George Eustice

The Equality Act 2010 contains strong, enforceable protections for disabled people who experience discrimination, including a failure by employers or service providers to make reasonable adjustments to enable disabled people to access work and services like everybody else.

In 2018 the Government committed to the commencement of section 36 of the Equality Act, which will enable disabled tenants to require that landlords and building owners to make reasonable adjustments to the common parts of dwellings, such as entry points, landings and stairs. Work to determine the cost of implementation is proceeding and an announcement will be made in due course.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which enforces the Equality Act, recently delivered a Legal Support Project to increase access to justice for people experiencing disability discrimination. It offered groups £189,000 for legal assistance across 94 cases in areas including employment.

The EHRC has increased its capacity to advise on discrimination cases in its new strategic plan, and has supported several court cases which resulted in strengthened rights for disabled people, including those wishing to make reasonable adjustments to their homes and disabled children who may demonstrate a tendency to physical abuse as a result of their disability, whose schools must now make reasonable adjustments in such cases.

Geothermal technologies that generate electricity are eligible for the Contracts for Difference scheme, which is the Government’s main mechanism for supporting renewables. Furthermore, £22 million has been allocated to provide heating to nearly 4,000 local homes and facilities in Cornwall.

The Government has no plans to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee to amend rules of court in regard to the commencement and implementation of section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. This aligns with its commitment to repeal section 40.

The Government is not proposing to instruct the Civil Procedure Rule Committee to amend rules of court to support the commencement and implementation of section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. This aligns with its commitment to repeal section 40.

It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental health support they need. The opportunity to enter, thrive and graduate from university should be open to everyone with the ability to do so. To achieve this, the department is taking an approach based on three pillars:

• Funding vital services and innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the 2023/24 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 and it has since provided over 450,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential support.
• Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.
• Clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed by the HE Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.

On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to all higher education providers asking for their strongest possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership of mental health at an executive level. The department has set a target for all universities to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter Programme by September 2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing and follow the principles set out in the Charter. This programme is about continuous improvement from universities so that standards are raised within the sector.

61 universities had joined the programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following the 5 June 2023 letter, nine HE providers wrote back to the department on action being taken to improve practice. A significant number of universities then applied to the Charter Programme during the summer 2023 application window. The programme has seen a greater than 50% increase in membership and now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic year. The full list of members is available at: https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/.

The Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the application of best practice among HE providers. The Taskforce will deliver a final report by May 2024 and will provide an update ahead of that early in 2024.

I continue to raise the value of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and hosted a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders at Leeds Trinity University on 23 November 2023. This roundtable addressed the important role that executive leadership have in setting the culture and practice around wellbeing for students on campus. We also confirmed at this roundtable that the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health, a renowned centre of expertise on suicide prevention, will lead the National Review of HE Suicides. This will ensure lessons from tragic instances of student suicide are shared widely across the sector.

This roundtable followed a speech I delivered at the UUK Mental Health Conference on 21 November 2023 where I asked the sector to come together and finish the job of embedding best practice.

On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to the accountable officers at every higher education (HE) provider registered with the Office for Students, asking them to prioritise mental health at an executive level. 417 HE providers were registered at that time.

In this letter, a target was set for all universities to join the University Mental Health Charter Programme by September 2024. Providers who do not have degree-awarding powers are not eligible but can still follow the Charter’s principles. In addition, there is an Association of Colleges Mental Health & Wellbeing Charter for colleges.

It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental health support they need. We are taking an approach based on three pillars:

• Funding vital services and innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the 2022/23 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 which has since provided nearly 3000,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential support.
• Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.
• Clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed by the Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.

On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to all HE providers asking for their strongest possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership of mental health at an executive level. We set a target for universities to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by September 2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing and follow the principles set out in the Charter.

Student Minds ran two Q&A sessions for universities considering joining the University Mental Health Charter Programme. The session on 16 of June had 68 attendees. The session on 18 of June had 53 attendees.

61 universities had joined the Programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following my letter and the Q&A sessions, a significant number of universities applied during the summer 2023 application window. The department can confirm the Programme now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic year, which represents excellent progress towards the target in a short amount of time. The full list of members can be found here: https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/.

The department also had a good response on the back of my letter, with nine HE providers writing back. I continue to raise the value of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and will be hosting a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders later this year.

Going further, the Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the adoption of best practice on higher mental health more broadly. With leadership from Professor Edward Peck, it includes representatives from students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector. It will deliver a final report by May 2024.

It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental health support they need. We are taking an approach based on three pillars:

• Funding vital services and innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the 2022/23 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 which has since provided nearly 3000,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential support.
• Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.
• Clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed by the Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.

On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to all HE providers asking for their strongest possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership of mental health at an executive level. We set a target for universities to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by September 2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing and follow the principles set out in the Charter.

