James Naish

As set out in the King's Speech, the Government intends to publish a draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, which will contain measures to tackle bad financial reporting through a strengthened regulator. The draft Bill will uphold standards and independent scrutiny of companies' accounts, supporting investment and economic security.

Prepayment meter households can be eligible for a range of tariffs, depending on their circumstances. To take advantage of charging an electric vehicle at off-peak rates a smart prepayment meter, or other meter that works on a time of use basis, is required and can be fitted free of charge.

The Department is considering the role of local energy planning including how it might interact with new initiatives such as Great British Energy Local Power Plan and Ofgem’s Regional Energy Strategic Plan, which Ofgem are consulting on.

The strategic network planning processes led by the Government’s new National Energy System Operator ensures community impact is considered when recommendations for new transmission infrastructure are made and that new infrastructure locations are considered strategically and sensitively. Where such infrastructure is needed, developers seek to reduce impacts through its design.

It is also important to this Government that, where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it, and we are considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.

We are considering the role of a UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Certification Scheme in achieving clean power by 2030. Further detail on the Government's approach will be announced in due course.

The power station at Ratcliffe-on-Soar was previously assessed for protection as a Listed Building in 2017 but deemed not to possess the requisite special architectural or historic interest. A new listing application is currently being assessed by Historic England, which administers the listing process on the Secretary of State’s behalf. The application will be determined by DCMS in line with the Secretary of State’s Principles of Selection for Listed Buildings.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises. Additionally, the government’s non-statutory guidance supports schools on how to develop, implement and maintain a policy that prohibits the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Headteachers are responsible for implementation of guidance within their schools.

Research suggests excessive screentime can be detrimental to children’s wellbeing. The Online Safety Act aims to protects children from accessing harmful and age-inappropriate content and to ensure that technology companies take more responsibility for the safety of their users, particularly children.

Every child with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) should be able to access high quality early years provision, with a workforce who can nurture a child’s needs, recognise their strengths and build effective working relationships with parents to ensure all children are safe, cared for and able to learn.

All three and four year olds are entitled to 15 hours per week of funded childcare and early education for 38 weeks of the year, regardless of the income or working status of their parent or carer. This is termed the ‘universal entitlement’.

Two year olds can get free childcare if they have an education, health and care plan, or are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance (DLA).

The duty on local authorities to secure sufficient childcare extends to children with SEND. The SEND Code of Practice and Equality Act 2010 place certain requirements on providers, holding both local authorities and providers to account.

Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006 sets out the responsibilities for local authorities to ensure that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area.

The local authority statutory guidance on Early Education and Childcare sets out a clear requirement that local authorities must report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, including for children with SEND and make this report available and accessible to parents.

Departmental officials have regular meetings with each local authority in England about the sufficiency of their early education and childcare offer and any issues they are facing. This includes one-to-one support through our childcare delivery support contractor, Childcare Works, where appropriate. Childcare Works, is contracted to help local authorities and providers scale up delivery of the expanded early education entitlements and to meet their childcare sufficiency duty. Their activity includes support for local authorities to deliver for children with SEND, for example via national or regional events and supportive materials for use by both local authorities and providers.

The department’s home to school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home to school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so.

There are extended rights to free home to school travel for children who are eligible for free school meals or whose parents claim the maximum amount of Working Tax Credit. These are intended to support school choice for families where the cost of travel may otherwise be a barrier. For children up until age 11, the walking distance remains set at 2 miles. Children aged 11 to 16 are eligible for free travel to one of their three nearest schools, provided it is between 2 and 6 miles from their home, or to a school that is between 2 and 16 miles from their home that their parents have chosen on the grounds of their religion or belief and there is no suitable school, having regard to that religion or belief, nearer to their home. Local authorities have the discretion to arrange travel for other children but are not required to do so.

I am keen to understand how well home-to-school transport supports children to access educational opportunity and will be working with departmental officials on this. In addition, this government has set out an action plan to deliver better bus services and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The government will introduce the Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services in the hands of local leaders to ensure networks can meet the needs of the communities who rely on them.

Young people are required to continue in education or training until they turn 18. They can do this through full-time education, a job or volunteering combined with part-time study, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or supported internship.

Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Education and Skills Act 2008 to identify and support 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education or training.

