Emma Lewell-Buck

I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 11 November 2022, Official Report, PQ77552. The latest figures show that 2.3 million more homes have been delivered across England since 2010.

I have been asked to reply.

To assist the hon. Member, I have placed in the Library of the House documentation kindly provided by the Conservative Research Department, which outlines the evidential basis for this statement about the right hon. Member for Islington North’s (Jeremy Corbyn MP) security agenda.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

GOV.UK is updated regularly with the terms of reference and membership of Cabinet Committees, including the National Space Council.

A significant cross Government effort is underway to ensure the thousands of Afghans who were evacuated to the UK receive the support they need to rebuild their lives, find work, pursue education, and integrate into local communities. Hundreds of staff across Government have been working tirelessly to bring as many British nationals and eligible Afghans as possible back to the UK.

As stated in the answer to PQ 105615, in line with the practice of successive administrations, details of the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, how often they have met, and who attended is not normally disclosed.

Membership of the National Security Council is publicly available on GOV.UK.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

It is a long-established precedent that information about the discussions that have taken place in Cabinet and its Committees, and how often they have met, is not normally shared publicly.

We recognise that this is a difficult time for families across the country who are struggling with their bills due to the rise in the cost of living.

A number of operators choose to link their annual price rises to either the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI). Due to the differences in the way they are calculated, RPI is traditionally higher than CPI. Whether CPI or RPI-linked, it is important that clauses within mobile contracts - such as price rises - are clear and transparent so consumers know what they are signing up to.

Ofcom, as the independent regulator, has a statutory duty to monitor ongoing household affordability in the sector, and Part C of their General Conditions require telecoms companies to provide clear information about their services.

On 9 February 2023, Ofcom announced a review into the transparency of in-contract price rises including those linked to CPI and RPI. Ofcom expects their review to conclude by the end of the year. We look forward to reading their findings.

In regards to the Broadband Programmes (Building Digital UK), no grant money was returned to DCMS by South Tyneside Council in the last two years.

BEIS policy relates to each grant scheme being run by its own Senior Responsible Owner who will manage reconciliations and money returned by local authorities to BEIS.

This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Across the COVID-19 business grant schemes South Tyneside Council was allocated £59.8 million. Of this £51.5 million was reported as disbursed to eligible businesses with £8.3 million due to be returned to BEIS at the end of scheme reconciliation.

Initial funding allocations were based on estimates of the eligible local business population, with local authorities required to return unallocated funding to BEIS. Further allocation and spend data for each scheme, including guidance on the methodologies of the initial allocations, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.

Using threats to ‘fire and rehire’ as a tactic to pressure workers during negotiations is unacceptable. Employers should refer to Acas’ guidance, which sets out that dismissal and re-engagement should only be considered an option of last resort.

The United Kingdom has one of the best records on workers’ rights in the world - going further than the EU in many areas – and we believe the UK’s current three-tiered employment status framework strikes the right balance between the flexibility our economy needs and protections for workers.

The government is grateful to all those who took the time to respond to the technical consultation. Officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities are carefully considering all of the responses received. The government response will be published in due course.

Responsibility for collecting and enforcing the Licence Fee is the responsibility of the BBC. The BBC has confirmed that no enforcement action has been taken against over-75s for TV licence evasion at this stage.

The Secretary of State has been clear that the BBC must ensure that it supports those affected by its decision on the over-75s concession and we expect them to do so with the utmost sensitivity.

The Government has designed the roadmap for reopening premises following careful consideration of the evidence and scientific advice. The roadmap strikes a balance between mitigating the social, health and economic impacts of closures and the need to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. It also takes account of the cumulative impact of easing restrictions and the need to assess the impact at each step. Under the current roadmap, all non-essential retail will open at Step 2, not before 12 April. Indoor entertainment and indoor leisure will open at Step 3, not before 17 May.

As the business of Adult Gaming Centres consists entirely of customers playing machines within the premises, they are considered to be entertainment and will open at Step 3. The customers of Licensed Betting Offices (LBOs) may enter the premises, place a bet and leave with a betting slip, a transaction more similar to purchasing goods in a shop. While LBOs will be permitted to open at Step 2, they will be subject to a number of additional restrictions as set out in the previous Tier 3 guidance. These include showing no live sport or racing and having no chairs, as well as early closure. Under normal circumstances LBOs are limited to offering a maximum of four gaming machines and only two may be made available under these restrictions.

In recognition of the impact of requiring some businesses to remain closed for a longer period, the Chancellor announced an enhanced package of support at the Budget, including Restart Grants of up to £18,000 per premises, specifically for those which must remain closed beyond Step 2.

The Government has designed the roadmap for reopening premises following careful consideration of the evidence and scientific advice. The roadmap strikes a balance between mitigating the social, health and economic impacts of closures and the need to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. It also takes account of the cumulative impact of easing restrictions and the need to assess the impact at each step. Under the current roadmap, all non-essential retail will open at Step 2, not before 12 April. Indoor entertainment and indoor leisure will open at Step 3, not before 17 May.

As the business of Adult Gaming Centres consists entirely of customers playing machines within the premises, they are considered to be entertainment and will open at Step 3. The customers of Licensed Betting Offices (LBOs) may enter the premises, place a bet and leave with a betting slip, a transaction more similar to purchasing goods in a shop. While LBOs will be permitted to open at Step 2, they will be subject to a number of additional restrictions as set out in the previous Tier 3 guidance. These include showing no live sport or racing and having no chairs, as well as early closure. Under normal circumstances LBOs are limited to offering a maximum of four gaming machines and only two may be made available under these restrictions.

In recognition of the impact of requiring some businesses to remain closed for a longer period, the Chancellor announced an enhanced package of support at the Budget, including Restart Grants of up to £18,000 per premises, specifically for those which must remain closed beyond Step 2.

We will re-enable outdoor events such as funfairs and fairgrounds in Step 2 of the roadmap, as referenced here, subject to local authority approval where required. Step 2 will take place at least 5 weeks after Step 1 and no earlier than 12 April, subject to an assessment of the data.

Whilst outdoor events are not currently able to proceed due to the national restrictions, my Department looks forward to working across Government and with Local Authorities, Public Health England and the sector itself to get funfairs running safely and successfully once they are permitted.

There were 350 starts on the level 7 Artificial Intelligence Data Specialist standard in the 2022/23 academic year. Data for 2023/24 has not yet been finalised as we are part way through the academic year. Other apprenticeships may also contain elements relating to artificial intelligence.

Schedule 2 of the Children Act 1989 mandates that local authorities should promote contact between the child and his or her relatives, where this is consistent with the child’s welfare and is reasonably practical. This includes sibling contact.

However, the department agrees that there is an anomaly in the 2010 Care Planning Regulations and recognises that the honourable Member for South Shields has raised this issue in the past.

In ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’, the department committed to a review of all legislation, regulations and standards of care to ensure all children in care receive what they need. Alongside this, the department will review the 2010 care planning regulations.

The data showing apprenticeship participation for the last five academic years is shown in the table below.

Notes:

(1) 2017/18 to 2021/22 figures cover full academic years volumes.

(2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(3) Participation is the count of learners that participated at any point during the year. Learners undertaking more than one course will appear only once in the grand total.

(4) Participation at intermediate, advanced, and higher levels is a count of learners that participated at those levels at any point during the year. Learners undertaking more than one course will only appear once at each level but can appear in the count at more than one level.

Further apprenticeship statistics can be found in the ‘Apprenticeships and traineeships statistics’ publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.