John McDonnell

The Chief Executive of the Government Property Agency will endeavour to prioritise a response to the specific issues highlighted in the next few days, no later than 1 November.

Pay, T&C of OCS employees is managed by OCS. On all GPA Facilities Management contracts, we have a requirement for the payment of the Real Living Wage and London Living Wage.

On 29 July, the Government published the 2024/25 Pay Remit Guidance for the Civil Service on Gov.uk.

The Bill will give us the powers we need to make necessary changes to the product regulation framework. Secondary legislation is subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent and subsequent parliamentary time in passing any secondary legislation. It is too early to commit to a detailed timetable for secondary legislation, but we will continue to work with stakeholders as this develops.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide Government with enabling powers to introduce new requirements on online marketplaces. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authorities already carry out a range of regulatory actions to reduce the risk of unsafe products being sold online.

Government will consider any changes to resourcing requirements for OPSS within the Spending Review and departmental business planning processes. Local authority budgets are set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and allocated by local authorities according to their priorities.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide Government with enabling powers to update regulations. The main regulations are listed in the recently published Government response to the Product Safety Review.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards runs a national programme to reduce the risk of non-compliant products sold online. Through monitoring and evaluating marketplaces, including purchasing and testing products, we assess the prevalence of unsafe toys and take appropriate enforcement action.

While UK regulations are clear that toys must be safe, the Bill will enable regulations to be updated to better reflect modern supply chains, including online marketplaces.

UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe. Third-party sellers have clear obligations under legislation where they are either producers or distributors.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards carries out a range of regulatory actions to reduce the risk of unsafe products being sold online by third-party sellers. This includes test purchasing, taking enforcement action, providing guidance to sellers, and working with Local Authority Trading Standards and Border Force to undertake co-ordinated interventions.

In addition, the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill will provide powers to update the responsibilities of online supply chain actors, including third-party sellers.

Capacity already exists to enforce the provisions proposed in the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill in both the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and in local authorities. Government will consider any changes to resourcing requirements for OPSS within the Spending Review and departmental business planning processes. Local authority budgets are set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and allocated by local authorities according to their priorities.

A statistical publication estimating the rate of fuel poverty for those in receipt of Winter Fuel Payment in 2023, and the proportion of households who would be in fuel poverty under new eligibility criteria, will be published in due course.

Exporting horses and other equines from Great Britain for slaughter is banned under the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024.

More broadly, the Government is reviewing options to improve equine identification and traceability.

The Civil Procedure rules are a matter for the Ministry of Justice. MOJ is working to increase the number of legal disputes resolved without the need for a judicial decision. They will monitor the impact of the changes and will continue engaging with stakeholders as they keep all methods of alternative dispute resolution under review to explore opportunities to increase take up both before and after legal proceedings have started. The Secretary of State has not made an assessment of them.

With reference to CEDAWinLaw, in the Judicial Review on changes to State Pension age, both the High Court and Court of Appeal found there was no discrimination on any grounds.

There is no subsisting legal dispute, so it would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State to enter into mediation with this group.

DWP does not collect or record the cause of a customer’s death and will not usually be made aware of how a customer died. Cause of death is determined by a doctor or a coroner. There is no requirement for a Coroner to inform the department of the outcome of an inquest unless they are named as an Interested Person at that inquest - or the coroner decides to issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report to the department. This means the department is not able to collect the information suggested.

Attempted suicides and suicides are tragic and complex issues. The department takes very seriously any suggestion that its actions, including any related to the fitness for work test, may have contributed to one. Where appropriate the department will undertake an Internal Process Review to establish if anything should have been done differently or if there are any lessons the department can learn.

Thematic learning from these serious cases is fed into the departments Serious Case Panel, which has an external chair, and considers a range of evidence from across the department. We are looking at ways to increase the amount of information made public about the work of the Serious Case Panel without jeopardising the privacy of the customers whose cases have been reviewed.