Student Minds ran two Q&A sessions for universities considering joining the University Mental Health Charter Programme. The session on 16 of June had 68 attendees. The session on 18 of June had 53 attendees.

61 universities had joined the Programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following my letter and the Q&A sessions, a significant number of universities applied during the summer 2023 application window. The department can confirm the Programme now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic year, which represents excellent progress towards the target in a short amount of time. The full list of members can be found here: https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/.

The department also had a good response on the back of my letter, with nine HE providers writing back. I continue to raise the value of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and will be hosting a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders later this year.

Going further, the Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the adoption of best practice on higher mental health more broadly. With leadership from Professor Edward Peck, it includes representatives from students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector. It will deliver a final report by May 2024.

It is a priority for this government that students are provided with the mental health support they need. We are taking an approach based on three pillars:

• Funding vital services and innovative projects via the Office for Students, with £15 million allocated for the 2022/23 academic year to support students starting university for the first time and enable effective partnerships between higher education (HE) providers and local NHS services. £3.6 million was invested to launch Student Space in 2020 which has since provided nearly 3000,000 students with free online mental health resources and confidential support.
• Spreading and implementing best practice consistently across providers.
• Clear responsibilities for providers and protection for students, with solutions developed by the Student Support Champion, Professor Edward Peck.

On 5 June 2023, the department wrote to all HE providers asking for their strongest possible commitment to the mental health of our students, including by showing ownership of mental health at an executive level. We set a target for universities to sign up to Student Minds’ University Mental Health Charter by September 2024 so that they take a whole-university approach to mental health and wellbeing and follow the principles set out in the Charter.

Student Minds ran two Q&A sessions for universities considering joining the University Mental Health Charter Programme. The session on 16 of June had 68 attendees. The session on 18 of June had 53 attendees.

61 universities had joined the Programme by the 2022/23 academic year. Following my letter and the Q&A sessions, a significant number of universities applied during the summer 2023 application window. The department can confirm the Programme now has 96 members for the 2023/24 academic year, which represents excellent progress towards the target in a short amount of time. The full list of members can be found here: https://hub.studentminds.org.uk/charter-programme-members-23-24/.

The department also had a good response on the back of my letter, with nine HE providers writing back. I continue to raise the value of Charter Programme membership with universities and sector representatives and will be hosting a roundtable on the mental health of students with university leaders later this year.

Going further, the Higher Education Mental Health Taskforce is looking at the adoption of best practice on higher mental health more broadly. With leadership from Professor Edward Peck, it includes representatives from students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector. It will deliver a final report by May 2024.

I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the reply previously given on 2 February 2024, PQ 10078.

The UK swift population is estimated at 59,000 pairs (2016) Swift population trends are monitored annually by the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), which recorded a decline of 62% between 1995 and 2021, and of 40% between 2011 and 2021. Due to the declines recorded by BBS, swifts were added to the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in the UK in 2021 and are considered ‘Endangered’ at GB level.

Natural England is currently undertaking a review of the conservation interventions needed to support the recovery of over 100 of our most threatened bird species, including the swift.

There are no plans to amend Schedule 1 or Schedule ZA1 at this time.

There are no plans to amend Schedule 1 or Schedule ZA1 at this time.

The Government is currently considering the 10 recommendations from the Independent Review into Labour Shortages in the Food Supply Chain and intends publishing a Government Response in early 2024.

Each year snakebites kill more than 80,000 people and at least 450,000 people are thought to suffer life-changing injuries such as loss of limbs and permanent disability.

There are major technical challenges for the production and distribution of anti-venoms in low- and middle-income countries, including lack of quality anti-venoms, high cost of anti-venoms, poor regulation, poor distribution policies and marketing of inappropriate or poor-quality anti-venoms.

DFID recently launched a £9 million Research programme to develop new snakebite treatments which will be effective against multiple species, affordable, stable in tropical temperatures and easy to use in local communities, to overcome some of the distribution challenges.

The current Great Western franchise agreement expires at 01.59am on 1 April 2020, having been extended to the fullest extent possible under its terms. In November 2017 the Secretary of State announced his intention to negotiate a new franchise agreement with the incumbent operator and discussions with FirstGroup are already under way.

The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). This shows ten areas of response from consultees about catering.

The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). This shows ten areas of response from consultees about catering, including comments about both trolley services and buffet cars

The Department published the response to its consultation on the future of the Great Western franchise on 28 August 2018: (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/736146/great-western-rail-franchise-stakeholder-briefing-document.pdf). Decisions on policy on the specification of the next Great Western franchise are informed by this consultation, which did not show strong demand for full buffet car catering facilities.

The information requested can be found in the table below.

Table: Number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) cases disallowed at initial decision for failing the PIP assessment in 2018, and the number of those who subsequently completed the Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) process, Great Britain

Source: PIP Computer System.

