Julian Sturdy

Throughout the pandemic, we have consistently adapted our response as we have learnt more about the virus and how best to tackle it. Automatic car washes were permitted to operate during the most recent lockdown, recognising the low risk of transmission they posed. Jet car washes, including those that are self-serviced, are not fully automatic and were therefore required to close.

The Government published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, on 22 February, providing a roadmap out of lockdown restrictions in England. As a result of progress made against the virus, England was able to move to Step 2 on 12 April. All car washes, including jet washes, are now permitted to open.

We keep our measures under constant review so as to reflect the latest science and clinical data. Scientific evidence supporting the government response to coronavirus is regularly published here - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

Revised guidance for businesses can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reopening-businesses-and-venues-in-england/reopening-businesses-and-venues

The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI), provides financial support in installments to homeowners, for the generation of heat through low carbon technologies such as heat pumps. The scheme, which launched in 2014, will remain open to new applicants until March 2022.

The successor scheme to the RHI, the Clean Heat Grant, which is due to launch in Spring 2022, will provide upfront capital grants for the installation of heat pumps and, in limited circumstances, biomass boilers in both domestic and small nondomestic buildings. This support will help grow confidence in these low carbon technologies and supply chains and help address the barrier of upfront costs faced by many consumers. We will publish our Government Response with details of the scheme and scheme eligibility in due course.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is currently consulting on the UK’s future exhaustion of IP rights regime and has received responses from a variety of respondents.

The consultation on this matter is still ongoing and once the consultation has closed, the Department will assess information arising from that consultation so that a decision may be made.

The consultation on the UK’s future exhaustion of intellectual property rights regime is open and the Government welcomes all interested parties to contribute to the consultation prior to the closing date of 31 August. An impact assessment was published alongside the consultation which will be updated.

BEIS Ministers and officials meet with representatives of the sector-led UK Weddings Taskforce on a regular basis to discuss the challenges faced by the sector and how best to support it through the reopening period.

Over the course of the pandemic the Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support to businesses, including those in the wedding industry, which we keep under regular review.

The UK Government has secured early access to 397 million vaccine doses through supply agreements with six separate vaccine developers, of which four have received regulatory approval and three are currently in deployment. This includes agreements with:

• Pfizer/BioNTech for 100 million doses
• University of Oxford/AstraZeneca for 100 million doses
• Moderna for 17 million doses
• Novavax for 60 million doses
• Janssen for 20 million doses
• Valneva for 100 million doses

In addition, the Government has a reservation agreement with GlaxoSmithKline/Sanofi Pasteur for 60 million doses and a non-binding agreement with CureVac for 50 million doses.

We are in constant contact with the vaccine manufacturers and are confident that the supply of vaccines to the UK will not be disrupted and that we will meet the vaccination targets set out by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 June:

• All adults aged 18 and over to be offered a first dose by 19 July, 2 weeks earlier than planned.
• By 19 July, all those aged over 50 and the clinically extremely vulnerable to have been offered their second dose.
• Second doses for all over 40s will be accelerated by reducing the dosing interval from 12 weeks to 8 weeks. All over 40s who received a first dose by mid-May will be offered a second dose by 19 July.

The Department regularly meets with representatives from across the sector to discuss how it can recover and build back better from the pandemic. The Government recognises the impact the pandemic has had on hospitality businesses. That is why we have provided an unprecedented support package of £352 billion including grants, loans, business rates relief, VAT cuts and the job retention scheme.

The Government is clear that businesses should treat their customers fairly and responsibly and in accordance with their statutory rights, and where disagreements arise in respect to holiday cancellations and refunds, they should seek to find a mutually acceptable solution.

The Package Travel Regulations 2018 and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 outline the conditions under which a consumer is entitled to a refund from travel companies if a travel package is cancelled or severely disrupted. The Competition and Markets Authority has made clear, for instance in its open letter to the package travel sector of 13 May 2021, that organisers of package holidays are expected to comply with travellers’ statutory rights, for example by offering consumers a right to cancel and receive a full refund within 14 days if, due to circumstances beyond its control, the organiser needs to alter significantly any of the main characteristics of the package. Travelling to countries against FCDO advice is likely to invalidate customers’ travel insurance.

Furthermore, the Passenger Covid-19 Charter was published by Department for Transport on 17 May 2021, providing information on the rights and responsibilities of passengers booking travel while Covid-19 restrictions remain in place. It also sets out reasonable expectations for industry, including offering flexibility, where possible, for bookings affected by changes to Covid-19 restrictions and to traffic light categories.

Animal Free Research UK have recently shared their report: ‘Modernising Medical Research: How Britain can become a global leader in animal free science’.

We are already taking steps to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research. This is an area that is carefully regulated and one that remains important in ensuring new medicines and treatments are safe. The Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs, which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice and regulations on animal research.

Since the NC3Rs was launched it has committed £100 million through its research, innovation, and early career awards to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use.

We are aware that the sector has been severely impacted by continued travel restrictions. The Government is continuing to engage with stakeholders - such as the Association of British Travel Agents, the Association of Independent Tour Operators and UKInbound - to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.

We are working closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) to support the reopening of international travel, in line with the Government’s reopening roadmap and the work of the Global Travel Taskforce.

We are aware that the sector has been severely impacted by continued travel restrictions. The Government is continuing to engage with stakeholders - such as the Association of British Travel Agents, the Association of Independent Tour Operators and UKInbound - to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.

The Government has continued to support travel businesses and individuals during this period of restrictions - including through the extension of various government-backed loans, grants and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes.

HM Land Registry processes over 70,000 applications every day (based on 2020/21 figures). Over 80% are completed within three days. The vast majority of the remainder are completed within 5 weeks.

Of these applications, 1.4% are complex, including first registrations, creation of a new lease or transferring part of a property. It currently takes HMLR an average of seven months to complete an application for first registration of a property.

HM Land Registry is making significant investment in long-term transformation to improve customer experience and efficiency. It is improving processing times by greater digitisation and automation, and by building more operational capacity.

HM Land Registry will fast track applications, on request, where a delay would put a property sale or any kind of property transaction at risk, or cause any other problems not related to a land transaction.

The Department recently consulted on raising the energy performance standards in the domestic private rented sector to EPC band C for new tenancies from 2025 and all tenancies by 2028. As part of the consultation, we sought evidence on the possible impacts of the policy on the size of the private rented sector and on listed buildings and those in conservation areas. We are currently analysing the responses and will be publishing the Government response in due course.

