John McNally

HM Treasury lead on red diesel policy. The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices will have on businesses of all sizes and is in regular contact with business groups and suppliers to understand the challenges faced and explore ways to protect consumers and businesses.

The recently announced Energy Bill Relief Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-outlines-plans-to-help-cut-energy-bills-for-businesses) ensures that all businesses and other non-domestic customers are protected from excessively high energy bills over the winter period. A review of the scheme, to be published in three months, will identify the most vulnerable non-domestic customers and how the government will continue assisting them with energy costs after the initial six months.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a cost-reflective market led mechanism, helping to level the playing field for small-scale low-carbon generation.

To enable the SEG to be market based and encourage innovation, a key feature is to allow suppliers to set the tariff levels and structure. Whilst payment must be greater than zero at all times of export it is for suppliers to determine the value of the exported electricity. The retail cost of electricity would not be a fair price to pay because it includes not only the wholesale costs, but also network costs, levies and supplier operating costs.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought out of administration by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

On 1^st June 2022 it was announced that Missguided had been bought out of administration by the Frasers Group. The company will be supervised by the administrators for a transition period of eight weeks, after which the new owners will take over responsibility for running the business. The Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies.

No announcement has yet been made regarding redundancies. However, we recognise that this will be a worrying time for Missguided’s employees and their families and the Government stands ready to support those who may be affected. As a consequence of Missguided’s administration, any employees who have been made redundant can apply to the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service to claim for redundancy, unpaid wages, holiday pay and loss of notice pay. To qualify for a redundancy payment, employees must have at least two years’ continuous employment with their former employer. Employees who do not have two years’ continuous employment can still claim for wages, holidays and loss of notice. Further information regarding how to submit a claim will be provided by the joint administrators.

The Department monitors the fuel supply market and publishes weekly national average pump prices.

BEIS analysis shows that both rises and falls in crude oil prices are passed through to consumers over the course of 6-7 weeks and found no evidence to suggest that, for given changes in crude oil prices, retail prices rise faster than they fall.

In Scotland, funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is delivered through the Scottish Football Association (SFA), with recipients chosen via an application process involving advice from a panel which includes Sport Scotland. At least 40% of the funding must go towards multi-sport projects, and the SFA works closely with Sport Scotland to deliver this funding.

4G pitches are not widely used - Department for Culture, Media and Sport investment is generally used to deliver third generation (3G) synthetic surfaces in line with industry standard.

As per guidance, competitive hockey cannot be played on 3G surfaces but those pitches can still be used for training purposes and for other sports e.g rugby (where shock-pads are installed).

Decisions on the allocation of funds under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme are devolved to relevant sporting bodies in respective parts of the UK, as they have appropriate expertise and understanding of local provision. Sport Scotland provides advice and guidance alongside the Scottish FA through the project selection process. Details on the Scottish FA’s approach are published here.

However, multi-sport benefit is a key pillar of the grassroots facilities programme and we stipulate that at least 40% of projects must benefit at least one other sport in addition to football, on a sustained and regular basis. There is no requirement for particular sports to be prioritised as part of this objective, and multi-sport plans are led by local need.

Projects are selected for a variety of reasons - some for their ability to deliver improved facilities in deprived areas, others may support multi-sport use, and/or increase participation among currently under-represented groups — such as women and girls or disabled players.

My officials have met with representatives of Rangers Football Club and discussed their submission to UEFA on their experiences at the Europa League Final. Fans deserve better than experienced in Seville, and subsequently in Paris. I look forward to UEFA's consideration of both these events.

Broadcasting regulation is a matter for the independent regulator Ofcom. The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom on 23 February setting out her concerns over Russian propaganda following the crisis in Ukraine. Ofcom responded on the same day, informing the Secretary of State that it had already stepped up its oversight of coverage of these events by broadcasters in the UK, in recognition of the serious nature of the crisis in Ukraine.

