Jane Hunt

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed enormous pressures on Local Authorities, and the government’s furlough scheme has assisted swimming pool operators during the lockdown phase.

Consideration is being given to how we can help Local Authorities open these important public assets particularly in areas where there is most need. Government Departments are working with Sport England and other sector bodies to identify the economic and social impact and look at what financial interventions are needed to ensure that pools which deliver so many health benefits for our communities can re-open.

Whilst parental alienation is not an explicit element of training within educational safeguarding practice, all schools and colleges must have regard to statutory safeguarding guidance, Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE). KCSIE sets out that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training and that all staff should read Part one of KCSIE as part of their induction process. Part one provides all staff with information regarding abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, exploitation and domestic violence. KCSIE is clear all staff should be in a position to identify abuse and neglect and should act immediately if they have any concerns about a child. The detail of the safeguarding training that staff receive is rightly a matter for individual schools who will base this on an assessment of the needs of their staff and their pupils.

The Teachers’ standards set the minimum requirements for teachers’ practice and conduct and make clear that all teachers must have ‘regard for the need to safeguard pupils' wellbeing’.

The department’s National Professional Qualifications for school leaders includes training for leaders on safeguarding. These qualifications have recently been revised to ensure that safeguarding is a core aspect.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. The Department has now extended the Get Help with Technology scheme to provide disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with technological support.

As of Monday 1 February 2021, over 920,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities. The Government is providing this significant injection of devices on top of an estimated 2.9 million laptops and tablets already owned by schools before the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The rollout of laptops and tablets through this scheme is being continually reviewed to ensure support is offered in the most effective way.

Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities who can lend these to children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

It continues to be our aim that all pupils, in all year groups, remain in school full-time. Being at school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing.

The leaders and staff of education settings have been doing an extraordinary job to remain open, keep settings safe, and provide education. Schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission.

The Department published guidance to support schools to welcome back all children from the start of the autumn term. The full guidance is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools should continue to undertake risk assessments and implement the system of controls set out in this guidance. The overarching principle to apply is reducing the number of contacts between children and staff. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate (in ‘bubbles’) and through maintaining the distance between individuals. These are not alternative options and both measures will help, but the balance between them will change depending on children’s ability to distance, the lay out of the school, and the feasibility of keeping distinct groups separate while offering a broad curriculum (especially at secondary schools).

Schools should look to maximise the use of their site and any associated available space. The Department does not, however, consider it necessary for schools to make significant adaptations to their site, because class sizes have been able to return to normal and spaces used by more than one class or group can be cleaned between use. Following a risk assessment, some schools may determine that small adaptations to their site are required. This will be at the discretion of individual schools, based on their particular circumstances.

When timetabling, groups should be kept apart and movement around the school site kept to a minimum. While passing briefly in the corridor or playground is low risk, schools should avoid creating busy corridors, entrances, and exits. Schools should also consider staggered break times and lunch times (and time for cleaning surfaces in the dining hall between groups).

The Department is considering arrangements for the Primary PE and Sport Premium in 2020/21 academic year.

As part of this consideration, Department for Education officials have held discussions with their counterparts at the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport regarding the primary PE and Sport Premium and wider PE and sport policy.

Defra has no plans to introduce a moratorium on new energy from waste (EfW) capacity in England. In the Resources and Waste Strategy we committed to monitoring residual waste treatment capacity and we intend to publish a fresh analysis over coming months. Local authorities are responsible for determining their waste treatment capacity needs at a local level via Waste Local Plans and need to factor national policy measures being implemented into their forward planning. A proposed plant must not result in overcapacity of EfW waste treatment at a national or local level.

Attracting new talent into food and farming is vital for a sustainable and productive agriculture sector. As set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan 2021 – 2024, this Government will provide funding to create lasting opportunities for new entrants to access land, infrastructure and support to establish successful and innovative businesses.

The new entrant scheme is being developed through a co-design process with stakeholders, including representatives of local authorities with council farm estates, new entrants, providers of innovation support, cooperative and community land organisations and private landowners.