The use of animals in research is carefully regulated and remains important in ensuring new medicines and treatments are safe.   At the same time, the Government believes that animals should only be used when there is no practicable alternative and it actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).  This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs, which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice and regulations on animal research.  Across the UK, the NC3Rs has invested £71 million in research through grants to universities, and almost £28 million in contracts through its CRACK IT Challenges innovation scheme to UK and EU-based institutions, mainly focusing on new approaches for the safety assessment of pharmaceuticals and chemicals that reduce the use of animals.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. At this time, no artificial model or simulation can replicate the complexity of disease processes in a living organism and as such, whole organism approaches continue to be important; animal models are used when experimentation in human volunteers is not possible for safety or ethical reasons. However, we do recognise the increasing value of in vitro and in silico models, including organs-on-chips and 3-dimensional mini-brains, which can greatly aid the development of new healthcare innovations and also reduce, refine or replace the use of animals in research.

The Medical Research Council (MRC), part of UKRI, has for a number of years prioritised experimental medicine research, in which studies are undertaken in humans to identify disease mechanisms and provide early evidence and validity of new discoveries or treatments. In order to accelerate progress in this area a vision for a new Precision Medicine Accelerator (PMA) was approved by MRC in December 2019. The first step of the PMA, a new Experimental Medicine Panel, has been launched to fund academic-led, interventional clinical studies in humans.

We have announced an investment of £14.6 billion in R&D for 2021/22, and we are taking forward the ambitious commitments in our R&D Roadmap.

As announced in the Plan for Growth at Budget 2021 we will publish a new Innovation Strategy in the summer to unleash innovation across the UK to complement this investment.

The Events Research Programme aims to examine the risk of transmission of COVID-19 from attendance at events and explore ways to enable people to attend a range of events safely. We anticipate that the research pilots will take place in April, with a view to reporting findings to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister at the end of May, to feed into wider discussions around Step 4 of the lockdown restrictions. Departments are currently working up plans and further details regarding the Events Research Programme will be published in due course.

As the independent Climate Change Committee recognise, we have made world-leading progress in cutting our emissions while growing the economy. Since setting our net zero target, we have announced my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan, as well as our Energy White Paper, which demonstrates our commitment to eradicating our contribution to climate change by 2050.

For its carbon targets, the UK follows the agreed international approach for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, which is for countries to report the emissions produced within their territories. We are considering recommendations on International Aviation and Shipping carefully ahead of setting the sixth carbon budget.

The UK will be dedicating at least £3bn of international climate finance in the next five years to climate change solutions that protect and restore nature. In 2019, we launched the Global Resource Initiative (GRI) to advise on reducing the deforestation impacts of key UK supply chains. The GRI published 14 recommendations for action and government responded in November 2020, detailing how it would take this forward. As part of its COP26 Presidency, the UK also launched the Forest, Agriculture and Commodity Trade (FACT) dialogue to bring together governments of major producer and consumer countries to agree actions which reduce deforestation.

We are committed to protecting and restoring the UK’s natural environment. The 25 Year Environment Plan will create or restore 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat in England. We have also doubled funding to £80m for the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to kick start a programme of nature-based projects to address the twin challenges of halting biodiversity loss and tackling climate change.

Achieving our net zero target must be a shared endeavour between governments, businesses and individuals.

The Climate Assembly UK was commissioned by six Parliamentary Select committees to explore how the UK should reach net zero by 2050. We welcome the Climate Assembly UK’s recommendations, which demonstrate strong public support for the Government’s intention to deliver a UK economy which is stronger, cleaner, more sustainable and more resilient.

In September 2020 we invited the Climate Assembly UK expert leads to present the Assembly’s findings to officials. These briefings were attended by over 400 officials. We are looking closely at the Climate Assembly UK report’s findings and government departments will consider its findings as we develop our plans for reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

As we develop our plans for reaching net zero emissions by 2050, we will continue to engage the public on the changes that are needed to develop our ambitions on net zero and we will listen very attentively to feedback.

As set out in Step 4 of the Government’s 'COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’, which will be introduced no earlier than 21 June, the attendee limit for wedding celebrations will be removed, subject to the outcome of the scientific Events Research Programme.

While hospitality venues are not allowed to sell alcohol for takeaway under the new National Lockdown restrictions, they are allowed to continue to sell food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway until 11pm. All food and drink (including alcohol) can continue to be provided by delivery.

Hospitality venues are not allowed to sell alcohol for takeaway under the new National Lockdown restrictions, although they are allowed to continue to sell food and non-alcoholic drinks for takeaway.

Throughout the national restrictions, we sought to keep as much of the retail sector open as possible, whilst balancing the need to reduce our day-to-day contact. All shops could continue offering?click and collect?and delivery services.

The decision to close non-essential retail was part of a wider package of measures to ensure that people stayed at home except for a limited set of exemptions.

We were clear that a business selling a significant amount of essential retail may also continue to sell goods typically sold at non-essential retail. For example, a supermarket that sells food was not required to close off or cordon off aisles selling homeware.

The Department for Health and Social Care created the guidance for the new national restrictions.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued guidance to explain to consumers and business the circumstances when refunds are due as a consequence of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government has always been clear that these refunds must be paid when asked for by the consumer.

The guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic.

The CMA has also created a Covid-19 taskforce and set up an online form to enable consumers to report any business they believe is behaving unfairly during the pandemic. The CMA has taken enforcement action in a number of cases as a result.

Under The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) (No. 4) Regulations 2020 laid by the Department for Health and Social Care, car washes must be closed during England’s new national restrictions.

The Government continues to hold a regular dialogue with the British Business Bank and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) lenders to monitor its implementation.

We regularly engage with businesses themselves, and the finance industry association – UK Finance – to gather feedback on all the support schemes to identify areas for improvement.

The Government has introduced a comprehensive package of support to help businesses during this difficult period. These include the small business grants, the coronavirus loan schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, deferral of VAT and income tax payments, and more.

There has been significant support to date, and there is still funding to be disbursed. BEIS will continue to work closely with local authorities, businesses, and business representative organisations to understand whether there is additional need.

The Government’s priority has been to act to reduce the high levels of Covid-19 infection and, ultimately, it is only by controlling the virus that lockdowns can be lifted, allowing businesses to reopen and operate more normally.

Ministers and officials from this Department are currently discussing COVID-19 secure guidance, and the effect of the COVID-19 restrictions, with representatives from the weddings industry.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport continues to engage with business events stakeholders to monitor the ongoing impact on exhibitions and events businesses.

All Close Contact Services were allowed to reopen from 13 July, subject to them following COVID-secure guidelines. On 17 July, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that Close Contact Services including treatments on the face are allowed to resume as of 1^st August in a COVID-secure way.

