First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Helen Maguire, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Helen Maguire has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Helen Maguire has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
A Bill to require specified educational institutions to develop and maintain a mental health policy; and for connected purposes.
Youth Mobility Scheme (EU Countries) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - James MacCleary (LD)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Lady’s Parliamentary Question of 13 December is attached.
Following the general election, the Prime Minister was clear that he wanted national renewal and a return of politics to public service.
The Government is committed to ensuring the public has diverse opportunities to take part in our vibrant democracy. The Government is taking steps to ensure meaningful public involvement in the work of government, including as part of mission-driven government and the broader toolkit for policy development and public engagement.
In addition to regular national and local elections, the public can engage in our political system and the policy-making process through various avenues. These include writing to their MP or to a government department, attending constituency surgeries, signing a petition which may end up the subject of debate in Parliament, taking part in a consultation (see the GOV.UK website for current consultations) or a parliamentary call for evidence, and of course taking part in politics directly by, for example, standing for office. The public are also encouraged to come and visit the UK Parliament to meet with their representatives and see the work of politics in action.
Section 31 of the Postal Services Act 2011 outlines the minimum requirements of the universal postal service and includes the requirement that free-of-charge postal services are provided to people who are blind or partially sighted.
Earlier this year, I met representatives of Ofcom, who reasserted their commitment to ensuring that the universal postal service meets the reasonable needs of users. The Government has no current plans to change the minimum requirements set out in the legislation.
The government is working closely with Ofgem, National Energy System Operator (NESO) and network companies to reform the connections process and enable advanced projects, that align with our strategic needs, to connect faster. Ofgem is currently considering connection reform proposals from NESO, which include requirements for projects to demonstrate sufficient progress to obtain, and retain, a connection agreement.
We don't consider the increase in capacity planned for Scotland between 2030 and 2035 to have an impact on our ability to reach our net zero targets.
The 2035 capacity number for Scotland is based on the National Energy System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios, which present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system as we strive towards the 2050 target.
The latest published Warm Home Discount statistics are for 2023/4 and use the constituency boundaries operating prior to the 2024 General Election. Most (87%) of the residential premises in Epsom and Ewell constituency come from Epsom and Ewell constituency under the previous boundaries, in which 2,369 households received the Warm Home Discount rebate in 2023-24. The statistics only cover receipt of the Warm Home Discount and not eligibility.
The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.
We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
The Government's review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy reveals progress towards the statutory target has stalled. A new strategy is required, with a consultation open until 4 April.
The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe and the government recognises that there is no “one-size-fits-all" approach to tackle the UK’s diverse building stock, and the need to ensure more historic buildings are able to achieve Net Zero. The Department commissioned research into complex to decarbonise homes and is currently considering the findings available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/defining-and-identifying-complex-to-decarbonise-homes.
Our Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock. We have committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. Further details will be set out in due course.
The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy this summer. The detail and scale of the funding commitments included in the Strategy will be shaped by engagement with young people and the youth sector and will be dependent on Spending Review decisions.
In 2025/6, DCMS funding for Youth will include over £85 million of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose spaces in places where it is most needed. This includes the £26 million Better Youth Spaces Fund for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations, and completion of Youth Investment Fund projects underway. Further funding allocations to youth services for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.
Local authorities hold the statutory duty to secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people. In September 2023 DCMS published updated statutory guidance to support local authorities’ understanding of the existing duty and how to deliver it. Alongside this, DCMS funds a Peer Review programme for local authorities to learn from each other about the best approaches to youth service provision.
This government has also committed to co-producing a new National Youth Strategy, which is an opportunity to move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector. We plan to publish the strategy in the summer.
This Strategy, co-produced with young people and the youth sector, will better coordinate youth services, bringing power back to young people and their communities, and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector.
Over the coming months, we will be developing our plans in partnership with young people and with organisations within the youth sector, engaging closely with them to fully understand their needs and the issues they consider to be most crucial in addressing. This National Youth Strategy will cover youth services and policy at local, regional and national levels, and will outline a long-term vision for how all young people can realise their potential, with choices and chances, and be empowered and active members of society. It will also look to empower local areas and communities, moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches.
