Graham Stuart

The Government wants to recognise the outstanding contribution of volunteers and encourage all to be involved in delivering positive change. The Points of Light programme closed in 2024. While
individual volunteers are recognised through the Honours system, and groups can be recognised through the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, there is consideration to replace the Points of Light
programme with a similar scheme.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and GOV.UK.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. The Government is taking robust action to hold Capita to account. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita.

To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are being deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser is being appointed at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.

The Cabinet Office frequently engages with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) which is ultimately responsible for the resilience of the energy sector and assessment of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) against its criticality.

DESNZ works closely with industry counterparts to maintain energy security and ensure industry has the tools at their disposal to support security of supply. As the risk landscape continues to evolve, ensuring high standards of infrastructure resilience and security across the energy sector is a key priority for DESNZ and Ofgem.

DESNZ will continue engaging with Ofgem to ensure RIIO-GT3 delivers the investment needed to maintain energy security and resilience through the price control period.

The £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund will back the UK’s most strategically important chemical producers – the firms that supply the critical inputs relied on by sectors including food, energy, water and healthcare

The Fund has been designed to keep these key producers and sites competitive, put businesses on a more sustainable footing and strengthen supply chain resilience. It has been developed in partnership with industry representatives and independent experts

Eligible companies have been identified by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and ratified by a panel of independent industry experts. They will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. The Government recognises the need to support the chemicals sector quickly and expects the Fund to be open to eligible applications by the end of this year. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific companies or eligible applicants.

The £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund will back the UK’s most strategically important chemical producers – the firms that supply the critical inputs relied on by sectors including food, energy, water and healthcare

The Fund has been designed to keep these key producers and sites competitive, put businesses on a more sustainable footing and strengthen supply chain resilience. It has been developed in partnership with industry representatives and independent experts

Eligible companies have been identified by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and ratified by a panel of independent industry experts. They will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. The Government recognises the need to support the chemicals sector quickly and expects the Fund to be open to eligible applications by the end of this year. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific companies or eligible applicants.

The £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund will back the UK’s most strategically important chemical producers – the firms that supply the critical inputs relied on by sectors including food, energy, water and healthcare

The Fund has been designed to keep these key producers and sites competitive, put businesses on a more sustainable footing and strengthen supply chain resilience. It has been developed in partnership with industry representatives and independent experts

Eligible companies have been identified by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and ratified by a panel of independent industry experts. They will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. The Government recognises the need to support the chemicals sector quickly and expects the Fund to be open to eligible applications by the end of this year. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific companies or eligible applicants.

The £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund will back the UK’s most strategically important chemical producers – the firms that supply the critical inputs relied on by sectors including food, energy, water and healthcare

The Fund has been designed to keep these key producers and sites competitive, put businesses on a more sustainable footing and strengthen supply chain resilience. It has been developed in partnership with industry representatives and independent experts

Eligible companies have been identified by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and ratified by a panel of independent industry experts. They will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. The Government recognises the need to support the chemicals sector quickly and expects the Fund to be open to eligible applications by the end of this year. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific companies or eligible applicants.

The £350 million Critical Chemicals Resilience Fund will back the UK’s most strategically important chemical producers – the firms that supply the critical inputs relied on by sectors including food, energy, water and healthcare

The Fund has been designed to keep these key producers and sites competitive, put businesses on a more sustainable footing and strengthen supply chain resilience. It has been developed in partnership with industry representatives and independent experts

Eligible companies have been identified by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and ratified by a panel of independent industry experts. They will be invited to apply for funding for new capital projects, this includes producers of chemicals used in Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) sectors, and contributors to key supply chains. The Government recognises the need to support the chemicals sector quickly and expects the Fund to be open to eligible applications by the end of this year. It would be inappropriate to comment on specific companies or eligible applicants.

It would not be appropriate to comment on specific threat assessments, for security reasons. However, security and resilience arrangements are kept under regular review to ensure they remain effective against a changing threat environment.

DESNZ works extensively with the National Protective Security Authority, the energy industry, regulators and other stakeholders, including the Home Office and MOD, to continually improve and maintain the security and resilience of energy infrastructure to a wide range of hazards and threats.

Security arrangements at gas infrastructure sites, including gas terminals, are determined on the basis of risk and threat, and proportionate measures are taken to mitigate unauthorised drone activity. This is informed by National Protective Security Authority guidance and compliance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements.

Hydrogen can help reindustrialise Britain by cutting emissions from heavy industry and providing clean power, helping to maintain our manufacturing base, and create new clean energy industries and skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands.

We understand the importance of providing clarity to businesses across the hydrogen sector and we are regularly engaging with industry to understand their proposals relating to hydrogen infrastructure.