We appreciate that this is difficult for some businesses. Our approach is guided by the scientific and medical advice, and every step is weighed against the evidence, remembering that the more we open up the more vigilant we will need to be.

All Close Contact Services were allowed to reopen from 13 July, subject to them following COVID-secure guidelines. On 17 July, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that Close Contact Services including treatments on the face are allowed to resume as of 1^st August in a COVID-secure way.

We appreciate that this is difficult for some businesses. Our approach is guided by the scientific and medical advice, and every step is weighed against the evidence, remembering that the more we open up the more vigilant we will need to be.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that, from 4 July pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes (including workplace canteens) in England will be able to reopen both their outdoor and indoor spaces and offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance. The updated guidance can be found at the GOV.UK website.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that, from 4 July pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes (including workplace canteens) in England will be able to reopen both their outdoor and indoor spaces and offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance.

The updated guidance can be found at the GOV.UK website.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has announced that, from 4 July pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes (including workplace canteens) in England will be able to reopen both their outdoor and indoor spaces and offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance. Businesses should refer to the guidance that has been issued, and the updated guidance can be found at Gov.uk website.

Our advice is changing to state that people should either stay 2m apart or, where this is not possible, ‘1m plus’ – which is one metre plus mitigations. These mitigations will depend on the workplace or setting.

UK Research and Innovation is funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and supports basic research into the development of new drugs including pre-clinical research and early stage clinical trials. It does not routinely analyse data on the number of trials specifically relating to the development of new drugs.

UK Research and Innovation supports clinical trials through the Medical Research Council (MRC) including early phase clinical stage trials through ‘response mode’ schemes such as the Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme, which supports pre-clinical development and early clinical trial of novel therapeutics including new and repurposing of existing therapies.

Later stage trials are funded through the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation Programme (which is a jointly funded partnership between MRC and the National Institute for Health Research). The MRC also supports:

• The Joint Global Health Trials programme in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research, the Department for International Development and the Wellcome Trust.
• The European Developing Countries Clinical Trials programme (EDCTP), with a specific focus on poverty-related infectious diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa.

These provide funding to later stage trials including studies evaluating the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions with potential to make a step-change in the promotion of health, treatment of disease and improvement of rehabilitation or long-term care.

A recent example of a clinical trial project for a new medicine is the award of over £2.7 million for a Clinical Trial of a Novel Treatment for Clostridium difficile (associated diarrhoea) from Innovate UK as part of the Biomedical Catalyst. This was awarded to MGB Biopharma Ltd based in Glasgow for this new class of small molecule antibiotic.

We have set out five clear tests that will need to be met before making any changes to our current approach. As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, we will gradually refine the economic and social restrictions at the appropriate time.

The Department has been looking at how we can ensure workplaces are safe - for those in work now and for those who will go back to work once the measures in place are relaxed.

As this work is complex and multifaceted, we are working with industry, business representative organisations, unions, Public Health England, and the Health and Safety Executive. Together, we are considering what is needed to adapt workplaces to further improve safety, thereby minimising the risk of transmission.

Through this engagement activity, we are welcoming views and best practice that might support us in ensuring that businesses can reopen whilst adhering to the social distancing guidelines. We will continue to engage with businesses and industry stakeholders throughout the process to gain a better understanding of wider implications and what needs to be put in place for businesses to reopen.

The Department has published sector specific advice for a number of industries which can currently remain open. This advice can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance. This is to enable companies and their employees remain safe.

The health of our people and the protection of our NHS is the Government’s top priority. The Government has been very clear that in order to limit the transmission of coronavirus, people should only travel to work where they absolutely cannot work from home, and provided that they and members of their household are well. This is consistent with advice from the Chief Medical Officer. We have on going discussions with businesses, trade unions and BRO’s on how we can keep everyone safe both now and as the Government framework adjusts in the future.

The Department is working with Ofgem and network companies to help improve the network connection process, for example through making advice and information clearer for customers. Ofgem also published a call for evidence, in November 2019, to gain a better understanding of the number, location and characteristics of off-grid households. It is available at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/call-evidence-households-not-connected-electricity-distribution-network. Ofgem is currently considering the responses.

We receive representations from a wide range of stakeholders, including members of the public, organisations and charities, all with ranging views on what the issues are and what action they would like to see.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards is developing a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks, including noise, anti-social behaviour, non-compliance, environmental impact, and the impact on humans and animals. This will build a fuller picture of the data around fireworks in order to identify whether further action is appropriate. This work is an ongoing exercise, which is not time limited and we will report in due course.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is developing a fact-based evidence base on the key issues that have been raised around fireworks. This includes looking at data on noise and disturbance, anti-social behaviour, non-compliance, environmental impact, and the impact on humans and animals. This will build a full picture of the data around fireworks in order to identify whether further action is appropriate.

The UK continues to participate fully in the 2018-2020 European Solidarity Corps programme. This means that projects that successfully bid for funding during the 2018-2020 programme will continue to receive EU funding for the full duration of the project, including where funding runs beyond 2020 and the end of the transition period.

International opportunities for young people outside of formal education settings, such as the types of activities funded under the European Solidarity Corps programme, are being considered as part of the DCMS-led Youth Review, which was commissioned by the Treasury at the 2020 Spending Review. Future funding is subject to decisions at the next Spending Review.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

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 which will benefit self-employed and freelance workers by helping music venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, venues and organisations have been able to put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distanced audiences.

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.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

The Secretary of State provided a major £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 support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August, and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, organisations can now put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing.

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.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

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 aims to support sectors across the Arts, Culture, and Heritage to reopen or ensure they do not permanently close their doors.

From 15th August and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, venues and organisations have been able to put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distanced audiencesing.

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.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

The Secretary of State provided a major £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 support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August, and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, organisations can now put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing.

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.

DCMS appreciates the important role that the events sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many businesses operating in these sectors.

The Secretary of State provided a major £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 support package will benefit cultural sector services by providing support to cultural venues and many other organisations in the Creative Industries that host live events, to stay open and continue operating.

From 15th August, and as part of the Government’s 5 stage roadmap to get performing arts and live entertainment sectors back up and running as soon as possible, organisations can now put on live indoor performances in front of a socially-distanced audience. This is in addition to the earlier announcement that from 11 July we can all enjoy performances outdoors with social distancing.

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.

Like many archives within the sector, The National Archives has adapted its services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and for the remainder of 2020, anticipate limited on-site access to their physical collections. Therefore, The National Archives remains committed to expanding remote access to its collections, with a focus on making content discoverable and, where possible, available online.

