Gareth Snell

The Prime Minister announced at party conference that the duty of candour Bill will be introduced to Parliament before the next anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in April 2025. The details of this Bill will be announced first to this House. The Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 (PIDA) serves to protect workers from suffering any detriment as a result of making a protected disclosure.

We are currently developing the trade strategy, closely engaging with stakeholders as we refine its content. The trade strategy will set out how we can achieve long-term sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth through trade. The development of the trade strategy will consider the Government’s commitment to uphold our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards, areas in which the UK is a world leader.

The Government is firmly committed to upholding our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food safety standards, areas in which the UK is a world leader. We assess environmental and food production impacts in our published FTA scoping assessments.

DBT offers a wide range of export support for F&D businesses looking to expand overseas. We work with partners and industry across the UK to deliver a comprehensive programme to showcase British food and drink and deliver export opportunities to industry. With the support of our extensive overseas network we run a significant programme of trade shows, missions and events, with trade advisors promoting UK food in over 100 countries. For example, in October, we held a high-profile showcase at the British Residence in Paris, promoting the quality, heritage and innovation of UK F&D to a wide audience of global buyers.

The whistleblowing framework provides routes for workers to make disclosures about wrongdoing or someone covering up wrongdoing. Workers who blow the whistle are entitled to protection from detriment or dismissal, and have a route to redress where this happens.

In the Plan to Make Work Pay, the Government committed to strengthen protections for whistleblowers, including by updating protection for women who report sexual harassment at work.

Through the Employment Rights Bill [introduced on 10 October], we will make it clear that disclosures about sexual harassment can qualify for whistleblowing protections.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.

We are also committed to improving the evidence base for the youth sector and making impactful improvements. Confirmation of decisions regarding any funding for improvements on shared measures will be shared in due course.

In November this government launched the ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will be co-produced together with young people and the youth sector. This Strategy will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny and provide them with meaningful choices and chances.

We are commissioning research that will inform the development and direction of the National Youth Strategy by exploring young people's challenges and experiences, and their proposed solutions. The research will consist of an evidence review as well as youth engagement.

The Strategy will be published next year.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to success and opportunity. Too many children and young people today do not have access to the same enrichment opportunities as their peers, suffer from poor mental health, and, in some cases, end up being drawn into crime rather than achieving their full potential.

While services already exist to provide support for this group, many still go unsupported, because they are unable to access the services they need, when and where they need them. Young Futures Hubs will bring together the support services that tackle these underlying needs and make them more accessible to those that need them. In doing so, the hubs will promote children and young people’s development, improve their mental health and wellbeing, and prevent them from being drawn into crime. They will be staffed with professionals including youth workers, mental health support workers and career advisors. The new Young Futures Hubs will support the delivery of the government’s safer streets, health and opportunity missions.

The number of hubs, their specific locations, and their reach are still being determined, and long term funding for these will be determined through the Phase 2 of the Spending Review.

The department will engage with national and local partners, local communities, and children and young people to work together on design and delivery, including considering relevant reports.

This Government fully recognises the importance of youth services to help young people live safe and healthy lives, and we are committed to giving all young people the chance to reach their full potential.

Next financial year, in 2025/26, we are increasing the total funding for other DCMS youth programmes. We will also be funding new work in partnership with local authorities to start the journey of building back lost capacity in local areas and of ensuring young people’s voices are heard in their local services.

We are also allocating over £85m of funding in 2025/26 to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, including launching the new Better Youth Spaces fund, which will allocate at least £26m for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations. This will also include completing the Youth Investment Fund projects.

In addition, this government has committed to the co-production of an ambitious new National Youth Strategy, which will allow us to put young people back in charge of their own destiny and provide them with meaningful choices and chances. As part of the Strategy, we will be engaging closely with young people and the youth sector from across the country over the coming months to fully understand their needs and the issues they consider to be most crucial in addressing. This will allow us to better target funding and services where they are most needed.

The Strategy will be published next year.

