Darren Jones

Our Plan To Rebuild, the Government's COVID-19 Recovery Strategy, is published on gov.uk and includes details on plans for weddings. We understand the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling at this time. We are keeping these restrictions under review and will ease them as soon as it is safe to do so. We will continue to work closely with faith leaders and local government over the coming weeks to go through the practicalities of doing so.

Marriages and civil partnerships under the special procedure for those who are seriously ill and not expected to recover, are taking place in some cases where it is safe to do so in line with PHE guidance.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given by Earl Howe to PQ HL1347 on 13 February 2020.

The UK is a world leader in cutting emissions while growing the economy, and has set an ambitious net zero target which will require transformation across the economy.

Tackling climate change is a priority for the whole of government, which is why the Prime Minister has set up the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change. This committee will hold departments to account for their actions to combat climate change and oversee the UK’s preparations to host the COP26 summit.

The Government is leading from the front, and delivering on the Greening Government Commitments. Cabinet Office monitors and reports performance against these Commitments through the annual publication of the State of the Estate Report. The Report describes the size and cost, efficiency of use and sustainability of property for central government buildings.

In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government outlines measures to transition to a green and sustainable future, helping businesses and consumers to move to clean power, supporting hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs and leveraging up to £90 billion of private investment by 2030.

Each year the Department publishes updated energy and emissions projections, analysing and projecting future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The Government will publish an updated set of Energy and Emissions projections in due course. This will set out emissions reductions from those specific Net Zero Strategy measures where decisions on the design of the associated individual policy intervention are sufficiently advanced to meet Energy and Emissions projections publication standards.

In the Net Zero Strategy, the Government outlines measures to transition to a green and sustainable future, helping businesses and consumers to move to clean power, supporting hundreds of thousands of well-paid jobs and leveraging up to £90 billion of private investment by 2030.

Each year the Department publishes updated energy and emissions projections, analysing and projecting future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. The Government will publish an updated set of Energy and Emissions projections in due course. This will set out emissions reductions from those specific Net Zero Strategy measures where decisions on the design of the associated individual policy intervention are sufficiently advanced to meet Energy and Emissions projections publication standards.

The Government intends to close the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive to new applications on 31 March 2022. This will be followed by the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which is scheduled to launch in April 2022. The BUS will provide a more targeted, accessible, and simpler offer, by providing upfront capital grants to support the installation of low carbon heat technologies.

The British Business Bank intends to publish data on usage of the scheme in due course.

The Trade Credit Reinsurance Scheme has benefitted over half a million businesses, providing certainty for firms across the UK and safeguarding jobs. It has protected more than an estimated £600 billion of business turnover through providing around £210 billion in insurance cover.

As the scheme remains open to receive claims, it would not be appropriate to disclose information on the financial performance of the scheme at this point.

Details of facilities made available under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme will be published where required by the European Commission’s Transparency Aid Module in due course.

Our priority is to ensure borrowers are given notice before information about their loans is shared with the European Commission; we are working with lenders and the British Business Bank to facilitate this. A rolling programme of reporting will then publish details of aid granted within the preceding 12 months.

The Digital Communications Team has included approximately 14 members of staff responsible for producing and promoting social media content between 2018 and 2021. We cannot quantify how many other staff in the wider Communications Directorate or wider department as it’s something that many people do as a smaller part of their role.

The Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective.

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

The Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme has faced a number of delivery challenges, as many new mechanisms do. This has been exacerbated by the understandable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the willingness of householders to welcome tradespeople into their homes.

Different levels of lower than anticipated uptake were considered. However, given the uncertainties surrounding potential take-up, and delivery pathways, no specific forecast was made for the end of January.

The majority of the 142 policy commitments from the 2017 Industrial Strategy are now in delivery, with around £45 billion of funding assigned to initiatives. These initiatives have strengthened the foundations of productivity, by investing in transport, housing, digital infrastructure, and skills. The Grand Challenges and missions have strengthened the UK’s standing as a global leader in AI, clean growth, healthy ageing, and future transport technology – preparing the UK for a resilient, future economy.

However, the 2017 Industrial Strategy was developed in a pre-COVID-19, pre-Brexit world and the coming decade poses new challenges. The Government is, and will continue to be, a champion of the needs of business and industry as we build back better from the pandemic. We will be laying out our plans to drive growth and support jobs across the UK in due course, and existing work will continue where appropriate.

The total number of dedicated full-time equivalent officials within the Industrial Strategy (IS) Directorate for the following years, is as follows:

2017: 15*

2018: 21

2019: 41

2020: 51

2021: 50

The Industrial Strategy is a cross-government policy which comprises and drives a significant number of initiatives. These span a wide array of policy areas across 20 government departments and arm’s-length bodies.

Given the breadth of the delivery work, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures for resource associated with the Industrial Strategy in other teams within BEIS. This information is unlikely to be retrievable at this point in time and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Some employers in the hospitality sector have recently improved their tipping practices and are now passing 100 per cent of tips to their staff.

When Parliamentary time allows, we will bring forward legislation to create a clear legislative framework for employers which handle tips. This will ensure hospitality workers are properly rewarded for their efforts, and protect the vast majority of hospitality businesses who do the right thing from being undercut by a small minority shirking their responsibilities.

The average time taken to process Future Fund applications is shown in the table below.

The number of days starts when matched funding was approved and finishes when the convertible loan was executed. The elapsed time depends on the actions of companies and investors as well as the managers of the Future Fund. The quickest application to date was completed in 9 days.

To note, averages for October and November are not yet available.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spoke at the launch event of the Climate Assembly UK report on 10 September and welcomed its findings. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister responded to both the interim and the final Climate Assembly UK reports via letters to the six select committees.

We are working closely with Climate Assembly UK to ensure that government departments are familiar with their findings. We invited the Climate Assembly UK’s expert leads to present the recommendations via seven briefings for officials from across government that took place between 14 and 24 September and covered all the policy areas discussed in the report.

The report’s recommendations are an important part of the evidence base for developing the Government’s Net Zero Strategy, which will be published in 2021.

The Government recognises that the disruption of recent months has impacted the ability of doctoral students to undertake their research projects. This has led to students having to adjust their projects, making decisions around changing their?approach, collecting different data, or changing the way they had planned to work with people, labs, archives or facilities.

As it is not possible for all students to adjust their projects and training plan in such a way, I announced in April that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded PhD students in the final year and whose studies have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic would be provided with additional support. Subsequently on the 11th November, UKRI provided a further £19.1 million of funding to support students in earlier years, including disabled students, those with long-term illness, those who are neurodivergent, or those with caring responsibilities.

Combined, these two interventions have meant that UKRI has made over £60 million of financial support available to students most impacted by the pandemic. It is estimated that this funding is available for up to 12,000 students.

In-line with normal industry practice an installer can request a deposit from the customer prior to carrying out work. The deposit cannot be more than the expected customer contribution to the cost of measures under the quote provided and the installer may not charge any more than they would usually charge for a measure.

For those on the low income scheme an installer may only request a deposit where the total cost of the work exceeds the £10,000 grant. In this case, only the amount in excess will be eligible for a deposit.

Installers will be paid for the costs covered by the voucher once the work has been completed and they have confirmed receipt of any customer contribution. Most installers will get the grant payment within 5 working days.

The UK is open to participation in Horizon Europe if we can agree a fair and balanced deal. We will make a final decision once it is clear whether such terms can be reached.

In tandem with our EU negotiations, as a responsible government, we are also developing alternative schemes to support international research and innovation collaboration. If we do not formally associate to Horizon Europe we will implement ambitious alternatives as quickly as possible from January 2021 and address the funding gap.

Under all scenarios it is our aim that UK organisations and entities continue to participate in Horizon Europe collaborative projects open to third countries, as well as in wider international collaborations. If we do not formally associate to Horizon Europe, UK organisations would still be able to participate in those elements of the programme, open to third countries. As part of our alternatives to Horizon Europe, we will make funding available to allow UK partners to participate in these schemes. Funding for EU programmes or for alternatives would be subject to allocations at the Spending Review.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was approved on 25 March 2020 by the European Commission under the EU State aid Temporary Framework. The Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme fall under the UK’s ‘umbrella’ Covid-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities which was approved by the Commission on 6 April 2020 under the EU State aid Temporary Framework.

They are not designed under the General Block Exemption Regulation.

The Future Fund is provided under the Market Economy Operator Principle and does not involve providing state aid to eligible companies.

The Future Fund provides government loans to UK-based companies ranging from £125,000 to £5 million, subject to at least equal match funding from private investors. These convertible loans may be an option for businesses that rely on equity investment and are unable to access other government business support programmes because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit.

The scheme is not subject to State Aid rules as it is provided under the Market Economy Operator Principle and does not involve providing aid to eligible companies.

The Green Homes Grant opened to applications on the 30 September 2020. As of midday on 21 October 2020, 22,013 grant applications have been received. BEIS will continue to monitor application data as the scheme progresses.

As of 26 October, TrustMark has registered 1,108 businesses able to install the primary and/or secondary measures supported by the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme.

