Jamie Wallis

The initial phase of the Homes for Ukraine scheme is designed for sponsors with a named Ukrainian beneficiary. We are exploring ways in which connections can be built between Sponsors and Ukrainians that do not yet know each other, including working with NGOs.

We are evaluating our Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, which will allow us to gather information on the barriers and enablers to take up. We are also working on a digital tool to help parents understand the options available to them and make it easier to access Shared Parental Leave.

The Government is committed to protecting and promoting the combined strengths of our Union, the most successful political and economic union in history. It is vital that we continue to work together across the UK on our common challenges including recovering from Covid-19 and supporting the NHS.

My Right Honourable Friend, the Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities, is now the Minister responsible for the Union portfolio.

We are implementing an exciting and ambitious reform programme to level up the further education sector, ensuring it becomes a powerhouse that supplies the skills employers need, and equips young people and adults to have productive and fulfilling careers.

On 21 January 2021 we published the Skills for Jobs white paper focused on giving people the skills they need, in a way that suits them, so they can get great jobs in sectors the economy needs and boost this country’s productivity. Area based planning is a key focus; Local Skills Improvement Plans will be introduced to help providers to better serve the needs of their local area.

We are also ensuring people have opportunities to upskill and reskill at different points in their life by delivering my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This includes introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement from 2025, funding people for their first level 3 (A level equivalent) course, and short, flexible ways to train through employer-led bootcamps. These measures will be a key enabler in levelling-up for those who do not have university level education.

We have put in place a number of programmes and policies to address the long-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, such as the COVID-19 catch-up premium and the Skills Recovery Package, which is focused on supporting young people. This includes incentives for employers to take on new apprentices, tripling the number of traineeships, and a new high-value course offer for school leavers.

The Red Meat Levy Redistribution Scheme came into operation on 1 April 2021. It enables the transfer of levy, collected at slaughter, between the English, Scottish and Welsh levy bodies. This will recognise that in some cases, animals have spent some of their life and gained some of their value in another part of Great Britain. The levy will be apportioned on how long animals have spent in each country.

The Government remains committed to confirming the status of UK issued Blue Badges for motorists visiting Europe. Twenty countries have already committed to recognising Blue Badges and are listed on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-using-it-in-the-eu/using-a-blue-badge-in-the-european-union

Discussions continue with a number of countries. It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the progress of discussions while they are on-going.

In response to Putin's assault on Ukraine we have introduced the largest and most severe economic sanctions that Russia has ever faced, targeting Putin's war machine. Since the invasion we have sanctioned over 1400 individuals and businesses/entities. We are targeting oligarchs close to Putin without fear or favour, and we will continue to do so.

In making designations under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA) the Government is required to act in accordance with rights conferred by the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. SAMLA provides designated persons with a right to review their designation and designated persons are able to challenge that decision in UK courts.

The UN conventional arms embargo on Iran is due to expire on 18 October. The UK, alongside our E3 partners (France and Germany), remain concerned about the impact of the expiry on the region. Despite E3 efforts to find a compromise in the UN Security Council, there was no consensus to extend the embargo. We remain committed to countering Iranian proliferation to non-state actors in the region. The EU arms embargo and UN ballistic missile restrictions will remain in place as will other prohibitions on the proliferation of weapons, including to Lebanese Hezbollah, Iraqi militia groups and the Houthis. Regional security needs to be addressed through any renewed negotiations with Iran, regional dialogue and by working with partners in the region.

The UK has been clear that the scheduled expiry of the UN conventional arms embargo in October 2020 would have major implications for regional security and stability. The UK Government continue to engage regional partners, the US, and others, to find a solution to Iranian proliferation in the region, whilst upholding the authority and integrity of the UN Security Council. In the meantime, the EU arms embargo and UN ballistic missile restrictions on Iran will remain in place until at least 2023. We will also continue to enforce sanctions regimes including those under UNSCRs 1540, 1701, and 2216 which prohibit the proliferation of weapons to Lebanese Hizballah and the Houthis in Yemen. The UK encourages all states to implement national export control best practice in support of these regimes.

