsible for conducting their own procurements and must follow their own guidance and procedures on identifying, reporting and managing conflicts of interest in procurements.
Government departments are responsible for conducting their own procurements and must follow their own guidance and procedures on identifying, reporting and managing conflicts of interest in procurements.
The Procurement Transformation Advisory Panel was a group of experts on public procurement, convened by the Cabinet Office to discuss potential proposals for reforming the public procurement regulations. Announcements of procurement policy will be made in the usual way. In line with the practice of successive administrations, such details are not normally disclosed.
As has been the case under successive administrations, departments are responsible for their commercial decisions, including the award and monitoring of contracts. All contracts, including those designed to address Covid-19 issues, must achieve value for money for taxpayers. Details of awards should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines on gov.uk.
As has been the case under successive administrations, departments are responsible for their commercial decisions, including the award and monitoring of contracts. All contracts, including those designed to address Covid-19 issues, must achieve value for money for taxpayers. Details of awards should be published in line with Government transparency guidelines on gov.uk.
Requiring proof of identity to vote in a polling station will strengthen the integrity of our electoral system, and give the public confidence that our elections are secure and fit for the 21st century.
Both Electoral Commission and Cabinet Office evaluations show that the voter identification pilots were a success and the overwhelming majority of electors cast their vote without a problem. There was no indication that any consistent demographic was adversely affected by asking for identification to vote.
Photo identification has been required in Northern Ireland since 2003, when introduced by the last Labour Government. Labour Ministers told Parliament: “The measures will tackle electoral abuse effectively without disadvantaging honest voters.... [ensuring that] no one is disfranchised because of them ” (Hansard, 10 July 2001, Col. 739) and “the Government have no intention of taking away people’s democratic right to vote. If we believed that thousands of voters would not be able to vote because of this measure, we would not be introducing it at this time” (Lords Hansard, 1 April 2003, Col. 1247). There has been no adverse effect on turnout or participation by such groups since then.
The Government has taken due regard to the public sector equality duty. We will continue to work with the Electoral Commission and other stakeholders including charities and civil society organisations to make sure that such reforms are inclusive for all voters. I have met with charities representing those who are elderly, suffer from dementia, are LGBTQ+, are BAME and other groups. For any voter who does not have one of the required forms of photographic ID, a local elector ID will be available, free of charge, from their local authority.
ID is already requested normally and reasonably in many areas of life, including by many constituency Labour parties, who require voter identification to vote in Labour Party selection meetings. The Labour Party’s NEC also mandates two forms of ID for any members joining an association which is in special measures.
The North Sea Transition Authority plans to launch another licensing round later this year, taking into account the forthcoming climate compatibility checkpoint.
The climate compatibility checkpoint will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with the UK’s climate goals.
The Government invited contributions on the design of the checkpoint with a public consultation, which closed at the end of February. The Government is currently considering the responses to the consultation, and will respond in due course.
Development proposals for oil fields under existing licences are a matter for the regulators - the North Sea Transition Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED). As part of that regulatory process, OPRED completes an Environmental Impact Assessment and a public consultation on any proposal, ensuring the impact on the environment is taken into account. OPRED’s decision on the Environmental Impact Assessment for Jackdaw will be made in due course.
The emissions reduction targets in the North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD) are monitored by the North Sea Transition Authority, emissions from any new fields as production comes on stream would be taken into account in continuing to ensure the targets in the Deal are met.
Development proposals for oil fields under existing licences are a matter for the regulators - the North Sea Transition Authority and the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED). As part of that regulatory process, OPRED completes an Environmental Impact Assessment and a public consultation on any proposal, ensuring the impact on the environment is taken into account. OPRED’s decision on the Environmental Impact Assessment for Jackdaw will be made in due course.
The emissions reduction targets in the North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD) are monitored by the North Sea Transition Authority, emissions from any new fields as production comes on stream would be taken into account in continuing to ensure the targets in the Deal are met.
Used appropriately, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) provide a flexible, accessible way for consumers in financial difficulty to come to an arrangement with their creditors. Acting as oversight regulator on behalf of the Secretary of State, the Insolvency Service works with the Recognised Professional Bodies that regulate the insolvency practitioners who supervise IVAs to ensure that relevant technical and ethical guidance in this area is adhered to, and where it is not, that regulatory action is taken.
The Insolvency Service has published guidance to the Recognised Professional Bodies on monitoring volume IVA providers that it expects them to follow. This includes reviewing “introducer” agreements with particular reference to marketing and quality of advice, and an expectation that in instances where it has been identified that an IVA provider has engaged an introducer firm that provides unregulated advice, the agreement will be terminated.
Officials work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority, the Advertising Standards Authority and the not-for-profit advice sector, all of which have an interest in this area, to ensure that consumers have access to clear and appropriate debt advice for their circumstances.
The Government is currently considering responses to its consultation on the future of insolvency practitioner regulation, including a proposal to introduce the regulation of firms offering insolvency services (including IVA providers) and will publish its response in due course.
Standing charges are charges that suppliers pass on to their customers, the largest element of which is the cost of the electricity and gas transmission and distribution networks, which vary depending on the different costs in a geographic area.
The standing charge is passed on to consumers as a flat rate per day rather than as a percentage charge based on how much energy they use. Ofgem requires energy suppliers to separate out the standing charge from the energy unit rate so consumers can see what the different charges amount to.
Regional data on the proportion of customers on prepayment tariffs is published as part of the Quarterly Energy Prices statistical series, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/quarterly-energy-prices#2022.
Data is not collected at the constituency level.
The right to local energy supply already exists under the Electricity Act 1989. Ofgem has powers to award supply licenses that are restricted to specified geographical areas or premise types.
In view of recent supply market instability Ofgem has paused assessment of new supply licence applications and is strengthening the licensing process to ensure participants are sufficiently resilient to market shocks.
One of Ofgem’s key strategic priorities remains to increase flexibility across the electricity system to support the delivery of net zero and ensuring that consumers benefit from these innovative changes.
Carbon budgets are set and monitored in line with international carbon reporting practice, which is to measure emissions on a territorial basis.
The Climate Change Committee agrees with the use of territorial emissions for the Government’s emissions reduction targets. In its ‘Reducing UK Emissions - 2019 Progress Report to Parliament’, the Committee set out that territorial emissions are the standard accounting approach for measuring emissions internationally, as this approach avoids the risks that emissions are missed or double-counted
The Government accepted the Climate Change Committee’s advice on setting the levels of carbon budgets 1-6; and setting a 2050 net zero target. The Climate Change Committee made clear in their advice on the 6th Carbon Budget, published in December 2020, that they do not consider it necessary to re-set the levels of the existing carbon budgets (carbon budgets 4 and 5, covering 2023-27 and 2028-32) in light of the net zero target having been set.
The UK over-achieved against the first (2008-12) and second (2013-17) carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that the Government is on track to meet the third (2018-22) carbon budget too. The Government exceeded the required emissions reduction in the first carbon budget by 1.2%, and the second carbon budget by nearly 14%.
Taken together, the transitions set out in the Net Zero Strategy for every sector of the UK economy keeps the Government on track for meeting Carbon Budgets 4, 5 and 6, the country’s international commitment under the Paris Agreement (the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution), and net zero by 2050. The Government will continue to monitor its progress across these areas.
The British people elected this government to deliver on their priorities which included setting out a pathway for Net Zero by 2050. Further information on our pathway to Net Zero can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy
The membership of the Critical Minerals Expert Committee is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-secretary-opens-latest-meeting-of-the-critical-minerals-expert-committee.
At the latest meeting of the Committee on 28 January 2022, officials presented plans for continuing to engage widely with the sector through a series of roundtables on specific topics. Engagement is already underway, including with civil society representatives, and the Government would welcome contact from further stakeholders.
The Critical Minerals Expert Committee is chaired by BEIS Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Paul Monks. Members were selected based on recommendations from relevant Government departments. The full membership and further details can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-secretary-opens-latest-meeting-of-the-critical-minerals-expert-committee .
The Committee has met three times, and the latest meeting was opened by Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on 28 January 2022.
The Government have committed to extending the Energy Company Obligation Scheme from 2022 to 2026, boosting its value to £1billion a year.
We are not able to disclose the details of some clauses of contracts between the Government and vaccine manufacturers as this information is commercially sensitive.
Through the introduction of UK-wide growth funding schemes, such as the Community Renewal Fund and the Towns Fund, Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals in ways that best suit their needs.
We encourage community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.
For example, the Towns Fund has awarded over £23.6m to Glastonbury Town which includes the Glastonbury Clean Energy project that aims to generate renewable energy for use by other projects within the Plan, as well as local businesses and residents.
We are not able to disclose specific costs of individual vaccines procured to date, as details of contracts between the Government and vaccine manufacturers are commercially sensitive.
The Autumn 2021 Spending Review (SR) announced record-breaking investment in the UK’s world leading research base, increasing by £5.2 billion to £20 billion per annum by 2024/25 in line with the target of UK economy-wide R&D investment reaching 2.4% of GDP by 2027. The Net Zero Strategy also confirmed that we have mobilised over £26 billion of government capital investment for the green industrial revolution, including at least £1.5 billion for net zero research and innovation.
Following the SR, BEIS is currently working through the allocations process to set detailed R&D budgets through till 2024/25. Further details of how this funding will be allocated will be announced in due course.
As set out in the Net Zero Strategy: Building Back Greener published on 19 October 2021, we will continue to explore the role that marine energy technologies could play in achieving our net zero target.
As set out in the recently published Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Government aims to ensure domestic and non-domestic buildings are constructed to be highly efficient, better for the environment, and fit for the future.
The UK has a strong track record in improving the energy performance of its homes, with 40% now above Energy Performance (EPC) Band C, up from just 9% in 2008.
The Government will look to bring in interim building standards Regulations Part L and F, in June 2022, to increase energy performance standards for domestic and non-domestic buildings ahead of the Future Homes Standard and Future Buildings Standard.
The Department is considering the responses and will respond in due course.
The Warm Home Discount currently helps over 2 million low-income and vulnerable households each year with a £140 rebate off their winter energy bill. This year the scheme is providing £354m of energy bills support.
As per the Energy White Paper in 2020, we are extending and expanding the Warm Home Discount scheme to £475m, to support 3 million households each year until 2026. The Government recently consulted on reforming the scheme to focus the support to fuel poor households and we will publish our response in the coming months.
The Government’s upcoming Net Zero strategy will look at how the Government can best engage with the public in supporting them to make the right choices when retrofitting their homes and businesses.
In 2019 there were around 1.3 million fewer fuel poor households living in the least energy efficiency Band E, F or G rated property compared to 2010.
Government is committed to ensuring as many homes as possible reach EPC Band C by 2035 where practical, affordable and cost effective. Support for energy efficiency improvements is available through schemes including the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Support for low carbon heating is currently available through the Renewable Heat Incentive, and from April 2022, the Clean Heat Grant will provide support to households switching to low carbon heating.
The Government will set out more details of how it will accelerate deployment of energy efficiency and low carbon heating in the forthcoming Heat and Buildings Strategy.
The Government has set an ambitious target of 1GW of floating offshore wind by 2030, as part of the wider 40GW by 2030 offshore wind target. This will stimulate development in projects and investment in the supply chain. In addition to our existing floating wind projects, Hywind Scotland and Kincardine, there are also a number of floating wind projects already in early development.
The Government’s £1 billion Net Zero Innovation Portfolio fund, announced in my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a green industrial revolution, is accelerating the commercialisation of low-carbon technologies, systems and business models in power, buildings, and industry. An important element of this is the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme which aims to support development and demonstration of state of the art technologies and products in the future offshore wind industry.
Our Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme has recently supported the development of significant new offshore wind manufacturing capacity in the UK.
The Government has set an ambitious target of 1GW of floating offshore wind by 2030, as part of the wider 40GW by 2030 offshore wind target. This will stimulate development in projects and investment in the supply chain. In addition to our existing floating wind projects, Hywind Scotland and Kincardine, there are also a number of floating wind projects already in early development.
The Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia and neurodegeneration, including motor neurone disease (MND). We are currently working on ways to significantly boost further research on dementia and neurodegeneration.
In 2019/20, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), through the Medical Research Council (MRC), spent around £13.4 million on Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research. This included research which aims to increase our understanding of the causes and genetic mechanisms of MND and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) a form of MND. Over 5 years (2015/16 - 2019/20) MRC expenditure relevant to MND and ALS totalled £45 million.
In addition, UKRI, through the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, supports a diverse portfolio of neuroscience research and innovation totalling around £30 million per annum. This work may underpin MND research by furthering current understanding of the structure and function of the nervous system; cell biology and genetics; mental processes including learning and memory and neuro, Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care has spent over £10 million on MND research over the past five years through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2019/20 alone, the NIHR invested £2.7 million in MND research through NIHR research programmes and the NIHR Clinical Research Network.
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the Financial Year 2021/22 ODA allocations. UKRI have written to their award holders to set out the process for reviewing ODA funding this year, and to explore options for individual programmes. (Full details have been published on the UKRI website).
The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships and supporting the UK research sector. The Government is committed to increasing UK investment in R&D to £14.9bn in 2021/22. This follows four years of significant growth in R&D funding, including a boost of more than £1.5 billion in 2020/21. It will mean UK Government R&D spending is now at its highest level in four decades.
The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.
BEIS is working with its delivery partners to implement the R&D ODA settlement for financial year 21/22. This work looks to protect the most impactful research programmes, with prioritisation driven by the Government’s Strategic Framework for ODA. The Framework includes priorities to tackle climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls’ education; science and research; open societies and conflict; humanitarian assistance; and trade.
The decision to accredit Greensill Capital was made independently and in accordance with the British Business Bank’s (Bank) usual procedures. The Bank ran an accreditation process for lenders to participate in the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), which included due consideration of whether a prospective lender met the criteria set out in the CLBILS Request for Proposals (a publicly available document).
The criteria included requirements such as the ability to demonstrate a track record of lending to larger enterprises, provision of evidence based forecasts, the ability to demonstrate that it has sufficient capital available to meet their lending forecasts, a viable business model, robust operations and systems, the proposed lending will not have unreasonable lender levied fees and interest, and that the lender has all the necessary regulations, licences, authorisations and permissions to operate the scheme.
At the point of accreditation and based on the information provided to it, the Bank considered that Greensill Capital met the required criteria.
It is important to ensure we provide appropriate notice and transitional support for UK industry. That is why the Government launched a short consultation, seeking views on how to further enable an accelerated growth in UK clean energy exports and on the impacts of the timing of implementation of the policy shift announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 12 December 2020. The consultation closes on 8 February 2021. The decision to consult in advance of implementation did not require an impact assessment.
The date of implementation of the new policy will be determined following the consultation that was launched on the same day. During the consultation period and ahead of the implementation of the new policy, the Government will continue to apply current policy for all in-scope activities including proposals for high carbon projects, with consideration of relevant factors including climate change.
UKEF is already actively seeking to support projects in the clean growth and renewables sectors and will continue to work actively with UK companies on international projects within the clean energy sector.
The Government remains committed to establishing a new beneficial ownership register of overseas entities that own UK property in order to combat money laundering and achieve greater transparency in the UK property market. The Government is mindful that the register is a novel scheme and it is important to get it right. The register requires primary legislation to be established, and the Government will legislate when Parliamentary time allows.
The Department has engaged Acas to look into fire and rehire practices and they are talking to business and employee representatives, to gather evidence of how fire and rehire has been used.
Acas officials have made good progress in their independent and impartial discussions and are expected to share the evidence gathered with BEIS officials in February this year.
We will publish the Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26. We will build on my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and the Energy White Paper, as well as upcoming plans in key sectors such as the Transport Decarbonisation Plan and Heat and Buildings Strategy.
The UK’s Nationally Determined Contribution is ambitious and demonstrates our continued leadership in tackling climate change. Our Net Zero Strategy will be a comprehensive plan for decarbonising sectors across the economy, both to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and meet our interim targets, making the most of new growth and employment opportunities across the UK.
We are building on the strong foundations we have established in decarbonising our economy; our ambitious manifesto commitments; and announcements from the Prime Minister and my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer of measures to cut emissions as we build back better in our economic recovery from COVID-19.
Details of awards under the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme will be published where required on the European Commission’s Transparency Aid Module in due course. The Future Fund is not a loan guarantee scheme, however details of investments made through the Future Fund alongside private investors are commercially confidential.
In the Clean Growth Strategy (2017), the Government set out its ambitions that all properties should be EPC Band C by 2035, where cost-effective, affordable, and practical. We have demonstrated our ambition as properties at EPC Band C has increased from 9% in 2008 to 34% in 2018. In addition, from 1990 to 2019 emissions from homes has reduced by 17%.
The Green Homes Grant will give homeowners and landlords an opportunity to upgrade the energy performance of their homes. We also plan on introducing the Future Homes Standard by 2025, which will help ensure that the homes in the UK will be fit for the future. Homes across the UK will be future proofed with leading energy efficiency and low carbon heating measures. The £50m Social Housing Decarbonisation Demonstrator will make progress toward increasing the energy efficiency of social housing. The £1 billion Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme will offer grants to public sector buildings, including schools and hospitals, to fund both energy efficiency and low carbon heat upgrades.
The Government is also 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 all homes and buildings and set buildings on track for net zero.
The Government wants to be at the forefront of equality and we recognise the need for everyone to be able to access live sport. We are clear that all sports grounds should be inclusive and accessible to all spectators.
We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act of 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues.
With the support of Level Playing Field, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) developed the Accessible Stadia document and Accessible Stadia Supplementary Guidance as a benchmark of good practice for new and existing sports grounds. It offers practical, clear solutions that will help deliver high-quality grounds with facilities and services that are accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all. Level Playing Field are currently leading an update of this guidance to reflect the latest developments in practice and design.
The Freedom of Information Act is regulated and enforced independently of the government by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The ICO responds to all Freedom of Information complaints with an email acknowledging receipt, which sets out current expected timescales for a response. All complaints are triaged: investigations into relatively simple cases usually commence within 30 days of receipt, while more complex cases may take longer for an ICO officer to investigate.