My department has made no recent assessment of the potential impact of digital copying on artists' and performers' remuneration. However, the Government wants to see remuneration arrangements that create the right conditions for sparking and driving innovation and investment, whilst rewarding creators for their work and is proud that it was a Labour Government that introduced the Artists Resale Right which is administered by DACS.

We recognise the importance of copyright protection in ensuring creators are protected and rewarded. The Government welcomes the publication of this informative report from the Design and Artists Copyright Society.

Delays have been encountered with the approach to calculating the remediable service statement (RSS) values for retired members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme whilst cross-scheme issues were resolved.

130,000 retired teachers require a rectification RSS. The scheme administrator estimates that approximately 100,000 will be issued by 31 March 2025.

Whilst the delays have been out of the scheme administrator’s control, the department continues to have daily discussions about reducing the timescales for the RSSs that will not have been issued by then, focusing on operations, resources, processes and IT. Progress is also discussed with the administrator, Teachers’ Pensions, at dedicated weekly and monthly meetings.

Whilst the department is working to ensure that all RSSs are issued as soon as practically possible, the department would like to reassure that any adjustment to pension that is in payment as a result of the member’s choice will be inclusive of interest.

The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.

School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food brought in from home.

The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, which includes snacks and confectionary high in fat, sugar and salt. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.

The department does not hold statistics on the proportion of primary schools or secondary schools that have an exclusion policy for packed lunches and snacks.

School governing boards are responsible for setting their school food policies, including food brought in from home.

The school food standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day. The standards restrict foods high in fat, salt and sugar, which includes snacks and confectionary high in fat, sugar and salt. Compliance with the school food standards is mandatory for maintained schools, academies and free schools.

The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will ensure our education and children’s social care systems transform life chances for millions of children and young people in England.

The precise content of the Bill will be confirmed upon the Bill’s introduction, which will be as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.

The accompanying statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and to meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. Policies should set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.

From September 2020, relationships education became compulsory for all primary school-aged pupils, relationships and sex education compulsory for all secondary school-aged pupils, and health education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools in England. The statutory guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

This guidance states that by the end of primary school, pupils should be taught the facts and science relating to allergies, immunisation and vaccination.

The department is currently reviewing the relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools. As such the department will look carefully at the consultation responses, discuss with stakeholders and consider the relevant evidence before setting out next steps.

The department recognises the need to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experience of children, young people and families. A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and scoping ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time.

Existing statutory data is captured about the child and does not capture the complex nature of families such as those where siblings do not live in the same family home. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care will be a long-term endeavour due to the need to agree data definitions and standards, as well as to redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.

Final fees for the packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme can only be calculated and issued after the deadline for large organisations to report their packaging data, which is 1 April 2025. Invoicing periods for the scheme each year will cover the period 1 April to 31 March.

The UK and EU are like-minded partners with similarly high standards. The Government has committed to seek to negotiate a veterinary/sanitary and phytosanitary agreement to help boost trade, reduce trade friction and deliver benefits to businesses and consumers in the UK and the EU. The Government has been clear that there will be no return to the customs union or single market. The Government is ambitious and wants to move forward at pace, but delivering new agreements will take time.

Additionally, Defra has recently posted two new agri-food attachés to the British Embassies in Paris and Madrid, who will help reduce regulatory requirements for food exporters to Europe. Their primary role will be to improve market access for UK producers to Europe. They will work directly with Member States across the EU to reduce trade frictions by identifying and resolving barriers faced by UK exporters.

The packaging Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme will be run by the Scheme Administrator. Revenues will only fund efficient and effective local authority services. The Scheme Administrator will regularly publish information relating to its assessment of efficiency and effectiveness across the four nations once the scheme is up and running and offer support to local authorities to ensure their waste management services are efficient and effective.