In response to its temporary closure in the spring, The National Archives provided free online access to a wide range of digital and digitised records through its Digital Downloads Service, for which demand has increased more than 2,000%. While The National Archives reopened to the public on 21 July 2020, it has continued to provide this free online access alongside its present onsite service offer.

Since 2003 The National Archives has captured, preserved, and made freely accessible the UK Government Web Archive, which includes billions of webpages, videos, tweets and images from government dating from 1996 to the present day. Throughout the pandemic, the UK Government Web Archive has been critical in capturing the comprehensive record of fast paced coronavirus information published by the UK Government, through high-intensity web archiving.

Finally, as the Queen's Printer and the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office (HMSO), The National Archives aids legal certainty through legislation.gov.uk, with the registration and publication of legislation which is freely accessible to anyone regardless of locality.

Ofcom’s UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2010, estimated that the average download speed delivered to residential fixed-line broadband consumers in rural areas was 2.7Mbps. This was actual experienced speed, measured using a sample panel, and would have reflected the package chosen by the consumer, even if a higher speed service was available to them. Ofcom’s latest UK Broadband Speeds report, published in May 2020, found that the average peak time download speeds for rural areas was 38.5Mbps.

In 2010, neither the Department nor Ofcom published the data requested.

The broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) provides every household with the legal right to request a broadband connection that provides download speeds of at least 10Mbps and an upload speed of at least 1Mbps up to a Reasonable Cost Threshold of £3,400 per premise. However, the legislation underpinning the USO was not passed until 2018.

In 2010, neither the Department nor Ofcom published the data requested.

The broadband Universal Service Obligation (USO) provides every household with the legal right to request a broadband connection that provides download speeds of at least 10Mbps and an upload speed of at least 1Mbps up to a Reasonable Cost Threshold of £3,400 per premise. However, the legislation underpinning the USO was not passed until 2018.

The Community Radio Fund was set up in 2005 and has an annual budget of £400,000, which is used to help support community radio stations across the UK. It is administered by Ofcom, and applications are assessed by an independent panel.

Information on all grants provided via the Community Radio Fund prior to the financial year 2020-21, including the recipients, the amount of funding awarded to each, and the posts and projects that have been supported, can be found on Ofcom’s website (from 2018 to date) and the National Archives (pre-2014 and 2014-2018).

For the financial year 2020-21, given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector, the Community Radio Fund is being used to provide stations with an emergency source of funding to help them to meet urgent liabilities and to keep themselves in business. Given the sensitive commercial nature of this situation, it has been agreed between the Government, Ofcom and the Community Media Association (the representative body for the sector) that the names of the supported stations and the amount that each has received will not be disclosed.

Overall, the UK's broadband network has stood up well to mass home working and leisure usage as a result of COVID-19, including in rural areas. This is a result of the contingency planning that the Government has done with industry and also the Government's £1.7 billion superfast broadband programme, which has ensured that 96% of UK premises have access to superfast broadband.

However, the Government recognises that rural coverage lags behind the rest of the UK, which is why we legislated to create the first-ever broadband Universal Service Obligation, which went live in March 2020. The scheme allows everyone in the UK to request a decent broadband connection of at least 10 megabits per second from a designated universal service provider, up to a reasonable cost threshold of £3,400.

At Budget, we also committed to invest £5 billion to roll out gigabit broadband in the hardest to reach areas of the UK. At present, our £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme remains open, offering voucher-based support for eligible consumers to request gigabit-capable connections from a variety of providers.

The Department has updated its advice to schools and other educational settings on the planning and booking of educational day and residential visits: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#educational-visits.

Any disputes regarding travel provider and/or travel insurer performance or behaviour should be resolved in line with the contractual arrangements and in line with the relevant industry and sector representative body disputes process.

The Association of British Insurers provide information and support at: https://www.abi.org.uk/products-and-issues/topics-and-issues/coronavirus-hub/travel-insurance/.

The Government remains clear that exams are the fairest method to assess students. Given the further disruption, however, the Department cannot guarantee that all students will be in a position to sit their exams fairly this summer. GCSE, AS and A levels will not go ahead as planned.

The Department has already confirmed our proposals that in summer 2021 pupils taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers. Ofqual and the Department launched a consultation on the evidence needed to inform teachers’ assessments of their students’ grades, including providing externally set papers to support their assessments.

Teachers will be provided with training and guidance to support them, balancing flexibility with the need to make sure grades are valid and consistent. To further support this, the consultation also proposes that exam boards should both provide information for schools and colleges to inform their own quality assurance, and that the exam boards themselves should undertake checks of schools’ and colleges’ processes and the evidence for the grades submitted. We have proposed that changes to teachers’ grades should be the exception and will only be if the grade could not legitimately have been given based on the evidence. The Department proposes that all students will have a route to appeal their grades.

Ofqual and the Department are working at pace to provide further clarity to the sector and will publish the outcome of the consultation as soon as possible.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned. To provide clarity to the sector as soon as possible, and to ensure that our approach is developed with the sector, Ofqual and the Department have launched a two-week consultation.

Ofqual and the Department will consult on the evidence needed to inform teachers’ assessments of their pupils’ grades, including providing externally set papers to support their assessments. Teachers’ assessments of the evidence of the standard at which their pupils are performing should indicate their demonstrated knowledge, understanding and skills. To support this, teachers will be provided with training and guidance.

Further details of alternative arrangements to exams will be confirmed as soon as possible, ensuring that students have the confidence that they will be fairly treated for assessments in 2021.

Schools continue to remain open for all children and young people, as they have since the start of the autumn term. Being at school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. It continues to be the aim of the Department that all pupils, in all year groups, remain in school full-time.

The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is very low, and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. For most children, the benefits of being back in the classroom far outweigh the low risk of COVID-19, and schools can take action to further reduce risks.

The Department published actions for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak to support them to welcome back all children from the start of the autumn term. The full guidance is available here: 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. These measures provide a framework for school leaders to put in place proportionate protective measures for pupils and staff. If schools follow the guidance and maximise control measures, they can be confident they are managing risk effectively. The measures in place include schools minimising contact between individuals. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate and maintaining distance between individuals.

From 5 November 2020, following guidance on new national restrictions in schools, children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should continue to attend education. The full guidance for schools and nurseries can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#schools.

New guidance for shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 was published on 4 November 2020. The guidance can be viewed here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/advice-for-people-at-high-risk/

Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical advice or public health advice, schools are expected to immediately offer them access to remote education.

To support schools in meeting the remote education expectations, the Department announced a further remote education package of support, which can be found on the remote education service at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Support includes an additional 340,000 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children, and development resources for staff, including a good practice guide and school-led webinars.

The Department is also investing £1.5 million of additional funding to expand the EdTech Demonstrator programme, which provides peer-to-peer support for schools and colleges.