The ICO currently receives Grant In Aid funding from the government for its statutory responsibilities in relation to the Freedom of Information Act.
We want to make the UK the safest place to go online and the best place in the world to set up a digital company. To achieve this aim we need a step change in our regulatory approach.
From establishing the new pro-competition regime for digital markets to our world leading work on online harms this will drive competition, keep people safe and promote our democracy online.
The government has worked closely with industry throughout the pandemic and agreed a set of commitments with the UK’s major broadband and mobile operators to support vulnerable consumers during the Covid-19 period. Providers committed to working with customers who are finding it difficult to pay their bill as a result of Covid-19 to ensure that they are treated fairly and appropriately supported. This is in addition to lifting all fixed broadband data caps and providing new and generous landline and mobile offers, such as free or low cost mobile data boosts.
There are already social tariffs available which offer low cost landline and broadband services for those on certain means-tested benefits. However, in line with Ofcom’s recommendation in their Affordability Report published in December 2020, the government encourages those providers who do not currently offer social tariff packages to do so and we will monitor the situation closely.
The department takes all possible steps to identify and tackle conflict of interest and potential bias, including the embedment of fair and open tender processes, overseen by multiple officials from different areas of the department. Other measures include regular review of our policies, ensuring they are relevant to current contexts and adhere to central government guidelines.
Candidates and centres should adhere to the guidance on living with COVID-19.
Candidates are expected to attend their exams wherever possible, and school and college staff should encourage them to do so. However, where that is not possible, exam boards have taken measures to support students to access a grade, including spacing the exam timetable with at least ten days between the first and last exam in each subject. They have also confirmed that eligible students completing one assessment (exam or non-exam assessment) will be able to receive a grade through special consideration, provided they have an acceptable reason for missing the other assessments.
A candidate who is staying at home and avoiding contact with others, in line with UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) guidance, would be eligible to apply for special consideration to receive a grade based on the other assessments they complete. This includes candidates with the symptoms described in the UKHSA guidance, and those with a positive COVID-19 test result.
Public health advice continues to be that testing in education and childcare settings is no longer needed. Most infectious diseases in education and childcare settings can be managed by following the advice in UKHSA’s updated health protection in education and childcare settings guidance. Students and staff should follow UKHSA’s advice for those who have symptoms.
Although schools and colleges may still have some unused test kits in stock, they should not continue to hand out test kits to staff or students. The department is working with UKHSA to explore options for removal of testing resources no longer required.
The outcome of the SEND Review will be published as a green paper for full public consultation by the end of March.
Local authorities record and store children’s services data in digital case management systems they procure from the market. Our Children’s Social Care Digital Programme has worked with local authorities and case management system suppliers to develop guidance, which will be published shortly. It aims to support local authority planning, procurement and implementation of case management systems.
We are also working across government on how data and technology can be used to enable better multi-agency information sharing in safeguarding, including an investigation study on the feasibility of adopting a consistent child identifier.
Legal duties on political impartiality do not supersede schools’ other statutory requirements. Both the ‘Political Impartiality in Schools’ guidance and the statutory guidance for Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE) support schools to teach a broad and balanced curriculum that will enable all pupils to be healthy and safe and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and values that will prepare them to be informed and active citizens in modern Britain.
The ‘Political Impartiality in Schools’ guidance sets out the issues schools should be considering to determine whether an issue is political, including whether it is subject to ongoing ethical debate, without a clear consensus in public opinion. It also provides scenarios chosen in part to help build an understanding of what constitutes a political issue. Ultimately school leaders and teachers will need to use reasonable judgement to determine what is and is not a ‘political issue’. Where schools remain unsure if a topic is a ‘political issue’ it is advisable to avoid promoting a particular view to pupils, and instead give a balanced factual account of the topic, in line with the legal duties on political impartiality. The guidance is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.
Schools should take a reasonable and proportionate approach to ensuring political impartiality, alongside their other responsibilities, including their legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 (including the Public Sector Equality Duty for state-funded schools) and the statutory requirements to teach RSHE which is clear that pupils should be taught LGBT content at a timely point in their school years. At secondary level pupils should be taught the facts and the law about sex, sexuality, sexual health, and gender identity, in an age-appropriate and inclusive way.
As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools will have flexibility over how they deliver these subjects, so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of all pupils.
Matters of professional titles and what qualifications and skills a person needs for entry to a profession are for employers and professional bodies. The Department for Education has no role in such matters.
There are a range of interpreting and translating qualifications available to learners to facilitate access to interpreting and translating professions, some of which are approved for public funding. Eligibility for funding will depend on individual circumstances and prior learning.
I refer the hon. Member for Liverpool, Walton and the hon. Member for Rother Valley to the answer I gave on 21 January 2022 to Question 106872.
As part of the government response to the consultation published in July 2018, a commitment was made to establish new mental health support teams (MHSTs), working in or near schools and colleges. The full consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.
The interim report of the independent evaluation into the first 25 MHST trailblazer sites testing out new ways of supporting children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs in educational providers was published in July 2021. This can be found here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/publications.aspx.
Findings included that 89% of local service models were underpinned by a clear understanding of local needs and had been designed to take all groups of children and young people into account. In some cases the ‘standard’ MHST interventions were felt to be less suitable and effective for some groups including younger age children, children who were self-harming, children with special educational needs, and vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The core functions of the MHST model are to deliver specific interventions for mild to moderate mental health needs, to support education settings including special schools to develop their holistic approach to mental health and wellbeing. It is also to facilitate access to appropriate external specialist services to help children and young people get the right support and stay in education.
The department is clear that local service providers must carefully consider health inequalities and disadvantage when deciding how an MHST is structured. It must also work with each education setting to scope out and co-design the support offer required to ensure it reflects the needs of pupils and students, the setting, and the local system.
MHSTs may, with local partners, develop thematic or specialist teams to work with specific types of settings or needs, and some have now adapted their offer to provide tailored support in special schools. The department will look to build on learning from their approach, as well as findings from the independent evaluation, to support understanding of how best to meet the needs of settings and children and young people in special schools.
As part of the government response to the consultation published in July 2018, a commitment was made to establish new mental health support teams (MHSTs), working in or near schools and colleges. The full consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transforming-children-and-young-peoples-mental-health-provision-a-green-paper.
The interim report of the independent evaluation into the first 25 MHST trailblazer sites testing out new ways of supporting children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs in educational providers was published in July 2021. This can be found here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/publications.aspx.
Findings included that 89% of local service models were underpinned by a clear understanding of local needs and had been designed to take all groups of children and young people into account. In some cases the ‘standard’ MHST interventions were felt to be less suitable and effective for some groups including younger age children, children who were self-harming, children with special educational needs, and vulnerable and disadvantaged children. The core functions of the MHST model are to deliver specific interventions for mild to moderate mental health needs, to support education settings including special schools to develop their holistic approach to mental health and wellbeing. It is also to facilitate access to appropriate external specialist services to help children and young people get the right support and stay in education.
The department is clear that local service providers must carefully consider health inequalities and disadvantage when deciding how an MHST is structured. It must also work with each education setting to scope out and co-design the support offer required to ensure it reflects the needs of pupils and students, the setting, and the local system.
MHSTs may, with local partners, develop thematic or specialist teams to work with specific types of settings or needs, and some have now adapted their offer to provide tailored support in special schools. The department will look to build on learning from their approach, as well as findings from the independent evaluation, to support understanding of how best to meet the needs of settings and children and young people in special schools.
The department has heard throughout the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review that the level of variation in SEND provision across the country is part of what drives some of the challenges and dissatisfaction with the current system. This is part of what we plan to address through the Review to ensure better outcomes and experiences for those with SEND, within a sustainable system. The department will publish proposals as a green paper for public consultation, in the first 3 months of 2022.
Currently, the department supports and hold local areas to account for the quality of their local SEND provision through joint inspections by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission. Once an inspection report has been published, SEND case leads in the department work closely with our regional SEND adviser team and NHS England advisers to support and challenge local areas to secure the improvements required.
Our statutory safeguarding guidance Keeping children safe in education (KSCIE) is already very clear that all school staff should be aware of indicators of any form of abuse and or neglect, and what they should do if they have any concerns about a child being abused. Child abuse under the name of so-called conversion therapy is no different.
KCSIE is under constant review and maintained to make sure it is reflective of abuse, harm, the law and government policy. We will consider updating KCSIE in line with any legislative changes following the Government Equalities Office consultation “to help the development of legislation for banning conversion therapy”. The consultation closes on 4 February.
The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), including visual impairments, receive the support they need to achieve in their early years, school and college.
Information on the number of qualified teachers of the visually impaired, and specialist habilitation workers, is not collected by the department.
It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
We intend to develop a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022-23 and will bring the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
Decisions about how funding is used, including for the employment of specialist teachers for visually impaired children and specialist habilitation professionals, are made by local authorities and schools.
The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), including visual impairments, receive the support they need to achieve in their early years, school and college.
Information on the number of qualified teachers of the visually impaired, and specialist habilitation workers, is not collected by the department.
It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
We intend to develop a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022-23 and will bring the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
Decisions about how funding is used, including for the employment of specialist teachers for visually impaired children and specialist habilitation professionals, are made by local authorities and schools.
The department is firmly committed to ensuring that children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND), including visual impairments, receive the support they need to achieve in their early years, school and college.
Information on the number of qualified teachers of the visually impaired, and specialist habilitation workers, is not collected by the department.
It is a legal requirement for qualified teachers of classes of pupils who have sensory impairments to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education.
We intend to develop a new approval process to determine providers of MQSIs from the start of the academic year 2023/2024. Our aim is to ensure a steady supply of teachers of children with visual, hearing, and multi-sensory impairment, in both specialist and mainstream settings.
High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with more complex SEND, will be increasing by £1 billion in the financial year 2022-23 and will bring the overall total of funding for high needs to £9.1 billion. This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last two years.
Decisions about how funding is used, including for the employment of specialist teachers for visually impaired children and specialist habilitation professionals, are made by local authorities and schools.
Working across government to ensure the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are met, is a priority for this department.
In July 2021 the government published the National Disability Strategy, setting out our vision to improve the everyday lives of disabled people. We gave a range of commitments over supporting children and young people with disabilities in their education and preparation for adulthood.
One of the most frequently occurring types of SEN recognised in children and young people is autism. We are working closely with partners across government to improve support for autistic people of all ages.
In July 2021, we published jointly with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) the new ‘Autism Strategy’, which extended to children and young people for the first time, with funding in its first year of £74 million. In it, we set out how we will continue our programme of developing training and resources for education staff. We also committed to working in collaboration across government, with autistic people and their families, the NHS, local government, and the voluntary sector, to implement the strategy, and we are continuing to do so.
Focusing on the health and care needs of children and young people with SEND, the department contributes to the cross-system, cross-government building the right support delivery board which is responsible for driving further progress in reducing the number of autistic children, young people, and adults, with a learning disability in mental health inpatient settings. We are a key partner in the children and young people’s workstream, which is one of the board’s core priorities.
Working closely with DHSC, the department has lent its support to the Down’s Syndrome Bill, currently moving through parliament, and proposed by my right hon. Friend for North Somerset, which seeks to improve services and life outcomes for people with down’s syndrome. The bill would place a new duty on my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to issue guidance in England to certain health, social care, housing and education authorities on meeting the specific needs of people with down‘s syndrome.
Throughout the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review, we have engaged extensively with children and young people with a range of SEND, and their parents, to ensure we have heard their views directly about how the system needs to improve, including for those with a visual impairment
The outcome of the Review will be published in the first three months of this year as a Green Paper for full public consultation. We will ensure that our subsequent public consultation is accessible to a wide audience and provide a range of alternative formats to support those with vision, motor, cognitive or learning difficulties and deafness or impaired hearing engage fully in the consultation.
Throughout the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review, we have engaged extensively with children and young people with a range of SEND, and their parents, to ensure we have heard their views directly about how the system needs to improve, including for those with a visual impairment
The outcome of the Review will be published in the first three months of this year as a Green Paper for full public consultation. We will ensure that our subsequent public consultation is accessible to a wide audience and provide a range of alternative formats to support those with vision, motor, cognitive or learning difficulties and deafness or impaired hearing engage fully in the consultation.
The Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review is making good progress in identifying the reforms needed to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and their families.
The COVID-19 outbreak has inevitably frustrated the pace of the review and has materially altered the context for reform. That is why we continue to listen and work with system leaders to get this right by drawing on the best evidence available.
The government remains committed to publishing proposals for public consultation that will give children with SEND greater opportunities to succeed, by fundamentally improving the way we deliver support.
The department has consulted in two stages on proposals for reforming post-16 qualifications at level 3. Our aim is to ensure that every qualification approved for public funding has a distinct purpose, is high quality and supports progression to positive outcomes.
The second stage of consultation ran from 23 October 2020 to 31 January 2021 and asked for views on the range of qualifications that will sit alongside A levels and T Levels in future. These proposals build on feedback from the first consultation and include a small number of groups of academic qualifications that can be taken alongside or as an alternative to A levels, where there is a clear need for skills and knowledge that A levels alone cannot deliver, and where they meet our new quality criteria.
No decisions have been made yet. The responses to the consultation are informing our thinking and we intend to publish a full response in due course.
Catch-up funding for 16 to 19 year olds is provided through the 16-19 Tuition Fund. This is focused on supporting those young people who are at significant disadvantage and whose learning has been impacted most severely by the COVID-19 outbreak.
We targeted this funding among 16 to 19 year old students for those with low prior attainment because:
Those without GCSE English and/or maths at the expected standard at age 16 is the agreed measure used for disadvantage in 16 to 19 education and an established part of the 16 to 19 funding formula.
Funding is available to spend on those students without a grade 5 or above in English and/or maths GCSE. However, providers are required to prioritise support for students who have not achieved a grade 4 in English and/or maths. If providers have funding available within their allocations, they can consider whether any young people with a grade 4 also needs catch up support.
As further evidence emerges, we will consider if refinements to eligibility for future funding are needed to maximise its value and impact in providing catch-up support for 16 to 19 students.
The government is investing an additional £291 million in 16 to 19 education in 2021 to 2022. This is in addition to the £400 million awarded in the 2019 Spending Review which was the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010. This has allowed us to raise the base rate of funding for all providers of 16 to 19 education, including school sixth forms and sixth-form colleges, for the first time since the current funding system was introduced in 2013, from £4,000 in each academic year up to 2019/20, to £4,188 in academic years 2020/21 and 2021/22, as well as to make further funding increases targeted on high value and high cost programmes. We are continuing to increase our investment in T Levels and will allocate up to an extra half a billion pounds a year to deliver these new programmes once they are fully rolled out. The Government has also committed £83 million capital funding in the 2021-22 financial year to ensure that eligible post-16 providers can accommodate the expected demographic increase in 16 to 19-year-olds. More details about this funding and eligibility for the funding will be announced in due course and we will keep the policy under review.
The continuing provision of free school meals to children from out of work families or those on low incomes is of the utmost importance to this government.
School catering contracts are agreed locally. We have guidance in place allowing schools to decide the best approach for supporting free school meal pupils who are at home. This can be through lunch parcels, local vouchers or the national voucher scheme which will be up and running from next week.
The images circulating of poor-quality food parcels are unacceptable. On 13 January, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, met the leading school food suppliers and caterers to insist on urgent action to make sure lunch parcels meet the standards we expect. I’m grateful to those firms who are working hard with schools to provide nutritious, balanced lunches for children.
If a parent is concerned about the standards of their lunch parcel, they should speak directly with their school in the first instance. If the issue is not resolved then, a hotline is available at the department. The department will make contact with suppliers where concerns are escalated, to ensure they are following the good practice guidance we have set out. We will also alert the school to confirm appropriate contract management arrangements are in place, so that immediate improvements are made.
The Department for Education is currently working on an ambitious programme for further education (FE) and skills reform and a white paper. Our reform programme will level up the FE sector and the white paper will set out a vision for post-16 technical education. This will include making sure that young people and adults have access to the independent advice and guidance they need to progress into their chosen career, including employment or further academic or technical training.
As part of the Skills Recovery package, we are providing an extra £32 million to the National Careers Service which delivers impartial careers information, advice and guidance to adults and young people. This extra funding will be available until March 2022 and will provide personal careers advice and guidance for 269,000 more people in priority groups whose jobs or learning have been affected by COVID-19. This is additional to the 400,000 customers which the service currently supports.
The National Careers Service is also supporting the delivery of the online Skills Toolkit. This is a new online platform which aims to give people easy access to free, high quality digital and numeracy courses to help them build up their skills, progress in work and boost their job prospects.
This is a devolved matter and therefore the information provided relates to England only.
This Government has set a world leading target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030, which represents our commitment to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. Measures set out in the Environment Act, such as Biodiversity Net Gain, Local Nature Recovery Strategies, Conservation Covenants and a strengthened biodiversity duty on public authorities, will drive action towards our targets and objectives, alongside wider action and investment.
Our forthcoming Nature Recovery Green Paper will set out proposals to better enable us to recover nature and achieve our goal to protect 30% of our land and sea for nature by 2030. We are establishing a Nature Recovery Network which will support the Government's goals of halting biodiversity loss by improving and connecting habitats and species. In establishing the Network we will also provide wider benefits, such as landscapes more resilient to climate change through improved ecosystem function, natural solutions that reduce and store carbon, and improving people's connection with nature.
The Government's Nature for Climate Fund is providing more than £750 million over the course of this Parliament to create new, and protect existing, habitats in England by helping restore 35,000ha of peatland, and supporting a trebling of woodland creation rates, by 2025. The England Peat Action Plan provides a strategic framework to improve management and protection of both our upland and lowland peatlands, to ensure our peatlands are functioning healthily. As set out in the England Trees Action Plan, we are committed to increasing tree planting in this parliament to 30,000 hectares per year across the UK, to put us on track to ensure at least 12% woodland cover in England by the middle of the century.
We are also repurposing our system of agricultural payments to reward farmers and land managers for the environmental services they provide – including creating and maintaining habitat, and sustainable farming practices. This will be delivered through three new Environmental Land Management schemes – the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery.