The Government is proud of the high-quality British food and drink exports from all regions of the UK which were valued at nearly £25 billion last year. There are currently no plans to licence government-generated brand identities. The GREAT food and drink campaign, led by Defra, has been successfully promoting UK food and drink exports products using the government generated GREAT Campaign brand since 2017. In the last fiscal year (23/24) the GREAT food and drink campaign promoted over 600 UK food and drink brands in international markets under the GREAT campaign branding.

Defra will continue to champion British food and drink exports under the GREAT brand so that these products can benefit from the recognition and familiarity that this impactful nation branding brings.

The Department’s impact assessment, published here, has considered the impacts on the UK materials reprocessing industry and the associated carbon savings from increased recycling following the introduction of extended producer responsibility for packaging (pEPR).

No formal assessment has been made of pEPR’s impact on the availability of recycled materials on the market.

The Department engages with the food and drink industry through policies that are aimed at encouraging them to make their products, or overall product portfolios, healthier, by reducing levels of sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt, reducing portion size, and shifting sales to healthier products. This includes legislation to restrict junk food advertising on television and online, and the locations in supermarkets in which foods and drinks that are high in saturated fat, sugar, or salt can be promoted. In addition, engagement occurs through the voluntary reformulation programme that requires businesses to reduce levels of sugar, calories, and salt in everyday food and drink. The Department will also engage with relevant stakeholders, such as the food industry, in taking forward the ban on the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16-years old.

The Department is currently considering what further engagement may be required with the food and drink industry.

From data collected through the National Diet and Nutrition Survey, the Government knows that, compared to dietary recommendations, people are generally consuming too much sugar, saturated fat, salt, too many calories, and not enough fruit, vegetables, or fibre. This contributes to many people having poor diets and the high levels of obesity seen in both children and adults.

The prevention of ill health is a priority for the Government, as is creating the healthiest generation of children. As the providers of the food and drink we eat, it is clear that the food industry has a key role in helping to improve the nation’s diet. For this reason, the Government has already published its response to the consultation on restricting junk food advertising on television and online, putting the legislation on track, and is committed to banning the sale of high caffeine energy drinks to under 16-year-olds.

Other existing policies such as the legislated restrictions on the locations in supermarkets in which foods and drinks that are high in saturated fat, sugar, or salt can be promoted, and the voluntary reformulation programme, aim to encourage the food industry to make everyday food and drink healthier. Voluntary industry guidelines to reduce levels of salt and sugar in, and improve the marketing and labelling of, commercially available food and drink aimed at babies and young children aged up to 36 months, that form an additional workstream for the reformulation programme, are also expected to be published in the next month. The Department continues to review the balance between mandatory and voluntary incentivises to help tackle poor diets and reduce obesity.

The Government recognises the important contribution of co-operatives and mutuals to the economy, serving local communities around the UK and ensuring the UK has a diverse business sector with their model of shared ownership. According to the Co-operative and Mutual Economy Report 2024, there are currently 9,342 mutual and co-operative businesses in the UK, with an annual income of £165.7 billion.

The Government is committed to unlocking the full potential of the mutual and co-operative sector to support inclusive growth and will work with the sector to ensure it is fully supported to grow.

To help ensure co-operatives legislation is meeting the needs of co-operative and community benefit societies, the Government is funding the Law Commission’s independent review of the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014. This will consider ways to update and modernise the Act.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.

Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.

As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.

Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.

As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

National permitted development rights allow a C3 dwellinghouse to change use to a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) with up to 6 occupants (C4) without the need for a planning application.

Local authorities have planning powers to limit any proliferation of HMOs by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction. There is no need for a local authority to seek permission from the Secretary of State before doing so.

As set out in the response to Question 6378 on 14 October, we will keep permitted development rights under review.

Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.

The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.

We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.

Local authorities have robust powers to ensure landlords of Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) comply with all relevant regulations. This includes powers to issue civil penalties, prosecute landlords and obtain banning orders.

The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces reforms to improve the regulation of private rented sector properties, including HMOs, and drive-up standards within the sector. This includes a Decent Homes Standard and new enforcement powers for local authorities.

We will keep the regulation of HMOs under review.