Furthermore, under the September Guarantee, all 16 and 17 year olds are entitled to an offer of a suitable place in education or training. This aims to ensure that all young people, regardless of what they achieved in school, understand that there are opportunities that will help them to progress, and to ensure that they get the advice and support they need to find a suitable place.

Over £7 billion of 16 to 19 programme funding will be invested during the 2024/2025 academic year to pay for education for any 16, 17 or 18 year olds in post-16 education. The bulk of the money is committed through lagged funding allocations, based on student numbers taking part in education at each college, school or other institution in the year before. However, the department recognises that, for those institutions that recruit significantly more students than they are funded for in their lagged funding allocation, there are additional costs and the department provides in year growth funding to help with these.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department took the exceptional step of publishing the policy on in year growth on 21 August 2024, which was before GCSE results day and the start of the academic year, to support providers’ planning decisions. This should support providers to offer places to all young people who want one. This policy is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-funding-in-year-growth-for-2024-to-2025.

The post-16 capacity fund provides funding to schools and colleges to ensure they have enough capital capacity to accommodate the demographic increases in 16 to 19 learners. It has made available £238 million in capital funding since 2021.

Young people are required to continue in education or training until they turn 18. They can do this through full-time education, a job or volunteering combined with part-time study, or by undertaking an apprenticeship or supported internship.

Local authorities have a statutory duty under the Education and Skills Act 2008 to identify and support 16 and 17 year olds who are not in education or training.

Furthermore, under the September Guarantee, all 16 and 17 year olds are entitled to an offer of a suitable place in education or training. This aims to ensure that all young people, regardless of what they achieved in school, understand that there are opportunities that will help them to progress, and to ensure that they get the advice and support they need to find a suitable place.

Over £7 billion of 16 to 19 programme funding will be invested during the 2024/2025 academic year to pay for education for any 16, 17 or 18 year olds in post-16 education. The bulk of the money is committed through lagged funding allocations, based on student numbers taking part in education at each college, school or other institution in the year before. However, the department recognises that, for those institutions that recruit significantly more students than they are funded for in their lagged funding allocation, there are additional costs and the department provides in year growth funding to help with these.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department took the exceptional step of publishing the policy on in year growth on 21 August 2024, which was before GCSE results day and the start of the academic year, to support providers’ planning decisions. This should support providers to offer places to all young people who want one. This policy is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-funding-in-year-growth-for-2024-to-2025.

The post-16 capacity fund provides funding to schools and colleges to ensure they have enough capital capacity to accommodate the demographic increases in 16 to 19 learners. It has made available £238 million in capital funding since 2021.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given to the hon. Member for Wokingham, Clive Jones, on 31 October 2024, PQ UIN 11121 .

Ministers are reviewing policies, which will be announced in due course, including the consultation on the Fur Market in Great Britain. Defra is continuing to build the evidence base on the fur sector. This includes commissioning our expert Animal Welfare Committee on what constitutes responsible sourcing of fur. The report that they produce will support our understanding of the fur industry and help inform our next steps.

Labour Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation.

Legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing requires that farmed fish are spared avoidable pain, distress or suffering during their killing and related operations.

In 2023 the Animal Welfare Committee’s updated Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing was published. A GB-wide farmed trout joint Government and industry working group is now examining the issues raised in the report to explore the potential options for more detailed welfare at killing requirements. The Scottish Government are also working closely with the salmon industry.

Planning policy requires that Sustainable Drainage Systems are included in all new major developments, unless there is clear evidence that this would be inappropriate.

The Government is currently assessing how best to implement its ambitions on sustainable drainage, while also being mindful of the cumulative impact of new regulatory burdens on the development sector.

The Department for Transport regularly engages with National Highways to discuss its performance and management of the Strategic Road Network.

The Office for Road and Rail, as Highways Monitor, also plays an important role in monitoring on behalf of the Secretary of State, holding National Highways to account for its licence commitments to maintain, operate and improve motorways and major ‘A’ roads in England. Should the Office for Road and Rail deem that National Highways is not complying with its statutory functions or the requirements outlined in the Roads Investment Strategy, they may determine that enforcement action is appropriate.

Responsibility for litter collection on the A52 in Nottinghamshire lies with the local authorities in the area, in this case that is Broxtowe Borough Council, Nottingham City Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council.

National Highways is responsible for tree management on the A52 in Nottinghamshire, this includes cyclical inspections of trees within National Highways ownership and can include third party trees that are identified as being a significant and imminent hazard to the Strategic Road Network.