At sea, we have built an extensive network of 372 Marine Protected Areas covering 38% of UK waters, and are focusing on making sure they are protected properly. Using new powers introduced by the Fisheries Act 2020, the Marine Management Organisation is developing an ambitious three-year programme for assessing sites and implementing byelaws, where necessary, to manage fishing activity in all English offshore MPAs. Furthermore, the Government is introducing a number of pilot Highly Protected Marine Areas for biodiversity recovery, which will have the highest levels of protection in our seas.
These actions to protect, increase and improve habitats, and reduce pressures on ecosystems will deliver the Government's ambitious commitments on the environment.
This research project, “Review of opportunities for diversifying UK agriculture through investment in underutilised crops,” is now underway.
The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once in a generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will build on existing work across Government and identify new opportunities to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK.
Defra is committed to consulting stakeholders on any specific policies that affect them that are announced in or around the Food Strategy. Furthermore, in developing the Government Food Strategy, Defra is committed to listening to opinions from stakeholders across the entirety of the food system. We are speaking with a wide range of external and internal stakeholders to identify any policy gaps or potential options to transform the food system, using existing engagement forums and new relationships. In developing the Food Strategy, we are also considering Henry Dimbleby’s independent review of the food system, which was underpinned by a Defra Call for Evidence and active citizen engagement.
The forthcoming Government Food Strategy is a once in a generation opportunity to create a food system that feeds our nation today and protects it for tomorrow. It will cover the entire food system from farm to fork, building on work already underway in the Agriculture Act, Fisheries Act, and Environment Bill as well as docking into wider Government priorities, including Net Zero, 25 Year Environment Plan, and Build Back Greener. It will also consider the evidence of Henry Dimbleby’s independent review of the food system.
Defra is therefore working very closely with all other relevant Departments on the Food Strategy – at official and Ministerial levels - to identify new opportunities to make the food system healthier, more sustainable, more resilient, and more accessible for those across the UK.
No such formal assessment has been made but since 1976, the United Kingdom has recognised the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Article 11 notes “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food”, and seeks “to improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources”; and “taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need.” The Covenant is not incorporated into domestic law, as the Covenant does not require States to do so and the Government considers that its method of implementation of the Covenant fulfils the UK’s obligations under Article 2(1).
The UK is also committed to delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals, including on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture and on ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. This Government is wholly committed to supporting people on lower incomes through a range of measures, including by spending over £110 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2021/22.
We recognise that some people may require extra support over the winter as we enter the final stages of recovery, which is why vulnerable households across the country will now be able to access a new £500 million support fund to help them with essentials. The Household Support Fund will provide £421 million to help vulnerable people in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials. The Barnett Formula will apply in the usual way, with the devolved administrations receiving almost £80 million (£41 million for the Scottish Government, £25 million for the Welsh Government and £14 million for the Northern Ireland Executive), for a total of £500 million.
On 3 March the UK, jointly with E3 partners (Germany and France), announced a comprehensive €5 million package of both material and financial support to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Iran. The UK component of this support consists of a £2 million contribution to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for its work in Iran. This was made on 17 March and will pay for medical equipment, including laboratory items and protective kit, as well as an uplift in staffing.
The total amount invested across the five investments specified in the question was $5.2 million. The total net asset value, as of 31 December 2019, had risen to $6.2 million.
CDC publishes the amounts it invests directly into businesses and investment funds on its website www.cdcgroup.com. It does not disclose individual valuations as these are commercially sensitive.
DFID is talking to our partners to look at ways to address the challenges posed to them and their projects by COVID-19. We will work collaboratively with our partners and take a flexible approach in order to find pragmatic solutions to support both our partners and our programmes.
DFID is implementing the UK government position on supplier partner relief to ensure that we offer support where this is appropriate.
Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, all UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis
Ageing is an important element in the Department for International Development (DFID’s) efforts to tackle extreme poverty and our collective commitment to ‘leave no-one behind’. Baroness Sugg has direct responsibility for ageing as part of her portfolio on Inclusive Societies, and we will make this more explicit in her online portfolio. We recognise that, in addition to their other vulnerabilities, older people, people with pre-existing conditions, and those with complex needs are disproportionately impacted and at more serious risk of severe complications and fatality due to COVID-19.
The UK is at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19 and has, to date, committed up to £241 million of funding to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. We will work with all of our humanitarian partners to ensure that the most vulnerable, including older people and people with disabilities are reached and supported. We are therefore continuing to take action to support countries to care for their populations.
The UK is at the forefront of supporting the science-led approach to tackling COVID-19 around the world and has invested £65 million so far into COVID-19 research. This includes investment in research and development of a possible vaccine, as well as more immediate gains such as rapid diagnostics and therapeutics.
An effective vaccine will be vital to the long-term control of the outbreak. To date the UK has invested £40 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), specifically for COVID-19 vaccine development, alongside our existing support to their research. DFID will work with CEPI and others to ensure that any vaccine candidates are affordable and accessible to developing countries.
We have also made available up to £150 million to the International Monetary Fund to help developing countries meet their debt repayments so that they can focus their available resources on tackling coronavirus. This will enable developing countries to direct greater resources to their healthcare efforts, helping prevent the virus from spreading around the world.
Our response builds on the UK’s longstanding record of supporting countries across the globe to prepare for large disease outbreaks. This includes being the largest donor to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Between 2016 and 2020, DFID provided £1.44 billion of support to GAVI. With UK support they have vaccinated 76 million children between 2016 and 2020, saving 1.4 million lives from vaccine preventable diseases.
The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting the UK’s global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 and help the most vulnerable. G7 leaders made an important statement on Monday on the need to coordinate a global response to COVID-19. DFID is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to respond to international requests for technical support in managing COVID-19.
This includes supporting countries with preparedness and disease control interventions to make sure we save lives and protect the vulnerable. We are connecting technical experts in partner countries with epidemiologists and public health experts. We are also sharing information that the UK is using to model the pandemic with others.
The UK provides around £120 million each year to the World Health Organization (WHO). To support the UK’s global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 and help the most vulnerable the UK has provided an additional £10 million to the WHO’s Emergency Flash Appeal to help prevent the spread of this outbreak by supporting developing countries to rapidly identify and care for patients with symptoms. In addition, experts funded by UK aid will be deployed to the WHO to help coordinate the international response.
We are keeping further international funding under regular review.
The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting the UK’s global efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19 and help the most vulnerable. G7 leaders made an important statement on Monday on the need to coordinate a global response to COVID-19. DFID is working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to respond to international requests for technical support in managing COVID-19.
This includes supporting countries with preparedness and disease control interventions to make sure we save lives and protect the vulnerable. We are connecting technical experts in partner countries with epidemiologists and public health experts. We are also sharing information that the UK is using to model the pandemic with others.
DFID officials speak regularly with Kevin Kennedy and his team. Most recently they discussed the updated UN Readiness and Response Plan, requesting $500 million from the international community to support the emergency response in Idlib. DFID has contributed to that response.
On 3 March the Secretary of State announced an additional £89 million of humanitarian aid to Syria, including £15 million specifically for Idlib. This will deliver emergency support such as medical items, clean water and shelter, in addition to evacuating medical staff and civilians from unsafe areas where military forces are advancing.
DFID officials are in regular contact with UNHCR counterparts.
The UK is deeply concerned that over 950,000 Syrians have been displaced by the violence in Idlib since 1 December, with over 80% being women and children. On 3 March, the Secretary of State announced an additional £89 million of humanitarian aid to Syria, including £15 million specifically for Idlib. This will deliver emergency support such as medical items, clean water and shelter, in addition to evacuating medical staff and civilians from unsafe areas where military forces are advancing.
There are no known cases of COVID-19 in refugee camps at present in North West Syria and elsewhere in the region.
DFID recognises that individuals in refugee camps are more vulnerable to COVID-19. In Syria, the international community is taking steps to help stop the virus spreading. On 1 March, the UN’s Emergency Relief Coordinator released US $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to help fund global efforts to contain the virus in Syria. The funding, which will be allocated to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF, will go towards monitoring the spread of the virus, investigating cases and the operation of national laboratories.
DFID is closely monitoring the situation and looking at specific support we could provide to existing partners. In Syria and the region, our healthcare funding through the WHO provides medicine and equipment to hospitals and health centres, including in IDP camps, as well as training of healthcare staff. DFID support also assists health systems strengthening, enabling real-time decision making in improving the health response and preventing mass outbreaks of disease.
Globally, the UK is continuing to support efforts to combat the outbreak of COVID-19. We have provided £40 million investment into vaccine and virus research, and £5 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO). We are working with other countries to use forums such as the G7 presidency to focus international efforts in support of the WHO led response.
My Department recognises that older people experience a range of complex barriers and face multiple exclusions in developing countries across the globe.
Baroness Sugg has direct responsibility for ageing as part of her portfolio on inclusive societies.
Ageing is an important factor in DFID’s efforts to tackle extreme poverty, ensure inclusion and in our approach to ‘leave no-one behind’. This is reflected in our departmental strategy papers. Both the Disability Inclusion Strategy and the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality take a life-course approach, ensuring the delivery of transformative change for people all ages.
We are also supporting governments to make vital social protection systems more inclusive of older people. In Uganda, DFID continues to build on its partnership with the Government of Uganda to deliver a Senior Citizen Grant. The grant currently supports over 168,000 older people with a cash transfer to help meet their nutritional and healthcare needs.
The UK Government recognises that older people experience a range of complex barriers in developing countries around the globe.
DFID’s vision is a world where all people, in all stages of their lives, are engaged, empowered and able to exercise their rights. Ageing is an important factor in our efforts to tackle extreme poverty, ensure inclusion and in our approach to ‘leave no-one behind’. For example, DFID’s Disability Inclusion Strategy and Strategic Vision for Gender Equality take a life-course approach, ensuring the delivery of transformative change for people all ages.
We are also supporting governments to make vital social protection systems more inclusive of older people. In Uganda, DFID continues to build on its partnership with the Government of Uganda to deliver a Senior Citizen Grant. The grant currently supports over 168,000 older people with a cash transfer to help meet their nutritional and healthcare needs.
The names of current CDC investments relating to fossil fuels are: Eneo (Formerly Sonel); Actis Energy Cameroon Holdings (Eneo); Azura Power West Africa Ltd; Azura Power; Cenpower; Amandi Energy; Maria Gleta; Proton Energy; Uquo Integrated Gas Business (Accugas); Simba Oil Ltd; SODEP; Broron Oil & Gas; Amandi Energy; Elton International Co; Africa Oilfield Services/AOS Orwell Ltd; Gas Train; Niger Delta Exploration & Production Plc; Globeleq Ltd (Dibamba); Globeleq Ltd (Azito); Globeleq Ltd (Kribi); Globeleq Ltd (Tsavo) Globeleq Ltd (Songas); Globeleq Africa Holdings; Africa Oil Corp; Eland Oil & Gas; Petrobras Oil & Gas B.V.; GMR Energy Ltd / Skyron Eco Ventures (GMR Infrastructure); ONGC Tripura Power Company Ltd; Karadeniz Powerships; Kosmos Energy; Sirajganj 4; Summit Meghnaghat; Africa Terminaling Company Ltd; Viathan Engineering Ltd; Te Power; Albatross Energy, Mali; Petroleum Products Pipeline SA; Les Centaure Routiers; Bell Oil and Gas; Vivo Energy.
Information on these investments is available on CDC’s website [https://www.cdcgroup.com/en/our-investments/].
CDC invests in energy projects to support access to energy for 600 million Africans without power and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The total invested in aggregate across all 5 of these projects is $3.6 million. The date of each investment was a) March 2016 b) March 2018 c) February 2019 d) February 2019 e) May 2019.
Since 2011, CDC has invested in four energy projects designed to run on heavy fuel oil in four countries in Africa: Kenya, Cameroon, Mali and Guinea-Conakry. The funding was committed in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The total invested into the four projects is $77.3 million which represents less than 1.5% of CDC’s total investment portfolio.
CDC invests in energy projects to support access to energy for 600 million Africans without power and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 in a socially just manner. Over the past two years, CDC has committed over $500 million to renewable energy projects, almost 25% of CDC’s total investment commitments made over this period. Whenever CDC invests in fossil fuels, it does so with the aim to increase efficiency, reduce emissions and as part of a low carbon transition plan.
The UK is increasingly concerned by the constraints placed on the international humanitarian response in Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen. In line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2451, we are calling on all parties to facilitate unhindered access for humanitarian actors and agencies and ensure that humanitarian workers are able to conduct their work safely and without harm.
In mid-February, donors (including the UK), International Non-Governmental Organisations and the United Nations met in Brussels and agreed to move forward with a coordinated response to improve access for humanitarian agencies operating in Yemen, including reducing aid if restrictions are not lifted.
Yemen remains the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with nearly 80% of the entire population, over 24 million people, requiring some form of humanitarian assistance. More than 20 million people in Yemen do not have reliable access to food and almost 10 million people face extreme food shortages.
The UK is increasingly concerned by the constraints placed on the international humanitarian response in Houthi-controlled areas of northern Yemen. In line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2451, we are calling on all parties to facilitate unhindered access for humanitarian actors and agencies and ensure that humanitarian workers are able to conduct their work safely and without harm.
A political settlement is the only way to fully address the humanitarian crisis and we encourage further constructive engagement from all parties to achieve this.
DFID has stepped up support for developing countries following the World Health (WHO) declaration, through an initial £5 million contribution to WHO’s Emergency Flash Appeal and deploying experts to the WHO’s Regional Office for Africa in the Republic of Congo. In addition, DFID Country Offices are in close contact with country partners in preparing for and responding to an outbreak, and we are working alongside the Department for Health and Social Care and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on further research into the virus.
More generally, DFID’s health system strengthening programmes build capability for health security such as disease surveillance and response systems.
Gender equality is a top development priority for the UK. Girls and women across the world are held back by systematic and entrenched inequality and discrimination.
This year’s UN Commission on the Status of Women is particularly important: 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the foundational international agenda for women’s empowerment agreed in 1995, and five years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals. DFID will be attending the event.
Our engagement with CSW will reinforce the UK’s bold leadership on gender equality, in the face of an increasingly coordinated and effective opposition to women’s rights globally.
DFID is working across government and with like-minded partners to drive forward our international priorities for girls and women including: negotiating a progressive and forward-looking Political Declaration, championing the critical role of civil society in collaborating with governments, the UN and other key actors, and standing firm against the attempted rollback of the international framework.
The Summit brought together, amongst others, hundreds of UK and African business representatives and representatives from Civil Society Organisations. Forty entrepreneurs from Africa, owning smaller businesses, participated. The Government has also organised more than ten events in the lead-up to, and as follow-up to, the Summit to gather views from a range of stakeholders, including African Civil Society Organisations.
DFID does not provide ODA bilateral assistance for coal and has not done so since 2012.
In the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) we do not support coal projects expect in rare circumstances and only for the poorest countries where there is no economical alternative. The Prime Minister’s announcement means DFID Ministers will now review all coal and other fossil fuel projects that are presented to the Boards of the MDBs and make a decision on each case.
The UK is one of the first countries to commit to ending unabated coal generation. We have cut emissions by more than 40 per cent since 1990, while our economy has grown by two thirds. In May, the UK went without running coal power generation for over two weeks – the longest coal-free period in the country since the 1880s.
The UK and Canada are leading on initiatives to help countries build commitments to move away from unabated coal, such as the Powering Past Coal Alliance which now has 97 members, with growing membership from financial institutions.
In the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) we do not support coal projects expect in rare circumstances and only for the poorest countries where there is no economical alternative. The Prime Minister’s announcement means DFID Ministers will now review all coal and other fossil fuel projects that are presented to the Boards of the MDBs and make a decision on each case.
The Summit brought together African leaders and delegations from 21 countries: Algeria, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda.
Six multilateral organisations and international financial institutions also participated: the African Development Bank, the African Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations and the World Bank.
In addition, hundreds of UK and African business representatives and representatives from Civil Society Organisations attended the Summit.
Trade Connect, a new £20m programme to help firms in developing countries remove ‘last mile barriers to export’, is focused on creating jobs and raising incomes to promote sustainable economic growth. The programme has been assessed to be compliant with the terms of spending ODA under the International Development Act 2002. The Trade Connect programme will help firms export to more to international markets and will not be restricted to direct trade with the UK or UK Companies.
At the UK-Africa Investment Summit on 20 January 2020, the UK announced its commitment to helping African countries break down barriers for trade and investment. We are strengthening Britain’s trading partnerships with an offer that supports both British and African businesses to trade more and grow faster.
The new £20million Trade Connect programme will help businesses in developing countries overcome these barriers and sell more internationally. TradeConnect will therefore contribute to development by supporting growth creation in targeted firms and sectors.
As with all such Government events, the full costing will be available in due course. 2020 UK ODA spend, including for this Summit, will be reported in Statistics on International Development, published by DFID in Autumn 2021.
I am placing a summary of achievements at the Summit in the Library of the House.
As with all such Government events, the full costing will be available in due course. 2020 UK ODA spend, including for this Summit, will be reported in Statistics on International Development, published by DFID in Autumn 2021.
I am placing a summary of achievements at the Summit in the Library of the House.
The Summit brought together, amongst others, hundreds of UK and African business representatives and representatives from Civil Society Organisations. Forty entrepreneurs from Africa, owning smaller businesses, participated. The Government has also organised more than ten events in the lead-up to, and as follow-up to, the Summit to gather views from a range of stakeholders, including African Civil Society Organisations.
The Department for International Trade is not responsible for the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.
As detailed in our ‘Strategic Approach’ publications, we are aiming to secure provisions in free trade agreements with the US, Australia and New Zealand that address the trade-distorting effects of corruption on global trade and fair competition to help maintain the United Kingdom’s high standards in this area.
The United Kingdom-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement includes a new provision covering anti-corruption, which signals the United Kingdom and Japan’s shared ambition to combat the distorting effects of corruption on trade.
At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January we announced an end to HMG support for thermal coal mining and coal power plant overseas, and we continue to keep our approach to other fossil fuel investments and financing overseas under review.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is obliged to consider all requests for its support to UK exports in all sectors. This includes the oil and gas sector, but also many other sectors such as renewables and green growth.