We will be holding a series of youth-led roundtables and we will set up a youth advisory board to work alongside us, influence our work and challenge us every step of the way. We will ensure this is an accessible engagement period that reaches as many young people as possible.
We will be publishing the Strategy in 2025.
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity, and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. That is why the department has committed to expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. As of April 2024, NHS-funded MHSTs covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England, and are expected to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025.
NHS England has recognised that social prescribing is an early intervention approach that can work particularly well for people with low level mental health needs. It has set out a framework for social prescribing link workers operating within or alongside primary care networks. The University of Manchester’s article highlights findings of a pilot on how social prescribing link workers can work effectively to support young people in colleges.
It is for schools and colleges to choose the most appropriate support for their students based on their understanding of needs, making links to primary care services in their area and the support they provide to children and young people. We will look at the lessons of the pilot and evidence on social prescribing in exploring future practical resources for schools and colleges, helping them to provide effective early support.
Regarding Young Futures Hubs, the staffing of each hub will be co-designed with local stakeholders to meet the needs of their local community and the three overriding objectives of improving opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime. Such designs may include a variety of different staffing arrangements including social prescribers and other related professionals.
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity, and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education. That is why the department has committed to expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs), so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. As of April 2024, NHS-funded MHSTs covered 44% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England, and are expected to cover at least 50% by the end of March 2025.
NHS England has recognised that social prescribing is an early intervention approach that can work particularly well for people with low level mental health needs. It has set out a framework for social prescribing link workers operating within or alongside primary care networks. The University of Manchester’s article highlights findings of a pilot on how social prescribing link workers can work effectively to support young people in colleges.
It is for schools and colleges to choose the most appropriate support for their students based on their understanding of needs, making links to primary care services in their area and the support they provide to children and young people. We will look at the lessons of the pilot and evidence on social prescribing in exploring future practical resources for schools and colleges, helping them to provide effective early support.
Regarding Young Futures Hubs, the staffing of each hub will be co-designed with local stakeholders to meet the needs of their local community and the three overriding objectives of improving opportunities, improving mental health and wellbeing, and reducing crime. Such designs may include a variety of different staffing arrangements including social prescribers and other related professionals.
The government is committed to giving children the best start in life and has set the ambition through the government’s Plan for Change for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. The department will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage by 2028. A high quality and sufficient workforce is fundamental to this.
The department is supporting early years providers to attract talented staff by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Our national recruitment campaign is encouraging the public to ‘Do something Big’ and start a career working with small children. A dedicated campaign website is also helping people find out more about gaining qualifications and search existing job vacancies. We are also piloting whether £1,000 financial incentives may boost recruitment and running Skills Bootcamps for early years which can lead to accelerated apprenticeships.
The department recently announced the experience-based route, which enables early years providers to maximise the potential of staff who have the right skills and experience but do not hold an approved qualification. We have also taken steps to increase the graduate workforce via the early years teacher degree apprenticeship, providing a new undergraduate route to gaining early years teacher status.
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. However, this government knows that too many children and young people face barriers to learning. This is not acceptable, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break the unfair link between background and success, helping all children achieve and thrive.
High and rising standards across education are at the heart of this mission and the key to unlocking stronger outcomes and a better future for children and young people. The department aims to deliver these improvements through excellent teaching and leadership, a high quality curriculum and a system that removes barriers to learning, all of which will be underpinned by strong and clear accountability.
The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for children, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is why the department is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers.
The department has also launched an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, which is closely examining the key challenges to attainment for young people and the barriers that hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve.
To strengthen school improvement, the new regional improvement for standards and excellence (RISE) teams will provide both mandatory targeted intervention for schools identified by Ofsted as needing to improve and a universal service, acting as a catalyst for a self-improving system for all schools.
Recognising the importance of supporting children’s attendance and attainment, the government is committed to delivering on its pledge to provide free breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary-aged children.
The pupil premium grant also provides funding to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England. Pupil premium funding will rise to over £3 billion in 2025/26, an increase of almost 5% from 2024/25.