The Department does not routinely capture data aligned to a 6-week clearance rate. However, we do capture data against a 50-day clearance rate and our performance is published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Of 248,000 Pension Credit claims cleared in performance year 2023/24. 192,000 were cleared within the planned 50-day timescale, equating to 77.7%. 56,000, 22.3% were cleared outside of the of the 10-week planned timescale.

This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.

Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Allowance alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

Our continued commitment to the triple lock means the full new state pension is forecast to increase by a further £1,700 over the course of the parliament.

We are also providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.

In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the government had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.

The Regulations entered into force on 16 September, the first day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this legislation because the effect is on individuals and private households rather than businesses or voluntary sector organisations.

In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to an equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements. The equality analysis was published on Friday 13th September, and can be found here: FOI2024_65546_13_09_24.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Codes are created for SNOMED CT by one of the following organisations:

- UK National Release Centre (NRC), hosted by the Technology and Information Standards (TIS) group in NHS England;

- SNOMED International, a not-for-profit organisation that owns, administers and develops SNOMED CT;

- any other NRC in any other SNOMED CT member country.

All requests made to NHS England must be compliant with the Editorial Policy and are processed in accordance with the SNOMED CT UK Edition Governance and Change Request Process. Concepts are added or changed in SNOMED CT by NHS England terminologists in line with International and UK Editorial Principles as defined by SNOMED International at the recommendation of international clinical advisory groups. The authoring process includes a technical quality assurance and peer review. Once the authoring process has been completed and quality assured, the files are published on the Terminology Reference data Update Distribution website.

There is currently a code in SNOMED CT for myalgic encephalomyelitis. The Fully Specified Name (FSN) is ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome (disorder)’. The FSN for a code is not intended for use by a clinician. Instead, a clinician is expected to make use of the synonyms for the code, which include myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Clinical systems usually display a ‘preferred term’, deemed to be the most clinically appropriate way of expressing a concept. The preferred term for the code ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome (disorder)’ is ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’.

NHS England is reviewing the preferred term to align it with the current most clinically appropriate term for the UK, with the preferred term ‘ME/CFS - myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome’ being considered.

Codes are created for SNOMED CT by one of the following organisations:

- UK National Release Centre (NRC), hosted by the Technology and Information Standards (TIS) group in NHS England;

- SNOMED International, a not-for-profit organisation that owns, administers and develops SNOMED CT;

- any other NRC in any other SNOMED CT member country.

All requests made to NHS England must be compliant with the Editorial Policy and are processed in accordance with the SNOMED CT UK Edition Governance and Change Request Process. Concepts are added or changed in SNOMED CT by NHS England terminologists in line with International and UK Editorial Principles as defined by SNOMED International at the recommendation of international clinical advisory groups. The authoring process includes a technical quality assurance and peer review. Once the authoring process has been completed and quality assured, the files are published on the Terminology Reference data Update Distribution website.

There is currently a code in SNOMED CT for myalgic encephalomyelitis. The Fully Specified Name (FSN) is ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome (disorder)’. The FSN for a code is not intended for use by a clinician. Instead, a clinician is expected to make use of the synonyms for the code, which include myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Clinical systems usually display a ‘preferred term’, deemed to be the most clinically appropriate way of expressing a concept. The preferred term for the code ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome (disorder)’ is ‘Chronic fatigue syndrome’.

NHS England is reviewing the preferred term to align it with the current most clinically appropriate term for the UK, with the preferred term ‘ME/CFS - myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome’ being considered.

The Department funds research in health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and are actively exploring next steps for research in these areas. This includes a roundtable I hosted on long COVID on 17 October 2024, which included discussion on how long COVID research is relevant to other post-viral syndromes and how to stimulate the research community to undertake future research.

Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested almost £2.3 million in research programme funding for ME/CFS. In addition, the NIHR and the MRC are also providing £3.2 million of co-funding towards the DecodeME study, which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition, and in doing so increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.