I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also measuring the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed.

Planning legislation identifies Active Travel England (ATE) as a statutory consultee for developments of at least 150 homes. In discharging its statutory requirements, ATE reviews how people can walk, wheel and cycle within and beyond site boundaries, and in most instances recommends where this can be improved. Where there is a clear link, ATE recommends that funding is secured from new developments towards schemes identified in Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs). Ultimately, local planning decisions are for local councils but through ATE’s comments, and its toolkits and guidance that are available for use by local councils, we are adding capacity, and capability, to deliver improvements in active travel provision as part of new housing developments.

The Government is committed to reforming adult social care and improving the quality of care for people in need. That’s why we are taking steps to ensure all adult social care is sustainably funded, including domiciliary care. In 2025/26, the Government is providing at least £600 million in new grant funding for social care, as part of a broader estimated real terms increase in local government spending power of approximately 3.2%.

We remain committed to growing the number of doctors in general practice (GP) and we are working to increase the GP workforce in England.

NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future, and we will provide £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, via the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, so patients can get the care they need. GPs are self-employed contractors to the National Health Service, and it is largely up to employers to determine how best to staff their Primary Care Network or GP to best meet the needs of their population.

The British Psychological Society accredits undergraduate and postgraduate psychology programmes. Accreditation is an important hallmark of quality that is extensively acknowledged by employers in the field, and an essential stepping-stone for students who are looking to progress to become a Chartered Psychologist after graduation.

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which is independent of the Government, is the statutory regulator of practitioner psychologists in the United Kingdom, meaning that only those who are registered with the HCPC and meet its standards can practise as practitioner psychologists.

In addition, the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care holds a list of accredited voluntary registers, which they have independently assessed against nine standards. In relation to psychological professions, accredited registers include: the British Psychoanalytic Council (a professional association of the psychoanalytic psychotherapy profession)’ s Register of practitioners; and the British Psychological Society’s Wider Psychological Workforce register of Wellbeing Practitioners and Associate Psychologists.

Employers in the health system are responsible for ensuring that their staff are trained to the required standards to deliver appropriate treatment for patients.

We have committed to training thousands more GPs across the country which will increase capacity in the system and take the pressure off those currently working in the system. NHS England is working to address training bottlenecks so the health service has enough staff for the future and we are providing £82 million to fund the recruitment of over 1,000 newly qualified GPs, via the additional roles reimbursement scheme, so patients can get the care they need.

Physician associates (PAs) can make a valuable contribution to patient care providing appointments and performing clinical and administrative tasks as part of the wider General Practice multi-disciplinary team with appropriate supervision. But they must not substitute the role of the GP within general practice.

GP practices are self-employed contractors to the NHS and it is largely up to employers to determine how best to staff their primary care network (PCN) or GP practice to best meet the needs of their population.

No such assessment has been made. Public consultation is required on proposals for new, or the expansion of existing, community water fluoridation schemes. The Water Fluoridation (Consultation) (England) Regulations 2022 set out the requirements, and is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/1163/contents/made

There have been a number of court cases in recent years regarding private hire vehicle (PHV) legislation. A consultation seeking views on the potential impact of these court cases on the PHV sector was recently run. Since publishing that consultation, the Court of Appeal has overturned the Uber Britannia Limited v Sefton Borough Council High Court declaration that was handed down in 2023. The Government is currently considering the responses to the consultation, as well as the impact of the recent Court of Appeal judgment and will publish a response in due course.

The expected impact of the original High Court judgments on the average PHV passenger was published in the consultation, and was calculated based on data contained in Table NTS0303 of the National Travel Survey available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts03-modal-comparisons#full-publication-update-history.

It is estimated that around two-thirds of the value of the private hire vehicle market already accounts for VAT as principal. This estimate has been calculated using the estimated size of the sector and data relating to VAT returns and receipts.

There have been a number of court cases in recent years regarding private hire vehicle (PHV) legislation. A consultation seeking views on the potential impact of these court cases on the PHV sector was recently run. Since publishing that consultation, the Court of Appeal has overturned the Uber Britannia Limited v Sefton Borough Council High Court declaration that was handed down in 2023. The Government is currently considering the responses to the consultation, as well as the impact of the recent Court of Appeal judgment and will publish a response in due course.

