Ian Byrne

The Government is clear that equality and opportunity for all are at the heart of our programme of national renewal. This includes actively considering the needs of older women and ensuring that they are not discriminated against. The Government recognises the challenges some older women can face and is committed to ensuring that support systems are in place. These include improving older people’s participation online through the new Digital Inclusion Action plan, employment support through Jobcentres, and addressing healthcare inequality in the 10 Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it.

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, will fundamentally alter the relationship between those who govern and the people they serve.

The Bill, once passed into law, will introduce substantial changes, including a new professional and legal Duty of Candour for public officials, meaning they must act with honesty and integrity at all times, or be met with criminal sanctions for serious breaches.

This Bill will bring forth the biggest expansion in legal aid in a generation, by making provision for publicly funded legal representation for bereaved families at inquests in which the state is an interested party.

For statutory inquiries, section 40 of the Inquiries Act 2005 gives the Chair the power to award funding for legal representation subject to conditions imposed by the Sponsoring Minister. Details of these costs and of the cost of an inquiry’s legal support are available on individual inquiry websites. The Cabinet Office does not keep centralised records of expenditure on legal representation in public inquiries and inquests.

The Government set out clear priorities for the reset with the EU in the manifesto. There are no plans for a Youth Mobility Scheme.

Hospitality businesses, including pubs, are at the heart of our communities and play a vital role in supporting economic growth. We've launched a licensing taskforce aimed at cutting red tape and removing barriers that hinder progress. The Government also plans to permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties with a rateable value under £500,000.

Additionally, we've introduced a £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme to co-fund projects aligned with Department for Business & Trade and Hospitality Sector Council priorities. This includes helping those furthest from the job market into employment and boosting productivity across the sector.

Our Plan to Make Work Pay will modernise the UK labour market and address challenges thrown up by new trends and technologies. The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivery, and will provide a new baseline of security for workers. Once implemented, it will raise the minimum floor of employment rights, raise living standards across the country and level the playing field for businesses engaged in good practices.

We have also committed to consult on a simpler employment status framework, distinguishing between workers and the genuinely self-employed, ensuring that all workers have the comfort of protection at work.

On 1 January 2025 the Government implemented the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Competition and Markets Authority now has new bespoke tools to address the market power of a small number of the largest technology firms and increase competition in digital markets. This will create opportunities for new entrants, allow existing firms to grow, encourage continued investment and innovation and lead to better outcomes for consumers.

The Government has no plan to negotiate a new trade deal with Colombia.

We are committed to working with all Parties to secure outcomes across the COP30 negotiations, including on just transitions, which are a critical opportunity to ensure that workers and communities benefit from the economic transition to net zero. Ahead of COP30 we are considering a range of proposals, including those related to just transitions.

We are delivering an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our international commitments on a pathway to net zero.

As part of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower, we are delivering the largest public investment in clean energy and nature recovery in UK history which will cut bills, provide energy security, create jobs, and boost growth. At COP29, The UK joined the Coalition on Phasing out Fossil Fuel Incentives, including Subsidies which further demonstrates our continued engagement on inefficient fossil fuel subsidy reform. At the same time, we are ensuring the North Sea transition sets a global benchmark for a just and prosperous energy future.

Since its establishment, Great British Energy has invested over £280 million into local and community energy with the UK government.

Great British Energy announced that £5 million will be allocated to the Great British Energy Community Fund in 2025/26, a grant funding scheme to support community energy groups to generate their own clean power projects.

On 21 May, we published a working paper on community benefits and shared ownership of low carbon energy infrastructure. The working paper sought evidence on current shared ownership practices in the UK and whether introducing a legal requirement to offer shared ownership using powers in Section 38 Part 6 of the Infrastructure Act 2015 is appropriate. We are currently reviewing responses.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recognises that bioenergy can play a significant role in decarbonising economies provided policies mitigate the use of unsustainable biomass. The low carbon dispatchable CfD mechanism will result in Drax generating more flexibly, displacing higher-emissions unabated gas plants, helping to reduce power system carbon emissions.

The Government is commissioning an independent review to consider how greenhouse gas removal technologies, including power bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, can assist with UK Net Zero targets, whilst maintaining security of supply. Further details will be shared in due course.

Accelerating deployment of rooftop solar panels is key to the Government’s Clean Energy mission.