The State Aid (Revocations and Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 are being made using the powers in the European Union (Withdrawal Act) 2018 (as amended). These powers include those intended to address failures of retained EU law to operate effectively or other deficiencies arising from the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

At the end of the transition period, the EU law on state aid which would otherwise be retained by the Withdrawal Act would contain fundamental deficiencies which would make it inoperable in the UK. In accordance with the requirements of the Withdrawal Act, the instrument is doing no more than is appropriate to address those deficiencies.

Details of individual aid awards under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and Bounce Back Loan Scheme will be published as required on the European Commission’s Transparency Aid Module in due course. Details of investments made through the Future Fund alongside private investors are commercially confidential.

Most employers are acting responsibly and supporting their staff to self-isolate when needed. However, we are aware of incidences where workers have felt compelled to work when they should be self-isolating. This is unacceptable.

It is critically important that when someone needs to self-isolate, they do so. That is why the Government made changes to the legal position around self-isolation making it an offence for an individual to leave their place of self-isolation (normally home) during the isolating period (either following a positive Covid test, contact by NHS Test and Trace or if they have returned from abroad and are required to quarantine.)

In order to support this, we have also made it an offence for an employer to knowingly allow a person who has been told to self-isolate to work anywhere other than where they are self-isolating. If employers are found to be in breach of this requirement, they will be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice. Repeated breaches will see an increase in the level of the Fixed Penalty Notice (£1k first offence, £2k second offence, £4k third offence, £10k fourth and subsequent offences.)

There is no requirement for businesses to be owned by a majority of EU-based shareholders in current EU law or within the UK’s Companies Act 2006.

However, both Societas Europaeas (SEs) and European Economic Interest Groupings (EEIGs), which are EU specific company formations, have certain ownership-linked requirements. SEs, for example, must have their registered offices in the EU and at least two of the bodies that form an SE must have a presence in different Member States. Similarly, EEIGs, which are a form of association between companies or other legal bodies, must be based in the relevant EU Member State and companies or firms must be incorporated in the EU to become members of an EEIG.

From 1 January 2021, SEs and EEIGs will no longer be able to be registered in the UK and any UK-based SEs and EEIGs that have not made alternative arrangements will be automatically converted into new UK corporate structures, respectively UK Societas and UK Economic Interest Groupings (UKEIG). Members of UKEIGs will continue to be allowed to be based in either a part of the UK or in any EU Member State, and UK Socieatas will not be subject to any continuing ownership-linked requirements.

In addition, there are ownership or voting rights requirements in specific regulated sectors where specific EU regulations apply. Examples include audit firms, where the existing requirements as to the majority of voting rights on the ownership body and the management body will be amended so that each majority must be held by UK registered audit firms or by individuals with UK audit qualifications or UK recognised qualifications.

The Energy White Paper is a priority and it will be published this Autumn. It will drive economic recovery and help deliver our climate goals. It is important it is aligned with measures we are taking to accelerate a green recovery, such as my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s announcement on 8^th July about energy efficiency measures.

Our negotiating approach sets out that we will consider a relationship in line with non-EU Member State participation in certain EU Programmes, including Horizon Europe, provided that this represents value for money and is in the UK’s interest.

We continue to hold discussions on Programme participation with the EU, and my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster’s Written Ministerial Statement (HCWS245) of 19 May sets out that UK and EU discussions took place across all workstreams, including EU Programmes. The Horizon Europe Programme is currently being negotiated in the EU Institutions and has not yet been finalised. The Programme must be adopted by the EU before arrangements for potential UK participation could be finalised.

In tandem with our negotiations, as a responsible government, we are also developing alternative schemes to support international research and innovation collaboration. In this, we are considering a range of measures, which include options to address immediate needs and work through to any future funding scenario.

Package travel agencies are required to comply with The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018, which protect consumers who have bought package holidays. Consumers are entitled to a refund?if forced to cancel a package holiday due to unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances, which should be issued?within 14 days, depending on the nature of the contract in place. Further information on the rights and responsibilities of consumers and businesses was published on 30 April by the Competition and Markets Authority who have also set up a covid-19 taskforce for consumers to register complaints.

In order to help ensure that workplaces are safe for workers in the construction sector, the Government has worked with Public Health England (PHE), business representatives, and trade unions to develop guidance on safer working. Measures include undertaking risk assessments and implementing social distancing.

The Government has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures, which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement this guidance on construction sites.

The UK does not currently advise that face masks should be used outside of care settings, on public transport, and in some shops. However, PHE is continually reviewing its guidance in line with emerging evidence.

The Government will support small and medium enterprises and individual employers to cope with the extra costs of paying COVID-19-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). Eligible SSP costs will be refunded for two weeks per employee from the day on which regulations extending SSP to self-isolators come into force. This will provide 2 million businesses with support worth up to £2 billion to cover the costs of large-scale sick leave.

The Government is committed to maintaining and enhancing workers’ rights, and to supporting people to balance their work and caring responsibilities. We recently consulted on parental leave and pay reform, including Paternity Leave and Pay through a survey of approximately 3,300 parents, we are also collecting data on various parental leave and pay policies, including barriers and enablers to take-up. We will publish the consultation response and survey findings in due course.

The Government is committed to making the UK the best place to work and grow a business. As announced in the Queen’s Speech, we will bring forward an Employment Rights Bill to deliver the greatest reform of workers’ rights in over 20 years.

We will continue to collaborate with the EU on scientific research and we have been clear that, where it is in the UK’s interests, we will seek to participate in some specific EU Programmes.

The shape and content of the next EU Multi-Annual Financial Framework Programmes for 2021-2027, including Horizon Europe, are currently being negotiated in the EU Institutions and have not yet been finalised. Horizon Europe must be adopted by the EU before any potential formal negotiations on association could begin.

The UK has played a constructive role in the development of Horizon Europe to ensure that it aligns with UK priorities and we look forward to continuing our relationship in research and innovation with our European partners.

Leading the world in tackling climate change to deliver a stronger, greener United Kingdom is my key priority for the Department. We are committed to delivering our world-leading target to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions and end the UK’s contribution to global warming by 2050, while maximising the economic opportunities of this transition – creating new business opportunities and up to 2 million green jobs by 2030.

Between 1990 and 2017, the UK has reduced emissions by more than 40% while growing our economy by over two thirds – decarbonising our economy faster than any other G20 country. Meeting our net zero target will require us to build on this progress by transforming our economy, including our homes, transport, industries, how we generate and use energy, and how we use our land.

Throughout 2020 we will set out further plans to ensure the UK is on track to meet our ambitious targets, building on the strong framework we have established in the Clean Growth Strategy, including an Energy White Paper and a policy roadmap for heat in buildings. We are also preparing to host the crucial 2020 UN climate negotiations, COP26, in Glasgow in November. We will use COP26 to push for ambitious action from all countries to deliver the 2015 Paris Agreement, and showcase the UK’s climate leadership.

HM Government is making good progress towards the Greening Government Commitment to reduce emissions from the central government estate by 43% between 2009/10 and 2019/20, having exceeded the original target of 32% three years early. Since 2009/10, the Department reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 57%. This equates to a 36,448 tCO₂e reduction.

As the Prime Minister said on 23 November national restrictions ended on Wednesday 2 December, and gyms and sport facilities will reopen across all tiers. As set out in the COVID Winter Plan the decision to allocate tiers is based on a range of factors and will be reviewed every 14 days. In Tier 3 areas we have taken further measures to limit social interactions and therefore opportunities for the virus to spread.

Outdoor organised sport can resume, but the Government will advise against contact sports with a higher risk of transmission, although these can still go ahead for under 18s and disabled groups. Group activity and exercise classes indoors are also advised against.

Fraudulent calls can have significant and devastating impacts on people’s lives, particularly the most vulnerable in society. As well as being a nuisance, cold calling is the most common method used to initiate fraud, especially relating to pensions. That’s why the government has taken action to ban pension cold calling.

HM Treasury has introduced a ban on pension cold calling in order to reduce the chance of individual’s being enticed into fraudulent schemes.

Further to this, Home Office has collaborated with UK Finance to run the Take Five fraud awareness campaign. The campaign is designed to equip the public to challenge fraudulent approaches with confidence – be they face-to-face, on the telephone or online.

The Government continues to work on practical solutions to address nuisance and scam calls. DCMS have provided over £1 million in the last 3 years to the National Trading Standards for distribution of call blocking devices to vulnerable people. This funding helped to protect some of the most vulnerable in society from nuisance calls and scams, including those originating from overseas.

Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus. That’s why we opened up grassroots sport and leisure facilities as soon as it was safe to do so.

You can travel in order to exercise across all tiers, however there is additional guidance for Tier 2 and Tier 3 areas which affects those living in the areas as well as those who wish to travel into the areas to take part in sporting activities. In tier 2: you should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make, where possible.

You are advised not to travel into or out of Tier 3 areas, including for sport, unless this is necessary to enable individual exercise (or exercise for people from the same household or support bubble). Where this is necessary (for example to access a green space for a run or cycle), you should only travel a short distance and stay as local as possible. Travel is also permitted where it is necessary to enable sport for disabled people, sport for educational purposes, or supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s, to take place, but should still be minimised and kept to short distances only. People can additionally travel for necessary work or voluntary purposes.

