Gregor Poynton

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030. We will consult shortly on introducing minimum energy efficiency standards in the social rented sector which would form part of the Decent Homes Standard.

We have also reviewed the responses to our 2019 and 2021 consultations on an EPC B trajectory for minimum energy efficiency standards in the non-domestic private rented sector and plan to publish a response in the early part of 2025.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

The Government is also continuing to work with Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure energy bills remain fair and affordable while we transition to clean power by 2030.

The Government recognises that access to trusted and impartial energy efficiency and clean heat advice is crucial. The Government runs several digital services on GOV.UK, supported by a national phoneline, aimed at households. We are now streamlining these services into a single user journey to make it even easier for households to access information, including funding options and trusted installers.

We encourage SMEs to visit the UK Business Climate Hub, which provides information and advice to SMEs on how to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.

The Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan will upgrade millions of homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps.

We will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. As such, the department will continue to engage with Scotland and other devolved governments.

The Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan will upgrade millions of homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. The Plan will set out proposals to facilitate growth of a robust and competent supply chain to support home upgrades, including investing in training and skills and supporting SMEs to work in the sector.

Child online safety is of utmost importance to the government. Under the Online Safety Act, all user-to-user services likely to be accessed by children have a duty to include provisions in their terms of service specifying how children of any age are prevented from encountering the most harmful content and protected from encountering other types of harmful content.

Services that have age restrictions must specify in their terms of service what measures they are taking to prevent underage access, and they are required apply these terms consistently.

Child online safety is of utmost importance to the government. Under the Online Safety Act, all user-to-user services likely to be accessed by children have a duty to include provisions in their terms of service specifying how children of any age are prevented from encountering the most harmful content and protected from encountering other types of harmful content.

Services that have age restrictions must specify in their terms of service what measures they are taking to prevent underage access, and they are required apply these terms consistently.

The government is committed to protecting children from these devastating crimes. The Online Safety Act will place strict safety duties on online platforms to protect children from being groomed by online predators, and to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse content on their services.

Ministers meet regularly with platforms to discuss implementation of the Online Safety Act, and the duties it will place on services to tackle illegal content on their sites. Ofcom is the independent regulator responsible for ensuring compliance with the regime.

The Health and Social Care Select Committee's inquiry in 2021 examined evidence relating to the safety of maternity services. Its report, The Safety of Maternity Services in England, made 15 recommendations. The Government's response to the recommendations made by the inquiry is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/safety-of-maternity-services-in-england-government-response/the-governments-response-to-the-health-and-social-care-committee-report-safety-of-maternity-services-in-england

We are not aware of a specific recommendation made by this inquiry regarding the development of guidance for maternity services on involving fathers in those services and using fatherhood to engage men in the health service. The Government response did, however, set out plans to address variations in the quality of care and outcomes, tackle poor workplace culture, consider workforce levels, implement training for delivering safe care, and address disparities in maternal and neonatal outcomes.

We are determined to ensure women, and their families, receive safe, personalised, and compassionate care, and we will continue to work with the National Health Service as it delivers its three-year maternity and neonatal plan, a key theme of which is listening to and working with women and families, including fathers, with compassion.

We are committed to improving men’s health in England, bringing a renewed focus on preventing adverse health outcomes and reducing health inequalities. On 28 November 2024, we announced plans for a Men’s Health Strategy at a Men’s Health Summit, held in partnership with Movember and hosted by Arsenal and the Premier League. The strategy will look at the outcomes and evidence surrounding men’s health and the action we need to take to improve the health of all men. This will include consideration of how to prevent and tackle the biggest health problems. The strategy will be informed by a call for evidence to understand what is working and what more needs to be done.

Travel health services in the United Kingdom are provided by a range of National Health Service and independent healthcare services. In England, all providers offering travel health services that are delivered by a doctor or a nurse must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and are subject to normal CQC assessment and inspection procedures. The CQC has specified a minimum standard of practice for practitioners who deliver travel health services and require that training is in line with professional standards published by either the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow or RCN Travel Health Nursing: career and competence development. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.rcn.org.uk/Professional-Development/publications/rcn-travel-health-nursing-uk-pub-010-573

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) contributes to the health of UK travellers through surveillance, testing, guidance and advice. Surveillance reports on travel-associated infections are published regularly on GOV.UK. UKHSA provides the scientific secretariat for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advises the Government on vaccination and immunisation matters, including for travel vaccines. The UK Malaria Expert Advisory Group is responsible for guidelines on malaria prevention for health professionals. UKHSA does not have a remit to standardise the provision of travel health clinical services in the UK.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver safe and effective treatment for patients. The UK Health Security Agency contributes to the education of healthcare professionals through the distribution of briefing notes on significant changes in the risks of mosquito-borne disease, publication of regularly updated disease epidemiology, and the regular publication of key reports such as emerging infection monthly summaries.

Support is already available for expectant and new fathers and partners who experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period. Partners of women accessing specialist perinatal and maternal mental health services should be offered an evidence-based assessment for their own mental health and signposting to support as required. In January 2025, the Department announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes in 2025/26 in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, including for fathers.

In addition, NHS Talking Therapies services are also available for fathers and partners who need support with any mental health problems during the perinatal period. Anyone can refer themselves online via the National Health Service website or by contacting their general practitioner.

Support is already available for expectant and new fathers and partners who experience mental health difficulties during the perinatal period. Partners of women accessing specialist perinatal and maternal mental health services should be offered an evidence-based assessment for their own mental health and signposting to support as required. In January 2025, the Department announced £126 million for the continuation of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes in 2025/26 in 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation. This includes £36.5 million for bespoke perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, including for fathers.

In addition, NHS Talking Therapies services are also available for fathers and partners who need support with any mental health problems during the perinatal period. Anyone can refer themselves online via the National Health Service website or by contacting their general practitioner.

The Barnett formula applies to all increases or decreases to Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL). Whenever UK Government departmental budgets change, the Barnett formula is applied in the usual way, as set out in the Statement of Funding Policy.

It is for the devolved governments to allocate their Barnett-based funding as they see fit, and they are accountable to the devolved legislatures for those decisions.

The published Block Grant Transparency document provides a detailed breakdown of how the block grants are calculated. The most recent report was published in July 2023: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/block-grant-transparency-july-2023

The ENABLE Build scheme is open to banks and non-bank lenders for the purpose of lending to small and medium-sized housebuilders across the United Kingdom, including those based in Scotland.

ENABLE Build is a ‘portfolio product’ where a guarantee is provided to a lender that covers a portfolio of eligible loans to SME borrowers.

The origination criteria under the scheme stipulates that at least 80% of the lender’s guaranteed portfolio should relate to developments in England.

This does not apply to the borrower’s portfolio, meaning that home builders based in Scotland can benefit from the scheme even if their operations and development are entirely Scotland-based.

The ENABLE Build scheme is open to banks and non-bank lenders for the purpose of lending to small and medium-sized housebuilders across the United Kingdom, including those based in Scotland.

ENABLE Build is a ‘portfolio product’ where a guarantee is provided to a lender that covers a portfolio of eligible loans to SME borrowers.

The origination criteria under the scheme stipulates that at least 80% of the lender’s guaranteed portfolio should relate to developments in England.

This does not apply to the borrower’s portfolio, meaning that home builders based in Scotland can benefit from the scheme even if their operations and development are entirely Scotland-based.