The first duty of the government is to keep the country safe and this government is committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. The government takes protection of individuals' rights, freedoms and safety very seriously, and any attempt by any foreign state to intimidate, harass or harm individuals in the UK will not be tolerated. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station or 999 in emergencies. As autonomous institutions, the department also expects universities to have robust processes in place to prevent and tackle incidents of harassment and abuse on campuses.
The department is taking specific steps to ensure our world-leading universities remain free from foreign interference. This includes the implementation of the new complaints scheme in the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, which will offer a focussed route for concerns, including relating to foreign interference in academic freedom and free speech, to be escalated. The government is also working at pace on the implementation of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme, which will require registration of foreign directed activity involving specific governments and entities where it is necessary to protect the safety or interests of the UK. The department expects the scheme to commence summer this year.
The department continues to work closely with the sector to increase their understanding of the risks and their ability to respond. We are conducting an internal review, informed by engagement with the regulator, sector, academics impacted by foreign interference, as well as international partners, to assess existing approaches to managing the risk of foreign interference and what more support they might need.
The department is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university, regardless of their background.
The government continues to provide means-tested non-repayable grants to low income full time undergraduate students with children and/or adults who are financially dependent on them. We have announced an increase to maximum dependants’ grants for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, based on forecast inflation using the RPIX inflation index. Students undertaking nursing, midwifery and allied health profession courses also qualify for non-repayable grant support through the NHS Learning Support Fund.
The department is also increasing the maximum maintenance loans for living costs for the 2025/26 academic year by 3.1%, in line with the forecast rate of inflation, to ensure that more support is targeted at students from the lowest income families. Higher rates of loan for living costs are also paid to students eligible for benefits such as lone parents and some disabled students as well as care leavers, who are normally assessed as low income independent students. In addition, care leavers are also entitled to a £2000 statutory bursary, paid via their local authority.
However, the department recognises that there is much more to do to expand access and improve outcomes for disadvantaged students. Too many people across our country do not get the opportunity to succeed. We will act to change this. We are calling for providers to go further and play a stronger role in expanding access and improving outcomes for disadvantaged students, making sure that they are delivering robust and ambitious access and participation plans. By the summer, the department will set out our plan for higher education (HE) reform and the part we expect HE providers to play in this.
Generally, to qualify for higher education (HE) student support and home fee status in England, a person must have settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course.
This means that under existing student support legislation, holders of a Hong Kong British National (Overseas) visa would qualify for home fee status and financial support once they have acquired settled status in the UK and meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. This also applies to any dependants who have been granted Hong Kong British National (Overseas) status.
There are no plans to extend HE student support and home fee status to Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) or their dependants before they are settled in the UK.
High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The best way of supporting education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects is to ensure high quality teaching in these subjects, by helping schools to recruit and retain good teachers.
The department has therefore announced an Initial Teacher Training financial incentives package for the 2025/26 academic year worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last recruitment cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees in key STEM subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department is also offering a targeted retention incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.
In the 2025/26 financial year, the government will continue to fund subject continuing professional development (CPD) and other programmes in mathematics, computing and physics. This includes Maths Hubs, which co-ordinate mathematics CPD, and the ‘Subject knowledge for physics teachers’ programme, an intensive retraining programme for teachers teaching physics out of specialism.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life, breaking down the barriers to opportunity.
Educational psychologists play a crucial role in the support available to children and young people, including those with SEND. Local authorities, as the employers of educational psychology services, are responsible for ensuring that their services are adequately staffed.
However, the department is taking measures to support local authorities by investing in building the pipeline. We are investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
To support retention, following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this requirement has increased to three years.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances for every child. For too many children, living in poverty robs them of the opportunity to learn and to prosper.
The Ministerial Child Poverty Taskforce will harness all available levers to drive forward action across government to reduce child poverty. More detail on the approach and priorities for the strategy is set out in the publication ‘Tackling Child Poverty: Developing our Strategy’, which was published on 23 October and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-child-poverty-developing-our-strategy.
The Children’s Wellbeing Bill will put children and their wellbeing at the centre of the education and children’s social care systems, and make sure every child has a fulfilling childhood, enabling them to achieve and thrive.