Outdoor events - including firework display events - organised by businesses, charitable organisations, and public bodies are currently permitted provided event organisers follow all relevant Covid-19 Secure guidance, organisers and attendees adhere to all legal requirements including only allowing people to attend in groups of up to 6 people, and the event does not pose a risk to public health.

Industry guidance developed by the Events Industry Forum in collaboration with DCMS outlines the Covid-secure measures that events organisers must put in place in order to host an outdoor event, including a firework display.

Local Authorities are responsible for permitting or prohibiting large organised outdoor events from taking place in their local area. Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and Local Authorities should provide advice to businesses on how to manage events of this type if required.

We will keep the Outdoor Events guidance under review to determine whether further guidance should be provided as government measures to stop the spread of the virus change. The Events Industry Forum’s guidance for outdoor events can be found here: https://www.eventsindustryforum.co.uk/index.php/11-features/14-keeping-workers-and-audiences-safe-during-covid-19.

Science and discovery centres around the country have an important role in educating and entertaining visitors of all ages on what science is and the important discoveries over the centuries that have changed all our lives.

The proposal for an Emergency Resilience Fund sets out the difficulties that science centres are facing while they are closed and unable to earn income from visitors.

Science centres in England have access to the unprecedented support the Government has announced for business and workers, to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes the Job Retention Scheme, which I am pleased science centres have benefited from, VAT payment deferrals, and £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses. The Chancellor has also announced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.

Many science and discovery centres are also part of museum groups or are heritage sites, such as members Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre, the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, part of Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums, and Thinktank, the Birmingham Science Museum. Museums and heritage organisations can access over £200 million of coronavirus support schemes from Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Science centres outside England may be eligible for further support from the devolved governments.

Our immediate national priority is containing the spread of the virus. As soon as it is safe to do so, we will be encouraging people to visit leisure attractions once again. On 11th May 2020 the Government published a roadmap setting out how we expect organisations such as science and discovery centres to open back up and welcome visitors again.

The Minister for Media and Data met with the Independent Community News Network and the Public Interest News Foundation on 6 May to discuss Government support for the independent news publishing sector to mitigate the impacts of Covid-19 on the sector. This meeting included a discussion about the Government's national campaign to provide information and reassurance to the public about Covid-19 and how the independent sector may be used to reach underserved audiences.

All titles utilised in the campaign have been selected by the Government's media planning and buying agency, OmniGOV. As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level and to ensure value for money, reach and targeting efficacy. The current partnership brings together over 600 national, regional and local titles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to reach 49 million people a month. The vast majority of titles are local papers and additional titles have been selected in order to further reach priority audiences including BAME and older men.

We will announce our intentions for the legislative process shortly.

DCMS is committed to helping tackle climate change. The UK is a world leader in cutting emissions while growing the economy. Our world-leading net zero target will require transformation across the economy. HMG will set out further plans to deliver net zero throughout 2020 ahead of COP26, including plans on energy and heat in buildings. HMG is leading from the front, reducing emissions from the government estate and delivering on the Greening Government Commitments.

DCMS works closely with the Electronic Communications Resilience and Response Group (the industry run group which represents all the major Telecoms operators and leads on resilience activity and best practice); this group has produced reports on climate change adaptation and we have worked closely with them and with Defra colleagues to develop a template which will enable a sector wide response to the third adaptation reporting round which closes at the end of 2021.

The department recognises that recruitment and retention are key issues for the early years sector, with local authorities reporting significant pressures on providers. We are working with the sector to build our understanding of the situation in the workforce and how we might support providers in this area.

We are committed to supporting the early years sector to develop a workforce with the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to deliver high quality early education and childcare.

The department has engaged with early years employers to help them develop three high-quality apprenticeships. These are early years educator, practitioner, and lead practitioner, spanning levels 2 to 5. Since academic year 2018/19, over 32,000 early years apprenticeships have been started and we continue to work with employers on developing these apprenticeships to meet the sector’s needs.

In September 2020, we launched T Levels in education and childcare. The two-year 16-19 technical programme has been designed by employers to provide direct progression into early years education roles. It is aligned to the early years practitioner level 3 occupational standard and covers the early years educator criteria. Over 500 students enrolled in September 2020/21, and approximately a further 1,500 this academic year.

The department continues to fund the early years initial teacher training programme, including grants, bursaries and employer incentives. As part of early years education recovery, we are expanding the number of training places to increase the supply of qualified graduates to the sector.

In April 2021, free level 3 early years qualifications became available through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

As part of our education recovery package, we announced a £153 million investment in evidence-based professional development for early years practitioners, including through new programmes focusing on key areas such as speech and language development. This year we will commission a review of the level 3 early years qualification criteria, through the recovery programme, responding to feedback from the sector. This review will consider how we can improve the quality and rigour of the level 3 early years qualification, including the criteria, through consultation and engagement with stakeholders from across early years.

The Department for Education has published figures on the total number of paid staff working in childcare and early years provision in a representative, national survey of providers, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-providers-survey-2021. This report shows that the total number of paid staff working in childcare and early years provision in 2021 was estimated at 328,500. This figure is somewhat lower than in 2019 (344,100) but in line with the estimates for 2019 (331,400). 2019 is the earliest year for which comparable data are available. No comparable data was collected in 2020 because of reprioritisation for COVID-19 reasons.

The average (mean) number of paid staff per early years setting remained similar in 2021 compared with 2019 for all provider types.

In spring 2022, we will publish a report on the theme of early years workforce, which will include new data on the number of staff leaving roles in early years providers.

Independent schools must have meet the requirements of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 which set out the standards for the education, welfare and safety for pupils attending an independent school, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Ofsted and the Independent Schools Inspectorate inspect all independent schools against these standards.

Local authorities are responsible for securing the provision specified in the education, health and care plans (ECHPs) they maintain, including for those placements in private providers. They are required to conduct reviews of all EHCPs that they maintain at least annually. If a review finds that elements of the provision specified in the plan are no longer appropriate, then the local authority should review the EHCP and consider whether the provision should be amended and/or a different institution named.

Autism is a spectrum condition where children have a range of strengths and difficulties. There is no well-founded research to show that any one intervention for children with autism (such as Applied Behaviour Analysis) is more effective than all the other interventions or which interventions are best for which children on the spectrum. The government believes that intervention decisions should be taken by professionals locally, in consultation with parents and young people, after a thorough assessment of the child or young person’s needs.

All schools are required to identify and address the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) of the pupils they support and to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person gets the support they need.

High needs funding, which is specifically for supporting children with SEND, will be increasing by £1 billion in 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 tutors or the use of specific interventions, are made by local authorities and schools.

High needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing in the next financial year 2022-23 by £1 billion to over £9.1 billion. This unprecedented year-on-year increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last 2 years, and will continue to support local authorities and schools with the increasing costs they are facing.

As well as substantial increases in high needs funding for all local authorities, of at least 12% per head, the department are also targeting extra support for those authorities in the most financial difficulty and reviewing the overall system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

International students are required to demonstrate their ability to financially support themselves during their studies as part of the visa application process. The UK government does not offer financial support to students applying for a visa to study in the UK.

Students that have a UK visa and are studying full-time on a course at degree level or above at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance are able to work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacation periods.

In specific cases, immediate hardship funding can be made available by universities for students in need. Students should speak to their providers if they find themselves in need of hardship support.

The UK government funds several programmes offering scholarships and bursaries to support international students looking to study in the UK. The UK National Agency for Erasmus+ confirms that there have been no delays in disbursement of funds to existing beneficiaries.

The Department remains committed to legislating to change the School Admissions Code to allow summer born children to be automatically admitted to Reception at the age of five, where that is what their parents' wish, and to remain with that cohort throughout their compulsory education.

In September 2020, we published updated guidance for admission authorities and advice for parents on the current arrangements for requesting admission outside a child’s normal age group. The guidance states that where children have delayed their start in Reception and are applying for transition to junior, middle or secondary school, unless there are sound educational reasons to do otherwise, the assumption should be that they remain outside their normal year group and in the year in which they have been educated so far. The guidance will help ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of the child concerned.

There has been no-one in my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s private office allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on Department for Education social media.

The number of officials in the central social media team based in the communications division are outlined by year in the following table:

This reflects the increasing importance of communicating directly on social media to parents, students and school, college and university staff with clear, practical information and support during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Generally, to be eligible for student support a student must be resident in England and have ‘settled’ status or a recognised connection with the UK on the first day of the first academic year of the course and must have been resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) for the 3 years prior to that date.

Student finance is, therefore, available to those persons who have indefinite leave to enter or remain in the UK provided they meet the relevant residence and other requirements.

The Student Loans Company relies on information from the Home Office in relation to immigration matters when assessing eligibility.

The official departmental response to the 2020 Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) data protection audit of the Department for Education is publicly available and was deposited in the House Libraries 28 January 2021. The document can be found through the following link: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2282906/files.

The Department continues to work with the ICO to deliver against the recommendations identified within the audit report. The official response sets out that the Department is committed to a programme of work and will publish a further update in June 2021.

Numerous teams across the department have worked to develop and deliver policies that contribute to delivering the Industrial Strategy, so we are unable to quantify staff numbers in this respect.