The expected impact of the original High Court judgments on the average PHV passenger was published in the consultation, and was calculated based on data contained in Table NTS0303 of the National Travel Survey available online here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/nts03-modal-comparisons#full-publication-update-history.

It is estimated that around two-thirds of the value of the private hire vehicle market already accounts for VAT as principal. This estimate has been calculated using the estimated size of the sector and data relating to VAT returns and receipts.

As the Prime Minister has made clear the Government recognises the serious impact that online crime has on victims and wider society.

This Government is working closely with tech companies to tackle criminal activity on their platforms. We are pressing ahead with the implementation of the Online Safety Act, which places duties on tech companies to take action to prevent the spread of illegal content online. The Act covers the full range of online harms including the most serious offences that can originate online, including child sexual exploitation and terrorism. We expect Ofcom to publish the first codes of practice on illegal content in December 2024. This will mark a significant shift in what we expect from platforms, as they will be required to assess illegal harms risk and implement appropriate safety measures by March 2025.

Harmful content is just one component of online crime. Cybercrime where criminals gain unauthorised access to systems through hacking and other illegal methods is a significant challenge to the UK and our prosperity and security. This international problem requires an international response. Recently in conjunction with Singapore the UK has led innovative new policy guidance for ransomware victims.

The new guidance agreed on 1st October 2024 at the Counter Ransomware Initiative summit will encourage organisations to carefully consider their options instead of defaulting to make payments to cyber criminals. This guidance also marks collaboration between government and the insurance industry on a global basis.

All Home Office staff, and contracted parties have a duty, under section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, to ensure that immigration, asylum, and nationality functions are discharged having regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK. The HO does not have a statutory responsibility for safeguarding - statutory agencies retain responsibility for all decisions on intervention activity.

On arrival in the UK, all asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children, have an interview which includes a series of questions specifically designed to ascertain potential indicators of trafficking. If indicators are noted, a referral is made to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). In the case of children, a safety plan is put in place by social services, whilst adults identified as potential victims of modern slavery are entitled to care with support provided by the Salvation Army.

The Home Office no longer accommodates Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children in hotels as of 31^st January 2024. Local authorities have a statutory duty under S20 of the Children Act 1989 to look after children in need in their area. This includes unaccompanied asylum seeking (UAS) children who either arrive in a local authority area or are transferred there under the mandated National Transfer Scheme (NTS). When a child is being looked after by a local authority, that local authority is under a duty to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare under the Children Act 1989.

The Home Office and its accommodation providers have robust processes in place to ensure that where an adult asylum seeker is at risk or vulnerable, they are referred to the appropriate statutory agencies such as the police, NHS and social services, to promote appropriate safeguarding interventions.

National planning policy sets out that local planning authorities should include policies in their Local Plan for making sufficient provision for water and sewerage infrastructure.

A developer can be required to enter into a section 106 agreement, as a requirement of obtaining planning permission, to make their development ‘acceptable in planning terms’. The section 106 requirement might, for example, require a contribution towards the provision of water and sewerage network upgrades needed due to the development.

Separately, developers also pay water companies for new connections to a water main, with water companies entitled to reclaim reasonable costs.

The Government welcomes the Competition and Market Authority’s final report following their year-long market study on housebuilding. Government will carefully consider the Authority’s recommendations and respond in due course.

The Government is already clear that it is committed to bring the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ private estates and unfair costs to an end – we will consult on the best way to achieve this. We will also implement new protections for homeowners on private estates in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

We are aware of the issues some homeowners are facing in obtaining finance where spray foam insulation has been installed.

We will bring forward proposals for system wide reform to the construction products regulatory regime in due course.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use are identified and pursued. Plans should also set out the contributions expected from development, such as that needed for transport and green infrastructure.

Any local authority that receives a contribution from development through the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) or section 106 planning obligations must prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. The Infrastructure Funding Statement should set out future spending priorities on infrastructure in line with up-to-date or emerging plan policies.

The Government is firmly committed to creating better access to play areas, and parks more widely. They are an essential part of local social infrastructure which supports more connected, stronger communities.

Local authorities must consider their obligations under the Equalities Act of 2010 in relation to work being done on play areas, this includes ensuring that they are accessible and inclusive. Furthermore, the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that planning policies and decisions should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places. The Government is committed to improving opportunities and outcomes for all disabled people and putting their voices at the heart of what we do.