In January 2022 the Secretary of State announced plans for pilot incubators to support new entrants to trial some of the solutions emerging from the co-design process. The details of these pilots are being worked up, with the aim to launch the pilot scheme this year.

We are engaging with the Department for Health and Social Care, the NHS and the MHRA on considerations for the medical sector as part of our review of the F-gas regulation. This includes one-to-one engagement and engagement through sector-specific stakeholder groups.

We are currently developing the new ‘Pet Abduction’ offence and the details of this new offence are subject to further consideration. The scope of the offence should include dogs, and the applicability to other types of animal will be explored during the development of the policy.

The Government recognises that short-term exposure to elevated levels of PM2.5 can impact health, particularly for vulnerable groups. This is why we provide alerts and advice during air pollution episodes to ensure people can access the information and health advice they need in order to minimise impacts. We are also taking action to increase public awareness about air pollution, including through an expanded £8 million funding pot which will be made available to local authorities through the Air Quality Grant scheme.

Under the Environment Bill, the Government will have a duty to bring forward a target for PM2.5 by October 2022. In setting our air quality targets, we have sought advice from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) on whether the priority aim should be long-term exposure rather than short-term. COMEAP advised that a focus on long-term average concentrations of PM2.5 is most appropriate to deliver public health benefits. This advice has been published and can be accessed via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fine-particulate-air-pollution-pm25-setting-targets.

The two air quality targets that we plan to set will focus on reducing the long-term exposure to PM2.5 and its associated health impacts, actions taken to achieve these targets will contribute to reducing average daily concentrations of PM2.5.

In England, all large incinerators, also known as energy from waste (EfW) plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must comply with strict emission limits set by the Industrial Emissions Directive (as amended under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018). Permits are not issued if the proposed plant will have unacceptable impacts on human health or the environment.

Emission limits within permits are set for total particulate matter (TPM), which includes both PM10 and PM2.5. New permit applications are assessed to ensure that impacts from both types of particulate matter will be acceptable by assuming worst-case scenarios, whereby TPM is made up entirely of either PM10 or PM2.5. This allows the EA to determine the potential impact from each of these pollutants were they to make up the entirety of the TPM emitted. This is a precautionary approach as in practice TPM will be a mixture of sizes, and so the true impact will be less. The EA has not carried out a formal assessment with regards to setting limits for emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 individually because the TPM approach delivers effective control of both PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.

The EA takes into account the existing concentration of particulate matter in the areas surrounding EfW plants when setting TPM emission limits. The EA assesses new EfW plant permit applications using air quality modelling to predict the worst-case scenario for the concentration of particulates arising from the plant for both PM10 and PM2.5. This concentration is then added to the existing (background) concentration to determine the total predicted environmental concentration, which is then compared against the relevant air quality standard. If impacts from the EfW plant could cause an air quality standard to be exceeded, then a lower limit for total particulate matter could be specified in the permit, or the permit may be refused.

Finally, on the potential merits of live emissions data monitoring for EfW plants; all EfW plants in England are already required to continuously monitor emissions of oxides of nitrogen, total particulate matter, carbon monoxide, total organic carbon, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen chloride. Some are also required to continuously monitor ammonia.

Operators are required to report the results from monitoring to the EA every 3 months, and to submit annual reports of their emissions to the EA’s Pollution Inventory. The EA also carries out regular inspections and audits to ensure plants comply with their permits.

In England, all large incinerators, also known as energy from waste (EfW) plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must comply with strict emission limits set by the Industrial Emissions Directive (as amended under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018). Permits are not issued if the proposed plant will have unacceptable impacts on human health or the environment.

Emission limits within permits are set for total particulate matter (TPM), which includes both PM10 and PM2.5. New permit applications are assessed to ensure that impacts from both types of particulate matter will be acceptable by assuming worst-case scenarios, whereby TPM is made up entirely of either PM10 or PM2.5. This allows the EA to determine the potential impact from each of these pollutants were they to make up the entirety of the TPM emitted. This is a precautionary approach as in practice TPM will be a mixture of sizes, and so the true impact will be less. The EA has not carried out a formal assessment with regards to setting limits for emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 individually because the TPM approach delivers effective control of both PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.