UKEF is helping to drive UK content into overseas renewables and green growth projects across the globe and has been proactively developing the breadth of its support for these sectors. This is supported by £2 billion of direct lending for UKEF, which was announced in the Spring Budget, to support UK exports to these sectors.
The support provided by UKEF to UK exporters takes the form of direct loans, guarantees and insurances for which premiums are charged and, for which, there is no net cost to the taxpayer.
At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January we announced an end to HMG support for thermal coal mining and coal power plant overseas, and we continue to keep our approach to other fossil fuel investments and financing overseas under review.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) is obliged to consider all requests for its support to UK exports in all sectors. This includes the oil and gas sector, but also many other sectors such as renewables and green growth.
UKEF is helping to drive UK content into overseas renewables and green growth projects across the globe and has been proactively developing the breadth of its support for these sectors. This is supported by £2 billion of direct lending for UKEF, which was announced in the Spring Budget, to support UK exports to these sectors.
The support provided by UKEF to UK exporters takes the form of direct loans, guarantees and insurances for which premiums are charged and, for which, there is no net cost to the taxpayer.
The Transport Secretary has instructed a comprehensive survey of all contracts between P&O Ferries and DP World, and Government.
Before any action is taken, we need to have a clear understanding of exactly what has happened which is what we are doing right now with BEIS. DfT is working closely with BEIS to establish the facts of what has happened in this case.
We are confident that there is little by way of Government contracts with P&O Ferries or DP World however the cross-Government review remains underway.
The Government is taking a phased approach to the rollout of our inbound vaccination programme and will continue to work with international partners to expand the policy to more countries and territories where it is safe to do so. Vaccine certification between countries and territories varies considerably and the government has published minimum criteria on gov.uk that both digital and paper certificates must meet.
The government has announced that from 2035 all new cars and vans must be fully zero emissions at the tailpipe and the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans will end from 2030 onwards. Between 2030 and 2035, new cars and vans can be sold if they have significant zero emission capability which will be defined through consultation later this year.
On 6th September the Secretary of State wrote to those stakeholders who had requested a review of the Airports National Policy Statement under the Planning Act 2008, communicating that it is not appropriate to review the ANPS at this time. The issue of whether to review the ANPS will be reconsidered after the Jet Zero Strategy has been finalised and we have more certainty about the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on aviation.
The average waiting time for a driving theory test in the Liverpool City Region is 5 weeks.
The theory test centre estate and service for England, Scotland and Wales, which is currently delivered by a sole supplier, is changing. From 6 September 2021, the contract for running theory test centres is to be split into three regions and the number of theory test centres in Great Britain will increase from 180 to 202.
As part of its service recovery, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has extended theory test centre opening hours in England, where conditions allow, creating 300,000 extra theory test appointments. It has also opened 10 temporary theory test super centres in England, which will create a minimum of 120,000 extra appointments each month.
The Government recognises that the aviation sector is home to many highly skilled and highly trained staff. We recognise that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will result in greater uncertainty over future demand (at least in the short/medium term) and that this has a knock-on effect on the operational requirements of airlines. However, airports are legally obliged to provide assistance, free of charge, for disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility to ensure equal access to aviation.
Holders of driving licences issued outside of the European Union who become resident in Great Britain can drive small vehicles (motorcars and motorcycles) for up one year from the date they become resident.
To continue driving after this period the driver must either exchange their licence, if it was issued by a country which has been designated for licence exchange purposes, or apply for a provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and practical driving test.
The Government keeps the ongoing impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic and any changes that may be needed to existing arrangements under review.
The recommendations contained in the Global Travel Taskforce (GTT) report cover three broad principles: first, setting out clear public health measures; second, seeking to increase demand safely; and third, looking to the UK to drive a co-ordinated response with global partners.
The Test to Release (TTR) scheme, one of the key recommendations in the GTT, went live on 15 December. This provides passengers arriving in England with the option to shorten the self-isolation by up to half following a negative COVID-19 test.
The launch of TTR is just the first step – the remaining 13 recommendations also represent key deliverables that will play an important role in supporting industry to get back on a trajectory towards strong economic growth, and are being worked on at pace.
The Government is committed to promoting the use and production of sustainable aviation fuels. To help overcome barriers to the sector’s development in the UK the Department for Transport’s Future Fuels for Flight and Freight Competition (F4C) has made up to £20m of matched capital funding available. As part of this competition we are currently supporting two projects looking to build plants capable of supplying advanced fuels at a large scale for use in aviation.
In addition, we are incentivising the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel under the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Such fuels are eligible for support under the RTFO and can be categorised as a development fuel, thereby potentially benefiting from a higher tradeable certificate value. DfT officials are also working closely with industry to explore further options for how we can support the UK’s development of sustainable aviation fuels.
The Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) temporarily suspend the normal financial mechanisms of franchise agreements, transferring all revenue and cost risk to the government. Operators are required to continue to fulfil their obligations under the EMAs for a small, pre-determined management fee. Fees are set at a maximum of 2 per cent of the cost base of the franchise before the Covid-19 pandemic began, intended to incentivise operators to meet reliability, punctuality and other targets. The maximum fee attainable was set on the basis that it will be lower than the returns attainable in operator’s existing franchise agreements where they bore revenue risk.
The Emergency Measures Agreements (EMAs) temporarily suspend the existing franchise agreements' financial mechanisms for an initial period of six months. They were developed at an early stage of the covid-19 crisis as a bespoke solution to address the particular circumstances of rail franchises. These include the fact that the government would face large and direct financial exposure via its obligations under the Railways Act if any franchise were to fail financially and become unable to operate its services. The EMAs include explicit provisions to prevent 'double recovery', ensuring franchisees cannot be compensated through the EMAs where funding from other government support schemes has been obtained.
As part of the terms and conditions of the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG), operators are required to make use of existing COVID-19 related funding where possible.
The reconciliation process set out in the CBSSG guidance seeks to make operators no better or worse off than pre-Covid-19 levels, on their net costs of operating. The reconciliation process will take into account all revenues generated and costs incurred by operators while in receipt of CBSSG, including revenues and costs from both commercial and tendered services.
The Department will undertake reconciliation calculations to assess whether an overpayment of the scheme has occurred, and notify the relevant operator to make a repayment to DfT within 4 weeks of the conclusion of this calculation.
As part of the terms and conditions of the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG), operators are required to make use of existing COVID-19 related funding where possible.
The reconciliation process set out in the CBSSG guidance seeks to make operators no better or worse off than pre-Covid-19 levels, on their net costs of operating. The reconciliation process will take into account all revenues generated and costs incurred by operators while in receipt of CBSSG, including revenues and costs from both commercial and tendered services.
The Department will undertake reconciliation calculations to assess whether an overpayment of the scheme has occurred, and notify the relevant operator to make a repayment to DfT within 4 weeks of the conclusion of this calculation.
As part of the terms and conditions of the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG), operators are required to make use of existing COVID-19 related funding where possible.
The reconciliation process set out in the CBSSG guidance seeks to make operators no better or worse off than pre-Covid-19 levels, on their net costs of operating. The reconciliation process will take into account all revenues generated and costs incurred by operators while in receipt of CBSSG, including revenues and costs from both commercial and tendered services.
The Department will undertake reconciliation calculations to assess whether an overpayment of the scheme has occurred, and notify the relevant operator to make a repayment to DfT within 4 weeks of the conclusion of this calculation.
As part of the terms and conditions of the Covid-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG), operators are required to make use of existing COVID-19 related funding where possible.
The reconciliation process set out in the CBSSG guidance seeks to make operators no better or worse off than pre-Covid-19 levels, on their net costs of operating. The reconciliation process will take into account all revenues generated and costs incurred by operators while in receipt of CBSSG, including revenues and costs from both commercial and tendered services.
The Department will undertake reconciliation calculations to assess whether an overpayment of the scheme has occurred, and notify the relevant operator to make a repayment to DfT within 4 weeks of the conclusion of this calculation.
DWP has a range of interventions in place to support individuals with a history of alcohol dependence into work.
The Department has commissioned the Individual Placement and Support for Drug and Alcohol Dependency programme. Delivered by the Office for Health Improvements and Disparities, this provision blends intensive job-search and in-work support with clinical treatment to enable individuals with a dependency to overcome barriers to employment. The programme is currently being delivered in 46 Local Authority areas, including Birmingham, Sheffield, and Leeds, and will be expanded to all 150 Local Authority areas in England by the end of 2024/25. This brings the total investment in the programme to over £39 million across the next three years.
Individuals with a history of alcohol dependence can also receive tailored support from our dedicated work coaches, such as the adjustment of Universal Credit work-search requirements and access to the Access to Work grant for any adaptations required in the workplace. They are also able to gain priority access to the Work and Health Programme, which supports people to enter into and stay in work.
No assessment of the cumulative impact of these measures has been made.
The Government is uprating Universal Credit in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April.
The Government is providing £12 billion of support to ease cost of living pressures, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.
Since 2010 the Government has regularly published cumulative analysis of the impacts of its tax, welfare and public spending policies on households. The most recent assessment was published at Budget 2021. It showed that, in 2021/22, the poorest 60% of households will receive more in public spending than they contribute in tax. And households in the lowest income decile will receive more than £4 in public spending for every £1 they pay in tax on average.
No such assessment has been made. The Government is up-rating benefits in line with inflation. The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions with reference to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September. The relevant benefits are increasing by 3.1% from April.
The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area, covering the six years, 2014/15 to 2019/20, can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab).
This Government is committed to reducing poverty and supporting low-income families, and believes work is the best route out of poverty. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of parental employment – particularly where it is full-time – in substantially reducing the risks of child poverty and in improving long-term outcomes for families and children.
The Secretary of State undertakes an annual review of benefits and pensions based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation in the year to September. All benefit up-rating since April 1987 has been based on the increase in the relevant price inflation index in the 12 months to the previous September.
The Government is providing £12 billion of support with the cost of living, with help targeted at working families, low-income households and the most vulnerable. A further £9 billion has been announced to protect against the impact of rising global energy prices.
The information requested is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
The Secretary of State has today announced an increase in the weekly earnings limit in Carer’s Allowance from April 2022. Further details available here: UIN HCWS420
In the 18 months prior to the formal launch of the consultation, we ran a significant engagement programme to ensure that the views of disabled people and their representatives shaped the content of the consultation.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we continued to engage with a series of virtual events organised with national charities, and a series hosted by MPs from across the political spectrum, attended by individuals and organisations from their constituencies.
The Green Paper was published on 20 July 2021 in a variety of accessible formats. These include braille copies, a British Sign Language video with an audio track and subtitles, a large print version, a full audio version available digitally and on CD and an easy read version.
Throughout the consultation period itself, we held more than 40 events with disabled people, people with health conditions and their representatives, including a series of virtual events as well as face-to-face events across the UK.
No such assessment has been made.
There is a limit placed on the overall amount that can be deducted from Universal Credit. Formerly 40% of the Universal Credit Standard Allowance, this was reduced from 30% to 25% in April 2021. Processes are in place to ensure deductions are manageable and customers can contact DWP Debt Management if they are experiencing financial hardship, in order to discuss a reduction in their rate of repayment or a temporary suspension, depending on their financial circumstances.
In the latest statistics there were 200,000 fewer pensioners in absolute poverty, after housing costs, compared to 2009/10.
The State Pension is the foundation of support for older people, providing the basis on which people can build additional private savings for their retirement. Under this Government, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is now over £2,050 higher than in 2010.
In addition, Pension Credit provides invaluable financial support for the most vulnerable pensioners and is a passport to a range of other benefits.
There are a number of legacy benefits but people with severe disabilities are most likely to be in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). ESA is paid at different rates depending on an individual’s circumstances. In income-related ESA, claimants with severe disabilities may also be eligibility for additional amounts, such as the Enhanced Disability Premium and or the Severe Disability Premium. To reflect the functional impacts of their health condition or disability on their capability to work, claimants found to have limited capability for work and work related activity receive an additional support group component.
Claimants may also be eligible for Personal Independence Payment to help meet the extra costs of living faced by disabled people.
I refer the Hon member to the answer I gave on 15 September 2021 to Question UIN 50029
In response to part (a) of this question, data on processing times for all Personal Independence Payment (PIP) New Claims to July 2021 (the latest available data) is published in Table 2A of the PIP Statistics tables which can be found here:
Data relating to all PIP New Claims up until 31st October will be released on 14th December 2021.
In response to part (b) on this question, the information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognised that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right. Provision for accessing services by users of BSL are covered by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Existing equality legislation already means employers, service providers and public bodies have to provide services in BSL and other formats when it is reasonable to do so. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the needs of all those with protected characteristics.
This government has a strong safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially and we have taken steps to strengthen that safety net as part of the government’s response to the pandemic.
As part of strengthening this safety net we have made Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) payable from the first day of sickness absence from work, rather than the fourth – where an individual is self-isolating or shielding due to coronavirus and meets all SSP eligibility conditions.
Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. Employers are legally required to pay SSP to eligible employees who are off work sick or incapable of work, where employees meet the qualifying conditions. Some employers may also decide to pay more, and for longer, through Occupational Sick Pay.
SSP is just one part of our welfare safety net and our wider government offer to support people in times of need. Where an individual’s income is reduced while off work sick and they require further financial support, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and new style Employment and Support Allowance, depending on their personal circumstances.
Working people on low incomes who are required to remain at home by NHS Test and Trace to help stop the spread of the virus and cannot work from home could be eligible for a £500 payment to financially support them while self-isolating.
Work is ongoing to develop the details of our approach and we will provide an update in due course.
I refer the Rt.Hon Member to the answer I gave on 10 February 2020 to Question UIN 12293.
Prior to 1 April 2022, the Government asked the general public to order or collect test kits only if eligible for new COVID-19 treatments, working or volunteering in a high risk setting or supporting people at higher risk from COVID-19. To ensure an even distribution of lateral flow device tests, one pack of seven tests could be ordered from GOV.UK within a 72 hour period. While tests may have been temporarily unavailable to manage capacity, availability was refreshed regularly.
The Department published an impact assessment and an equalities impact assessment on the likely effect of the policy. As part of these assessments, we have considered the available evidence around eating disorders and displaying calorie information. The Department will continue to evaluate the impact of the out of home calorie labelling Regulations, including on people living with eating disorders. We will review the Regulations and publish a post-implementation review within three to five years.
The consultation will be launched in due course.
The National Health Service continues to establish new pilot gender dysphoria clinics under a new delivery model for this service. Pilot clinics have already opened in London, Cheshire and Merseyside, Manchester and the East of England and a further clinic is planned to open in Sussex later this year. These clinics will begin evaluation process to establish the viability of the new clinical models. This will reduce waiting times for patients and ensure the availability of these services for transgender people.
Pandemic preparedness is kept under continuous review and evolves in response to new scientific information, lessons learned from prior pandemics, responses to other infectious disease outbreaks and exercises to test response mechanisms. We continue to prepare for a range of pandemic and emerging infectious disease scenarios and aim to have robust, flexible and deployable capabilities which can be adapted to outbreaks of different scales and characteristics.
The UK Health Security Agency became fully operational on 1 October 2021 and is dedicated to ensuring that we are protected from all future health threats, including enhancing preparedness for pandemics via the Centre for Pandemic Preparedness.
We replied to the hon. Member on 24 March 2022.
While there was no specific clinical evidence provided prior to the publication of the guidance published on 24 February, the update was based on advice from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). Its advice recommended that:
- the end of February was not an appropriate time to stand down isolation guidance in vulnerable settings. This advice was based on COVID-19 infection across vulnerable settings being severe, resulting in high numbers of hospitalisations and deaths in the past;
- Prevalence remains high, the future epidemic trajectory unpredictable and the removal of restrictions will mean more residents/patients being newly exposed to infection. Furthermore, reinfection with Omicron is more common than with previous variants. The UKHSA has advised that changes in vulnerable settings should not be in lockstep but rather a step behind wider society given levels of community infection are a key risk in outbreaks;
- The purpose of staying away from the setting or self-isolation of residents/patients is to protect vulnerable people in these settings from the risk of transmission of infection. Self-isolation and reduced contact are a standard public health intervention to prevent infection, which is especially important in closed settings with highly vulnerable people; and
- Increased contact with COVID-19 positive individuals is more likely to lead to outbreaks, which can have severe impacts in vulnerable settings and on their ability to deliver a service. For all settings, this can mean a closure to all but emergency admissions and visiting (particularly impactful in care homes and prisons), cohorting of staff and residents/ patients resulting in reduced capacity, and areas of the service being shut, for example, wings in hospitals.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides advice to the Department on the risk of the spread of infection in care homes and on the risks of isolation on residents’ mental and physical wellbeing. In addition, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities monitors the impact of COVID-19 on the population’s mental health through its surveillance tracker. The Department and the UKHSA are reviewing the isolation rules and updated advice is due to be published in the adult social care infection prevention and control guidance by 1 April 2022.
The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including those symptoms which may indicate potential blood cancer. We are also investing £325 million in diagnostics to provide patients with access to personalised care.
The current ‘Help us help you’ awareness campaign was launched in March 2022, to address some of the barriers which may prevent people consulting their general practitioner on the potential symptoms of cancer. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing future phases of the campaign in 2022/23 to raise awareness of key cancer symptoms. The full impacts of the pandemic on blood cancer outcomes are not yet known. We remain committed to returning the number of people waiting over 62 days to start treatment to pre-pandemic levels and increasing referrals by encouraging patients to come forward.
Since September 2020, the Cancer Alliance Data, Evaluation and Analysis Service and the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service have published analysis on the recovery of urgent cancer referrals and first treatments by age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation. This data is informing the restoration and recovery of cancer services and is available at the following link:
The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including those symptoms which may indicate potential blood cancer. We are also investing £325 million in diagnostics to provide patients with access to personalised care.
The current ‘Help us help you’ awareness campaign was launched in March 2022, to address some of the barriers which may prevent people consulting their general practitioner on the potential symptoms of cancer. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing future phases of the campaign in 2022/23 to raise awareness of key cancer symptoms. The full impacts of the pandemic on blood cancer outcomes are not yet known. We remain committed to returning the number of people waiting over 62 days to start treatment to pre-pandemic levels and increasing referrals by encouraging patients to come forward.