This includes teams focusing on: the introduction of ground-breaking T Levels; establishing new Institutes of Technology; developing the National Skills Fund; increasing funding for 16-19 provision; improving take up of science and maths at A level; improving digital education at all levels through changes to the curriculum and a new digital entitlements for adults; and the introduction of Skills Advisory Panels and the Skills Productivity Board.

On 17 December 2020 the government announced a return to funding early years settings for the spring term on the basis of attendance, as measured by the January 2021 census. The early years census count has gone ahead as expected and the census guidance is unchanged. To support local authorities, we issued some technical advice on how that guidance can be applied this year.

If attendance rises after the census is taken, we will top-up councils to up to 85% of their January 2020 census level, where a local authority can provide evidence for increased attendance during the spring term. This will give local authorities additional financial confidence to pay providers for increasing attendance later in the spring term. We were expecting a small decrease in the number of children taking up the entitlements to manifest in the January 2021 census due to projected demographic changes, irrespective of the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, there will be fewer children to fund for the entitlements than last year.

As is usual, the Early Years dedicated schools grant funding allocations published in December are provisional and based on the January 2020 census, as the most recent available data point. We expect lower demand to manifest in the January 2021 census due to a range of factors, including known demographic changes, irrespective of the COVID-19 outbreak, which will feed into future allocations updates.

We plan to spend £3.6 billion on the early years budget envelope in the 2020-21 financial year to fund the free early education and childcare entitlements.

We stay in regular contact with the early years sector and have heard from them already on this subject. We publish regular official statistics on attendance in early years settings here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. We will be closely monitoring both parental take-up of places and the capacity and responses of providers.

The Department has been working closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office since the audit was undertaken in February 2020 to address all the recommendations. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education will be publishing a formal response in January 2021.

The pupil premium for financial year 2020-2021 will be paid using the per pupil rates and on the dates set out in the conditions of grant published in February 2020 on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2020-to-2021.

Primary PE and sport premium payments were made to local authorities for their maintained schools in April 2020 and to academies in May 2020 on the dates and at the level announced in October 2019 on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pe-and-sport-premium-conditions-of-grant-2019-to-2020.

The recruitment and retention of teachers remains a priority for the Government. We want to ensure that all pupils in England are taught by high-quality teachers.

The Department has a significant programme of work in place to improve recruitment, retention, and the quality of teaching, much of which is set out in our Recruitment and Retention Strategy, published in January 2019. As part of this, we intend to work closely with the sector and potential delivery partners to consider how to design an effective sabbaticals pilot that works for teachers and school leaders. We are not yet at the stage where we can launch the scheme.

The Department will provide further information on any pilot in due course.

Parents will not be penalised for absence that results from following government guidance on self-isolation.

Where a pupil is in self-isolation, in accordance with the latest advice from Department of Health and Social Care and Public Health England, schools have been advised to record the pupil as being unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances in the attendance register.

Schools have also been advised that where a pupil does not attend school and is not self-isolating, the pupil will be recorded as absent but we expect headteachers will authorise absence where a pupil is not able to attend because of an underlying health condition that means they, or a family member in their household, are particularly vulnerable to the virus.

Recording a pupil as unable to attend due to exceptional circumstances and authorising absence will not lead to enforcement action being taken.

The Department of Education is supporting sustainability both through the content taught to students, and through supporting our schools to become more sustainable institutions.

It is important that young people are taught about climate change and sustainability. Topics related to this are included in both the science and geography curriculum and qualifications. For example, in primary science pupils are taught about how environments can change as a result of human actions. In secondary science, pupils are taught about the production of carbon dioxide by human activity and the effect this has on the climate. This is expanded on in GCSE science where pupils will consider the evidence for additional anthropogenic causes of climate change. As part of GCSE geography pupils will look at the causes, consequences of and responses to extreme weather conditions and natural weather hazards. In 2017, we also introduced a new environmental science A level. This will enable students to study topics that will support their understanding of climate change and how it can be tackled.

In addition, sustainability content will be included in T levels, new post-16 technical study programs. In setting outline content, the T level panels of employers and industry experts must consider the inclusion of sustainability as relevant to their sector. For example, in Construction, T level students will be required to learn about renewable energy and emerging technologies to support energy efficiency.

The Department support sustainability through our capital funding and programmes, both to reduce carbon and save schools money on energy. Schools can use their condition funding to invest in improving energy efficiency. Furthermore, interest free loans for energy efficiency projects in maintained schools are available through the Government backed Salix finance scheme. Salix loans have also been made available to academies through an annual application process. More broadly, we are working with colleagues across the Government on carbon reduction and energy efficiency and developing thinking on how future capital programmes can contribute further.

During procurements, Department for Education considers how this might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area, where this is relevant to the subject matter of the contract.

From April, the Department will begin implementation of new government guidance on Social Value, which requires central Government Departments to take account of social impact as part of the award criteria where this is linked to the subject matter of the contract and proportionate. This may include reducing environmental impacts.

In January 2021 we launched a consultation on the next phase of bovine TB eradication strategy as part of our objective for TB-free status in England by 2038. The consultation includes proposals to stop issuing intensive cull licences for new areas after 2022 and could see new four-year licences, after two-years of culling, be revoked after a progress evaluation by the Chief Veterinary Officer.

The consultation also includes proposals to restrict supplementary badger control licences to two years and to prohibit the issuing of new licences for areas licensed after 2020.

The consultation closes on 24 March 2021 and a government response and next steps will be published thereafter. Changes to the intensive and supplementary cull licences will be implemented by Natural England through revised guidance from Defra, which we are also consulting on. Details can be found at https://consult.defra.gov.uk/bovine-tb-2020/eradication-of-btb-england/.

At Defra, in 2020-21 we had 17 people allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media. Sixteen of those people worked across three organisations: Defra, Natural England and the Environment Agency. In 2018-19 we allocated 16 people and in 2019-20 we allocated 17 people.

We have no private office officials allocated to the production and promotion of online content for use on social media.

Britain is fast becoming a digital-first nation. Roughly 96% of the UK households now have internet access with 66% of the population in the UK using social media. With this monumental shift in media consumption habits, it is essential for a responsible government to pivot its communications strategy to be more digital-first in order to inform and engage with the general public on important policies.

Government communication runs across all channels - TV and radio advertising, out of home, digital and social media, print, and direct channels such as letters, SMS and webinars, virtual and in-person activity, where needed and in full compliance with social distancing restrictions.

Cabinet Office is continuously tracking and reviewing spending on cross-government campaigns, including Covid-19, to ensure our communications are efficient. We will not spend more than is needed to be effective. Cabinet Office publishes expenditure, including on public information campaigns, on a rolling monthly basis on gov.uk as part of routine government transparency arrangements.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for the overall delivery of the Industrial Strategy.

The Industrial Strategy is a cross-Government policy which comprises and drives a significant number of initiatives. These span a wide array of policy areas across 20 Government departments and arm’s-length bodies

Given the breadth of the delivery work within Defra, it is difficult to obtain accurate figures for resources associated with the Industrial Strategy in teams within the department. The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.

The Department has submitted its application to allow the UK to become a Part 1 listed third country under Annex II of the EU Pet Travel Regulations and is currently seeking technical discussions with the European Commission. As we have left the EU, it is now for the Commission to consider our application for listed status.

Tackling climate change is a priority for the whole of Government, which is why the Prime Minister is chairing a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change to drive action across all sectors of the economy and demonstrate the UK’s global leadership as we prepare to host the crucial COP26 talks in Glasgow in November. Defra is playing its part in achieving net zero, taking forward efforts to reduce emissions from agriculture, waste, land-use and fluorinated gases and to encourage sequestration through forestry.

Defra, as the lead department for domestic adaptation, is responsible for delivering adaptation duties set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. These include preparing, every five years, a UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA), followed by a National Adaptation Programme (NAP), which sets out actions to address the risks identified in the CCRA. The second, most recent, CCRA was published in 2017 and the second NAP was published in July 2018.

Adaptation is rightly integrated throughout the policies and programmes of Government. The NAP includes actions in a broad range of areas, including the natural environment, infrastructure, people and the built environment, business and industry, and local Government. It sets out the actions Government is taking to address the risks posed by a changing climate - including Government investment of £2.6 billion between 2015 and 2021 to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding and coastal erosion. We are also developing and implementing a Nature Recovery Network, which will create or restore 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat in England. Nature recovery can help us to mitigate and adapt to climate change, because our wetlands, forests and grasslands capture carbon and provide other environmental benefits, such as flood management and pollination. Marine Protected Areas (including the 41 new Marine Conservation Zones we designated last year) now cover 40% of English waters and will help enhance the resilience of ecosystems and wildlife to climate change.

Defra will work with other departments through the Cabinet Committee on Climate Change, chaired by the Prime Minister.

Alongside the Gear Change plan, the Department published updated cycle infrastructure design guidance for local authorities to improve the quality, accessibility and safety of local cycle infrastructure schemes. The updated guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycle-infrastructure-design-ltn-120 and it includes detailed advice on both of these points.

On 28 July 2020 the Prime Minister launched ambitious plans to boost cycling and walking. This included a £2 billion five-year package of funding for active travel, the bulk of which will go to local authorities across England to support schemes, including potentially cycle hire schemes, in their areas.