We welcome Ofcom’s decision to revoke RT’s licence to broadcast in the UK so that Putin can no longer spread insidious propaganda on UK television. We will not hesitate to take any necessary action against key individuals and bodies responsible for disseminating misinformation and are exploring options to stop the spread of such material in the UK.

DCMS recognises the crucial role that individuals play in the UK’s events industry, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many individuals operating in this sector.

The Secretary of State announced an unprecedented £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors. This package will benefit craftspeople by providing support to Arts, Cultural, and Heritage organisations to stay open and continue operating.

To complement the funding for organisations made available by Government, Arts Council England (ACE) have announced £95m of additional support for individuals, including freelancers. This involves:

• an additional £75m in project grants. These will be focused on applications that maximise employment opportunities and those from under-represented groups. Freelancers and National Portfolio Organisations are eligible to apply directly. National Portfolio Organisations can also apply to create new work with bids that create employment opportunities prioritised.

• A further round of the ACE programme ‘Discover Your Creative Practice’ will open in the autumn. This will make approximately £18m available for individuals looking to develop new creative skills that will help them to further develop their career.

• ACE will also be adding £2m into relevant benevolent funds to support those less well supported by the programmes outlined above, including stage managers and technicians.

We are committed to continuing to work with the events sector to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

The department understands that the Irish Government has allocated funding to allow higher education students in Northern Ireland to access the Erasmus+ Programme.

The department looks forward to continuing its collaborative work with sector stakeholders and Northern Ireland Executive officials to ensure that students in Northern Ireland are able to benefit from the opportunities available to them through the UK Government’s Turing Scheme.

For academic year 2023/24, the Turing Scheme is allocating over £2.9 million to education providers in Northern Ireland to fund international placements for over 1,000 participants, more than half of whom are students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The government does not intend to negotiate resuming participation in any aspect of Erasmus+ with the EU as a Programme Country.

Erasmus+ is the European Union's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Any changes to the programme are therefore for the European Commission to determine, and not the UK Government.

The department works closely with the Home Office on a range of issues, including on matters relating to international student visas. The government keeps all immigration policies under constant review to ensure they best serve the country and reflect the public’s priorities.

International students make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education sector, and I am proud to have met our International Education Strategy ambition to attract at least 600,000 international students for the second consecutive year.

Defra has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals. Public health threats are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care.

The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 – which, in part, are designed to prevent contamination of drinking water supplies from water fittings – do not cover the design of boilers or hot water tanks, including the materials they are constructed from. If a consumer suspects that their drinking water is contaminated, they should contact their local water company who will investigate. If the cause of contamination is identified as occurring from plumbing inside the property, water companies will provide instructions to the consumer on remedial action to consider such as replacement or repair of the defective component. All plumbing inside a property is the responsibility of the property owner.

From 1 January 2024, treated seeds can only be used if they are treated with Plant Protection Products authorised in GB. After we left the EU, transitional arrangements were put in place so that seeds treated with products authorised for use in the EU but not GB could continue to be imported, marketed and used. These arrangements come to an end on 31 December 2023. Industry has had the opportunity over the last 3 years to apply for the relevant GB authorisations, HSE has highlighted the actions that they need to take.

From 1 January 2024, treated seeds can only be used if they are treated with Plant Protection Products authorised in GB. After we left the EU, transitional arrangements were put in place so that seeds treated with products authorised for use in the EU but not GB could continue to be imported, marketed and used. These arrangements come to an end on 31 December 2023. Industry has had the opportunity over the last 3 years to apply for the relevant GB authorisations, HSE has highlighted the actions that they need to take.

From 1 January 2024, treated seeds can only be used if they are treated with Plant Protection Products authorised in GB. After we left the EU, transitional arrangements were put in place so that seeds treated with products authorised for use in the EU but not GB could continue to be imported, marketed and used. These arrangements come to an end on 31 December 2023. Industry has had the opportunity over the last 3 years to apply for the relevant GB authorisations, HSE has highlighted the actions that they need to take.