Since September 2020, the Cancer Alliance Data, Evaluation and Analysis Service and the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service have published analysis on the recovery of urgent cancer referrals and first treatments by age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation. This data is informing the restoration and recovery of cancer services and is available at the following link:
Regular reporting on clinical trials underway in the National Health Service is available via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and NHS provider websites. The NIHR funds and supports a range of clinical trials underway in the NHS. The Department, which funds the NIHR, requires NHS providers with NIHR contracts to report quarterly on trial recruitment for all their clinical trials as part of the ‘Performance in Initiating and Delivering Clinical Research’ exercise. Providers’ performance data must also be published on their website. The NIHR publishes a comparison table showing the performance of all NHS organisations which submit information to the exercise and trend analyses.
No formal assessment has been made. However, we have committed to invest more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to recover elective services, including those for blood cancer patients. The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways to bring together equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including for symptoms which may indicate potential blood cancer.
In February 2022, we published the ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’. The plan sets out how the Department will support the National Health Service to increase capacity and reduce disruption to patient care by supporting the workforce. The Department is committed to deliver 50,000 more nurses by the end of this Parliament to ensure a sustainable long-term supply for the NHS. In December 2021, the number of nurses had increased by over 27,000 compared to September 2019.
We have introduced a non-repayable training grant offering at least £5,000 per academic year for three years for nursing, midwifery and allied health professions. Over 30,000 students have accepted a place nursing and midwifery programmes in the 2021 recruitment cycle - an increase of 28% compared to 2019. We have also increased the number of medical school places by 25%. The NHS Retention Programme is also targeting interventions to encourage staff to stay in the NHS whilst support their health and wellbeing.
No specific assessment has been made. However, on 25 February 2022, updated public health advice was issued for those who were previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable, which is available at the following link:
On 4 April, updated guidance was published for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness if they become infected with COVID-19, which is available at the following link:
‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’, published in February, offers advice on safer behaviours to reduce the risk of infection, which is available at the following link:
Updated guidance was issued on 25 February 2022 for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, which is available at the following link:
Enhanced protections such as those offered by treatments, additional vaccinations and potentially other non-clinical interventions may benefit this group.
The Department has made no such assessment.
The Department has made no such estimate.
Health Education England continues to identify priorities for investment across all medical specialties and the wider workforce. Haematology has seen moderate expansion as part of the investment in cancer and diagnostics in the last two years. Haematology is also one of the specialties under review for investment to support the recovery of services and discussions are ongoing with NHS England and NHS Improvement on possible expansion. If successful, additional training places will be established from August 2022.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 117883.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 117041.
As part of a £52 million investment in the cancer and diagnostics workforce in 2021/22, Health Education England is offering 250 training grants to enable existing and aspiring cancer nurse specialists to undertake additional training to develop specialist clinical, leadership, education and research capabilities. Spending plans for individual budgets, including for training cancer nurse specialists, for 2022/23 to 2024/25 are subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and will be finalised in due course.
The Clinical Practice Guidance for the Assessment of Young Women aged 20 to 24 years with Abnormal Vaginal Bleeding was produced by the former Public Health England. Since 2021, its functions have been shared across a number of organisations. NHS England and NHS Improvement have no plans to update this guidance. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence produce guidance and pathways for health professionals on possible cervix cancer, which is available at the following link:
We have invested a further £79 million in 2021/22 to expand children’s mental health services, including allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and reducing waiting times. NHS England and NHS Improvement also announced an additional £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health, including eating disorders.
This investment supplements existing plans to expand and improve mental health services, including eating disorder services, as set out in the NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20-2023/24. Since 2016, additional funding has been provided for children and young people's community eating disorder services each year, with £53 million per year from 2021/22. This will enhance the capacity of the 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams.
Departmental officials regularly engage with major suppliers of radiopharmaceuticals and other stakeholders to ensure the continuity of supply for patients. The data requested on the number of cancer scans which have been cancelled is not collected centrally.
Departmental officials regularly engage with major suppliers of radiopharmaceuticals and other stakeholders to ensure the continuity of supply for patients. The data requested on the number of cancer scans which have been cancelled is not collected centrally.
The consultation will be launched in due course.
Since the Written Statement of 17 November 2021, it has been identified that Technicare Ltd, previously trading as Blyth Group, should have been included in the list of suppliers which secured contracts for personal protective equipment through the high priority lane. We have corrected the record and the updated list of suppliers is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ppe-procurement-in-the-early-pandemic
Since the Written Statement of 17 November 2021, it has been identified that Technicare Ltd, previously trading as Blyth Group, should have been included in the list of suppliers which secured contracts for personal protective equipment through the high priority lane. We have corrected the record and the updated list of suppliers is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ppe-procurement-in-the-early-pandemic
We have made no recent assessment. Approximately 89% of prescriptions in England are already dispensed free of charge and extensive arrangements are in place to help those most in need.
Decisions on prescription charges in the rest of the United Kingdom are a matter for the devolved administrations.
While no specific assessment has been made, access to children and young people’s mental health services is monitored through the National Health Service Mental Health Dashboard. This records data on the number of children and young people under 18 years old accessing support from NHS-funded community services. We also monitor population prevalence of different conditions through periodic surveys.
However, children and young and young people with symptoms of depression may report to primary or secondary care, or to some schools’ services, such as mental health support teams. There is no single dataset for children and young people with symptoms of depression presenting to these services, by condition.
‘Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2021 - wave 2 follow up to the 2017 survey’, published by NHS Digital in September 2021, found that approximately 17.4% of children aged between 6 and 16 years old had a probable mental health disorder in 2021. However, it is not possible to compare rates of depression to those identified in the 2017 survey as the 2021 data does not record the specific condition.
This information is not collected centrally.
The information is not held centrally.
While we have not made any specific assessments, we recognise the need to improve access to support following an autism diagnosis being made. In 2021/22 as part of the £31 million of funding provided for autism and learning disability services under the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided £7 million of funding to local areas to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways for children and young people, including support for parents and carers. In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review which seeks to ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
While we have not made any specific assessments, we recognise the need to improve access to support following an autism diagnosis being made. In 2021/22 as part of the £31 million of funding provided for autism and learning disability services under the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan, NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided £7 million of funding to local areas to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways for children and young people, including support for parents and carers. In addition, the Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Review which seeks to ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.
We are investing at least an additional £2.3 billion a year to expand mental health services by 2023/24 to enable an extra 345,000 more children and young people to access National Health Service-funded mental health support.
In March 2021, we announced an additional £79 million for children’s mental health services in 2021/22 to allow approximately 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and accelerate the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also investing a further £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health.
Data collected on waiting times for children and young people with eating disorders shows that there has been a significant increase in demand in the wake of the pandemic. This data can be found at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cyped-waiting-times/.
For urgent cases, latest figures (October to December 2021) show that 649 children and young people with an eating disorder started treatment, compared to pre-pandemic levels of 353 (January to March 2020). A further 203 children and young people were waiting to start treatment, compared with pre-pandemic levels of 18.
For routine cases, latest figures (October to December 2021) show that 2,460 children and young people with an eating disorder started treatment, compared to pre-pandemic levels of 1,850 (January to March 2020). A further 1,918 children and young people were waiting to start treatment, compared with pre-pandemic levels of 543.
Data for February 2022 is not yet available.
This specific assessment has not been made although we recognise the need to improve access to support, following an autism diagnosis being made. In 2021/22 as part of £31 million funding provided to NHS England and NHS Improvement under the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan for autism and learning disability services, NHS England and NHS Improvement has provided £7 million in funding to local areas to test and implement timely, quality autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis pathways for children and young people, including those aged 17 years old and above. As set out in Statutory Guidance on Autism published in March 2015, local authorities should work together with education and social care partners to plan for and provide services for autistic children and young people as they move from being children to adults and to ensure that support services are tailored to the needs of their local population.
The information requested is shown in the following table.
Impairment type | Amount relating to high priority lane | Total amount |
Items not suitable for any use | £0.36 billion | £0.67 billion |
items not suitable for use in the health and social care sector | £1.1 billion | £2.6 billion |
Changes in market price | £1.0 billion | £4.7 billion |
Excess stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) are calculated by the total volume of items held at 31 March 2021 in each category and comparing to future expected demand for that category. Therefore, we are unable to apportion excess PPE impairment by different suppliers and purchasing routes.
Care homes visiting guidance was updated on 31 January 2022. This reflected feedback received during regular stakeholder meetings where potential changes to policy and guidance are discussed. The Relatives and Residents Association, Age UK and the Alzheimer’s Society attend our regular stakeholder meetings to represent the perspective of residents and families.
The Department reviewed all guidance in September 2021 to ensure it meets the needs of the adult social care sector and care recipients. This included a series of focus groups with residents and families.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) expects providers to follow the Government’s guidance on visiting. The CQC’s adult social care inspectors request information on visiting arrangements on all care home inspections. Between 1 February 2021 and 31 January 2022, the CQC conducted 4,764 inspections of care homes. In 4,597 or 96.5% of inspections, the CQC received assurance that providers were adhering to the guidelines, while in 167 or 3.5% of inspections, this assurance was not received.
All care home residents should be supported to nominate an essential care giver, who can visit in most circumstances, including during an outbreak. There will be exceptional circumstances where the additional support of more than one essential care giver may be required, for example, if a nominated essential care giver is unwell. The Department promotes a localised approach for providers, carers, residents and their families to make decisions around these exceptional circumstances, utilising individualised risk assessments.
Residents, their loved ones and their carers are best placed to make decisions about their care. They should be included in all decision-making, including determining a resident’s essential care giver and how many they should have. Registered care home managers will take decisions based on the specific circumstances in their setting.
In developing the most recent and previous iterations of care home visiting guidance, Department seeks to right balance the duty to protect and promote care home residents’ rights to family life against the risk of incursion of COVID-19 into care homes. Judgements are informed by clinical advice and data from the UK Health Security Agency, the Department’s ethical framework for adult social care and taking into account the views of care home residents and their loved ones. Equality and health impact assessments are carried out to ensure that the rights of those with protected characteristics are upheld.
Our guidance states that all residents should be supported to nominate an essential care giver. It recognises that residents, their loved ones and their carers will be best placed to make decisions on who the essential care giver should be. The guidance also sets out the arrangements for essential care givers and where a resident lacks the mental capacity to nominate their essential care giver. If a resident or their family have concerns that care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately, it should be raised with the home in the first instance. The Care Quality Commission can also investigate complaints.
The technical assurance process is ongoing, therefore the quantity of personal protective equipment currently deemed not fit for use is not yet available. The Department continues to work through resolution processes with the relevant companies.
1,177 million items were identified as having potential use in other settings, at a corresponding cost of £1,826 million, of which £931 million was paid to suppliers processed through the high priority lane. The Department estimates there are 3.8 billion items of excess stock. However, as excess stock is not ring-fenced as a separate category, the information on the costs for items secured through high priority lane contracts is not available.
The technical assurance process is ongoing, therefore the quantity of personal protective equipment currently deemed not fit for use is not yet available. The Department continues to work through resolution processes with the relevant companies.
1,177 million items were identified as having potential use in other settings, at a corresponding cost of £1,826 million, of which £931 million was paid to suppliers processed through the high priority lane. The Department estimates there are 3.8 billion items of excess stock. However, as excess stock is not ring-fenced as a separate category, the information on the costs for items secured through high priority lane contracts is not available.
We have provided £52 million in 2021/22 for Health Education England to invest in the cancer and diagnostics workforce, including offering training grants for 250 nurses wishing to become cancer clinical nurse specialists and for an additional 100 nurses wishing to become chemotherapy nurses. Following the Spending Review in 2021, individual budgets for 2022/23 to 2024/25, including for training the cancer workforce, will be subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and finalised in due course.
The NHS People Plan includes a programme to retain staff through prioritising health and wellbeing. All staff have access to resources such as health and wellbeing apps, a helpline and text service and 40 mental health hubs. The NHS Retention Programme is also targeting interventions to support staff to stay in the profession.
The technical assurance process for personal protective equipment (PPE) is ongoing. The quantity of PPE items currently deemed not fit for use has been reduced to 984 million items, with a corresponding purchase price of £326 million. Of this, £61 million was paid to suppliers that were processed through the High Priority Lane. The Department continues to work through resolution processes with companies that provided PPE which is not fit for use, including those processed through the High Priority Lane.
We have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals. Decisions on how to facilitate visiting are best taken locally, in the context of national guidance. Care homes, National Health Service trusts or other NHS bodies should make an assessment in the context of local prevalence of COVID-19 and the specific design of their facilities.
Guidance on hospital visiting is decided by NHS England and NHS Improvement which is kept under review and is updated when necessary. As was the case prior to the pandemic, hospital visiting is at the discretion of NHS Trusts and other bodies, based on national principles, who make their own assessment as to the visiting arrangements that can be in place given local prevalence of COVID-19 and the specific setup of their facilities. There are no plans to issue further guidance at this time.
The Care Quality Commission assesses visiting arrangements as part of its regular inspections of care settings or when investigating complaints. We also work with UK Health Security Agency health protection teams to resolve any local issues with non-compliance. The Department provides guidance and communicates through regular stakeholder meetings, newsletters and social media to state that blanket bans on visiting are not acceptable. The most recent data as of 21 December 2021 shows that 92.9% of care homes in England were accommodating visitors.
We expect care homes to facilitate visits wherever possible. Our guidance says that each resident should be allowed three nominated visitors in addition to an essential care giver. Visitors to care homes should take a test before each visit and be asked to follow the infection control procedures set out in Government guidance. In hospitals, visiting arrangements are currently at the discretion of local trusts. Visiting should be welcomed in a careful, COVID-secure way.
We have no plans to make a specific assessment. However, we have established a £250 million Winter Access Fund to support general practitioner practices and increase capacity. We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the profession to understand how we can improve staff retention and the working environment due to the impact of the pandemic.
We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Health Education England and the profession to increase recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave and encourage them to return to practice. We have increased the number of general practitioner (GP) training places, with 4,000 trainees accepting a place this year – an increase from 2,671 trainees in 2014.
The updated GP Contract Framework announced a number of new retention schemes alongside continued support for existing schemes for the general practice workforce. These include the GP Retention Scheme, the International Induction Programme, the Return to Practice Programme, the Fellowship Programme, the New to Partnership Payment and Supporting Mentors Scheme.
The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has advised that it is unable to disclose the details of some clauses of contracts between the Government and vaccine manufacturers as this information is commercially sensitive.
The Department monitors how care homes are implementing guidance on a weekly basis using the Capacity Tracker data collection and data on visitor test registrations. Currently, approximately 93% of care homes in England are accommodating residents receiving visitors.
We regularly review and update guidance on care home visiting, based on the latest clinical advice. If a resident or their family have concerns that a care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately, it should be raised with the home in the first instance. The Care Quality Commission can also investigate complaints and has regulatory powers to take action where providers do not appropriately support people to have access to visits.
In 2020, the National Health Service was the first healthcare system internationally to identify the constellation of symptoms that constitute the Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally Related to SARS-COV-2 infection in children (PIMS-TS). NHS England collaborated with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health to create a case definition for PIMS-TS. Cases will be identified based on guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. NHS England convened an expert group of clinicians to develop a consensus guideline on the treatment of PIMS-TS, which is available at the following link:
We are working with private testing providers to reduce the cost of testing. We have reduced the cost of NHS Test and Trace tests for international arrivals from £88 to £68 for fully vaccinated arrivals and from £170 to £136 for two tests for arrivals who are not fully vaccinated. Since international travel testing requirements were introduced the average cost of a day two polymerase chain reaction test has fallen to £45.
For United Kingdom residents or individuals with residency rights who would suffer severe financial hardship by paying the full cost of their managed quarantine or testing fees before they travel, hardship arrangements may be available.
We replied to the hon. Member on 8 December 2021.
The Department has standard terms and conditions when procuring goods services and works from suppliers, which vary depending on the value of the contract and the items being procured. Most contracts contain specific provisions detailing how contractors select and manage sub-contractors.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 30 November to Question 60499.
The Health and Care Bill does not make any changes to National Health Service employment contracts. The Health and Care Bill provides for clinical commissioning group staff to transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) via a transfer order. This has now been extended to allow transfer orders to be used for other health care employees who are transferring to ICBs. All staff including board level will transfer via the transfer scheme. Board level colleagues will transfer in either their new designate role or as a displaced member of staff and part of the talent pool.
Data on the combined number of third primary doses and booster vaccinations is published daily by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/
However, it is not currently possible to disaggregate third doses from booster vaccinations.
We are currently working with stakeholders and have established task and finish groups to develop the strategy. We expect this work to conclude in the coming months and we will set out our plans on dementia for England in the first half of 2022.
NHS England and NHS Improvement has established 14 paediatric hubs to coordinate care for children and young people with ‘long’ COVID-19. Any parent or guardian concerned that their child may be exhibiting symptoms should seek advice from their general practitioner, who will be able to refer the child for assessment if appropriate.
We have so far invested £50 million into research for ‘long’ COVID-19. This includes £1.4 million over three years for The CLoCk Study on ‘long’ COVID-19 among non-hospitalised children and young people.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has not made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing non-prescribed storage of salbutamol inhalers in commercial kitchens. In order to amend Human Medicines Regulations as required, evidence to support such a change should demonstrate that the medicine could be handled safely, used in the proposed emergency circumstances and that any risks could be mitigated.
We are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health and care services for disabled children. Children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) who require additional provision will receive an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan assessment. The SEND Regulations 2014 make clear that local authorities must complete an EHC plan assessment within twenty weeks after the request is received unless exceptional circumstances apply. The Department for Education monitors local authority performance on EHC plan assessments to establish where there are long-standing delays and provide support. This could include training for staff, extra monitoring or engagement with partners to improve joint working.
Funding for HIV treatment and care services is provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement through specialised commissioning. HIV testing and prevention is funded by local government through the ringfenced Public Health Grant. In addition, in March 2020, the Government announced that the HIV prevention drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would be routinely available across England. The Public Health Grant in 2021/22 includes £23.4 million to cover local authority costs of routine commissioning of PrEP in addition to £11 million in 2020/2021. PrEP is now routinely available in the specialist sexual and reproductive health services throughout the country.
