Graham Leadbitter

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media (print, radio, TV) and online. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. The government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

However, as part of the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions, gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising Codes. The ASA has the power to take action where there is evidence of advertising in breach of the Codes, wherever it appears, and the ASA can and does refer operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission for possible regulatory action.

The government continues to be open to initiatives that improve rural railways, and a number of schemes delivered previously through the New Stations Fund have improved access to the rail network for more rural areas.

DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers.

The Department is investing in a new capability that aims to better route customers to the right offer at the right time. This will help to reduce waiting times by supporting customers to utilise digital alternatives where appropriate, which enables telephony agents to speak to our customers that really need to speak to someone. If a customer indicates they may be at risk of physical or mental harm e.g. suicide, terminal illness, homelessness, and clinical mental health, they will be routed to a telephony agent in as short a journey as possible.

The Department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments for customers, including production of communications in a range of alternative formats. We are currently testing further digital solutions for British Sign Language interpreter connectivity within our jobcentre environment.

The UK Government is absolutely committed to pushing the Government of India for faster progress in resolving Jagtar Singh Johal's case. The Foreign Secretary raised concerns on multiple occasions with the Government of India, including regarding Mr Johal's allegations of torture. Most recently, he raised Mr Johal's case with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on 24 July during his first official visit to India in this role. Consular staff regularly visit Mr Johal to check on his welfare, most recently on 21 August.

The government recognises the vital role charities plays in supporting individuals and communities, delivering a huge range of services up and down the country.

The government continues to support the sector and encourages people to volunteer. However, introducing a new tax code and tax incentives, or increasing the Personal Allowance to incentivise individuals to volunteer would make the system more complicated and difficult for taxpayers to navigate.

The government must prioritise ensuring the tax system supports strong public finances. Given the current state of the public spending inheritance, difficult choices are necessary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has emphasised that sound fiscal policy is crucial for economic stability and growth, which are essential for keeping taxes as low as possible, while continuing to deliver high-quality public services.

The government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country, which is why growth is a key priority. This is why we have got to work straightaway implementing planning reform and establishing the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy.

The approach of this government will centre on fostering good work. This government will reform employment support to offer more people the dignity and purpose of meaningful employment.

We have begun supporting households with the cost of living by launching a Ministerial Taskforce on child poverty and updating the Low Pay Commission's remit to reflect the cost of living when making recommendations on the National Living Wage.

Any further steps will be set out in due course.

This Government is committed to delivering growth in every corner of the country, by empowering communities to find local solutions to national priorities. However, as you will appreciate, the Government has inherited an extremely difficult fiscal environment and has a responsibility to fix the foundations of our economy, to ensure economic stability.

The department will set out further details on funding, next steps, and confirmation of the revised timelines in due course.

The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech forecasted an overspend of £21.9 billion above limits set by the Treasury in the Spring. We understand that will have caused uncertainty about the status of some projects and the challenge that presents locally. We must, however, ensure that we are making responsible decisions on public spending. Decisions that have fallen on this government to take. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.