Breakfast clubs will remove barriers to opportunity by ensuring primary school children, no matter their circumstance, are well prepared with a supportive start to the school day. This will help to drive improvements in behaviour, attendance and attainment, and provide families with more affordable childcare choices. This will also support families, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
This government sees the early years as central to our mission to give every child the best start in life and in the 2025/26 financial year expect to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, to help even more families access affordable, high quality childcare and early education. We have also announced a new £75 million expansion grant, to be allocated later this year, to support nurseries, childminders and other providers to deliver the 35,000 additional staff and 70,000 places required to meet demand for next September.
High quality early education leads to better outcomes for all children, but is particularly impactful for those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), where early identification of needs and support can help them to thrive.
Families of 2 year olds in receipt of certain benefits can access 15 hours of early education and care per week, over 38 weeks a year, and all 3 and 4 year olds are eligible for 15 hours of early education. Further support for disadvantaged children is available through Early Years Pupil Premium. This government will also be delivering the largest ever uplift to the Early Years Pupil Premium, increasing rates by over 45% to up to £570 per eligible child per year. This unprecedented increase is an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most.
To respond to parents’ concerns about the cost of school, as committed in the King’s Speech, we will legislate to limit the number of costly branded items of uniform schools can require, ensuring uniforms make children smarter not families poorer.
In addition to free school meals (FSM), schools continue to receive the pupil premium grant, worth over £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year, to support the educational outcomes of disadvantaged pupils. Also this year, all 153 local authorities in England have continued to deliver the Holiday and Activities Food programme during Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. The programme provides heathy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning. It is primarily targeted at children who receive benefits-related FSM, however local authorities also have the flexibility to use some of their funding to target other vulnerable children.
Now that the department has been given its overall budget, we are working through the details of the budget settlement. Departmental budgets for 2025/26 will be confirmed in due course, including the exact funding available to support children, young people and families during the holidays.
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving the life chances for every child and the work choices for every parent.
From September 2024, eligible working parents of children aged nine months and above can access 15 hours government funded childcare a week over 38 weeks a year. From September 2025, this will be extended so eligible working parents will be able to access 30 hours per week (over 38 weeks a year) for children from the age of 9 months to when they start school.
The government has committed to continue to roll out the expanded childcare entitlements for eligible working parents of children aged from nine months. The department is also growing the provision of wraparound before and after school provision of childcare for primary school children.
In 2024/25, the department expects to provide over £1.7 billion to support local authorities and providers to deliver the childcare expansion. In Surrey, the hourly rate for government funded childcare entitlements for 3 to 4 year olds is £6.77, which is an increase of 5.8%. For two year olds, this figure is £9.61 per hour and for under 2’s, £13.04 per hour.
The government has also committed to upgrading unused space in primary schools to create much needed places in 3,000 nurseries by working in partnership with all parts of the sector and local authorities.
In addition to the entitlements, parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit. Parents can check what childcare support they are entitled to via the Childcare Choices website.
The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing, including supporting them through its childcare delivery support contract where appropriate.
The government is committed to delivering a modern childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, providing every child with a firm foundation which sets them up for life and ensures parents are able to work the jobs and hours they choose to effectively break down the barriers to opportunity for every family.
Surrey had their Ofsted and Care Quality Commission Local Area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection in September 2023 which identified inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with SEND. The report, published on 24 November 2023, included four areas for improvement.
The department’s regional team has put in place systems to track outcomes against the areas for improvement found by inspectors and the progress made by children and young people with SEND. Surrey County Council are committed to working closely with the department to improve services.
Surrey County Council entered into a Safety Valve agreement with the department in March 2022 with a view to addressing the effectiveness and financial sustainability of the local high needs system.
The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation, and Ofwat is working closely with the company to strengthen their long-term financial resilience within the context of its license and broader statutory obligations.
Fundamentally it is for the company to solve their issues of financial resilience. It is not for the Government to tell a private company how to manage their finances.
It would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. We prepare for a range of scenarios across our regulated industries – including water – like any responsible Government would.
Packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR) obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. In most cases, this will not be individual pubs but the business supplying the pub with packaged goods. It is up to individual producers whether to pass these costs on to their customers. The pEPR fees are intended to incentivise producers to use less packaging and to ensure the packaging they do use is environmentally sustainable. For example, where producers use reusable packaging, they will only pay a pEPR fee the first time it is used. Reuse will therefore provide a significant decrease in fees and customers, such as pubs, will see a decrease in waste management costs.
Industry is already making progress in this area, the British Beer and Pub Association and ABInbev recently hosted a well-attended glass bottle reuse workshop where UK glass reuse trials were showcased. This included a Greene King trial which started with 25 pubs last year and which will soon be expanded to several hundred pubs, and the multi-retailer glass reuse trial that is due to start in Newport later this year.
For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas.
That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act. The Act will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector.
To further support understanding of the impact that sewage discharges have on the receiving watercourse, a programme to rollout Continuous Water Quality Monitors is beginning in Price Review period (PR24), which runs from 2025-2030. Monitors will be installed near 25% of storm overflows and sewage treatment works in scope for the programme in this period. Sites prioritised for monitoring will be based on Defra’s priority areas.
During PR24, Thames Water will invest £784 million to reduce the use of storm overflows, including in the Epsom and Ewell constituency. Additional improvement actions also include increasing treatment capacity at sewage works, providing storage for high flows, reducing flows entering the system and provision of treatment for storm overflows which are separate from the main treatment route.
There are no sewage treatment works in the Epsom and Ewell constituency.
The Government and Ofwat – the financial regulator for the water sector – are carefully monitoring the situation with Thames Water, and Ofwat continues to engage with Thames Water to support it in improving its resilience within the context of its licence and broader statutory obligations.
The company remains stable. However, we do want to provide reassurance that we are prepared for a range of scenarios across our regulated industries – including water – as any responsible Government should be.
Protecting communities around the country from flooding is one of the Secretary of State’s five core priorities. As part of the Government’s Plan for Change, a record £2.65 billion will be invested over two years in better protecting 52,000 properties by March 2026.
Lead local flood authorities (unitary and county authorities) are required to manage local flood risks from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. Local flood risks should be identified and managed as part of a local flood risk management strategy. In managing these risks, the lead local flood authority will work closely with other risk management authorities. This includes water companies, which have a duty to maintain their sewers, under Section 94 of the Water Industry Act 1991, to ensure their areas are effectually drained.
To improve understanding of current and future floor risk from rivers, the sea and surface water in England the Environment Agency has just published its new National Flood Risk Assessment. This data is available to everyone, improving individuals’ understanding of their local flood risk.
Since July the Defra Secretary of State has met with water company Chief Executives and chairs, including Thames Water.
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious, affordable food. The Government’s recently launched Food Strategy will ensure that access to healthy food is affordable and accessible to all.
The Government has also committed to roll out free breakfast clubs at all primary schools, whilst also tripling investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million. Additionally, this Government has committed to delivering its plan to make work pay to turn the minimum wage into a real living wage so that working families can afford healthy food
Defra regularly engages with supermarkets and producers about a range of measures they can take to ensure the availability of affordable food. These measures include maintaining value ranges, price matching and price freezing. The range and price of food is a commercial decision for each retailer and the Government does not interfere in their day-to-day operations.
This Government will also be introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increasing the National Living Wage, boosting the pay of 3 million workers, ensuring that everyone can afford to make healthy food choices.
For too long, water companies have discharged record levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will strengthen regulation, including delivering new powers to ban the payment of bonuses for polluting water bosses and bringing criminal charges against persistent law breakers.
For Price Review 2024, which runs from 2025 – 2030, water companies are investing almost £12 billion to improve 2,800 storm overflows across England and Wales. Where required outcomes are not met, companies must reimburse customers, thereby holding water companies to account to deliver the investment.
Going forward, the Secretary of State and I continue to meet regularly with water company leadership teams to hold them to account for and ensure they are delivering for customers and the environment.
In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.