There is a programme of work underway to address alcohol-related health harms and their impact on life chances, including the establishment of specialist alcohol care teams in hospitals and supporting children of alcohol dependent parents. The new Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will spearhead efforts to improve treatment and support and we have made the largest increase to drug and alcohol treatment funding for 15 years, with £80 million of new investment.
We have also committed to publish a new United Kingdom-wide cross-Government addiction strategy which will consider a range of issues, including drugs, alcohol and problem gambling.
No meetings have taken place between the Secretary of State and the Chancellor of the Exchequer specifically to discuss this issue, however the Department is in discussion with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement about how the provision of health and care services to disabled children can be improved. We have provided over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils in the period of 2020-21 and 2021-22 to support them with the immediate and longer-term impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including for children’s social care. Since 2019-2020, the Government has provided additional funding for the social care grant and is allocating £1.7 billion in 2021-2022.
This specific assessment has not been made, however as part of COVID-19 recovery planning the Department are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to look at how we can improve the provision of health and care services to disabled children. The Government has given over £6 billion in un-ringfenced funding directly to councils in the period of 2020-21 and 2021-22 to support them with the impacts of COVID-19 spending pressures, including for children’s social care.
The Government does not have plans to legislate to enable visiting. Where there are limits on visiting in individual care homes, this could be because of available space, the layout of rooms or because the home has had an outbreak.
If a resident or their family think the care home is not following visiting guidance appropriately then they should raise it with the home in the first instance. They can also contact the Care Quality Commission who will investigate complaints.
We have made no specific assessment nor such an estimate. However, as part of COVID-19 recovery planning we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health and care services to disabled children. We have provided 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 for children’s social care. Since 2019-2020, the Government has provided additional funding for adults’ and children’s social care via the social care grant and is allocated £1.7 billion in 2021-2022.
Whilst the Department has not conducted a national assessment of hospice sustainability, we recognise the funding challenges facing the sector as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. We and have worked with HM Treasury and NHS England and NHS Improvement to maintain hospice provision.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have also funded Hospice UK to explore sustainable approaches to future care delivery. The Hospice UK ‘Future Vision Programme - Discovery Phase’ report sets out a range of options for hospices to consider in exploring future sustainability, acknowledging that as most hospices are independent, charitable organisations their circumstances will differ. The report is available at the following link:
Palliative and end of life care services are commissioned locally by clinical commissioning groups in response to the needs of their local population. This includes an understanding of the sustainability of available services.
We have no plans to publish a list of suppliers as there may be associated commercial implications. The Department has to consider the position of suppliers in terms of the recognition that disclosure of their names may damage the supplier’s reputation, affecting their competitive position and could have a potentially detrimental impact on their revenue. We also have no plans to publish the names of those who referred those companies as this would make it less likely that individuals would provide the Department with commercially sensitive information in the future and consequently undermine the ability of the Department to fulfil its commercial role.
Contract Award Notices and the contracts themselves have now been published for all personal protective equipment contracts awarded by the Department which contain the details of the supplier, the value of the contract and the items ordered under the contract.
The high priority lane for the procurement of personal protective equipment has closed.
We have significantly strengthened and diversified our supply chains for personal protective equipment (PPE) by looking to new suppliers abroad as well as boosting United Kingdom manufacturing capability, which has helped build resilience. UK-made supply comprised 82% of the expected demand for PPE in England for the period 1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021, not including gloves, which were explicitly excluded from the September target.
We have almost 32 billion items of PPE on order, the majority of which has been delivered or en route. Since February 2020, the Department has distributed over 10.4 billion items of PPE, predominantly for use by health and social care services in England and by December 2020 we had built a four-month stockpile of all COVID-19 critical PPE. Many millions of items of PPE are now distributed through our PPE portal, which means primary and social care providers are able to order PPE to meet all their COVID-19 PPE needs until the end of March 2022, free of charge. We are confident we have secured enough PPE for the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and that we have the processes and logistics in place to distribute PPE to where it is needed.
Work on the cross-Government addiction strategy was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic but has now resumed.
Through ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’, published in July 2020, we are committed to consult shortly on our intention to make companies provide calorie labelling on all pre-packaged alcohol they sell. The consultation will also cover introducing calorie labelling on alcoholic drinks sold in the out of home sector, for example bought on draught or by the glass.
The Department works closely with HM Treasury during the Pay Review Body process. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have discussed National Health Service pay throughout the pay round, including the Government’s written evidence to the independent Pay Review Bodies.
The Government’s evidence to the Pay Review Bodies sets out information on a range of factors, including the wider economic and fiscal context. We have asked the Pay Review Bodies, consisting of industry experts, for their recommendations which will be based on a comprehensive assessment of evidence from a range of key stakeholders, including NHS system partners and trade unions. As the Pay Review Bodies are independent, we cannot pre-empt their recommendations. We have asked the Pay Review Bodies to report in late spring and will carefully consider the recommendations when we receive them.
The Government has committed to providing National Health Service staff with a pay uplift in 2021/22, in order to recognise the unique impact of the pandemic. The level of pay award has not yet been set and we are looking to the independent pay review bodies for a recommendation.
We have submitted our written evidence to the review bodies, which sets out what is currently affordable and also provides information on recruitment and retention in the NHS. In reaching their recommendations the review bodies will consider evidence from a range of parties, including NHS unions. They will also consider factors such as the economic context including inflation, recruitment and retention, affordability and value for the taxpayer. We have asked the review bodies to report in the spring and will carefully consider their recommendations when we receive them.
The Government recognises the importance of palliative and end of life care services, including hospices. The hospice sector has played a vital role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is reflected by the provision of up to £280 million of additional funding from March 2020 to March 2021.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement proactively engage with the whole sector on an ongoing basis to understand the issues they face and their views of upcoming needs and challenges. Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding, mainly from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible for the planning and commissioning of high-quality, cost-effective services that meet the needs of their local population.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks, working closely with local commissioners, to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models for palliative and end of life care including hospice services that respond to the needs of their local population. This work includes the development of service specifications and an investment framework.
The Government recognises the importance of palliative and end of life care services, including hospices. The hospice sector has played a vital role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is reflected by the provision of up to £280 million of additional funding from March 2020 to March 2021.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement proactively engage with the whole sector on an ongoing basis to understand the issues they face and their views of upcoming needs and challenges. Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding, mainly from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible for the planning and commissioning of high-quality, cost-effective services that meet the needs of their local population.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks, working closely with local commissioners, to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models for palliative and end of life care including hospice services that respond to the needs of their local population. This work includes the development of service specifications and an investment framework.
The Government recognises the importance of palliative and end of life care services, including hospices. The hospice sector has played a vital role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is reflected by the provision of up to £280 million of additional funding from March 2020 to March 2021.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement proactively engage with the whole sector on an ongoing basis to understand the issues they face and their views of upcoming needs and challenges. Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding, mainly from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible for the planning and commissioning of high-quality, cost-effective services that meet the needs of their local population.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks, working closely with local commissioners, to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models for palliative and end of life care including hospice services that respond to the needs of their local population. This work includes the development of service specifications and an investment framework.
The Government recognises the importance of palliative and end of life care services, including hospices. The hospice sector has played a vital role in the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is reflected by the provision of up to £280 million of additional funding from March 2020 to March 2021.
The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement proactively engage with the whole sector on an ongoing basis to understand the issues they face and their views of upcoming needs and challenges. Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations that receive some statutory funding, mainly from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for providing local services. CCGs are responsible for the planning and commissioning of high-quality, cost-effective services that meet the needs of their local population.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed Palliative and End of Life Care Strategic Clinical Networks, working closely with local commissioners, to develop and implement sustainable commissioning models for palliative and end of life care including hospice services that respond to the needs of their local population. This work includes the development of service specifications and an investment framework.
The Department works closely with HM Treasury during the Pay Review Body process. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have discussed National Health Service pay throughout the pay round, including the Government’s written evidence to the independent Pay Review Bodies.
The Government’s evidence to the Pay Review Bodies sets out information on a range of factors, including the wider economic and fiscal context. We have asked the Pay Review Bodies, consisting of industry experts, for their recommendations which will be based on a comprehensive assessment of evidence from a range of key stakeholders, including NHS system partners and trade unions. As the Pay Review Bodies are independent, we cannot pre-empt their recommendations. We have asked the Pay Review Bodies to report in late spring and will carefully consider the recommendations when we receive them.
The Government has committed to providing National Health Service staff with a pay uplift in 2021/22, in order to recognise the unique impact of the pandemic. The level of pay award has not yet been set and we are looking to the independent pay review bodies for a recommendation.
We have submitted our written evidence to the review bodies, which sets out what is currently affordable and also provides information on recruitment and retention in the NHS. In reaching their recommendations the review bodies will consider evidence from a range of parties, including NHS unions. They will also consider factors such as the economic context including inflation, recruitment and retention, affordability and value for the taxpayer. We have asked the review bodies to report in the spring and will carefully consider their recommendations when we receive them.
There is currently no planned date for publication of a strategy to deliver the dementia moonshot. However, the Government is strongly committed to supporting research into dementia. As part of our 2020 Challenge on Dementia, the Government has spent £344 million on dementia research in the past five years and we are currently working on ways to significantly boost further research on dementia at all stages on the translation pathway including medical and care interventions. Later this year, we plan to bring forward proposals for a new strategy to set out our plans for dementia care, support, awareness and research in England.
For these individual patients, general practitioners will determine the best approach to vaccination, alongside the community teams, based on their knowledge of the patient and circumstances. Some of these patients may be able to attend Primary Care Network (PCN) designated sites with assistance and discussion should be held with the family and /or carer to facilitate this process.
We recognise that there will be a cohort of patient who are completely housebound and unable to travel to a PCN designated site for immunisation even with assistance. PCNs have established roving vaccination teams, which are aimed at those who cannot leave their homes. These teams have already been used for care homes and will also focus on people who are housebound, with additional funding of £10 per patient being provided to help them do this.
We have acted to protect those most at risk in care homes and ensure visits can go ahead safely in some form. As set out in updated visiting guidance, visits to care homes can continue to take place with arrangements such as substantial screens, visiting pods or behind windows. Close-contact indoor visits are not currently allowed. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, visits in exceptional circumstances including end of life should always be supported and enabled.
As of March 8th Care Homes will be expected to offer indoor visits for a single named visitor for every resident, supported by testing and PPE. In addition, visits should continue to be available using screens, pods etc so that each resident can see more than just a single visitor should they wish. Further detailed guidance on the new visiting arrangements will be published shortly.
The National Health Service is vaccinating in line with the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation’s priority cohorts and people within high risk communities are being vaccinated to meet these targets. Most recent figures show that the NHS, working with their partners, have now vaccinated four in five of the over 80 year olds in England. As more general practitioner and community pharmacy led local vaccination services become operational, we will be able to extend the number of vaccinations given to those who are housebound through roving teams.
The National Health Service, alongside its health and social care partners have developed three different delivery models which will operate concurrently to provide flexibility in our approach and ensure the entire population has access to the vaccine. This includes delivery through hospital hubs, local vaccination services and vaccination centres.
Local vaccination services are well placed to support the specific needs of our highest risk individuals, including those unable to leave their home. Working together in Primary Care Networks and community pharmacies, they are able to coordinate and deliver vaccines to the homes of those who are housebound via mobile units as set out in the United Kingdom COVID-19 vaccines delivery plan.
The business appointment rules decision regarding Dr Emma Stanton’s appointment with Oxford Nanopore were made by the Department’s Human Resources Director in consultation with the Permanent Secretary. The period of any conditions relating to business appointment rules are always proportionate to the circumstances and in this case reflected Emma Stanton’s short Civil Service appointment with NHS Test and Trace.
The overarching business appointment rules will continue to apply for any new employment for two years after the last day of Emma Stanton’s Civil Service employment with any related conditions decided for each new employer and the related circumstances, as required.
Public Health England produces comprehensive training and information materials for COVID-19 vaccinators. This includes information about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines and key messages for healthcare professionals to convey to those being vaccinated. All vaccinating staff involved in the deployment programme are required to complete training that includes modules on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
As with other vaccination programmes, vaccine record cards are issued to patients with the relevant details about the vaccine including the date of their vaccination and their vaccine type. This does not constitute an immunity passport and will not be used as a form of identification.
The Government will review whether COVID-19 status certification, could play a role in reopening the economy, reducing restrictions on social contact and improving safety. This review will include assessing to what extent certification would be effective in reducing risk and the potential uses to enable access to settings or a relaxation of COVID-19 secure mitigations. The Government will also consider the ethical, equalities, privacy, legal and operational aspects of this approach and what limits should be placed on organisations using certification. We will continue keep options under review as more evidence emerges.
For pre-school vaccinations preliminary data suggests that, whilst there was an initial decrease in the number of vaccinations delivered during the early weeks of the pandemic compared with the same period in 2019, the situation rapidly stabilised and recovered. For school-aged immunisation programmes were impacted due to school closures, though providers offered immunisations through a range of school and community settings. All vaccinations missed will be delivered as soon as possible, and no later than August 2021.
The latest verified data for this period will be published in September 2021.
The publication of England’s national vaccine strategy has been delayed as a result of our ongoing focus on responding to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccine strategy has been kept under review and is now in the process of being refreshed to reflect the new models for delivery and the vaccine development seen in the COVID-19 vaccine development and roll out.
The voices of scientists and researchers are an important part of the communications activity undertaken by the Department and wider Government to reassure the public about vaccines and ensure that people have access to accurate information. The Department and its partners work closely with stakeholders from the scientific community and provides regular updates to stakeholders on the vaccine programme, to support them with their own communications about the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines. Public Health England has also produced a range of ‘explainer videos’ presented by scientific leaders and experts, including those involved in vaccine development and the vaccine deployment programme. The videos can be viewed at the following link:
https://coronavirusresources.phe.gov.uk/covid-19-vaccine/resources/
The Government has also worked extensively with organisations such as the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and vaccine manufacturers and developers to highlight their work on vaccine safety and efficacy. This includes, for example, the ABPI’s Valuing Vaccines campaign, and direct collaboration with manufacturers such as AstraZeneca and Valneva, as well as work with Wockhardt to highlight safety of the fill/finish aspects of vaccine manufacture. More information the Valuing Vaccines Campaign can be found at the following link:
Emma Stanton was advised of conditions before she took up employment with Oxford Nanopore, which are in relation to Civil Service business appointment rules and are which are commensurate with the short length of time she was working for NHS Test and Trace.
These related to restrictions on lobbying of the United Kingdom Government and related commercial activities and a reminder on the use of privileged information gained in her time at NHS Test and Trace.
A copy of the advice, redacted to remove personal information, is attached.
The Liverpool COVID-19 Community Testing Pilot Evaluation Interim evaluation report is available at the following link:
I suggest that the hon. Member raise his concerns with the Committee on Standards. The Committee’s remit, as set out in Standing Order No. 149, includes reviewing from time to time the form and content of the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and any proposals for change from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The Committee has recently launched a formal review of the Code of Conduct for Members. The accompanying Guide to the Rules contains the rules on registering interests. I understand that the Committee intends in 2021 to prepare a revised version of the Code and the Guide for the House to approve. That will give the House an opportunity to consider any recommended changes.
There are no plans for a cross-Government strategy on reducing health inequalities, as a result of COVID-19 or as part of the ongoing approach to tackling the virus. At each stage of its COVID-19 response, the Government has sought to minimise the harm on people’s wellbeing, livelihoods and physical and mental health. We recognise that some groups have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, and addressing these impacts is a priority as we continue to respond to the pandemic and develop interventions to support those affected.
Local authorities have been awarded an initial £50 million to cover the costs associated with this scheme, with £25 million to cover the costs of the main Test and Trace Support Payment; £15 million for discretionary payments; and £10 million for administration costs.
The scheme will run until 31 January 2021 and people may also apply for other benefits if they have to self-isolate, such as Statutory Sick Pay. During this time, we will continue to review the efficacy of the scheme, including the impact of COVID-19 incidence levels.
Regulation 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. The Department has robust rules and processes in place to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur, including declaration from suppliers, publication of ministerial interests and robust departmental guidance.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the critical urgency of the situation and requirement to protect the National Health Service and the country led to specialist consultants and contractors being brought in at extreme pace. This meant that some work was initiated before final contract details were put in place or had been formally awarded. This situation has been addressed. Over 900 contracts have been awarded by the Department and its executive agencies in response to COVID-19. Information on the precise number of such cases has not been centrally collated by the Department.
Regulation 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. The Department has robust rules and processes in place to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur, including declaration from suppliers, publication of ministerial interests and robust departmental guidance.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the critical urgency of the situation and requirement to protect the National Health Service and the country led to specialist consultants and contractors being brought in at extreme pace. This meant that some work was initiated before final contract details were put in place or had been formally awarded. This situation has been addressed. Over 900 contracts have been awarded by the Department and its executive agencies in response to COVID-19. Information on the precise number of such cases has not been centrally collated by the Department.
There are no immediate plans to expand eligibility, though we continue to work closely with the 314 unitary authorities and district councils in England to review the scheme.
We have had no such discussions. Community Testing is a case detection strategy we are implementing as a public health intervention, screening has different clinical considerations.
Public Health England and the Department officials have held weekly discussions with the National Association of Funeral Directors as part of the funeral sector stakeholder group. Through this group, the funeral sector has the opportunity to engage on funeral guidance and raise any concerns.
As part of Operation Moonshot, the Government has established partnerships with industry, academia, local government and others to its testing programme – from companies supplying testing kits and supplies, to logistics and processing partnerships. All Departmental COVID-19 contracts are, or will be, published on the GOV.UK Contract Finder service.
The antigen lateral flow test used for COVID-19 testing in Liverpool is highly specific, which means that only a small proportion of people who do not have COVID-19 will receive a false positive result. Ongoing quality assurance work has shown the tests to be as effective in identifying asymptomatic positive cases as symptomatic positive cases. If a person tests positive on a lateral flow test, it is likely that they are infectious at that moment. This means that by using the lateral flow test we can identify people with a high viral load who are the most likely to spread the virus further.