The Department is in regular contact with officials in British embassies overseas to collect the latest international intelligence and evidence about how other countries have approached distance learning for pupils.

Schools continue to remain open for all children and young people, as they have since the start of the autumn term. Being at school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. It continues to be the aim of the Department that all pupils, in all year groups, remain in school full-time.

The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is very low, and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. For most children, the benefits of being back in the classroom far outweigh the low risk of COVID-19, and schools can take action to further reduce risks.

The Department published actions for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak to support them to welcome back all children from the start of the autumn term. The full guidance is available here: 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. These measures provide a framework for school leaders to put in place proportionate protective measures for pupils and staff. If schools follow the guidance and maximise control measures, they can be confident they are managing risk effectively. The measures in place include schools minimising contact between individuals. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate and maintaining distance between individuals.

From 5 November 2020, following guidance on new national restrictions in schools, children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should continue to attend education. The full guidance for schools and nurseries can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#schools.

New guidance for shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 was published on 4 November 2020. The guidance can be viewed here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/advice-for-people-at-high-risk/

Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical advice or public health advice, schools are expected to immediately offer them access to remote education.

To support schools in meeting the remote education expectations, the Department announced a further remote education package of support, which can be found on the remote education service at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Support includes an additional 340,000 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children, and development resources for staff, including a good practice guide and school-led webinars.

The Department is also investing £1.5 million of additional funding to expand the EdTech Demonstrator programme, which provides peer-to-peer support for schools and colleges.

The Department is in regular contact with officials in British embassies overseas to collect the latest international intelligence and evidence about how other countries have approached distance learning for pupils.

Schools continue to remain open for all children and young people, as they have since the start of the autumn term. Being at school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. It continues to be the aim of the Department that all pupils, in all year groups, remain in school full-time.

The risk to children themselves of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is very low, and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. For most children, the benefits of being back in the classroom far outweigh the low risk of COVID-19, and schools can take action to further reduce risks.

The Department published actions for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak to support them to welcome back all children from the start of the autumn term. The full guidance is available here: 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. These measures provide a framework for school leaders to put in place proportionate protective measures for pupils and staff. If schools follow the guidance and maximise control measures, they can be confident they are managing risk effectively. The measures in place include schools minimising contact between individuals. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate and maintaining distance between individuals.

From 5 November 2020, following guidance on new national restrictions in schools, children who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should continue to attend education. The full guidance for schools and nurseries can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-and-childcare-settings-new-national-restrictions-from-5-november-2020#schools.

New guidance for shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 was published on 4 November 2020. The guidance can be viewed here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/advice-for-people-at-high-risk/

Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical advice or public health advice, schools are expected to immediately offer them access to remote education.

To support schools in meeting the remote education expectations, the Department announced a further remote education package of support, which can be found on the remote education service at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Support includes an additional 340,000 laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children, and development resources for staff, including a good practice guide and school-led webinars.

The Department is also investing £1.5 million of additional funding to expand the EdTech Demonstrator programme, which provides peer-to-peer support for schools and colleges.

The Department is in regular contact with officials in British embassies overseas to collect the latest international intelligence and evidence about how other countries have approached distance learning for pupils.

The Department is continuing to assess the impact of the potential effect of school closure on children and young people’s education attainment. We are working closely with schools and nurseries, sector organisations, international institutions and across Government to understand the risks to education attainment and wellbeing, and identify how best to help children and young people make up for the time spent out of school.

It is up to each school to determine how to deliver education to its pupils and whether and how to monitor participation. We recognise that many schools have already shared resources – both online and printed resources – for children who are at home, and we are committed to ensuring that all children at home can continue to learn remotely in a number of ways during these very difficult circumstances.

We are supporting sector-led initiatives such as the Oak National Academy – a new enterprise which has been created by 40 teachers from schools across England. It will provide 180 video lessons for free each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to year 10. By 24 May, over 2.3 million users had visited the Oak Academy site and over 10.7 million lessons had been accessed.

Additionally, the Government has committed over £100 million to boost remote education, including by providing devices and internet access for those who need it most, ensuring every school that wants it has access to free, expert technical support to get set up on Google for Education or Microsoft’s Office 365 Education, and offering peer support from schools and colleges leading the way with the use of education technology.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

The percentage of pupils[1] at the end of key stage 4 entering a modern foreign language[2] in state-funded schools[3] in England for 2009/10 was 42.6%. The percentage of pupils between the ages 16-18 eligible for reporting in performance tables, who entered A level exams a modern foreign language in state-funded schools and colleges[4] in England at the end of key stage 5 for 2009/10 was 7.5%.[5]

[1] Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.

[2] For key stage 4 entries are those counted as part of the language element in the English Baccalaureate. For key stage 5, A level languages include: French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Polish, Russian, Other.

[3] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16 year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.

[4] Covers all state-funded mainstream schools, academies, free schools, city technology colleges, state-funded special schools and FE sector colleges. Excludes pupil referral units, alternative provision, hospital schools, non-maintained special schools, other government department funded colleges, independent schools, independent special schools and independent schools approved to take pupils with special educational needs.

[5] Comparisons over time should be treated with caution due to issues such as changes in methodology over time, and subject reform.

The percentage of pupils[1] at the end of key stage 4 entering a modern foreign language[2] in state-funded schools[3] in England for 2009/10 was 42.6%. The percentage of pupils between the ages 16-18 eligible for reporting in performance tables, who entered A level exams a modern foreign language in state-funded schools and colleges[4] in England at the end of key stage 5 for 2009/10 was 7.5%.[5]

[1] Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.

[2] For key stage 4 entries are those counted as part of the language element in the English Baccalaureate. For key stage 5, A level languages include: French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Polish, Russian, Other.

[3] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16 year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.

[4] Covers all state-funded mainstream schools, academies, free schools, city technology colleges, state-funded special schools and FE sector colleges. Excludes pupil referral units, alternative provision, hospital schools, non-maintained special schools, other government department funded colleges, independent schools, independent special schools and independent schools approved to take pupils with special educational needs.

[5] Comparisons over time should be treated with caution due to issues such as changes in methodology over time, and subject reform.

The percentage of pupils[1] at the end of Key Stage 4 entering a modern foreign language[2] in state-funded schools[3] in England is 46.7% for 2018/19.

[1] Includes attempts and achievements by these pupils in previous academic years.

[2] For Key Stage 4 entries are those counted as part of the language element in the English Baccalaureate.

[3] State-funded schools include academies, free schools, city technology colleges, further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16 year-olds and state-funded special schools. They exclude independent schools, independent special schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision. Alternative provision includes academy and free school alternative provision.