We recognise the importance of maintaining momentum on hydrogen development and are committed to accelerating progress where possible.

Hydrogen can help reindustrialise Britain by cutting emissions from heavy industry and providing clean power, helping to maintain our manufacturing base, and create new clean energy industries and skilled jobs in our industrial heartlands.

Transport and storage infrastructure can help unlock the full system benefits of hydrogen.

Government is continuing to work at pace to identify transport and storage requirements to inform the scope, scale and timing of government support for transport and storage infrastructure. More detail on funding will be available following the Autumn Budget on October 28^th.

We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of the second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. Contract awards for successful projects will follow shortly afterwards.

We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.

The savings are a small part of DESNZ’s overall budget, which saw a significant uplift at Spending Review.

Our aim is for a large proportion of the savings to be found through efficiencies. We will set out more details in due course.

The UK clean energy economy is booming, with over £100bn of private sector investment announced since July 2024 thanks to the government’s clean energy mission.

Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State and this government. That is why we published the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation, accompanied by a National Conversation on 2 March 2026.

The consultation asked for views on children’s use of social media, including questions on screen time and the impact on children’s health. The government published a progress report on the consultation on 15 June, outlining plans to restrict social media services from providing access to under 16s alongside restrictions on functionalities for wider services. Further details will be published in July.

Ofcom also published research in May 2026 of children’s usage of online services after 9 PM, including apps on phones. Ofcom’s research continues to inform the government’s next steps for online safety.

Children’s safety and wellbeing online is the Secretary of State’s top priority. That is why we published the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation, accompanied by a National Conversation on 2 March 2026.

The government published a progress report on the consultation on 15 June, outlining plans to restrict social media services from providing access to under 16s alongside restrictions on functionalities for wider services. Further details will be published in July.

In May 2026, Ofcom published a report on children’s use of online services, including on which platforms children encountered harmful content. Ofcom’s research continues to inform the government’s next steps for online safety.

Where Ofcom has concerns that significant numbers of children are at risk of harm on a service, the government expects them to act. Ofcom has significant enforcement powers at its disposal when a service does not comply with the Act’s requirement and has the government’s full support to use the complete range of these powers.

Our ambition is that everyone in every corner of the UK, whatever their circumstances, can participate in our modern digital society. That’s why we launched the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund – supporting local initiatives that increase digital participation and aim to meet the specific and diverse needs of digitally excluded people in communities across the UK.

Some applicants have been announced and DSIT are currently in the process of onboarding successful applicants of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, with a regional spread across England. The department intends to announce and publish a full list of successful projects in due course.

We understand concerns about the excessive deployment of telegraph poles, and are urgently considering options to address this.

Telegraph poles can play an important role in delivering affordable connectivity to communities, and competition can offer consumers greater choice and cheaper rates. However, it is vital that operators share infrastructure wherever possible, as the last thing anyone wants is for our towns and villages to be littered with countless unnecessary competing telegraph poles.

Existing regulations require operators to share infrastructure where practicable, and the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022 made it easier to upgrade and share existing apparatus.

In addition, the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016 are designed to facilitate sharing for physical infrastructure.

Volunteers serve at the heart of our communities nationwide, dedicating their time to create positive change and enhance the lives of those around them. The Government is committed to supporting volunteering, which is critical to a vibrant, connected and resilient civil society. We are currently considering how the hugely valuable contributions of volunteers can be best recognised.

Future Government spending is a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.

The department is investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support the development of a more inclusive education system. Over £500 million per year will be provided to early years, schools and colleges to boost their existing core funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to help them strengthen their inclusive offer.

Settings should deploy funding to help build an inclusive core offer, based on the commonly occurring needs and barriers to learning and participation faced by their cohort and to support the delivery of evidence-based targeted support for those who need it.

Targeted support may include small group interventions based on evidence-informed strategies and approaches to alleviate persistent barriers to learning, delivered by school staff. Targeted plus support will include support from external experts including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, as well as signposting to specialists from Alternative Provision or Specialist settings, delivered through a new Experts at Hand service. We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.

We will roll out a new national training programme supporting educators to identify and respond to children’s needs backed by £200 million investment, to train staff across nurseries, schools and colleges with the first wave of training materials coming online from September.

To support the transition to V Levels, the government will retain the majority of existing vocational qualifications to minimise disruption for learners and providers. This includes Applied General Qualifications under 720 guided learning hours in T Level areas, as well as smaller reformed qualifications such as Alternative Academic Qualifications and Technical Occupational Qualifications. In non-T Level areas, all current qualifications will continue to be funded until V Levels or T Levels are introduced. Qualifications that have already been defunded will remain so.

The department is consulting with the sector on the introduction of V Levels, including transitional arrangements to achieve the qualifications landscape set out in the Post-16 Skills White Paper.