While we are unable to take commit future funds at this time, ahead of the forthcoming Spending Review, we remain committed to supporting thalidomiders to live a full and independent life. We are working closely with the Thalidomide Trust to consider how thalidomiders can be best be supported in the future.
The size of the waiting list reduced by 9% between March and May as the National Health Service suspended non-COVID-19 services to help free up capacity to support the response to COVID-19. The NHS is now restoring non-COVID-19 services, including routine surgery and the waiting list has subsequently increased by 5% between June and July while the number of completed admitted pathways has increased 51% over the same period.
The return of non-COVID-19 health services to near-normal levels includes making full use of available capacity between now and winter, whilst also preparing for winter demand pressures. This is being done alongside continued vigilance in light of any further COVID-19 spikes locally and possibly nationally. Clinically urgent patients should continue to be treated first, with priority then given to the longest waiting patients. Trusts, working with general practitioner practices, have also been asked to ensure that every patient whose planned care has been disrupted by COVID-19 receives clear communication about how they will be looked after, and who to contact in the event that their clinical circumstances change.
The size of the waiting list reduced by 9% between March and May as the National Health Service suspended non-COVID-19 services to help free up capacity to support the response to COVID-19. The NHS is now restoring non-COVID-19 services, including routine surgery and the waiting list has subsequently increased by 5% between June and July while the number of completed admitted pathways has increased 51% over the same period.
The return of non-COVID-19 health services to near-normal levels includes making full use of available capacity between now and winter, whilst also preparing for winter demand pressures. This is being done alongside continued vigilance in light of any further COVID-19 spikes locally and possibly nationally. Clinically urgent patients should continue to be treated first, with priority then given to the longest waiting patients. Trusts, working with general practitioner practices, have also been asked to ensure that every patient whose planned care has been disrupted by COVID-19 receives clear communication about how they will be looked after, and who to contact in the event that their clinical circumstances change.
Our guidance published online is clear that there are exemptions where people do not need to wear face coverings. We are also clear that people do not need to prove they are exempt and they should not be challenged about this.
If someone is more comfortable showing they are exempt from the requirement to wear face covering, they are able to use some form of optional visual cue. Different options are available on GOV.UK, on charity and organisations websites, or could be hand-made. This aims to tackle the stigma faced by people who are unable to wear a face covering due to hidden disabilities and/or mental health reasons
The Government is running a proactive communications campaign on face coverings to alert the public to the places where they are required to wear a face covering, who is exempt from wearing one, and how to wear one correctly.
We are actively engaging with stakeholders including disability charities to communicate new guidance to their members as well as highlighting this message to the general public on social media and via broadcasting opportunities.
On 5 June 2020, NHS England revised its guidance on how National Health Service organisations may choose to facilitate visiting across healthcare inpatient settings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The national suspension on visiting imposed under previous guidance was lifted with immediate effect.
Visiting is now subject to local discretion by trusts and other NHS bodies, and will take into account local prevalence. The number of visitors at the bedside is limited to one close family contact or somebody important to the patient. However, where it is possible to maintain social distancing throughout the visit, a second additional visitor can be permitted in certain circumstances including those individuals receiving end-of-life care.
The impact of COVID-19 on immunisation targets has been variable. Preliminary data suggests that, whilst there was an initial decrease in the number of pre-school vaccinations delivered in primary care during the early weeks of the pandemic compared with the same period in 2019, the situation rapidly stabilised and recovered. In contrast, school-aged immunisation programmes were more impacted as a result of school closures. Providers have been working with schools to catch-up those programmes as schools have re-opened.
Due to the public health advice on social distancing and shielding, general practices were not expected to offer the opportunistic shingles vaccine to those aged 70, unless the patient was already in the general practitioner practice for another reason. Coverage among those turning 70 or 78 during quarter 4 – who were vaccinated up to the end of June 2020 - achieved lower coverage (9.3% and 10.4%, respectively) than among those who turned 70 or 78 after the same eligibility interval in previous quarters.
Publication of England’s draft Vaccine Strategy has been delayed as we have rightly been focusing on responding to the unprecedented global COVID-19 pandemic.
We will keep the Vaccine Strategy under review in light of the ongoing pandemic response. Our current ambition is to update and refresh the strategy in 2021 to reflect the changing landscape and investment in vaccine development through the Vaccines Taskforce.
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those affected by rare disease and continues to implement the commitments made in the UK Strategy for Rare Diseases.
There are three specialist centres in the country that prescribe enzyme replacement therapy for the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders. These diseases are very rare and the expertise to treat this cohort of patients is concentrated in these centres where staff are experienced in their care and where they are also engaged in research into these conditions.
Enzyme replacement therapy is usually delivered via an infusion at home with the support of homecare providers.
We have interpreted the hon. Member's question as relating to the Department's Mobile Testing Units (MTUs), and therefore the response focuses on the building up of this service and sharing the results with local authorities and Directors of Public Health. These MTUs have been set up across the United Kingdom, directed locally, with several additional units held back for strategic reserve. From 2-8 July, 95.8% of test results from MTUs were returned the day after the test was taken, with 88.8% returned in under 24 hours.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins MP) on 14 July 2020 to Question 68461.
We have now made £3.2 billion available to local authorities to address the pressures on local services caused by the pandemic. This funding can be used to cover the cost of pay for care workers who are currently unable to work because they may be shielding (if they are among the clinically extremely vulnerable) or self-isolating – and this has been included in guidance to local authorities.
My department is working with Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to confirm that funding provided to local authorities has been distributed to social care providers, and on to the workforce, in accordance with this guidance.
This information is not collected centrally.
This information is not collected centrally.
The following table sets out how many men in England aged 50 or over were diagnosed with prostate cancer in the years from 2015:
Year | Amount of men 50 and over |
2015 | 40,805 |
2016 | 40,690 |
2017 | 40,717 |
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (the Sanctions Act) provides the legal framework for the UK to impose, update and lift sanctions autonomously. The UK makes decisions on whether or not to designate each individual or entity under powers provided by the Sanctions Act and the relevant sanctions regulations. We will use our sanctions regimes as part of an integrated approach to promote our values and interests, and to combat state threats, terrorism, cyber-attacks, and the use and proliferation of chemical weapons.
The UK Government's position on recognition has not changed, and is consistent with the entire international community, which does not recognise Somaliland's unilateral declaration of independence. As stated in the answer of PQ 139505, it is for Somaliland and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to come to any agreement about their future relationship. Any new arrangements would need to be recognised by the African Union and neighbours in the region. The UK continues to encourage dialogue between Mogadishu and Hargeisa on this issue.
We welcome the steps that Qatar has taken to date on workers' rights, and maintain that the priority now is full implementation of those reforms. My officials discussed these on 30 March with representatives from Qatar's Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organization office based in Doha. We look forward to continuing to support Qatar's efforts in this area.
We are committed to supporting Ukrainian women and girls, recognising the critical contribution women are making on the frontline and in communities affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The UK has pledged £220 million of humanitarian assistance to save lives and to protect vulnerable people, including women and girls, inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries as they are forced to flee to safety.
We continue to support Ukraine with a £40 million suite of programming, including through the Good Governance Fund and Conflict, Stability and Security Fund programmes - that includes ongoing support to women's social, political and economic participation across the country. This includes the UK's support of the establishment of 16 shelters, 5 crisis rooms and 10 centres for Gender Based Violence survivors.
The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives and protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine, through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground. The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) launched its Ukraine Appeal on 2 March which has now reached over £200 million, with the government matching £25 million of the public's donations. To date, we have contributed £3.5 million to provide medical supplies to Ukraine. 11 flights with supplies have been sent containing over 1.8 million UK medical items. UK Government humanitarian experts have also deployed to the region to support those fleeing the violence. As of 21 March, 3 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR
[link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine].
The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. This funding will help aid agencies respond to the deteriorating humanitarian situation by providing access to basic necessities and medical supplies UK Government humanitarian experts have also deployed to the region to support those fleeing the violence in Ukraine.
The UK has matched pound for pound the public's first £25 million for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which has now surpassed £100 million. Donating will help DEC charities provide food, water, shelter and healthcare to refugees and displaced families.
The UK has now committed £395 million in aid to the current crisis. This includes £220 million of humanitarian assistance which will be used to save lives, protect vulnerable people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring countries. It will also be used to support refugees, including children, fleeing Ukraine through the provision of logistics, advice and analysis of needs on the ground.
As of 8 March, 2 million people are known to have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries, according to UNHCR [link: https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine].
The EQUIP-T education programme in Tanzania is a good example of an at-scale, sustainable programme that had a measurable impact on learning. It was recently included as an example in a global review of how best to improve learning at scale. It showed how the programme successfully improved literacy and numeracy skills for pupils, especially girls and more disadvantaged children, working with like-minded partners and supporting teachers to improve learning for all.
The principles of this programme - strengthening the education system, supporting teachers and reaching the most marginalized - sit behind all of our programming. The Girls' Education Action Plan, which the Prime Minister launched last year, and the global education targets agreed at the G7 have reinforced the UK commitment to prioritise improving children's foundational learning at scale and we use data and evidence to do this effectively. Our programmes continue to be underpinned by the best available evidence, including learnings from the EQUIP-T programme - for example, our new programming in Bangladesh which we announced last year, and several new bilateral programmes currently under design. We routinely apply learnings and quality evidence to inform our approach - including the recommendations from the recent Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel report which reinforces the importance of focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy skills, working at scale and reaching the most marginalized children in order to address the learning crisis.
Improving learning outcomes is a priority for UK AID, and we are working bilaterally and with international partners to help education systems improve learning at scale, especially for most marginalised children.
Having competent, creative and well-supported teachers is one of the most impactful and cost-effective ways to get girls' learning. In Ghana, our bilateral programme has supported the Government's Teacher Education Policy reforms, making teaching a degree profession for the first time and putting in place new National Teaching Standards. To date, these nation-wide reforms have improved teaching practices of 70,000 student teachers and 1,500 teacher educators. In northern Nigeria, the UK has been working in partnership with State Governments, British Council, Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) Africa and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund to ensure schools are 'teaching at the right level'. This proven cost-effective remedial strategy provides dedicated time for children to master basic skills, alongside regular assessment of students' progress. This approach is now being replicated across several States in northern Nigeria. In Malawi, the UK is supporting the government's reform of the primary school maths curriculum; developing new teaching and learning materials; training all teachers nationwide; and establishing ongoing school-based support. This will benefit over 3.2 million students and over 40,000 teachers nationwide.
We are also working with like-minded partners internationally to ensure better use of education evidence and learning data. Our new Global Education What Works Hub is supporting the generation and use of evidence to understand what education interventions work in what contexts, and how these can be scaled effectively to deliver learning at scale for all.
The UK stands with LGBT+ individuals globally to affirm our commitment to the principle of non-discrimination on all grounds, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. We work through our Embassy in Conakry, as well as international organisations, to promote non-discrimination towards LGBT+ people in Guinea, and to address discriminatory laws. The UK encourages Guinea to oppose all forms of discrimination and uphold the obligations in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principles of the African Charter.
We are deeply concerned by recent airstrikes in northern Ethiopia. I raised my concerns with Minister Redwan in Addis Ababa 20 January. I also met Prime Minister Abiy in Addis Ababa on 20 January when we discussed the conflict.
As we pursue an end to the violence the protection of civilians is of the utmost importance to our work. We repeat our call for a ceasefire and we request all parties to end hostilities including airstrikes.
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities around the globe. Pakistan is one of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's (FCDO) human rights priority countries and protecting FoRB is an integral part of our engagement on human rights in Pakistan. The United Kingdom Government strongly condemns the persecution of all minorities, including the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.
We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan at senior levels to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or belief. Most recently on 23 and 24 June during a visit to Pakistan, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and the Minister responsible for human rights, raised the need to promote respect for all religions with Pakistan's Prime Minister, Imran Khan, as well as other senior government ministers including Foreign Minister Qureshi, and Human Rights Minister Mazari. During these meetings, Lord Ahmad highlighted the need to address persecution, promote respect for all religions and increase tolerance for religious minorities. He met minority communities during the visit to understand better their concerns, including a meeting with representatives of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, an interfaith roundtable and discussions with influential religious leaders.
In addition, the UK works within the United Nations, The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to promote and protect FoRB around the globe. On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his personal commitment to the issue by appointing Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy for FoRB.
We are deeply concerned about human rights in Afghanistan, including violence and discrimination towards religious minorities. Ethnic and religious minorities have long faced attacks and discrimination in Afghanistan and we are monitoring the situation closely. We have made human rights a central feature of all of our contact with the Taliban to date, including the visit to Kabul on 5 October by the Prime Minister's High Representative for Afghanistan Transition, Sir Simon Gass. We will continue to work closely with international partners to call for freedom of religion to be respected in Afghanistan. On 7 October, the UK co-sponsored a United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that created a Special Rapporteur mandate to monitor human rights in the country.
We are extremely concerned by reports of widespread human rights violations and abuses in Ethiopia. Civilians must be protected and the violence must stop. The UK is supporting the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that their joint investigation into atrocities in Tigray, with the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, is independent, transparent and impartial and holds the parties to this conflict directly responsible for their actions. It will issue its report on 1 November. We are also examining how we can best support institutions undertaking investigations into Human Rights abuses and violations. The Foreign Secretary, our Ambassador in Addis Ababa and I continue to raise human rights issues in our discussions with the Ethiopian Government and more broadly we have reminded all warring parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law.
As Minister Cleverly set out in the Urgent Question on 9 September, where the FCDO has received cases which are to be dealt with by the Home Office and MoD under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme and the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme, we will pass those on to the relevant Department, whilst also individually notifying MPs which Department their specific cases have been passed to by 16 September. The FCDO will continue to handle British National cases and will be in contact with MPs about the specific cases they have raised within 7 days, providing as much detail as possible.
COVID-19 is making an already bad food security situation worse and dozens of countries are in or at risk of a generalised food security crisis. As Oxfam's report states, 2020 saw a sharp increase in severe hunger in countries affected by conflict, and according to latest estimates, the number of people at emergency levels of food insecurity in 2021 has risen further to 41 million.
Humanitarian preparedness and response is one of the seven priority areas for the UK's aid budget this year. FCDO will spend £906 million to maintain the UK's role as a force for good at times of crisis, focusing on those countries most affected by risk of famine. We are combining this funding with our diplomatic and aid expertise: following our 2020 Call to Action to Prevent Famine, our Presidency this year secured the G7's first ever Compact to tackle the drivers of famine. In addition, we have adapted many of our programmes to address impacts of COVID-19 and the longer-term climate crisis. For example, the UK co-chaired multilateral Global Agriculture and Food Security Program has adapted its portfolio to mitigating COVID-19 impacts and to deliver a greener recovery in the poorest countries most affected by the triple threat.
COVID-19 is making an already bad food security situation worse and dozens of countries are in or at risk of a generalised food security crisis. As Oxfam's report states, 2020 saw a sharp increase in severe hunger in countries affected by conflict, and according to latest estimates, the number of people at emergency levels of food insecurity in 2021 has risen further to 41 million.
Humanitarian preparedness and response is one of the seven priority areas for the UK's aid budget this year. FCDO will spend £906 million to maintain the UK's role as a force for good at times of crisis, focusing on those countries most affected by risk of famine. We are combining this funding with our diplomatic and aid expertise: following our 2020 Call to Action to Prevent Famine, our Presidency this year secured the G7's first ever Compact to tackle the drivers of famine. In addition, we have adapted many of our programmes to address impacts of COVID-19 and the longer-term climate crisis. For example, the UK co-chaired multilateral Global Agriculture and Food Security Program has adapted its portfolio to mitigating COVID-19 impacts and to deliver a greener recovery in the poorest countries most affected by the triple threat.
The UK Government is deeply concerned about the grave humanitarian situation in Ethiopia and shares the concerns outlined in the report on 24 June by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report in June reported high levels of food insecurity in Tigray with 353,000 in 'catastrophe' as per the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) levels. Ensuring assistance gets to those who need it most remains our priority in Tigray. We continue to explore all options with partners to expand humanitarian access by both air and land.
On 14 June I announced that the UK will allocate a further £16.7 million to the crisis in Tigray. This will support civil-military coordination to help aid get to those in need and address famine risk through the provision of healthcare, sanitation, and nutritional support. This allocation is on top of the existing £27 million in 2020-21 already directed to the response, and an additional £4 million allocated to support nutrition and vaccinations in Tigray. This brings UK total funding to support response to the crisis to £47.7 million. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, allow unfettered humanitarian access and respect international humanitarian law.
The UK welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza on 20 May, which is an important step to ending the cycle of violence and loss of civilian life. The UK priority now is ensuring timely humanitarian access into and out of Gaza, including for essential health services. We are urging the Government of Israel to ensure this access is maintained. We have made clear our concern about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, including significant damage and destruction of civilian infrastructure including homes, schools, hospitals, and clinics.
The United Kingdom has also provided an initial £3.2 million of UK aid to UNRWA's emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May 2021. This appeal is helping to address the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza.
Access for humanitarian purposes into and out of Gaza remains critical. We are urging the Government of Israel to ensure access is maintained to ensure delivery of humanitarian supplies, including fuel. I announced on 20 May that the UK is providing £3.2 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency's (UNRWA) emergency flash appeal, which launched on 19 May. The emergency appeal by UNRWA focuses on meeting the immediate humanitarian needs of vulnerable Palestinians living in Gaza.
We condemn any incidence of violence by settlers against Palestinians. We continue to stress the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population, and urge restraint in the use of live fire. In instances where there have been accusations of excessive use of force, we have advocated swift, transparent investigations. We welcome the efforts of Israeli authorities to address settler violence, and urge them to thoroughly investigate every instance to bring those responsible to justice.
UK sanctions are smart tools that are carefully targeted to achieve their goals, while minimising potentially negative wider impacts. Designations under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 may only take place where the relevant legal tests as set out in the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021 are met.