In the same period, the Government, through the NIHR and the MRC, has invested over £57 million in long COVID research, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The NIHR specifically has invested £42.7 million towards research funding for long COVID. The projects funded aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including ME/CFS and long COVID. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Publishing the consultation response and delivery plan for ME/CFS is a key priority for me.

The Department funds research in health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) are committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment of long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and are actively exploring next steps for research in these areas. This includes a roundtable I hosted on long COVID on 17 October 2024, which included discussion on how long COVID research is relevant to other post-viral syndromes and how to stimulate the research community to undertake future research.

Over the last five years, the NIHR has invested almost £2.3 million in research programme funding for ME/CFS. In addition, the NIHR and the MRC are also providing £3.2 million of co-funding towards the DecodeME study, which aims to understand if there is a genetic component to the condition, and in doing so increase our understanding of ME/CFS to support the development of diagnostic tests and targeted treatments.

In the same period, the Government, through the NIHR and the MRC, has invested over £57 million in long COVID research, with almost £40 million of this through two specific research calls on long COVID. The NIHR specifically has invested £42.7 million towards research funding for long COVID. The projects funded aim to improve our understanding of the diagnosis and underlying mechanisms of the disease and the effectiveness of both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies and interventions, as well as to evaluate clinical care.

The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health including ME/CFS and long COVID. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality. In all areas, the amount of NIHR funding depends on the volume and quality of scientific activity.

Publishing the consultation response and delivery plan for ME/CFS is a key priority for me.

We are committed to reducing long waits for children’s community services and improving timely access. National Health Service planning guidance asks local systems to reduce overall waiting times for community health services, with a particular focus on reducing the longest waits.

NHS England does not hold any specific data on staffing levels for children’s community health services, but has commissioned NHS Benchmarking to develop further understanding of the specific service lines and associated waiting times. NHS England has advised that this should be available by April 2025.

We will launch a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. The 10-Year Health Plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, sickness to prevention.

There are no current plans to compensate those who are currently in the UK and have been impacted by the revocation of Ethero’s Sponsor Licence do not find themselves in a detrimental position so far as the continuity of employment is concerned.

Ethero were removed from the register of licensed sponsors for failing in their obligations towards workers under their sponsorship.

The UK government cannot underwrite the immigration costs of those seeking a visa to come to work in the UK and has no plans to compensate workers for (a) medical certificates, (b) TLSContact visa processing fees, (c) flights and (d) other costs incurred.

Provisions have been put in place to make certain that there is no detriment to individuals who were sponsored by Ethero. However, it is not within the remit of the Home Office to support workers in pursuing compensation claims.

The Home Office has also ensured that there is continuity of work with alternative sponsors for those who were originally attached to Ethero’s sponsor licence.

Organisations seeking to become scheme operators pass through a multifaceted selection process. This includes assessment and endorsement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as holding licencing from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. They must also successfully apply for a sponsor licence from the Home Office.

We will continually work to ensure strong due diligence and safeguards in the sponsor licensing process.

Provisions have been put in place to make certain that there is no detriment to individuals who were sponsored by Ethero. However, it is not within the remit of the Home Office to support workers in pursuing compensation claims.

The Home Office has also ensured that there is continuity of work with alternative sponsors for those who were originally attached to Ethero’s sponsor licence.

Organisations seeking to become scheme operators pass through a multifaceted selection process. This includes assessment and endorsement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as holding licencing from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. They must also successfully apply for a sponsor licence from the Home Office.

We will continually work to ensure strong due diligence and safeguards in the sponsor licensing process.

Provisions have been put in place to make certain that there is no detriment to individuals who were sponsored by Ethero. However, it is not within the remit of the Home Office to support workers in pursuing compensation claims.

The Home Office has also ensured that there is continuity of work with alternative sponsors for those who were originally attached to Ethero’s sponsor licence.