The percentage of pupils between the ages 16 to 18, eligible for reporting in performance tables, who entered a modern foreign language for A level exams in state-funded schools and colleges[1] in England at the end of Key Stage 5 was 6.4%[2] for 2018/19.

[1] Covers all state-funded mainstream schools, academies, free schools, city technology colleges, state-funded special schools and FE sector colleges. Excludes pupil referral units, alternative provision, hospital schools, non-maintained special schools, other government department funded colleges, independent schools, independent special schools and independent schools approved to take pupils with special educational needs.

[2] Compared to all students in this group who entered A levels, who were eligible for reporting in performance tables.

The department publishes statutory guidance on exclusion titled ‘Exclusion from maintained schools, Academies and pupil referral units in England’. This guidance covers the entirety of the exclusion process and includes specific requirements in relation to pupils with Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Schools have a legal duty under the Equality Act 2010 not to discriminate against disabled pupils by excluding them from school because of their disability. Head teachers should make additional efforts to consider what extra support may be required to avoid exclusion of pupils with SEND, and as far as possible, should avoid permanently excluding pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

Our statutory guidance is clear that head teachers should, as far as possible, avoid excluding permanently any pupil with an EHCP, and that early intervention to address underlying causes of disruptive behaviour should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN or disability that a pupil may have. The head teacher should also consider the use of a multi-agency assessment for a pupil who demonstrates persistent disruptive behaviour. Such assessments may pick up unidentified SEN but the scope of the assessment could go further, for example, by seeking to identify mental health or family problems.

The government previously committed to revising guidance on exclusions and behaviour and we will provide an update on plans to publish revised guidance in due course.

Ensuring the welfare needs of racehorses and racing greyhounds are met, both during their racing lives and afterwards, is a priority. In our recently published Action Plan for Animal Welfare, we have committed to ensuring that the horse racing sector addresses key animal welfare issues such as fatality levels. We also committed to considering further protections for racing greyhounds including further steps to raise welfare standards at trainers’ kennels. The Action Plan for Animal Welfare can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/action-plan-for-animal-welfare

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act) places a legal duty of care on owners and keepers for the animals for which they are responsible on a permanent or temporary basis. It is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The 2006 Act allows action to be taken where there is evidence of cruelty to an animal or a failure to provide for that animal’s welfare needs. This includes where animals are raced as well as where they are kept. The 2006 Act is also backed up a statutory code of practice for both dogs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-dogs and horses: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/code-of-practice-for-the-welfare-of-horses-ponies-donkeys-and-their-hybrids

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), British racing’s governing and regulatory body, is responsible for the safety of racehorses at British racecourses. The BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible.

The Horse Welfare Board’s five-year Horse Welfare Strategy (HWS) “a life well-lived” was published on 20 February 2020. The HWS contains 20 recommendations for improving the welfare of horses bred for racing. The HWS recommends that, as a minimum, the penalties for misuse of the whip need to increase and that the BHA should conduct a consultation on the use of the whip. This consultation ran until 6 September 2021.

The welfare of racing greyhounds at all greyhound racing tracks in England is regulated by the Welfare of Racing Greyhound Regulations 2010 (the 2010 Regulations). The 2010 Regulations were reviewed in 2016, both by Defra and the House of Commons' Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee. The review found that, judged against their original objectives, the regulations have been broadly effective. The review also identified areas where the industry themselves should be taking further action and Defra have been working closely with the main industry regulatory body, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB), to ensure these actions are taken. This includes the annual publication of injury, euthanasia and retirement statistics, and addressing welfare issues at GBGB affiliated trainers’ kennels.

I would encourage anyone with evidence that a racehorse or racing greyhound has suffered unnecessarily to get in touch with either the BHA or the GBGB and share their concerns. In the most severe cases of misuse, an individual may be investigated under the 2006 Act, as well as receiving significant sanctions from the sport.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk on 2 June, PQ UIN 6370.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk on 2 June, PQ UIN 6370.

Water companies have a statutory duty to provide a secure water supply for customers by developing and maintaining efficient and economical systems of water service provision.

Statutory water resources management plans show how water companies will meet this duty by managing water supply and demand for at least the next 25 years. The plans must take account of the implications of population growth and climate change. The plans must be subject to public consultation, including with statutory consultees Ofwat and the Environment Agency before the Secretary of State allows their publication.

Yorkshire Water published its water resources management plan in 2020. The plan must be reviewed annually and revised at least every five years.

The Environment Bill will enhance the water resources management planning processes. The measures will complement the Environment Agency's National Framework for water resources, published in 2020, which sets out England's future water needs and our expectations for how regional groups will inform the delivery of those needs, including Water Resources North informing Yorkshire Water's water resources management plan. The measures will allow improved collaboration between water companies and with other water users, to aid environmental improvement and the sustainable use of water resources.

The Environment Bill will also give the Environment Agency additional powers to vary or revoke permanent abstraction licences without the liability to pay compensation where it is necessary to protect the environment from damage, or where the licence holder has abstracted at least 25% less water than their licensed volume (underused their licence) in every year over the previous 12-year period. The Environment Agency already have powers to vary or revoke water company abstraction licences without being liable to pay compensation but these additional powers will tackle unsustainable abstraction from other water abstractors.

As with other parts of a home, pipes on the customer’s property are the customer’s/homeowner’s responsibility. However, we are aware there can be problems relating to lead content and leakage issues in these supply pipes. Some water companies provide help to customers to replace these pipes, but this is not consistent.

Defra is gathering evidence on policies to reduce lead exposure. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has published a review of the currently available evidence on lead in drinking water and the possible long-term strategies to reduce exposure, which is available on the DWI’s website. Ofwat recently approved two trial projects to replace customer supply pipes made of lead by South West Water and Severn Trent.

With regard to leakage, a response to the 2019 ‘Water conservation: measures to reduce personal water use’ consultation, is expected to be published this spring. Measures to address leakage were considered as part of this consultation, and protecting our water resources is a priority for this Government. The consultation response will more clearly set out our intentions with regard to reducing leakage on customer supply pipes.

Defra supports a range of action to reduce food waste.

At the household level, we are tackling food waste through supporting campaigns such as Love Food, Hate Waste and Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date as well as the UK’s first Food Waste Action Week which was held in March 2021. We also support the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and its work with retailers and other food businesses who play a key role in influencing household food waste through interventions such as pack sizing and labelling. These measures all help consumers to buy what they need and use what they buy.