The Spending Review in November confirmed that £257 million of dedicated funding would be made available next financial year to support cycling and walking schemes. Further details about how this funding will allocated will be announced in due course. Decisions on how best to support low-carbon last-mile journeys in their areas are matters for local highway and planning authorities.

The two-year validity period of a compulsory basic training (CBT) certificate is set out in legislation. It is in place to ensure learner moped and motorcycle riders can ride safely on their own, with L-plates, while they practise for a full moped or motorcycle test. The Government has no plans, on road safety grounds, to waive that two-year validity period.

Transport plays an important role in supporting the aims of the 2017 Industrial Strategy; central both to the Infrastructure Foundation and the Future of Mobility Grand Challenge. Key areas of activity span the department, for example in areas such as Transport for the North and Midlands Connect, local transport investment through the Transforming Cities Fund and policies on EV infrastructure and incentives. A cross-Department Future of Transport (FoT) programme has also been established to manage changes in transport technology over the decade, including (1) a regulatory review to address barriers to deployment; (2) Future Transport Zones to enable local authorities to actively engage and shape transport innovations; and (3) sector-specific work in zero emission and connected/automated vehicles to secure UK leadership.

DfT contributions to delivery of the Industrial Strategy are not localised within specific teams across the department, and so we are unable to provide officials numbers as requested. However, for example there has been an increase in officials supporting the Office for Low Emission Vehicles programme, and a further increase for officials supporting electric and autonomous vehicles. These programmes share common outcomes with the Industrial Strategy, particularly in meeting the grand challenge set for the Future of Mobility in the UK.

Garages testing and repairing vehicles are allowed to remain open for business during the English lockdown announced in January, on the basis of Covid-secure working practices. The vast majority (over 95%, in the last week) of the testing network is open for business. There is widespread availability of contact free, pick-up and drop-off MOT services. The MOT test is important to vehicles being roadworthy and dangerous defects being identified and rectified. As with other aspects of the lockdown, the position is subject to review.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus and save lives it is vital that approved driving instructors respect the national restrictions in England, reduce day-to-day contact with others, and not carry out driver training. Pupils can still have private practice using their own car providing they and the supervising driver are from the same household and it is travel for work, education or for other legally permitted exemptions.

In line with the Government’s national restrictions, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has suspended practical driver testing in England until Thursday 3 December 2020. Given the short period of time the new restrictions are in place, the DVSA will not be offering a critical worker priority service, but the agency will keep this under review.

Existing guidance to Local Authorities makes clear that fines should be dispensed to motorists only as a last resort. The priority must be to change motorists’ behaviour – to encourage them not to idle, which after all is wasting their fuel, and instead to encourage motorists towards using the technological solutions now available.

DfT is considering a range of potential engineering mitigations for Covid-19 on the transport network. We are following advice from SAGE which has considered the potential benefits of improved ventilation flows, however to date no assessment on the use of air curtains directly has been made.

We are aware that experts are producing guidance such as the CIBSE Covid-19 Ventilation Guidance and the REHVA Covid-19 Guidance.

Officials in the Department have been working closely with the freight associations and operators of Motorway Service Areas (MSAs), to ensure that the MSAs continue to provide suitable food, toilets and shower facilities to hauliers travelling on the road network. We have also been working with large Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs), to ensure they have implemented hygiene procedures and social distancing in line with government guidelines.

In a small number of cases, MSA operators have reduced the opening hours of some facilities, but fuel, toilets, and takeaway food and drink currently remain available at all MSAs 24 hours a day. MSAs must provide these amenities as required by the DfT planning circular.

Truck stops and garages may also provide facilities, however, these are private businesses which are subject to different levels of regulation to MSAs.

Where access to toilet or handwashing facilities is denied, and proper social distancing measures are not in place, this can be reported via e-mail to covid19info@rha.uk.net.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has booked 302 emergency lorry driving tests for critical workers for the period 23 March to 19 June 2020.

The DVSA does not hold data on the number of people who have applied for a key worker lorry driving test due to the covid-19 outbreak. This is because the booking system that was used between 23 March and 24 April 2020 was a manual system that captured the number of emails received, not number of unique requests received.

The DVSA has now streamlined the process and introduced a new online application form.

The Department for Transport (DfT) works closely with its operators on risk assessment and mitigation measures for transport infrastructure. DfT contributed to the Government’s National Adaption Programme 2018 and Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017. These two documents set out Government’s adaptation measures and predicated climate change impacts nationally. DfT is continuing to work with transport operators and delivery partners to increase climate resilience in the planning and design of transport infrastructure and will keep incorporating adaptation into its strategies.

Government is committed to delivering a net zero emission transport system, which will deliver wider benefits for the UK and its citizens, as soon as possible. These benefits include improved air quality and public health, new opportunities for economic growth and high-quality jobs in clean growth, as well as a sustainable and more efficient transport system. The forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan will set out our bold and ambitious policies for transport to ensure the transport sector plays its part in ending the UK’s contribution to climate change by 2050.

As part of our preparations future relationship negotiations with the EU, we will be considering all aspects of applicable EU law. However, we would want to ensure that our high safety standards are maintained on UK roads while considering opportunities that may arise from the UK’s exit from the EU.

Claimants who were abroad and could not return to Great Britain due to travel restrictions during the COVID-19 epidemic were advised that they could continue to be paid for as long as those restrictions remained in place. Once travel restrictions were lifted, claimants were expected to return to Great Britain if they wished to continue to receive payments.

A digital scan was run to identify claimants who had notified the Department they would be abroad on or after 2^nd November 2019, identifying 409 claimants. The claims identified were extended to ensure they did not fall out of payment. Regular tracking of cases was undertaken to check if and when customers had returned to the country. Claims were ended when claimants stated they did not intend to return, and in three cases payment was stopped as no acceptable reason was provided for failure to return.

These numbers exclude claimants who failed to inform us that they had left the country because there was no information on the system to track, however guidance stated that once claimants did inform us, payment could be made as long as travel restrictions remained in place.

The numbers also exclude individual cases where claimants chose to travel after travel restrictions were lifted, and cases where the daily living component of PIP can remain in payment in the European Economic Area or Switzerland where a relevant EU Regulation applies and they can demonstrate a genuine link to the United Kingdom social security system.

I refer the Hon. Member to my response to Parliamentary Question 126529 answered 25^th February 2022.

UC standard allowances will be up-rated in April-22 in line with the September-21 CPI figure of 3.1%. A full list of how each UC element will be uprated can be found at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9439/CBP-9439.pdf.

In 2022/23 spend on UC will be around £1.1bn higher because of the uprating of the UC standard allowances and various UC elements.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer I gave on 2^nd February 2022 to question number 108447.

The Department understands the potential effect of waiting for a tribunal hearing which is why our aim is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. Recent improvements to our decision-making processes mean that Decision Makers can better gather relevant additional evidence. This helps to ensure that people get the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible, without the need for a tribunal appeal.

The Department’s aim is to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey. We have made improvements to our decision-making processes to ensure that people get the support they are entitled to as quickly as possible, because decision makers can better gather relevant additional evidence earlier in the process.

The Department aims to continually improve the assessment process for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) through customer insight, stakeholder engagement and qualitative research. For people with the highest level of support and with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve or will deteriorate, new guidance was introduced in August 2018 for both new claims and award reviews to ensure they receive an ongoing award of PIP, with a light-touch review at the 10-year point. Since 2019 ongoing awards with a light-touch review at the 10-year point are also applied to most awards for people over State Pension age.

PIP is designed to support an individual’s functional needs arising from a range of disabilities, including chronic or hidden illnesses, and the PIP Assessment Guide (PIPAG) makes clear that Health Professionals must take into consideration the invisible nature of some symptoms such as fatigue and pain in their assessment of a claimant.

We published ‘Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’ in July 2021 and asked for views on how we might improve health assessments considering a number of options. The consultation closed on 11 October 2021 and we will set out next steps in a White Paper later this year.

As set out in answer UIN102750, benefits are designed to support an individual’s needs arising from a range of disabilities or ill health, including strokes.

The Department aims to continually improve the assessment process for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) through customer insight, stakeholder engagement and qualitative research. For people with the highest level of support and with severe and lifelong health conditions which will not improve or will deteriorate, new guidance was introduced in August 2018 for both new claims and award reviews to ensure they receive an ongoing award of PIP, with a light-touch review at the 10-year point. Since 2019 ongoing awards with a light-touch review at the 10-year point are also applied to most awards for people over State Pension age.

We published ‘Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper’ in July 2021 and asked for views on how we might improve health assessments considering a number of options. The consultation closed on 11 October 2021 and we will set out next steps in a White Paper later this year.

We are now exploring how to test a new Severe Disability Group (SDG) so those with severe and lifelong conditions can benefit from a simplified process to access ESA/UC and PIP without ever needing to complete a detailed application form or go through a face to face assessment/reassessment.

The published figures can be accessed here - DWP benefits statistics: November 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Where a paying parent is in prison and receives income from certain assets, then a variation can be considered and that income may be taken into account when calculating the maintenance liability.

If the paying parent fails to make payments that are due, the Child Maintenance Service can make arrangements to enforce payment of any arrears.

The EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement set out the rules on the payment of state pensions when individuals of any nationality have moved, or move in future, between the UK and EU member states.

These agreements maintain the same rules as prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in respect of the payment of their state pension and the coordination between states in its calculation. The UK and EU Member State governments are bound by obligations in those agreements.

The agreements also provide mechanisms for raising issues relating to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU with the European Commission and the governments of Member States.

The EU Withdrawal Agreement and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement set out the rules on the payment of state pensions when individuals of any nationality have moved, or move in future, between the UK and EU member states.

These agreements maintain the same rules as prior to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in respect of the payment of their state pension and the coordination between states in its calculation. The UK and EU Member State governments are bound by obligations in those agreements.

The agreements also provide mechanisms for raising issues relating to the UK’s withdrawal from the EU with the European Commission and the governments of Member States.

The DWP is the largest department in Whitehall, making a difference to the lives of millions of people right across the country, and as such it is vital that communications are far-reaching, clear and effective. DWP manages social media through these key areas;

• At a national level in the Strategic Communications Directorate (SCD) to communicate key policy areas to the public, campaign messaging and ministerial priorities.

• At a local level in the Customer Experience Directorate (CED) through operational staff using jobcentre accounts that are a valuable resource to help people find work and access the support they need.

• In the Digital Group (DG) to communicate how it uses technology and innovation to build products and services that change the lives of people across the UK.

The following table shows the amount of staff who have a role in the production of social media content.

Operational staff who manage local jobcentre accounts are not included in these figures as social media forms a small part of their daily role. There are no officials in Ministers’ private offices that create or manage content for social media.

Given DWP’s strong focus on supporting individuals into employment a significant number of officials have been and continue to be involved in aspects of Industrial Strategy design and delivery. However, the Department does not keep this information centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 119284.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Parliamentary Question 54856 on 9 June 2020.

Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. When rent is always paid on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will result in the correct amount of housing element being paid.

Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.

There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.

The Department for Work and Pensions assesses climate change as a potential risk to its operational responsibilities.

The UK Government recognises climate change as a material risk to most if not all pension schemes. Therefore, we have clarified trustees’ investment duties in legislation to consider all financially material considerations – including climate change. Trustees have to document a policy on how they take account of climate change. Defined contribution and hybrid benefit schemes are required to publish their policy and defined benefit schemes will be required to publish from 1 October.

With respect to its own operations, the Department applies criteria that considers the effect of climate change, such as flood risk, when deciding on future site strategy.

The Department also undertakes regular reviews of their location specific emergency planning, disaster recovery and business continuity plans.

The Department’s estate supply chain is undertaking site visits which include an assessment of climate change risk with recommendations on investment. Investment in the Departmental estate is focused upon its core assets, with the level of criticality of those assets a key measure. This helps to ensure that its buildings are as resilient as possible. By using data, asset management principles and specialist knowledge we are able to identify assets most at risk of failure and to mitigate accordingly.

The DWP has a dedicated Estates Sustainability and Environment Team. Their purpose is to oversee that from an estate perspective: -

• Our effects on sustainability and the environment from appropriately managed and

• That risks from the environment are proportionately managed.

In terms of sustainability, the Department is committed to tackling climate change and delivering against the Government’s sustainability targets. We are currently exceeding our carbon reduction targets under the Greening Government Commitments (GGC). The GGC requires the Department to reduce carbon emissions by 51% by 2020 against a 2009/10 baseline. As of June 2019, we are currently at a 56% reduction.

The majority of Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust’s income derives from local commissioners. Funding during the COVID-19 pandemic has been maintained at pre-pandemic levels. All providers have been funded at cost and the Trust reported a small surplus in 2020/21 with all costs covered either through commissioner income or system allocations.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s funding for children and young people’s mental health services for the South West has now transferred in full to the local provider collaborative. It is anticipated that this will allow for planned reinvestment in better service provision over the next three years.

In Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG), the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS) visited every secondary school in the area to provide a first dose COVID-19 vaccination clinic for 12 to 15 year olds. These clinics concluded in December 2021. Parents or carers can now book an appointment at a dedicated general practitioner or vaccination clinic using the online National Booking Service or via 119. The large-scale centre at the University of the West of England Bristol offers walk-in vaccinations for 12 to 15 year olds seven days a week.

Local clinics are planned in schools in areas where uptake in this age group is low. These clinics will be promoted through schools and local authorities, with parents or carers able to make an appointment using a local booking system. BNSSG also offers walk-in family clinics, some of which offer vaccinations for 12 to 15 year olds alongside adult vaccinations. A number of these may be based in schools out of school hours or in a clinic in very close proximity to a cluster of schools.

From January to March 2021, we have supported the adult social care sector through the £120 million Workforce Capacity Fund (WCF) to increase capacity to meet critical staffing shortages caused by COVID-19. By 8 October, local authorities reported that over the funding period, a total of 7.3 million additional hours of work and 39,047 new recruits were generated by the WCF. While 75% of ​the 59 local authority survey respondents agreed that the WCF was either ‘somewhat’ or ‘very’ effective in supporting them to strengthen workforce capacity, we also heard that the duration of the fund limited how effectively the sector could utilize the funding.

Learning from the WCF has also informed the design and implementation of the recently launched £162.5 million Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund for winter 2021/2022. The outcomes and findings from the WCF are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-capacity-fund-for-adult-social-care/workforce-capacity-fund-outcomes-and-findings-october-2021

No assessment has been made. The vast majority of care workers are employed by private sector providers who ultimately set their pay and renumeration, independent of central Government. Therefore, we have no current plans to issue recruitment and retention payments directly to social care staff.

However, we recognise the challenges that providers and local authorities are currently experiencing in recruiting and retaining social care workers. To provide additional support to the sector over the winter, on 21 October we announced a new £162.5 million Workforce Recruitment and Retention Fund. We expect local authorities to work closely with care providers on how this funding is spent, which may include incentive and retention payments.

We are preparing for a Covid-19 booster vaccination programme and planning for several potential scenarios. Final decisions on the timing and scope of the programme will be taken later this year, in line with results from key clinical studies. Any decision will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.

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

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

NHS Test and Trace has worked with a number of charities, including RNIB, the Macular Society, Thomas Pocklington Trust and Visionary.

NHS Test and Trace has undertaken trials with RNIB and volunteers with differing levels of vision quality. New tools are being introduced for those ordering home test kits who are visually impaired, including improved boxes which are easier to assemble for the returning of tests; instructions in braille, audio and large print; and an RNIB information line hear a recorded version of the instructions.

On 1 April, we launched the ‘Be My Eyes’ app which offers live video assistance from trained NHS Test and Trace staff. To support those who are unable to administer a test themselves, there are now more than 50 static regional test sites across the United Kingdom which offer assisted testing.

Visual impairment is not a risk factor for clinically more serious outcomes from COVID-19. Therefore, those with a visual impairment are not prioritised on the basis of this condition. However, some visually impaired individuals who are aged 50 years old and above or who meet the criteria for one of the nine priority groups will have been prioritised in phase one, in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice.

The information requested is show in the following table. All members of staff shown work in the wider Department.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent body of scientific and clinical experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has concluded that only a subset of those with asthma are at clinically high risk from COVID-19. This group are defined as adults with asthma who require continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or with previous exacerbations requiring hospital admission and will be vaccinated as part of priority group six.

An individual with a more severe case of asthma may have been included in the clinically extremely vulnerable group, in which case they will be vaccinated as part of priority group four. Those in priority group four should already have been offered the vaccine.

It is for the prescribing clinician to decide on the most appropriate course of treatment for their patient. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) current recommendation is that fampridine is not a cost-effective treatment for lack of mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s commissioning policy concluded in 2016 that there is not enough evidence to make the treatment available at that time. However, NICE is currently updating its guideline on multiple sclerosis, including to take account of new evidence on the effectiveness of fampridine for treating mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. NICE currently expects to publish final updated guidance in July 2022.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) reviewed data on mortality from COVID-19 in coming to its recommendation, which included the available data on those with learning disabilities. As a result, individuals with severe and profound learning disabilities and younger adults with learning disabilities living in residential and care homes are prioritised for a vaccination in group six. Adults with Down’s syndrome were included in the clinically extremely vulnerable cohort and have therefore been included within priority group four.

Everyone on their general practitioner’s Learning Disability Register will be vaccinated as part of priority group six in phase one.

Staff working in nursery schools or in other early years roles, like teachers in primary and secondary schools, will be offered their vaccinations alongside other adults of the same age, or earlier if they have underlying health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. They are not currently being prioritised because of their occupation alone.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent body made up of scientific and clinical experts who advise Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.

The Industrial Strategy is a cross-government policy which comprises and drives a significant number of initiatives. These span a wide array of policy areas across 20 Government departments and arm’s length bodies.

This information is not held centrally as work on the strategy is embedded in a number of roles across the Department.

People can form a support bubble if they fulfill the eligibility criteria, including if their household includes a child with a disability who requires continuous care and is under the age of five years old. The eligibility criteria are limited to ensure we strike the right balance between providing support to those most in need and controlling transmission risks.