The policy note that we have published alongside the regulations sets out some of the factors relevant to the consideration of designations under the Global Anti-Corruption Sanctions Regulations 2021. These factors include HMG's wider anti-corruption priorities and the scale, nature and impact of the serious corruption in question, among others.
Under section 22 of the Sanctions Act, if at any time the Minister responsible for a designation considers that the designation criteria are not met, the Minister must revoke the designation. Periodic reviews of autonomous sanctions designations will take place every three years under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. Designated persons may also request an administrative review of their designation, and, if this does not result in the designation being varied or revoked, may make further requests if there is a new significant matter to consider.
We recognise the important role non-governmental organisations (NGOs) play in countering corruption globally. We have published an information note for NGOs designed to help NGOs engage with the sanctions regime, which provides further information on the regime's purpose and scope and the information required in considering designations.
The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 includes a number of reporting obligations. As required by Section 30 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 the Government will report annually to Parliament on all sanctions regulations.
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, undertakes an annual frozen asset review. This requires all persons that hold or control funds or economic resources that are owned, held or controlled by a designated person and subject to UK financial sanctions to report them to OFSI. OFSI also gathers information through the exercise of its statutory powers. HM Treasury does not disclose information about individual assets held in the UK. The Home Office does not comment on individual cases with respect to travel bans.
The UK strongly supports Human Rights Defenders worldwide to enable them to carry out their work safely and without fear. We are considering carefully the request from Amnesty International and other Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for a UK Government strategy on Human Rights Defenders. In 2019, the Minister of State responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, launched the document 'UK support for Human Rights Defenders' which was drawn up with significant and important input from relevant stakeholders, including Amnesty International, and which sets out how the UK Government engages with Human Rights Defenders to advance the human rights agenda globally.
As set out in the Integrated Review, global health is one of the most pressing issues for international collaboration. Global health remains a top priority for UK Official Development Assistance. The UK is committed to working with others to improve child and maternal health outcomes in order to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children by 2030. Our work to deliver this ambition includes our commitment of up to £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support Gavi's goal to immunise a further 300 million children.
The UK is committed to working with others to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and children by 2030. We hope to publish our approach to ending preventable deaths in due course.
As set out in the Integrated Review, this Government's commitment to stand up for the right of every girl to 12 years of quality education is unwavering. The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget this year in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction. Girls' education is one of these priorities.
The impact of the global pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take the tough but necessary decision to temporarily reduce how much we spend on Official Development Assistance (ODA). We will temporarily move to a target of spending 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA, rather than 0.7%. This is a temporary measure, and we will return to 0.7% when the fiscal situation allows. Details of the UK's next contribution to GPE will be announced in due course.
The UK has placed girls' education and broader gender equality at the heart of our G7 Presidency. We have set out two ambitious global objectives to get 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years, and we are using our G7 Presidency to rally others behind these objectives and stand up for every girl's right to 12 years of quality education.
A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering these global objectives, especially in securing education financing from developing countries' domestic budgets. That is why we look forward to hosting the Global Education Summit to refinance GPE with the Government of Kenya in July. Details of the UK's next contribution to GPE will be announced in due course.
The UK has placed girls' education and broader gender equality at the heart of our G7 Presidency. We have set out two ambitious global objectives to get 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by age 10 in the next 5 years, and we are using our G7 Presidency to rally others behind these objectives and stand up for every girl's right to 12 years of quality education.
A well-funded GPE will be central to delivering these global objectives, especially in securing education financing from developing countries' domestic budgets. That is why we look forward to hosting the Global Education Summit to refinance GPE with the Government of Kenya in July. Details of the UK's next contribution to GPE will be announced in due course.
CDC has a 70% stake in Globeleq. Globeleq acquired a 74% stake in CPGNL Limited on 24 December.
CPGNL Limited comprises 11 power plants with a total generating capacity of 57 Megawatts (MW); further details are commercially sensitive.
CDC has invested over $1 billion of climate finance into developing countries in Africa and South Asia since 2017. CDC's climate strategy sets out its comprehensive approach to align all of CDC's investing activities with the Paris Agreement, based on the core principles of reaching net zero by 2050, enabling a just transition and strengthening adaptation and resilience.
CDC's full energy portfolio, as of December 2019, is available online: https://assets.cdcgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11174306/Fossil-Fuels-and-Renewables-portfolio-as-at-31-December-2019-pdf.pdf.
CDC will only consider new investments in gas power and related infrastructure if they are aligned with the Paris Agreement and aligned with a country's pathway to net zero emissions by 2050. Information on CDC's pipeline of investments is commercially sensitive and therefore is unable to be disclosed.
CDC has invested over $1 billion of climate finance into developing countries in Africa and South Asia since 2017. CDC's climate strategy sets out its comprehensive approach to align all of CDC's investing activities with the Paris Agreement, based on the core principles of reaching net zero by 2050, enabling a just transition and strengthening adaptation and resilience.
CDC's fossil fuel policy, published in December 2020, applies to all new commitments. This policy excludes future investment in the vast majority of fossil fuel subsectors including coal, oil and upstream gas exploration and production, with very limited exceptions. CDC will only consider new investments in gas power and related infrastructure if they are aligned with the Paris Agreement and aligned with a country's pathway to net zero emissions by 2050.
Commercial discussions regarding the proposed Temane power project remain ongoing. Financial information on CDC's investment is commercially sensitive and therefore is unable to be disclosed.
CDC has invested over $1 billion of climate finance into developing countries in Africa and South Asia since 2017. CDC's climate strategy sets out its comprehensive approach to align all of CDC's investing activities with the Paris Agreement, based on the core principles of reaching net zero by 2050, enabling a just transition and strengthening adaptation and resilience.
CDC's full energy portfolio, as of December 2019, is available online: https://assets.cdcgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11174306/Fossil-Fuels-and-Renewables-portfolio-as-at-31-December-2019-pdf.pdf.
CDC has an indirect renewable energy investment in Mozambique, Enventure Africa S.A, through DI Frontier Fund 2. Investment values for individual companies are commercially sensitive and are therefore unable to be disclosed.
CDC's legacy portfolio comprises investments made by funds committed to before 2012 when major changes to CDC's strategy and investment policy were introduced.
CDC's full energy portfolio, as of December 2019, is available online: https://assets.cdcgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/11174306/Fossil-Fuels-and-Renewables-portfolio-as-at-31-December-2019-pdf.pdf.
Four fossil fuel power investments made through fund investments before 2012 have been exited since 2018.
The UK is proud to champion comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning; these are fundamental to the empowerment of girls and women. Advancing gender equality and women's rights are a core part of the UK Government's work on development, including enabling girls to fulfil 12 years of quality education.
The Foreign Secretary has completed the cross-government review of how Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be allocated against the government's priorities for 2021. The aim is to ensure UK ODA is focused on strategic priorities, where it will have the maximum impact, enable greater coherence and deliver the most value for money. Officials are now working through the implications of these allocations. No decisions on individual sectoral budgets have been taken yet by Ministers.
The UK is proud to champion comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, including family planning; these are fundamental to the empowerment of girls and women. Advancing gender equality and women's rights are a core part of the UK Government's work on development, including enabling girls to fulfil 12 years of quality education.
The Foreign Secretary has completed the cross-government review of how Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be allocated against the government's priorities for 2021. The aim is to ensure UK ODA is focused on strategic priorities, where it will have the maximum impact, enable greater coherence and deliver the most value for money. Officials are now working through the implications of these allocations. No decisions on individual sectoral budgets have been taken yet by Ministers.
We remain firmly committed to helping the world's poorest people. The Foreign Secretary has set out seven core priorities for the UK's aid budget this year in the overarching pursuit of poverty reduction: climate and biodiversity; Covid and global health security; girls' education; science and research; defending open societies and resolving conflict; humanitarian assistance; and promoting trade and economic growth. This new strategic approach will allow us to drive greater impact from our aid budget, notwithstanding the difficult financial position we face.
The UK remains concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders in Colombia. We regularly raise this with the Colombian Government, and in multilateral fora.
I spoke to the Colombian Foreign Minister Blum on 2 June 2020, and reiterated UK support for the peace process, and concern about the killing of human rights defenders. Our Permanent Representative to the UN expressed our deep concern at the UN Security Council on 14 July 2020. Lord Ahmad discussed these issues with civil society, and government during a virtual visit to Colombia on 13 October 2020. The Colombian Government has taken measures to address violence, but there remain major challenges. We welcome the Colombian Government’s continuing commitment to the full implementation of the 2016 peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The UK will continue to support Colombia. We have committed £60 million through the Conflict, Security, and Stability Fund (CSSF) in support of peace, stability, and security. We lead on this issue at the UN Security Council, and are the largest donor to the UN Trust Fund. Our embassy programmes work to help human rights defenders at risk, and tackle root causes of the violence.
The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza, compounded by the impact of COVID-19.
We recognise the importance of tackling food insecurity. To support, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance to the most vulnerable Palestinians. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the Occupied Palestinian Territories which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.
We remain concerned about the capacity of the Palestinian health system to cope with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, especially in Gaza. We welcome the recent 30% increase in hospital beds for patients suffering critical and severe cases, and the recent procurement by World Health Organisation of two additional oxygen generators. The UK continues to monitor the situation closely.
The UK remains concerned about the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of COVID-19 on an already fragile healthcare system. Recognising the severity of the situation, we were one of the first donors to provide funding to support the health and humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We have provided £1.25 million funding (the World Health Organisation with £630,000 and the United Nations Children's Fund with £620,000) to purchase and co-ordinate delivery of medical equipment, treat critical care patients, train frontline health workers and scale up laboratory testing capacity - mainly in Gaza.
In addition, we are providing £2.5 million to the World Food Programme to provide food and cash assistance for the most vulnerable Palestinians to help alleviate the humanitarian situation. We have also contributed £1 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency's Emergency Appeal in the OPTs which will help provide emergency food to over one million food-insecure refugees in Gaza.
Disability inclusion is an important issue for the FCDO, and the Ministerial team remains committed to embedding it across all our work, including as we respond to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
The UK is committed to supporting people with disabilities across our programmes in the OPTs. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we have approved additional programming to strengthen disability inclusion across Palestinian society, which aims to ensure people with disabilities (PwD) are accounted for in the COVID-19 crisis response through reviewing laws, regulations, HR policies and bylaws in public sector to analyse barriers to PwDs' participation in decision making. This will be followed by an advocacy campaign targeting the gaps identified in the analysis. We also engage frequently with the Israelis on issues affecting ordinary Palestinians, including the impact of COVID-19.
Disability inclusion is an important issue for the FCDO, and the Ministerial team remains committed to embedding it across all our work, including as we respond to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
The UK is committed to supporting people with disabilities across our programmes in the OPTs. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we have approved additional programming to strengthen disability inclusion across Palestinian society, which aims to ensure people with disabilities (PwD) are accounted for in the COVID-19 crisis response through reviewing laws, regulations, HR policies and bylaws in public sector to analyse barriers to PwDs' participation in decision making. This will be followed by an advocacy campaign targeting the gaps identified in the analysis. We also engage frequently with the Israelis on issues affecting ordinary Palestinians, including the impact of COVID-19.
Disability inclusion is an important issue for the FCDO, and the Ministerial team remains committed to embedding it across all our work, including as we respond to the ongoing impact of COVID-19.
The UK is committed to supporting people with disabilities across our programmes in the OPTs. Following the outbreak of COVID-19, we have approved additional programming to strengthen disability inclusion across Palestinian society, which aims to ensure people with disabilities (PwD) are accounted for in the COVID-19 crisis response through reviewing laws, regulations, HR policies and bylaws in public sector to analyse barriers to PwDs' participation in decision making. This will be followed by an advocacy campaign targeting the gaps identified in the analysis. We also engage frequently with the Israelis on issues affecting ordinary Palestinians, including the impact of COVID-19.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has agreed with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs that the Government intends to return to the 0.7% target when the fiscal situation allows.
We are aware of the reported abduction of Amar Fayaz in Sindh, Pakistan. The UK Government strongly condemns any instances of enforced disappearances. We urge states to fully investigate any allegations, prosecute those responsible and provide justice to victims and their families. We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently, the Minister of State for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised our concerns about human rights with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 16 November.
As details of the COVID-19 technology access pool (C-TAP) now emerge from the World Health Organisation, we will identify if C-TAP could add value to existing wider innovation and access infrastructure, such as the Medicines Patent Pool, which we helped set up 10 years ago.
To ensure affordability and accessibility, the FCDO supports the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator in collaborating globally to develop affordable new vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics, which are accessible to everyone who needs them, as quickly as possible. The UK has contributed £313 million to ACT-Accelerator partners to develop new vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. These international not-for-profit organisations are committed to ensuring that once developed, products are affordable and accessible in low and middle-income countries. This includes selecting products that can be developed and scaled-up quickly to support global access.
In addition, the UK has committed up to £548 million for the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which will support access to COVID-19 vaccines for 92 developing countries by contributing to the supply of 1 billion doses in 2021, subject to vaccines successfully securing stringent regulatory approvals. Gavi will negotiate prices and supply volumes with companies based on its established expertise in supporting global immunisation, and take into account investments made in research and development by ACT-Accelerator partners. We welcome the commitments made by several manufacturers to not-for-profit pricing during the pandemic period. At the United National General Assembly, the pharmaceutical industry came together to pledge their collective support for ensuring the affordable, global distribution of vaccines.
As we emphasised in the UN Security Council session on 14 July following the Special Representative's report, and will raise again in the Security Council on 14 October, the UK continues to be very concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders, social leaders, former FARC-EP combatants, and others. We regularly raise these issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora, and will continue to do so, including during Lord Ahmad's human rights-focused virtual visit to Colombia this week.
We have urged the Colombian Government to prioritise the tackling of this violence, and continue to work to improve security conditions around the country. The UK is also committed to continuing its own programming to support the government's efforts, and mitigate risks to communities.
The UK sees the transitional justice system and the involvement of victims as vital elements of Colombia's 2016 Peace Accords. We are pleased that the Truth Commission and associated institutions have begun their work. We continue to emphasise our support for transitional justice in Colombia,?both with the government and in multilateral fora, including most recently at the UN Security Council on 14 July, where our Permanent Representative commended the Truth Commission and other institutions' quick adaptation to the pandemic by moving their work online.
The UK government has contributed over £26 million towards transitional justice mechanisms,?and victims of the conflict in Colombia since 2016. This includes supporting the Truth Commission's work to gather testimonies?from Colombians?both in Colombia and abroad, including here in the UK. We will continue to work closely with the Colombian government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.
Officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are actively involved in discussions about how best to define and measure global poverty, working with officials in developing countries, academia and international organisations, such as the World Bank and UN.
The international poverty line of $1.90 per capita per day continues to be the benchmark for monitoring extreme poverty at a global level. Set by the World Bank to reflect how the world's poorest countries define poverty, it provides a measure of absolute deprivation which allows us to compare levels of need between countries; track progress - or setbacks - over time; and focus resources and efforts where they are most needed. By this measure, 10 per cent of the world's population - around 734 million people - lived in extreme poverty in 2015. While still far too many, this represents remarkable progress from 1990, when 36 per cent of the world - around 1.9 billion people - lived below $1.90.
As with any definition of poverty, the $1.90 poverty line has limitations, which are well recognised, including by the World Bank.
Following the recommendations of the 2016 Atkinson Commission and others, there is a global consensus that we need a range of complementary poverty measures to provide a rounded picture and meet differing policy needs. FCDO-funded investments in data collection and research supports this agenda. However, the $1.90 measure remains essential to monitoring poverty, allowing us to understand and improve the degree to which growth and economic and social policies affect the poorest. For this reason, it is the measure used in the first of the UN Sustainable Development Goals - 'by 2030, eradicate extreme poverty' - and a key consideration in how donors allocate aid on the basis of need.
The UK remains extremely concerned about the continued activity of illegal armed groups in Colombia, including the National Liberation Army (ELN), and the impact their violence has on Colombian society - even more so at this challenging time. We noted the unilateral ceasefire declared by the ELN on 30 March at a UN Security Council meeting on 14 April and hoped it would facilitate efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as potentially representing a positive step towards peace. We regret that this ceasefire has not been renewed by the ELN.
The UK has reaffirmed its unwavering support to the Colombian authorities as they seek to ensure sustainable peace in Colombia, and has reiterated the importance of pressing ahead with work to consolidate peace and build stability. At the same time, the UK, alongside international partners, has continued to urge the ELN to end its campaign of violence and to play a part in bringing an end to this conflict.
The UK has been vocal in expressing our concern about the effect the activity of armed groups has on the future of peace in Colombia. We regularly raise these issues with the Colombian Government and in multilateral fora. Most recently, our Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke on this issue at the UN Security Council on 14 April, and we consistently press the Colombian Government to focus on extending the rule of law to all parts of the country.
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 26 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
The UK shares the concerns of the Colombian Government regarding ongoing violence in Colombia, including the killings of former FARC combatants. We have been vocal in expressing our concern about the persistent high levels of violence and threats towards former FARC combatants and others, as well as the impact this has on the future of peace.
The United Kingdom welcomes the Colombian Government's longstanding commitment to assisting former guerrilla fighters in transitioning to civilian life following the peace agreement of 2016. We have committed almost £45 million over 5 years through the United Kingdom's Conflict, Stability and Security Fund for Colombia to support development across conflict-affected regions. We have done this through programmes designed to build state capacity to ensure the safety of former fighters, and of other vulnerable individuals and groups, including outside of official reincorporation zones.
We also raised our concern about this issue at the United Nations Security Council session on Colombia on 13 January, where we called on the Colombian government to accelerate its reintegration programmes for former combatants. We will continue to work closely with the Colombian government and civil society on the peace process and related matters.
Following the change to date for answer of this PQ, I submitted a response by email on 26 March, with the following response. The Table Office have agreed this approach.
The United Kingdom remains concerned about the persistent level of violence towards human rights defenders in Colombia. We consistently raise these issues with the Colombian Government, and in multilateral fora, most recently at the UN Security Council on 13 January, and during President Duque's visit to the UK in June 2019. Our Embassy in Bogota also continues to raise concerns about specific communities with the relevant state actors in Colombia.