For reducing waste in the supply chain, we support the Courtauld 2025 voluntary agreement delivered by WRAP that looks to reduce food waste by 20% by 2025. Action here is primarily through the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and the Target, Measure, Act approach where businesses set a reduction target, measure food waste and act to reduce it. This is currently voluntary under the Roadmap, but we will consult this year on introducing regulations to make the transparent reporting of food waste mandatory for businesses of an appropriate size. We also support resource efficiency in the hospitality sector through the Guardians of Grub campaign delivered by WRAP.

Since 2018 Defra has made a series of grants available to help redistribute more surplus food to those who have a need and to stop it from going to animal feed or disposal destinations. In total over £11 million has been awarded to both large and small redistribution organisations across the country.

Defra has appointed Ben Elliot as Food Surplus and Waste Champion. Ben is motivating business leaders to tackle food waste from farm to fork, including through support for the delivery of the Courtauld 2025 commitments.

Voluntary conservation groups are not prohibited from using pesticides. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.

As stated in the answer to question 99604, this aspect of pesticide regulation is under review. We are expediting this work and I expect to be able to inform the hon. Member for York Outer of the conclusion within the next two months.

We are aware of the concerns around the use of glue traps, which can cause immense suffering to both target and non-target animals.

It is an issue we are looking at very closely as part of our continued drive to maintain the highest animal welfare standards in the world.

Anyone using glue traps has a responsibility under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to act within the law to ensure their activities do not cause any unnecessary suffering.

The Horse Welfare Board’s five-year Horse Welfare Strategy (HWS) “a life well-lived” was published on 20 February 2020. The HWS contains 20 recommendations for improving the welfare of horses bred for racing. The HWS recommends that, as a minimum, the penalties for misuse of the whip need to increase and that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) should conduct a consultation on the use of the whip. The Strategy also recommends that this consultation should gather views on future restrictions on whip use and on a possible ban. The opening of this consultation has been delayed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Defra officials will remain engaged with the BHA on the progress being made with the consultation. I would encourage anyone with evidence that a racehorse has suffered unnecessarily from being whipped to get in touch with the BHA and share their concerns. In the most severe cases of misuse, an individual may be investigated under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, as well as receiving significant sanctions from the sport.

Defra recognises the significant impact underwater noise from ordnance clearance and other activities can have on vulnerable marine species. We are working closely with the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), other Government departments, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs) and marine industries to manage and reduce underwater noise but must ensure any clearance method for the removal of unexploded ordnance is both safe and effective.

The Government is currently investigating low order techniques as alternatives to detonation in the removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the seabed. Defra welcomed controlled quarry testing of deflagration, a specific low order technique which burns out the explosive material in a controlled manner, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which showed positive noise reductions.

Defra’s recently formed Offshore Wind Enabling Actions Programme includes a dedicated team focusing on reducing, monitoring and managing the impacts of underwater noise, including from UXO clearance, to reduce harm and enable the sustainable and responsible growth of the offshore wind sector. This team will be working with BEIS through its Strategic Environmental Assessment programme to collect the further evidence needed on low order techniques for the clearance of UXO, to ensure safety and efficacy as well as confirming if findings are transferable to the offshore marine environment. Our aim is to commence further research this summer.

Additionally, any removal of UXO must be individually assessed in accordance with our Habitats Regulations. As the relevant marine regulator, the MMO considers all forms of potential mitigation to effectively manage underwater noise prior to issuing a marine licence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act (2009). A marine species licence is also required if the activity is likely to negatively affect a protected species, which includes all dolphins, whales and porpoises. Further, marine mammal specialists are deployed to ensure there are no marine mammals in the vicinity and where appropriate bubble curtains are used to limit the sound travelling through the water.

The UK has a robust and widely welcomed forestry standard in place – the UK Forestry Standard. This is the UK governments’ guide to sustainable forestry. It is based on international scientific evidence. The relevant public authority in each UK country assesses woodland creation proposals against this standard before giving approval to such schemes. This robust regulatory framework provides a high level of scrutiny to protect landscapes and the wider environment to ensure the right tree is planted in the right place for the right reason.

Both species are included in the Ecological Site Classification Decision Support System to aid the selection of species suited to site conditions. It is accessible online via a web browser to help guide forest managers and planners to select ecologically suited species to sites.

There is some limited experience of growing both species in British conditions. The Coast Redwood is available from some forest nurseries and is being used by Forestry England on land they manage.

The obligation for supermarkets to charge for single-use carrier bags (SUCBs) supplied with online deliveries was temporarily removed in response to the first Covid-19 lockdown. This change was only temporary to allow retailers time to adapt their delivery systems, and the charge was reinstated in September 2020.

The department does not have any plans to further assess the need to reinstate the suspension of the charge for online deliveries. Since March, supermarkets have updated and improved their delivery systems to meet the increased demand due to the pandemic. They have also developed new practices to improve safety for both drivers and customers, and citizens are far more aware of the importance of social distancing. Retailers can still provide single-use carrier bags as a delivery option for customers so long as the charge is still in place.

Pesticides regulations do not prohibit voluntary conservation groups from using glyphosate and other pesticides in environmental conservation work. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products that are authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.

At the request of Defra, the Health and Safety Executive reviewed this aspect of the pesticide regulations and the options identified are being considered.

Pesticides regulations do not prohibit voluntary conservation groups from using glyphosate and other pesticides in environmental conservation work. Volunteers may use products that are authorised for amateur use; they may also use products that are authorised for professional use providing they are trained and hold a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides. Untrained conservation volunteers may apply pesticides that are authorised for professional use but only if they are under the supervision of a trained certificated user and are working towards gaining a recognised certificate in the application of pesticides.

At the request of Defra, the Health and Safety Executive reviewed this aspect of the pesticide regulations and the options identified are being considered.

In cases of localised flooding, we expect local authorities to have well established contingency measures in place and both the existing budgets and resources to respond and support their local communities.

The emergency Bellwin scheme was activated after Storm Ciara on 10 February and Storm Dennis on 17 February 2020. The scheme was activated for qualifying areas in West Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire which have seen significant impacts following Storm Ciara. It has also been activated for qualifying areas in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Herefordshire which have seen significant impacts following Storm Dennis. Under the scheme, local authorities dealing with the flooding can apply to have 100% of their eligible costs, above a threshold, reimbursed by the government. This could be for items including rest centres, temporary accommodation and staff overtime.

In cases of localised flooding, we expect local authorities to have well established contingency measures in place and both the existing budgets and resources to respond and support their local communities.

The emergency Bellwin scheme was activated after Storm Ciara on 10 February and Storm Dennis on 17 February 2020. The scheme was activated for qualifying areas in West Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire which have seen significant impacts following Storm Ciara. It has also been activated for qualifying areas in Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, Worcestershire and Herefordshire which have seen significant impacts following Storm Dennis. Under the scheme, local authorities dealing with the flooding can apply to have 100% of their eligible costs, above a threshold, reimbursed by the government. This could be for items including rest centres, temporary accommodation and staff overtime.