Organisations seeking to become scheme operators pass through a multifaceted selection process. This includes assessment and endorsement by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as well as holding licencing from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority. They must also successfully apply for a sponsor licence from the Home Office.

We will continually work to ensure strong due diligence and safeguards in the sponsor licensing process.

There are two Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) officers who work in Northern Ireland and one officer who works in Scotland. The GLAA can deploy their officers working in other regions to support the officers in Northern Ireland and Scotland in undertaking regulatory activity when there is capacity and a need to do so.

The number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Personnel, by location, as at 1 July 2024 can be found below.

1. MOD Personnel includes UK Armed Forces Regulars, MOD Civil Servants and Locally Engaged Civilians.
2. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the country containing the home port of their ship.
3. Figures by location can only be provided as at 1 July 2024, rather than 16 October 2024, in line with published statistics.
4. Elsewhere/ Unspecified includes all regions where there are a small number of personnel to prevent inadvertent disclosure and personnel where their exact location is unspecified. This also includes Locally Engaged Civilians, as location data below country level is not available for this cohort.

The numbers of MOD Personnel stationed in Germany, 1 April 2007 - 1 April 2024 can be found below.

Notes/caveats

5. MOD Personnel includes UK Armed Forces Regulars, MOD Civil Servants and Locally Engaged Civilians.
6. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the country containing the home port of their ship.
7. Data prior to 1 April 2007 is not held.

The number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Personnel, by location, as at 1 July 2024 can be found below.

1. MOD Personnel includes UK Armed Forces Regulars, MOD Civil Servants and Locally Engaged Civilians.
2. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the country containing the home port of their ship.
3. Figures by location can only be provided as at 1 July 2024, rather than 16 October 2024, in line with published statistics.
4. Elsewhere/ Unspecified includes all regions where there are a small number of personnel to prevent inadvertent disclosure and personnel where their exact location is unspecified. This also includes Locally Engaged Civilians, as location data below country level is not available for this cohort.

The numbers of MOD Personnel stationed in Germany, 1 April 2007 - 1 April 2024 can be found below.

Notes/caveats

5. MOD Personnel includes UK Armed Forces Regulars, MOD Civil Servants and Locally Engaged Civilians.
6. The figures are based on service personnel’s stationed location and not their location of residence. Personnel deployed on operations to an area away from their stationed location are shown against their most recent stationed location. The Royal Navy/Royal Marines personnel on sea service are included against the country containing the home port of their ship.
7. Data prior to 1 April 2007 is not held.

For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the Ministry of Defence will neither confirm, deny, nor comment on any foreign nations' military aircraft movement or operations within UK airspace.

The following sites are currently owned by the Ministry of Defence in Germany.

The British Army also uses the Wulfen site in Dorsten for ammunition storage, however this site is German owned.

From the start of withdrawal in 2010 to date, it has cost approximately £2.15 billion to remove the British Army footprint from Germany.

The previous Government published the Equality Impact Assessment relating to changes resulting from the Elections Act 2022. This was published on 5 July 2021 and can be found here: Elections Bill equality assessment.

We are currently undertaking an evaluation of the impact and implementation of the Elections Act at the recent UK Parliamentary General Election, as set out in legislation. Our evaluation report will be published in due course.

Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) is not listed as a public authority in Schedule 19 of the Equality Act 2010, however as it is publicly funded, public sector equality duties apply. Further information on how GFSL address the requirements set out in the Equality Act 2010 can be found within GFSL’s Annual Report and Accounts, published annually on gov.uk.

The Department does not hold this data. Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) staff are subject to the Company’s own terms and conditions, and GFSL does not recognise any trade union under a formal agreement. Further information on GFSL’s staff policies can be found within its Annual Report and Accounts, published annually on gov.uk.

Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) is responsible for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Further information on timeliness of response to Freedom of Information requests can be found within GFSL’s Annual Report and Accounts, published annually on gov.uk.