The EA takes into account the existing concentration of particulate matter in the areas surrounding EfW plants when setting TPM emission limits. The EA assesses new EfW plant permit applications using air quality modelling to predict the worst-case scenario for the concentration of particulates arising from the plant for both PM10 and PM2.5. This concentration is then added to the existing (background) concentration to determine the total predicted environmental concentration, which is then compared against the relevant air quality standard. If impacts from the EfW plant could cause an air quality standard to be exceeded, then a lower limit for total particulate matter could be specified in the permit, or the permit may be refused.

Finally, on the potential merits of live emissions data monitoring for EfW plants; all EfW plants in England are already required to continuously monitor emissions of oxides of nitrogen, total particulate matter, carbon monoxide, total organic carbon, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen chloride. Some are also required to continuously monitor ammonia.

Operators are required to report the results from monitoring to the EA every 3 months, and to submit annual reports of their emissions to the EA’s Pollution Inventory. The EA also carries out regular inspections and audits to ensure plants comply with their permits.

In England, all large incinerators, also known as energy from waste (EfW) plants, are regulated by the Environment Agency (EA) and must comply with strict emission limits set by the Industrial Emissions Directive (as amended under the EU Withdrawal Act 2018). Permits are not issued if the proposed plant will have unacceptable impacts on human health or the environment.

Emission limits within permits are set for total particulate matter (TPM), which includes both PM10 and PM2.5. New permit applications are assessed to ensure that impacts from both types of particulate matter will be acceptable by assuming worst-case scenarios, whereby TPM is made up entirely of either PM10 or PM2.5. This allows the EA to determine the potential impact from each of these pollutants were they to make up the entirety of the TPM emitted. This is a precautionary approach as in practice TPM will be a mixture of sizes, and so the true impact will be less. The EA has not carried out a formal assessment with regards to setting limits for emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 individually because the TPM approach delivers effective control of both PM10 and PM2.5 emissions.

The EA takes into account the existing concentration of particulate matter in the areas surrounding EfW plants when setting TPM emission limits. The EA assesses new EfW plant permit applications using air quality modelling to predict the worst-case scenario for the concentration of particulates arising from the plant for both PM10 and PM2.5. This concentration is then added to the existing (background) concentration to determine the total predicted environmental concentration, which is then compared against the relevant air quality standard. If impacts from the EfW plant could cause an air quality standard to be exceeded, then a lower limit for total particulate matter could be specified in the permit, or the permit may be refused.

Finally, on the potential merits of live emissions data monitoring for EfW plants; all EfW plants in England are already required to continuously monitor emissions of oxides of nitrogen, total particulate matter, carbon monoxide, total organic carbon, sulphur dioxide and hydrogen chloride. Some are also required to continuously monitor ammonia.

Operators are required to report the results from monitoring to the EA every 3 months, and to submit annual reports of their emissions to the EA’s Pollution Inventory. The EA also carries out regular inspections and audits to ensure plants comply with their permits.

Our Clean Air Strategy, published in 2019, set out the comprehensive action required across all parts of Government and society to reduce our emissions of five key pollutants, including particulates, to meet legally binding targets for 2020 and 2030.

We are taking action now to deliver these commitments. For example, we recently passed legislation to phase out the sale of house coal and small volumes of wet wood for domestic burning across England – measures focused on tackling a key source of PM_2.5.

Our landmark Environment Bill delivers key parts of the Strategy. It introduces a duty to set a legally binding target for fine particulate matter, in addition to a further long-term air quality target. In August, Government published a policy paper on environmental targets which outlined our objectives for air quality targets – to reduce the annual mean level of PM_2.5 in ambient air and reduce population exposure to PM_2.5 in the long-term.

Emissions from incinerators in England are regulated by the Environment Agency under environmental permits. Permits contain limits for total particulate matter (TPM) which includes particulates of all sizes, including PM_2.5. All incinerator permits issued since 3 December 2019 have contained a lower daily average TPM limit of 5 mg/Nm³ (compared with permits issued before then for which the limit was 10 mg/Nm³). Permits for incinerators issued before 3 December 2019 will be changed to require compliance with the lower 5 mg/Nm³ limit by 3 December 2023. Operators must continuously monitor their TPM emissions and the Environment Agency carries out regular inspections and audits to ensure that plants are complying with their permits.