New building standards will be introduced to ensure that all newly built houses and commercial buildings are fit for a net zero future. These standards are expected to encourage the installation of solar panels. A call for evidence about solar canopies in car parks will be published shortly. The Solar Roadmap will also contain further recommendations for industry and government to support the increased installation of rooftop solar panels.

Details of other relevant policies, including the Warm Homes Plan and the work of Great British Energy, will be announced in due course.

Ofcom has strong enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 and has the government’s support to use the full range of the powers available to it. These powers will support the effective enforcement of the ban on social media companies from offering their services to under 16s, and requirements such as robust age assurance.

The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s leadership this week to make clear that enforcement of the Act, and these new protections, must be treated as a top priority.

Age assurance technologies play a critical role in protecting children online.

The Secretary of State has asked Ofcom to launch a rapid assessment of what constitutes highly effective age assurance for establishing whether someone is over 16, as part of the announcement to ban social media companies from offering their services to under 16s.

In its assessment, Ofcom will consider how age assurance can be highly effective while avoiding excluding users without passports and driving licenses. This assessment will also prioritise data protection in the context of age assurance.

The Government will restrict harmful functionalities including communicating with strangers and creating livestreams for under-16s on online services, including gaming. These functionalities will also be off by default for 16 and 17 year olds. As the Secretary of State outlined, she is also considering implementing an overnight curfew by default on social media for 16 and 17 year olds, as well as addressing persuasive features such as infinite scroll with further default restrictions.

The Government is committed to addressing functionalities posing the greatest risks to children. Further announcements will be made in July.

The vast majority of AI systems should be regulated at point of use and our expert regulators are best placed to do this. In response to the AI Action Plan, the Government committed to identifying capability needs for regulators to mitigate AI risks and drive growth.

The most advanced AI systems pose distinct opportunities and risks, and the Government is therefore developing legislative proposals to allow us to safely and securely realise the benefits of these systems. We are refining our proposals and will launch a public consultation in due course.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) apply to all online services that use personal data and require organisations to process personal data lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely, unless certain limited exemptions apply. The legislation already gives consumers important rights in relation to their personal data, such as the right to seek access to it, object to its processing or seek its erasure. Consumers can also bring complaints about the handling of their personal data to the independent regulator for data protection, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Measures in the Data (Use and Access) Bill include revamping the ICO with a new governance structure and powers of enforcement – ensuring people’s personal data will continue to be protected to high standards. Under the new digital markets regime, the Competition and Markets Authority could also introduce targeted remedies that strengthen consumer choice and control.

Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code includes rules to ensure news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality. Factual programmes must also not materially mislead the audience. While ministers and officials have regular discussions with Ofcom on a range of issues, Ofcom, by law, carries out its regulation of licensed broadcasters independently of the Government. The Government does not intervene in Ofcom's operational decisions, including ongoing investigations which must remain impartial and free from interference.

Nevertheless, the Government is deeply concerned about the blurring of news and fact with opinion and polemic in the broadcast media environment. As the Secretary of State has set out, it is a dangerous place for democracy if people cannot trust what they see and hear. The Government is therefore exploring what action can be taken in this space, to ensure that audiences know whether what they are watching is fact or opinion.

In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press and the Government therefore does not intervene in or oversee the work of press regulators. We are also clear, however, that with this freedom comes responsibility, and newspapers must operate within the bounds of the law. This includes ensuring access to clear, timely and effective routes to redress.

Having a press that is completely separate from the Government is important for press freedom and to ensure the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. An independent self-regulatory regime is important to ensure the press adheres to clear and high standards and the Government currently has no plans to change the present system of press regulation.

In the UK, there exists an independent, self-regulatory system for the press and the Government therefore does not intervene in or oversee the work of press regulators. We are also clear, however, that with this freedom comes responsibility, and newspapers must operate within the bounds of the law. This includes ensuring access to clear, timely and effective routes to redress.

Having a press that is completely separate from the Government is important for press freedom and to ensure the public have access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. An independent self-regulatory regime is important to ensure the press adheres to clear and high standards and the Government currently has no plans to change the present system of press regulation.

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. Local Authorities fund youth services from their Local Government Settlement in line with local need, and this was increased to more than £69 billion in 2025/26 - a 6.8% increase in cash terms compared to 2024/25.