Ofwat regularly meet with Defra, other Government departments and regulators to discuss enforcement policy and activities. As part of their investigation into all water companies, earlier this year Ofwat proposed fines of £168 million for three companies (Thames, Yorkshire and Northumbria Water) for failing to manage their wastewater treatment works and networks, as part of the first batch of outcomes from its biggest ever investigation. These fines are alongside proposed enforcement orders, which require each company to rectify issues to bring them into compliance. Ofwat has also recently announced four more enforcement cases in relation to management of wastewater treatment works and networks.
Furthermore, the Water (Special Measures) Bill will provide the most significant increase in enforcement powers to the regulators in a decade, giving them the teeth they need to take tougher action against water companies in the next investment period, which is due to start in April next year. The Bill will provide Ofwat with legal powers to ban bonuses, where currently they can only set expectations, and ensure that imprisonment will always be available to the courts as a sentencing option where investigations by the environmental regulators have been obstructed.
On 23 October 2024, the UK and Welsh Governments launched an independent commission, led by Sir Jon Cunliffe, to recommend reforms to reset the water sector regulatory system. The Commission will publish a report in Q2 2025, with recommendations for actionable solutions to the sector’s problems.
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of issues, and Cabinet discussions are considered confidential. The Government recognises the importance of having a robust drainage system both now and for future demand and expects water companies to plan their infrastructure appropriately to meet new growth.
As part of the Environment Act 2021, water companies in England are required to produce Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMPs). DWMPs set out how a water company intends to improve their drainage and wastewater systems over the next 25 years, accounting for factors including growing population and changing environmental circumstances. These plans will help sewerage companies to fully assess the capacity of the wastewater network and develop collaborative solutions to current problems and future issues.
The UK Government has provided research funding through the Farming Futures Fund to look at the potential for precision breeding in producing virus-resistant varieties of sugar beet. Separately, the British Beet Research Organisation is operating an industry-funded programme researching alternative methods to protect sugar beet crops.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is at the heart of our approach to minimise the risks associated with pesticides. Four IPM actions are available within the Sustainable Farming Incentive. Farmers are paid to complete an assessment and produce an IPM plan; establish and maintain flower-rich grass margins, blocks, or in-field strips; establish a companion crop and to move towards pesticide-free farming.
The Government is committed to the protection and restoration of our cherished chalk streams. We have taken immediate action to clean up our waterways, including a new Water (Special Measures) Bill to ban the payment of unfair bonuses to polluting water bosses, and bring criminal charges against those who persistently break the law. In October we launched an independent commission into the water sector regulatory system to deliver transformative change to the water system.
We are investing in initiatives to improve chalk streams including 55 projects this financial year through the Water Environment Improvement Fund. As part of the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, this financial year, the Government will contribute £1m for chalk stream projects with partners on 30 projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.
We are committed to ending damaging abstraction of water from rivers and groundwater wherever possible. We will make full use of our existing powers to amend abstraction licences to protect and improve the environment and make sure water companies deliver the improvements in their current business plans, including licence reductions of around 100 million litres per day in chalk streams.
Through the Price Review 2024, Ofwat will set out the next cycle of planned water company investment covering 2025-2030, which will include further actions to restore chalk streams. The exact funding is currently being determined by Ofwat, with final determinations due to be published on 19 December. Environmental requirements for abstraction reductions to improve chalk streams flows are part of the environmental planning scenarios that Regional Water Resources Groups and water companies have included in their planning to 2050.
The Department for Transport has been considering all the views expressed in response to the consultation in 2020 and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response. In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking.
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age, currently sixty-six. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as lowering the age of eligibility, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.
Local authorities in England have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations such as lowering the age of eligibility. Additional local concessions are provided and funded by local authorities from local resources.
The government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Surrey County Council has been allocated £12 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish. This could include extending the discretionary concessions available in the local area.
The Government is committed to making EV charging infrastructure affordable and accessible.
Energy suppliers providing energy to EV chargepoints are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem does not currently set a limit for the price that can be charged for the resale of electricity through EV chargepoints. We continue to work with DESNZ and Ofgem on measures to keep EV charging affordable.