Under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime & Policing Act 2014 each individual Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) should be reviewed every three years by the relevant local authority. This allows PSPOs to be assessed for their efficacy and to be possibly amended or cancelled.

In addition to PSPOs there are other tools that police and local authorities can use to control dogs and encourage responsible ownership. The 2014 Act includes specific measures to enable the police and local authorities to tackle irresponsible dog ownership before a dog attack occurs. The main tool to combat this form of irresponsible dog ownership is the Community Protection Notice (CPN). CPNs can be issued by local authority officers or the police on dog owners, or anyone temporarily in charge of a dog at the time of an incident, where dogs are behaving in an unruly way; for example, if a dog is running loose in a park and threatening children, or where a dog threatens, or is allowed to attack another dog.

The CPN could require the dog’s owner, or the person in charge of it, to take appropriate action to prevent a reoccurrence of the offending behaviour. To breach a CPN is a criminal offence and could lead to a significant penalty. The Government is determined to crack down on irresponsible dog ownership and to that end we are encouraging police forces across the country to use these new tools.

We are working closely with local authorities, retailers, food businesses and charities to enable blind and partially sighted people to access food through a variety of ways including: volunteers shopping for them, food deliveries from local retailers, wholesalers and food businesses, many of whom will take orders over the phone, as well increasing access to supermarkets for a priority delivery or click and collect slots. We have been able to secure a limited number of online delivery slots for the dedicated use of vulnerable people having difficulties getting food. The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), alongside local authorities and other charities, can now help vulnerable individuals access these delivery slots.

The NHS Volunteer Responders programme can be used by people who need to access food and essential supplies - they can be reached by calling 0808 196 3646 or visiting nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk. In addition, various sight loss charities are working directly with some of the major supermarkets to take forward some practical initiatives to help people with sight loss to access supermarkets.

We are conscious that vulnerable people, including those who are blind or partially sighted, need further information on support services as social distancing restrictions ease. We are working closely with local authorities, charities and retailers to understand how changes in Government advice may affect accessibility and will update the community in due course.

Food and drink exports are a success story. Exports have increased by 24% in real terms since 2010. The Government is determined to help maintain existing and develop new export opportunities. This includes through ongoing market access and via showcasing and promoting our excellent food and drink even more in the years to come.

Exports are an important driver of growth in the food and drink sector, allowing it to become more resilient, competitive and profitable. The UK’s growing reputation for high quality food and drink, with high standards of food safety, animal welfare and sustainability, is an excellent platform to increase overseas demand for our products further. Defra’s ‘Food is GREAT’ campaign is raising the profile and reputation of British food and drink overseas by building global demand and increasing positive perceptions of the UK’s food and drink products, as demonstrated by recent campaign activity in Japan to promote beef and lamb exports from the UK, following opening up of market access last year.

Defra, in collaboration with the Department for International Trade and representatives of the food and drink sector, is developing a replacement for the existing International Action Plan for Food and Drink, which will set out the future export ambitions for the sector. This includes reviewing the support we offer in market, building on the success of Defra’s first agriculture counsellor in Beijing.

As set out in the Government’s election manifesto, we have ambitious goals for British trade. As of 31 January 2020, when the UK left the EU, we had successfully concluded and signed trade continuity agreements with 48 countries. This accounts for £110 billion of UK trade in 2018. We will be continuing our programme to replicate existing EU trade agreements with trading partners to ensure continuity for UK businesses following the transition period. An up-to-date list of trade continuity agreements, signed and in discussion, is available on the GOV.UK website at: www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-trade-agreements-with-non-eu-countries.

We aim to have 80 per cent of UK trade with countries covered by free trade agreements within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. This will further present new routes to market for British farmers. We are also working hard to secure a free trade agreement with the EU that will provide tariff-free access to the EU market for UK goods, and facilitative customs arrangements that will ensure smooth trade.