Whilst a household with a disabled child over five years old may not be able to form a support bubble, there are exemptions from gathering and ‘stay at home’ restrictions for the purposes of providing care to a vulnerable person and respite care. The Government keeps support bubbles eligibility under continual review and will make changes if the data and science support it.

The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). In 2020, the NIHR and the Medical Research Council, through UK Research and Innovation, came together to fund the world’s largest genome-wide association study of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), sometimes referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). This £3.2 million study, ‘DecodeME’, will analyse samples from 20,000 people with ME/CFS to search for genetic differences that may indicate underlying causes or an increased risk of developing the condition. DecodeME is a partnership between biomedical scientists at the University of Edinburgh and ME/CFS charities and people with lived experience of ME/CFS. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study will aid the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.

We continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations including in the Welsh Government on the implications of guidance about travel during national restrictions.

In England until 2 December, people should avoid travel outside their local area, unless for permitted reasons. These reasons include work and education, therefore enabling researchers and students to access the laboratory when necessary and complete their qualification. If this would include travelling to Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, they should refer to the specific rules in place there.

No specific assessment has been made.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning complex obesity services for adults, which include all bariatric surgical procedures and the associated care. We are already providing all National Health Service organisations with significant funding commitments including the Chancellor’s funding for the healthcare response to COVID-19, with £31.9 billion of support for health services announced at the summer Economic Statement and a further £16.4 billion as part of the Winter Economy Plan. This is in addition to the funding increase by £33.9 billion by 2023-24.

Through ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ we are delivering a range of measures on weight management. Further details about these measures will be available later in the year.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has committed to reviewing new evidence that becomes available for non-ambulant spinal muscular atrophy type 3 patients during the five-year course of the existing managed access agreement (MAA). This review will assess whether any new evidence has become available to support a change in the MAA treatment eligibility criteria.

NICE expects to commence the review later this year.

Public Health England (PHE) is keeping all guidance related to COVID-19 under review, including ‘Managing a funeral during the coronavirus pandemic’. PHE updates guidance as new evidence emerges and legislation is updated.

Updated guidance will be published shortly.

General practitioners are able to administer the flu vaccine to their own staff as part of their occupational health responsibilities to staff working in their practice. Advice is available at the following links:

https://www.themdu.com/guidance-and-advice/latest-updates-and-advice/providing-work-related-vaccinations-to-practice-staff

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/written-instruction-for-the-administration-of-seasonal-flu-vaccination/

The National Health Service has mobilised a large number of clinical and non-clinical staff, both retired and who normally work in the private sector, to ensure sufficient supply of medical staff to manage the challenges that this pandemic has created for the NHS.

In addition, the NHS has a robust temporary staffing supply chain to ensure it can bring in the right people at the right time to deal with fluctuations in demand.

In general practice, general practitioner (GP) locums as well as returners and substantive GPs wishing to increase their hours are providing additional patient care within the NHS 111 COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Services.

The NHS Pension Scheme provides good quality death in service benefits to all members. The Secretary of State recently announced a new life assurance scheme for frontline health and social care staff who contract COVID-19 during the course of their work. The scheme is non-contributory and pays a £60,000 lump sum where staff die as a result of COVID-19 and had been recently working in frontline roles and locations where personal care is provided to individuals who have contracted COVID-19.

At the point at which a ship's declaration would be received, any report could only be treated as a suspected case, as laboratory testing takes place later in the care pathway. For this reason, the United Kingdom ports do not routinely publish this information on COVID-19.

The Department has made assessments of the effect of climate change on the work of the Department in developing our commitments for the health and social care system within the National Adaptation Programme available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-second-national-adaptation-programme-2018-to-2023

It has also developed a Departmental Sustainable Development Plan, which sets the ambition for the Department to embed sustainability in all policy development and includes our commitment to the ‘Greening Government Commitments’. This is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/greening-government-commitments

This Department works closely across Government to ensure that climate change policies also deliver associated benefits to public health where appropriate.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for the overall delivery of the Industrial Strategy.

The temporary relief was designed to stimulate immediate momentum in a property market where property transactions fell by as much as 50 per cent during the COVID-19 lockdown in March. This momentum in the property market will also support the jobs of people whose employment relies on custom from the property industry, such as retailers and tradespeople.

The Government will continue to monitor the market. As the relief was designed to provide an immediate stimulus to the property market, the Government does not plan to extend this relief.

The Government has listened to charities and the Domestic Abuse Commissioner about the pressures the sector faces and is providing extra funding for charities which support victims and their children. The Home Office launched an awareness campaign in April called #YouAreNotAlone, in order to raise the profile of domestic abuse victims during COVID-19 and signpost victims to the support services available.

£76 million of support announced in May is helping the most vulnerable in society, including domestic abuse victims, through:

• £10 million from MHCLG for charities providing safe accommodation, such as refuges.
• £2 million from the Home Office for national and other non-local charities providing support to victims of domestic abuse in the community. The fund was opened for bids for the first time on 22 May 2020, closing on 8 June, and £793,000 has now been allocated to 13 successful applicants. On 8 July, the remaining £1,207,000 of the fund was opened for further bids.
• £25 million from the Ministry of Justice to help victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the community access support services during the coronavirus outbreak, and a further £3 million per annum investment in Independent Sexual Violence Advisors until 2022.

The Government is allowing households where there is only one adult – including people who live alone or single parents with children under 18 – to form a “support bubble” with another household.

The Plan for Jobs package also provides support to those who have lost their jobs and DWP will ensure that support from Jobcentres and partners addresses the needs of those who are underrepresented in the labour market, such as BAME groups and lone parents.

Through the furlough scheme, the Government has supported those who have been unable to work for childcare reasons. The Government is continuing to fund free early years entitlements, and the minimum income for Tax-Free Childcare has also been temporarily suspended for those who would have met the requirement were it not for the pandemic.

The Government is committed to protecting people’s jobs and incomes as far as possible. In March the Government announced the unprecedented Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has so far supported more than 7.5 million jobs and was recently extended to October. Employers can claim for employees on any type of contract, including agency workers.

For individuals who need to rely on the safety net of the welfare state, the Government has announced a significant package of temporary measures to support them. These include a £20 per week increase to the Universal Credit (UC) standard allowance, and for renters, an increase to the Local Housing Allowance rates so that the UC housing element covers the cheapest third of local rents.

In order to ensure that support is targeted at families most in need, households with capital, such as savings, above £16,000 will be ineligible for UC. In such cases, it is likely that they will have alternative means of financial support.

Individuals who have lost their jobs may be entitled to other welfare support. If they have made sufficient National Insurance contributions, they may be eligible for new style Jobseeker’s Allowance, which does not take savings into account. More information is available at

www.understandinguniversalcredit.gov.uk/employment-and-benefits-support.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 usually only applies when there is a direct transactional relationship between the debtor (the consumer), the creditor (the credit card provider), and the supplier of goods and services.

If a credit card is used to pay for something through a third-party intermediary service, for example a payment services provider, the conditions in section 75 may not be met.

This aims to strike the right balance between consumer protection and proportionate burdens on business, and the Government does not intend to extend the liability of a creditor with respect to suppliers with which it has no relationship or arrangement.

The Government has provided enhanced support to the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through business rates relief given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.

A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as English language centres, has also been made available. For example, the Government has launched the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms keep people in employment, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs, and is deferring VAT payments for this quarter.

The Government will consider any further financial assistance necessary to help businesses get through this period.

HM Treasury takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously. As you would expect, we are considering what further fiscal and other policy measures are needed to meet our 2050 net zero target.

HM Treasury’s Net Zero Review is looking into how the transition to a net zero economy will be funded, and where the costs will fall. The review will publish its findings in Autumn 2020.

The Confidence and Supply financial annex committed the UK Government to providing £1 billion to Northern Ireland. £ 763 million has been released so far and the release of further funding would take place following Parliament’s approval in the normal way through the Estimates process.

Families in the UK with relatives in Afghanistan can access information to assess their relative’s eligibility for the following resettlement schemes on gov.uk:

• Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme
• Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy
• Refugee Family Reunion

From Spring, the UNHCR will refer refugees to the ACRS, based on assessments of protection of need. The Government will also offer ACRS places to the most at risk British Council and Gardaworld contractors and Chevening alumni. We are committed to working in step with the international community and continue to do all we can to enable those who are eligible to relocate to the UK.

The Minister for the Armed Forces recently visited the region, to identify what more we can do for applicants both in Afghanistan and in neighbouring countries. We are working with a wide range of allies and partners and are exploring every avenue to help them reach safety.

The UK Government will work with international partners to put pressure on the Taliban to allow those with a right to leave Afghanistan to do so safely.

The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme commenced on 6th January and will provide up to 20,000 women, children and others at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK.

From Spring, we are working with the UNHCR to receive referrals of vulnerable refugees in need of protection through the ACRS.

UNHCR refer refugees who, by definition, are outside their country of origin.

We are fully committed to delivering statutory powers to the Forensic Science Regulator in accordance with the Act. Home Office officials are working closely and holding regular meetings with the Regulator, the UK Accreditation Service and other stakeholders to commence the measures in the Act as soon as possible.

China has made the decision to no longer recognise BN(O) passports as valid identity or travel documents. The UK continues to recognise valid BN(O) passports as valid travel and identity documents.