Under the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023, all chargepoint operators must display the price of charging using a common metric of p/kWh and make their data on pricing available freely. This allows drivers to easily compare the price of charging and find the best chargepoint for their needs.
There are already specific criteria in place to assess the need for a Blue Badge for children under three years old who require the use of bulky mobility aids. The Department has no plans to amend the current eligibility criteria.
Department officials have regular conversations with the operator seeking to improve accessibility across South Western Railway’s fleet. Improvements include the new fleet of Class 701s with fully accessible toilets replacing the Class 455s which do not have toilets, an App with Artificial Intelligence generated British Sign Language and a planned rollout of improved Passenger Information Screens on services between Waterloo and Exeter. South Western Railway also has guards on all of its fleet providing assistance for all passengers who require it.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of the Government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the life chances of every child. The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty, including considering social security reforms, before publishing a strategy that will deliver lasting change.
Whilst we aim to make the right decision as early as possible in the claim journey, Mandatory Reconsideration (MR) is a key element of the Department’s decision-making process. MR offers customers an opportunity to challenge decisions and provide any additional information which may be relevant to their claim.
In law there is no time limit within which a MR decision must be made. This reflects the overarching policy that the focus should be on making the right decision and not on the speed of response. Decisions should always be made without delay, but if the Decision Maker believes more time is needed to gather or consider evidence, they must give themselves that time to ensure they are confident that the decision made is correct. However, for PIP we are recruiting MR decision makers and making overtime available to increase productivity.
We have a multi-tiered Quality Assurance Framework to ensure MR decisions are legal and payments are accurate, and Decision Makers receive thorough training on all aspects of decision-making.
We are committed to tackling food poverty and reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels. Economic factors including the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have resulted in record levels of need for food banks. This issue is being discussed as part of the Child Poverty Taskforce.
We have announced additional support to address financial pressures on households. These measures include tripling investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introducing a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, and increasing the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 to boost the pay of 3 million workers. In England, Healthy Starts supports over 356,000 beneficiaries, 3 million pupils are eligible for a Free School Meal, we have invested over £200 million every year into the Holiday Activities and Food Programme. Additionally, the Household Support Fund has provided billions of pounds of support to millions of households across England since its inception, helping vulnerable households with the cost of household essentials and supporting those most in need, and provided further funding of £742 million, extending the Household Support Fund until 31 March 2026.
Budgeting Advances help Universal Credit customers meet intermittent miscellaneous expenses, such as buying essential items like furniture or household equipment. These advances ensure that low-income families that have an emergency financial need and do not have access to adequate savings or affordable loans can access funding to meet the emergency.
Only eligible customers are able to access Budgeting Advances and there are limits set out in regulation on the amount that can be awarded. Information on the eligibility criteria can be found in the House of Commons Library.
The three month qualifying period is not a waiting period. Its purpose is to help establish that the disability or health condition, and the resulting care, supervision or mobility needs are of a long-standing nature. This ensures that disability benefits are targeted to support those with long term health conditions or disabilities.
Children applying for DLA do not always have to wait for the full three months from the date of their claim before they become entitled to the benefit. The case manager will always look at whether, and for how long, the person has required the necessary level of help for care/daily living and/or mobility purposes before the date of claim and consider whether some or all of the qualifying period has already been completed.
Children claiming DLA under the special rules for end of life do not have to satisfy the three--month qualifying period. Their claim is fast tracked, and they are eligible for the higher-rate care component from the date of claim.
Financial and practical support may be available during the qualifying period, for example through the Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme or support provided by Local Authority.
Given the current cost of living it is essential for individuals to possess the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively manage their finances. DWP invests in upskilling their staff to increase their confidence in guiding customers through conversations about enhancing their financial skills and understanding the advantages of doing so.
DWP supports customers to improve their financial skills by signposting them to MoneyHelper in order to help them make better financial choices. MoneyHelper operates across the UK, however, as financial skills is a devolved matter, additional support is available in Scotland and Wales.
DWP is consistently striving to enhance the services provided to our customers, ensuring they receive the most effective guidance by directing them to bodies that can assist in improving their financial skills.