We warmly welcome the agreement between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. This is an historic step which sees the normalisation of relations between three great friends of the UK. We welcome both the decision to normalise relations, as well as the suspension of plans for annexation - a move the UK has opposed as it would have been counterproductive to securing peace in the region. The UK is committed to making progress towards a two-state solution and is strongly supportive of a regional approach to peace. We profoundly hope that this moment can be used as a step towards direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Foreign Secretary announced on 30 March an important new partnership between the Government and airlines to fly home more stranded British travellers, where commercial routes do not exist. The Government will provide up to £75 million financial support to enable special charter flights to priority countries, operated by airlines including Virgin, Easyjet, Jet 2 and Titan. This service has already begun, with flights earlier this week from Ghana and Tunisia.

Our High Commissioner in Canberra has written to the Australian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on this issue. We are signposting British nationals to commercial flight options and continuing to explore new routes by which they can travel home. We have also set up an online registration tool for any British Nationals in Australia who require our support. Found at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/australia/return-to-the-uk. Over 50,000 British Nationals have left Australia on commercial flights in the last month.

In New Zealand, the British High Commission in Wellington is fully staffed and doing all it can to support British Nationals at this time, including finding routes home. Our High Commission remains open to issue emergency travel documents. However, given the New Zealand Government's directive on social distancing, we are asking people not to visit our High Commission in Wellington or our Consulate in Auckland in person, and instead reach out via our online webform. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/new-zealand/coronavirus. Between commercial and charter flights, over 4,200 British Nationals have departed since 31 March.

I continue to speak regularly to my international counterparts on a wide range of security issues, including the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UK works closely with our international partners on Cyber Security through bilateral and multilateral fora including via the G7 meeting of Interior Ministers I hosted in London in September 2021.

We have recently launched the National Cyber Strategy supported by £2.6 billion of new investment and a Government Cyber Security Strategy. This investment will strengthen the response from law enforcement, who partner with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Cyber Force in order to keep the UK safe.

The Ministry of Defence has no plans to consider the establishment of a Civil Defence Force at this time. Such matters would fall within the remit of the Home Office. Defence support to Government Departments or civilian authorities in the UK is undertaken via the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) system which is the mature and well-understood process that enabled Defence to support the Government's successful response to COVID-19 over the last two years.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental freedom that underpins our democracy. The Bill of Rights will strengthen protections that support and preserve the space for wide and democratic debate.

The Residential Women’s Centre in south Wales will offer women an intensive residential support package in their own community to address the underlying causes of their offending.

Following an extensive search earlier this year, the Atlantic Hotel and Sunnyside House were two of the properties put on a shortlist of possible suitable sites for the Residential Women’s Centre.

We have now completed further technical assessments of the Atlantic Hotel. Following consideration of the changes that would be needed to make it suitable for the vulnerable women with whom we will be working, we have decided the site is no longer an option for the residential women’s centre.

We are still reviewing the results of the technical assessments of Sunnyside House.

We want prison officers to have a long and successful career within HM Prison and Probation Service. We have recruited some 4,200 more prison officers over the past three years and we are working hard to retain our staff, investing in additional pay, training and the tools staff need to do their jobs safely.

There has been a specific focus on improving the induction processes that aim to ease the transition into the prison officer job whilst also providing care and support for new recruits and the offer of additional training. These interventions are intended to reduce staff turnover in the early stages of employment.

The Prison Officer Entry Level Training has recently been redeveloped into an apprenticeship that will launch in Summer 2020. The apprenticeship aims to improve retention and build a portfolio of experience through on-site training and reflective learning over a longer period.

All staff have access to services including 24/7 counselling, trauma support and occupational health assessments. In addition, there is work being undertaken directly with Governors to address local issues that will support experienced staff and new recruits to remain in the service.

Staff are provided with the appropriate equipment and training to enable them to maintain a safe and secure work place and to create an environment which is rewarding to work in and which promotes the values needed to rehabilitate offenders. This includes the introduction of introduce body-worn cameras, police-style restraints and PAVA incapacitant spray.

For sites where the local labour/employment market make it hard to recruit and retain staff, market supplements (regional adjustments and weightings) are used together with a tailored approach to recruitment advertising to ensure that we are competitive in the local labour market.

Colleagues across Cabinet are delighted that the UK and Scottish Governments have made a landmark agreement to establish two new Freeports in Scotland.

With up to £52 million of UK government funding, freeports will support regeneration of communities across Scotland by creating higher quality, better-paid jobs whilst helping achieve our Net Zero agenda.

This builds on the UK Government's plan to level up the whole of the UK.