Those wishing to apply to the BN(O) route do not need to apply using their BN(O) passport and can apply using another valid identity document such as a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport. Those applying for the route will need to be able to prove they hold BN(O) status and where an individual is unable to provide their BN(O) passport, eligibility checks can be made using historical records held by Her Majesty’s Passport Office.

Those applying for the route do not need to travel to the UK on their BN(O) passport, but will need another valid travel document in order to travel from Hong Kong given the decision of the Chinese Government not to recognise them.

There are currently 9 social media specialists in the department working as part of the communication directorate on the production and delivery of social media products to promote the important work the department does to secure our borders and protect the public. The department has approximately 33,000 staff with a communication directorate of 121 staff.

In 2018-19, there were 6 specialists and at the beginning of 2020 there were 8 specialists in the social media team.

On the 4^th February 2021, the Government published a total police funding settlement of up to £15.8 billion in 2021/22, an increase of up to £636 million compared to 2020/21 which will ensure forces continue to make progress towards recruiting 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023.

Decisions on how to deploy resources are a matter for Chief Constables and locally elected Police & Crime Commissioners.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) own the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

As the Home Office contributes to delivery of the aims of the Industrial Strategy through existing workstreams rather than dedicated resource, it is not possible to provide the information requested.

EU citizens currently in or resident in the UK by 31 December 2020, including those working as Au Pairs, can apply for UK immigration status under the EU Settlement Scheme, to enable them to continue living and working in the UK after 30 June 2021 in the same way as they do now.

To meet the statutory requirements for naturalisation, a person of any nationality must have been in the UK lawfully during the residential qualifying period.

EEA Regulations set out the requirements which EEA nationals needed to follow if they wished to reside here lawfully on the basis of free movement. In the case of students or the self-sufficient, but not those who were working here, the possession of comprehensive sickness insurance has always been a requirement. This position has not changed since the UK left the European Union

The British Nationality Act allows us to exercise discretion over this requirement in the special circumstances of any particular case.

There are no current plans to amend legislation in this respect given they reflect EEA rules on Freedom of Movement.

The local registration service has been advised attesting civil partnership notices can recommence where these can be safely delivered in line with public health and local authority guidelines.

In accordance with legislation, meetings to complete the legal preliminaries of giving notice for a civil partnership must be conducted in the presence of the relevant authorised person.

The use of suppliers and systems by the police to carry out a search of a database is a matter for the relevant police force, operating in accordance with the law.

Our records show that the Home Office has no (a) live or (b) historic contracts with (i) Clearview AI or (ii) the 2 identified subsidiaries, Smartcheckr or Insight Camera.

It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to determine their operational response based on its analysis of risk and local circumstances, and drawing on national operational guidance provided by the National Fire Chiefs Council.

The documents that EEA and Swiss nationals need to travel to the UK will not change until at least 2021.

We will announce further details of our plans to phase out the use of EEA national identity cards in due course.

However, EU Settlement Scheme status holders and others who are protected by the Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent agreements with the EFTA states will continue to be able to use national identity cards for travel to the UK until at least December 2025, in accordance with the terms of those agreements. Thereafter, they will continue to be able to travel here on their national identity card, provided it meets International Civil Aviation Organisation standards.

My Department recognises the importance of climate change with regard to policy development. We are keeping the effects of climate change on Home Office business under consideration. We have also been mindful of the Greening Government Commitments.

It is the responsibility of the building owner, whether freeholder or commonholder, to ensure their building is safe. This includes ensuring that there is an up-to-date fire risk assessment. The Department has made £1.6 billion available to support the remediation of unsafe cladding, and a large proportion of this will protect leaseholders from these costs and will deal with some of the highest risk and highest cost safety defects on high-rise buildings. The Department continues to work with, and has provided additional funding to, the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to ensure that leaseholders are aware of their rights and are supported to understand the terms of their leases.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) designed the EWS1 process in conjunction with mortgage lenders to assist with valuation of high-rise residential buildings. Some lenders are asking for information that they do not need, and are requesting EWS1 forms for a greater range of buildings than the process was designed for. The EWS1 process is not a Government regulatory requirement and the Government does not support the blanket use of EWS1, especially for lower rise blocks.

The Department is aware that there are capacity challenges with the availability of professionals to undertake fire safety assessments of external wall systems. We are working with professional bodies to increase the number of skilled professionals who can undertake external wall assessments where one is required.

The Department has made £1.6 billion available to support the remediation of unsafe cladding, and a large proportion of this will protect leaseholders from these costs and will deal with some of the highest risk and highest cost safety defects on high-rise buildings.

To support the valuation process for high-rise residential buildings with cladding, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors designed the EWS1 process. The EWS1 process is not a regulatory requirement and the Department does not support a blanket approach to EWS1. The Department is working with mortgage lenders to support a more pragmatic approach in their valuation of homes within multi occupancy, multi storey residential buildings. We are encouraging lenders to accept a broader range of evidence to assure themselves of a building’s safety.

The Government is committed to the protection of the historic environment and we have put in place a strong legislative and policy framework to achieve this. In bringing forward any reforms to the planning system, we will ensure that heritage considerations, including the need for archaeological surveys, are taken into account.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans unfair fees paid by tenants in the private rented sector in England. This includes most office or administration costs such as referencing, administration, inventory, renewal and check-out fees. Such fees are prohibited payments, and charging them to the tenant is a breach of the Tenant Fees Act.

Letting agents or landlords that are found to have committed a breach of the Act will be liable for a £5,000 fine in the first instance, and if a further breach is committed within five years they will be liable for up to a £30,000 fine, as an alternative to prosecution. The Act is enforced by local enforcement authorities, normally trading standards, who are supported with advice and information by a lead enforcement authority.

The Act created this new Lead Enforcement Authority to support action against rogue agents. The Secretary of State has appointed the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team to this role, and has provided them over £1,000,000 per annum in funding since the Act came into force.

The Government has no current plans to bring forward further legislation at this time.

The Tenant Fees Act 2019 was approved by Parliament with cross-party support and came into force on 1 June 2019.

The Tenant Fees Act bans unfair letting fees and caps tenancy deposits paid by tenants in the private rented sector in England. From 1 June 2020 the Act applies to all assured shorthold tenancies.

In the Social Housing Green Paper we asked whether safety standards, including electrical safety, that apply in the private rented sector should also apply to social housing.

We will bring forward a?Social Housing White Paper, which will set out further measures to ensure social homes are safe and decent. This will include measures to provide greater redress, better regulation and improve the quality of social housing. We will publish the White Paper in due course.

Achieving net zero is a priority for the whole of government, which is why the Prime Minister is chairing a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change to drive action across all sectors of the economy and demonstrate the UK’s global leadership as we prepare to host the crucial COP26 talks in Glasgow in November.

My Department has a critical role in fighting climate change through our work on housing, planning and building standards. Our consultation on energy efficiency standards for new homes closes on 7 February. The Department is also responsible for working with local government to build resilience capability in response to its impacts.

There are no current plans to bring forward legislation as these cases are exceptional, and the existing law provides for the means of resolving disputes arising in such circumstances. Nevertheless, the Government will keep this area of law under review and would welcome any examples of problems that have arisen.

Generally, where one of the contracting parties to the sale of a property dies before the completion of the sale, their legal responsibilities transfer to their personal representatives. They are able to enter into discussions with the other party to vary the contract (for example extend it) by mutual agreement.

If no such agreement can be reached, the Probate Registry can operate an emergency system to expedite the Grant of Probate or for a limited Grant of Probate to be issued. This may be used to enable the sale of the property to take place with minimum delay.

If probate is unlikely to be granted before a fixed completion date, the personal representatives may agree to allow the buyer into the property on licence pending formal completion.

In addition, Section 113 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 empowers a court to grant probate or administration in respect of any part of a deceased person’s estate, limited as a court feels is appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

The Government understands the difficulties that some grandparents face in continuing relationships with their grandchildren following disputes arising from parental separation. We also recognise the importance of ensuring that the child’s welfare is paramount in court decisions regarding future arrangements for them following parental separation.

We wish to understand the outcome of the President of the Family Division’s consultation – which concluded last year - on recommendations for reforming how child arrangements cases are dealt with by the family court before deciding whether any specific proposals are needed in respect of child arrangements and grandparents.

Achieving net zero is a priority for the whole of government, which is why the Prime Minister is chairing a new Cabinet Committee on Climate Change to drive action across all sectors of the economy and demonstrate the UK’s global leadership as we prepare to host the crucial COP26 talks in Glasgow in November.

The Ministry of Justice takes climate change very seriously and is committed to tackling the impact of this on its operations by collaborating across government to adapt and be resilient to the inevitable effects of climate change on its work.

As the second largest central government contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, we are very clear that reducing our emissions is a key priority. We have already reduced our emissions by 38% since 2009/10 and reduced our energy bill by £12m/year since 2014-15, enabling more funding for frontline services. The department is also currently discussing a new emissions reduction target for 2020 to 2025 with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

The Ministry of Justice is developing its Climate Change Adaptation Strategy to prepare for the risks associated with, and impacts, of climate change on our estate, people, and operations.