We will be launching the Local Youth Transformation pilot this year, which will support select local authorities to build back capability to improve local youth offers. We will share more information in due course.

There is a range of support available via DCMS and the Department’s Arm’s-Length Bodies for listed places of worship. These include the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme; the National Lottery Heritage Fund's £15m Heritage in Need: Places of Worship initiative, funded through the National Lottery between 2023 and 2026; the Churches Conservation Trust (CCT), which funds repairs and maintenance of over 350 churches in the CCT portfolio; and Historic England's Heritage At Risk grants, which support certain religious buildings such as cathedrals on the Heritage at Risk register.

The department is investing to ensure all settings have the capacity, expertise and resources to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We are already seeing positive signs, the latest School Workforce Census reported strong growth in special school teachers, with a 3.9% increase on the previous year, 1,100 more teachers, reflecting the government’s determination to ensure that children with SEND receive the high-quality support they need and deserve.

On 15 April 2026 we announced the Experts at Hand & Local Authority SEND Transformation Fund. The overall grant provides £1.8 billion in Experts at Hand funding and £200m in transformation funding over the course of the three-year spending review period.

To support delivery, we are investing over £40m in the specialist workforce, including £26m to train more educational psychologists and £15m to support more speech and language therapists to work in education settings.

The department has carefully assessed the impact of our proposals, and this is included in our published equalities impact and child’s rights impact assessments.

Under our proposed reforms, education, health and care (EHC) plans will continue to exist, but we want to shift to earlier identification of need without bureaucratic assessments and long waiting times to ensure children and young people receive the right support more quickly and easily. We are providing funding for every school to deliver a strong inclusive universal offer for every child and investing £1.8 billion in our new Experts at Hand offer providing targeted health and expert education interventions from professionals such as speech and language therapists or educational psychologists. Experts at Hand will be developed by local area partnerships tailored to local needs and integrated with other local services.

Educational provision in reformed EHC plans will be underpinned by evidence-based specialist provision packages setting out the breadth of education, health and care support children may need. Specialist provision packages and our new National Inclusion Standards will be developed by independent expert panel and tested with parents and families.

Under the department’s proposals, a triple lock of transitional protections will ensure children get the support they need.

• Every child with a special school place in September 2029 will be able to stay in a special school until they finish education.
• Transition will only begin in 2029 once the new inclusive mainstream system has been fully built.
• No child with a current education, health and care (EHC) plan will transition until 2030.

As they approach the point of transition, children and young people with an existing EHC plan will have their needs re-assessed under the new system, with the tribunal as a backstop. If they need a specialist provision package, then they will get a new EHC plan forming their package of support. Alternatively, they will transfer to an Individual Support Plan (ISP) which will be in place ahead of any change in how their support is delivered, developed in partnership with their families

An ISP will set out key information, such as a child or young person’s identified need, provision, intended outcomes and any reasonable adjustments, if they have them. Local authorities’ new Experts at Hand offer will also strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings so that specialist expertise can be accessed by children and young people without an EHC plan.

The department plans to introduce National Inclusion Standards, which we propose should set out minimum standards all settings must adhere to, including a range of evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

We are investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years, placing conditions on this funding to ensure it is used to support schools in moving towards practices that are inclusive by design. We will also place a duty on schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy, outlining what they will provide to remove barriers to learning. Ofsted will be able to draw on Inclusion Strategies to assess how leaders are delivering on inclusion and how staff are equipped to deliver it.

An updated SEND Code of Practice (subject to consultation and passage of legislation) will clarify responsibilities for education settings and local partners, with a stronger emphasis on evidence-based support and a whole setting approach to inclusion.

There will be a new remit for the Children’s Commissioner to oversee and scrutinise the implementation of SEND reforms. We are currently in the process of exploring and defining the options for this role.

Plan 2 student loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and students in England starting degrees under this government have different arrangements. Threshold freezes have been introduced to protect taxpayers and students now, alongside future generations of learners and workers.

Student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. As repayments remain income-contingent if a borrower’s salary remains the same, their monthly repayments will also stay the same.

Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold. Borrowers earning under the earnings threshold, are not required to make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.

The government appreciates that making student loan repayments has an impact on individuals, and this is why there are unique protections for borrowers and the finance system is heavily subsidised by taxpayers.