James Sunderland

Throughout the UK’s Presidency year, we will work with Egypt as the incoming Presidency, and all countries, to deliver on the agreed outcomes in the Glasgow Climate Pact and keep 1.5 in reach.

In doing so we will continue to champion science, especially the IPCC and its major reports in 2022, and the urgency of action on emissions reductions, adaptation, finance to support developing nations and loss and damage.

The Government recognises the value of precious community assets. That is why we created legal protections for Assets of Community Value. And why we have launched the Community Ownership Fund, which will invest £150 million to support community groups to protect assets at risk.

The Fund is already supporting 21 groups, and over 4 years will help many more communities take ownership of local assets.

This Government is supporting the automotive sector’s transition to zero emission vehicles and has committed £2.5bn for vehicle grants and infrastructure. The Net Zero Strategy announced a further £350m for the Automotive Transformation Fund, on top of £500m previously committed. Recent investments by Nissan, Stellantis and Ford show strong business confidence.

Aircraft pilots and crew are not required to complete a PLF as the UK Health Security Agency has introduced separate contact tracing protocols for this cohort of transport workers.

No assessment has been made. Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities have a duty to assess the care needs of their local populations.

A small proportion of children over 12 years old have or will receive full vaccination following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice. International standards for travel require a full course to be recognised as ‘fully vaccinated’. While there are some countries which require full vaccination for under 16 year olds, others treat under 16 year olds as fully vaccinated, accept testing, or in a small number of cases accept recovery as equivalent to full vaccination. We are exploring ways to provide fully vaccinated 12 to 15 year olds with a travel NHS COVID Pass.

The announcement by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 17 April that Iran had started uranium enrichment up to 60% using advanced centrifuges is a serious and deeply worrying development. This is the latest step in Iran's continued and systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). The production of highly enriched uranium is an important step in the production of a nuclear weapon. Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level.

The UK has made multiple official level representations to the Iranians on this issue, both bilaterally and as the E3 alongside the governments of France and Germany. As the E3 said in a statement on 14 April, this step is contrary to the constructive spirit and good faith of discussions in Vienna that have the objective of finding a rapid diplomatic solution to revitalise and restore the JCPoA.

We continue to work with the parties to the JCPoA and the US Administration to seize the diplomatic opportunity for a full return to the JCPoA. We call upon Iran to avoid any escalatory measures which make a return to mutual compliance harder to achieve.

The Government has announced a £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund to protect the cultural sectors through the pandemic.

To date, more than £790m of grants and loans have been allocated to over 3,000 cultural organisations in England. In addition, £100 million has been allocated in direct support to our national cultural institutions and the English Heritage Trust.

This unprecedented investment will help to protect jobs and organisations across the country.

Yesterday the Government announced the launch of the Independent Human Rights Act Review, which is a key manifesto commitment of Government.

The Review will be a technical examination of the operation of the Human Rights Act, chaired by Sir Peter Gross. It will focus on the relationship between domestic courts and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the relationship between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature.

The Panel have been requested to provide a detailed, independent piece of advice outlining options for reform by Summer 2021. A government response will subsequently be published.

Last year, the Legal Aid Agency spent around £1.7bn on legal aid for those who need it – this government is committed to maintaining access to justice. Wider than legal aid, we are enhancing the support on offer to litigants in person by providing a further £3m of funding and investing up to £5m in a Legal Support Innovation Fund.

In addition, we are making a number of changes to legal aid. This includes undertaking a comprehensive review of the means test, improving and simplifying the exceptional case funding scheme, making face-to-face advice more readily available in a number of civil matters, and undertaking an awareness campaign for legal aid and legal support.

We are working closely together on the veterans railcard. My officials continue to work with both the Department for Transport and Welsh Government to ensure that the Veterans’ Railcard is accepted on services for which they are responsible.