Data has been rounded to the nearest 10.

PIP data includes normal rules and special rules for the terminally ill claimants, and is for both new claims and DLA reassessment claims.

MR data is up to March 2019.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) Official Veterinarians and Meat Hygiene Inspectors carry out general monitoring activities that include checks and verification of the welfare of animals.

Welfare verification activities carried out by the FSA team on site cover all processes involving live animals, including verification of the business operator’s own checks to ensure efficiency of stunning. These in situ verification checks take place at different intervals throughout the production day.

Post-mortem inspection of every bird destined for human consumption is carried under the supervision of the official veterinarian; post-mortem findings may indicate welfare may have been compromised during slaughter and related operations; findings are recorded and investigated when identified. Post-mortem inspection will generally not provide any evidence of consciousness following stunning if the required procedures were followed and the affected birds were stunned or killed without delay once the stunning was identified as inefficient.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) Official Veterinarians and Meat Hygiene Inspectors carry out general monitoring activities that include checks and verification of the welfare of animals.

Welfare verification activities carried out by the FSA team on site cover all processes involving live animals, including verification of the business operator’s own checks to ensure that birds do not show any signs of life before dressing or electrical stimulation commence. These in situ verification checks take place at different intervals throughout the production day.

Post-mortem inspection of every bird destined for human consumption is carried out under the supervision of the official veterinarian; post-mortem findings may indicate welfare may have been compromised during slaughter and related operations; findings are recorded and investigated when identified.

The following table shows by reporting year the number of instances that official veterinarians have recorded enforcement action following an incident when stunning was considered to be ineffective in poultry slaughterhouses:

The business operator must implement systems to ensure stunning is efficient. There must be Standard Operating Procedures in place which specify the action to be taken when birds show signs of consciousness or sensibility after the stunning procedure. Instances of birds identified and dealt with by the Business Operator in accordance to their own procedures will not be recorded by the official veterinarian.

There have been no orders or formal enforcement actions to stop or suspend the operation of a production or shackle line because birds were showing signs of consciousness before entering the next stage of production.

Due to the automated nature of poultry production, any stoppages of the line may result in an adverse effect on the welfare of the animals within the shackle line before and after the stage of stunning.

Incidents involving an individual bird would generally be resolved by dealing with the bird while still in the moving line or by removing the individual bird.

Incidents involving a more systemic failure of the stunning system which may require a suspension of the operation will generally be resolved without the service of a formal notice due to the urgent nature of the action required.

The Government is committed to the role of the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for FoRB and has had three Special Envoys to date.

The current Special Envoy, Fiona Bruce MP, is a passionate advocate for FoRB, and this year was re-elected to serve a second term as the Chair of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, a network of 42 countries committed to protecting and promoting FoRB.

Defending FoRB for all is a longstanding priority for the UK Government. We shall continue to stand up for the rights of all individuals, and use our position at the UN Human Rights Council, and on the UN Security Council, to ensure violations and abuses of FoRB are highlighted and addressed.

We welcome the findings of the Independent Review of our work to take forward the Bishop's recommendations. We will continue to ensure that progress made is embedded and that Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is central to our wider human rights work.

Since the Review, we have hosted the International Ministerial conference on FoRB, working with the PM's Special Envoy for FoRB, and announced £500,000 of new funding to support FoRB defenders and to provide legal expertise to countries where FoRB is under pressure.

We continue to work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB and Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern. Ministers do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.

We welcome the findings of the Independent Review of our work to take forward the Bishop's recommendations. We will continue to ensure that progress made is embedded and that Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is central to our wider human rights work.

Since the Review, we have hosted the International Ministerial conference on FoRB, working with the PM's Special Envoy for FoRB, and announced £500,000 of new funding to support FoRB defenders and to provide legal expertise to countries where FoRB is under pressure.

We continue to work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB and Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern. Ministers do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.

We welcome the findings of the Independent Review of our work to take forward the Bishop's recommendations. We will continue to ensure that progress made is embedded and that Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is central to our wider human rights work.

Since the Review, we have hosted the International Ministerial conference on FoRB, working with the PM's Special Envoy for FoRB, and announced £500,000 of new funding to support FoRB defenders and to provide legal expertise to countries where FoRB is under pressure.

We continue to work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB and Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern. Ministers do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.

We welcome the findings of the Independent Review of our work to take forward the Bishop's recommendations. We will continue to ensure that progress made is embedded and that Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) is central to our wider human rights work.

Since the Review, we have hosted the International Ministerial conference on FoRB, working with the PM's Special Envoy for FoRB, and announced £500,000 of new funding to support FoRB defenders and to provide legal expertise to countries where FoRB is under pressure.

We continue to work with UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB and Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern. Ministers do not shy away from challenging those we believe are not meeting their obligations, whether publicly or in private.