Transformation on this scale cannot happen overnight. The government is setting up a Rail Transformation Programme within the department and the rail industry to establish a common understanding of the vision, set out the phases of delivery and work collectively with the sector to design and implement this major programme. As a respected leader in the sector, Andrew Haines has been asked to develop plans for establishing interim arrangement, drawing on expertise across industry and beyond.

Great British Railways will be able to make substantial net savings without detriment to service or fare levels by reducing duplication, interface costs and complexity. Savings from reform will take several years to realise, but industry experts suggest that after an initial five-year implementation period, substantial annual costs savings could be achieved.

We will make an announcement on next steps in relation to setting up Great British Railways in due course.

The International Travel and Operator Liability Regulations, which give legal effect to the traffic light country system, will expire at the end of 16 May 2022, unless revoked earlier.

A statutory review clause is included in the Regulations. The Secretary of State must review whether the Regulations remain effective, necessary and proportionate on public health grounds at least every 28 days.

The allocation of countries to the traffic light system will be reviewed every three weeks, unless concerning evidence means we need to act faster to protect public health.

The next review will take place in the week commencing 21st June 2021.

The “traffic light” country system was developed in conjunction with industry and international partners to facilitate the return of international travel.

The three categories of countries (red, amber and green), to which different restrictions are applied depending on risk, are designed to help the public to understand the health requirements when travelling to England.

We have always been guided by the science and that remains the case. The allocation of countries is regularly reviewed, and we will respond to emerging evidence. The Joint Biosecurity Centre will publish data and analysis to support the process of allocating countries.

To give passengers more certainty when travelling, a ‘green watchlist’ will be introduced to help identify countries most at risk of moving from ‘green’ to ‘amber’. The watchlists will provide greater assurance for those who wish to travel abroad to countries on the ‘green’ list.

Holidaymakers are able to use a lateral flow test for pre-departure testing before travel to England as long as it meets the minimum performance standards. Testing post-arrival remains an important tool in our wider measures to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as allowing us to identify variants of concern. We are exploring options to reduce the cost of testing, including cheaper tests being used when holidaymakers return home and whether the Government would be able to provide pre-departure tests.

UK licence holders are required to present a valid UK driving licence to exchange it for a Danish licence. So, if the UK licence has been lost, stolen or expired it cannot be exchanged and the UK licence holder will need to apply for a Danish licence and may have to take a test. A certificate of entitlement will not be recognised by Denmark in these circumstances.

It is too early to predict which countries will be on which ‘traffic light’ list.The Government continues to consider a range of factors to inform the restrictions placed on them, such as the percentage of their population that have been vaccinated, the rate of infection, any emerging coronavirus variants and the country’s access to reliable scientific data and genomic sequencing. We will set out by early May which countries will fall into which category, as well as confirming whether international travel can resume from 17 May.

The government recognises that the cost of tests for international travel can be high and is currently reviewing all options available to reduce the cost of Covid-19 tests. This includes working with the travel industry and private testing providers to further reduce the cost of travel while continuing to protect public health and monitor variants of concern.

Testing post-arrival remains an important tool in our wider measures to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as allowing us to identify variants of concern, however the Government is clear that we want the tests to be as cheap and convenient as possible.

We are continuing to progress development and design of the TransPennine Route Upgrade, including the examination of the case for full electrification of the route. The electrification of the Midland Main Line, from Market Harborough to Nottingham and Sheffield, is also currently being examined by the Department and Network Rail and is at an early stage of development.

Electrification of the rail network will be an important part of how we will decarbonise the railway and meet net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Therefore, the Department will consider further electrification schemes with Network Rail to ensure that they can be delivered efficiently and affordably.

The Department has established the Northern Transport Acceleration Council, an advisory forum to progress and unblock existing priority transport projects, to speed up the delivery of vital infrastructure projects and connect communities across the North’s towns and cities. It has successfully brought together leaders from across the north of England to meet and engage with Ministers.

Given the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings have so far been held online. However, we look forward to engaging with leaders in the North in person as soon as it is safe to do so.

The council is supported by a small secretariat team of officials based in the North. They work alongside regionally based area leads and DfT’s Acceleration Unit to connect with local transport authorities and northern leaders.

Under the terms of The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme a holder of a concessionary bus pass is able to travel between 09.30am and 11.00pm on weekdays and all day at weekends and on Bank Holidays

Local authorities in England have the power to offer additional local concessions, such as extending the hours of the concession, and three quarters of authorities already do so.

This area is kept under review. The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme costs around £1 billion annually so any changes, such as extending the concession to include morning peak time travel, would need to be carefully considered for their impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.

At present there are no plans to further extend MOT due dates, for either the public as a whole or those who are clinically vulnerable. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency have published guidance on how to safely conduct an MOT test while adhering to social distancing measures, and they continue to work with the industry on reducing the potential risk of transmission of COVID-19.

The Department continues to monitor the situation as it evolves and any further changes made to MOT expiry dates will be made based on the evidence available.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, open access operators have been able to draw upon the extensive support measures that Government has made available across the economy, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Government has supported applications by Hull Trains and Grand Central for extensions to their track access contracts, in order to allow them to seek more favourable terms from lenders and suppliers. The British Transport Police Authority has allowed Hull Trains and Grand Central to defer the contributions they make towards the cost of policing the railway during the period when the companies were in hibernation and not running trains.

The Health Regulations relating to the self-isolation requirements remain under constant review, and are updated as required. The country exemption review takes place each week.

The Health Regulations relating to the self-isolation requirements remain under constant review, and are updated as required. The next formal review will be on 27 July 2020.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency announced on 4 June 2020 that drivers with a photocard driving licence due to expire between 1 February and 31 August 2020 will be granted a seven-month extension to their licence.

For those drivers who need to renew their entitlement to drive, the quickest and easiest way to do so is to use DVLA’s online service. Drivers who are unable to use the online service should submit a paper application in the normal way. However, paper applications will take longer to process in the current circumstances.

The current financial position of the Northern franchise will not impact on the railway’s day-to-day operations. The business will continue to operate as usual with no impact on Northern services or staff.

The Government recognises the importance of making drinking water more readily available in public places, as a means of reducing single-use plastic bottles. As laid out in the 25 Year Environment Plan, and Resource and Waste Strategy we are already taking action in this area. The Government has encouraged retailers, coffee shops and transport hubs, including airports, to provide tap water to support refilling water bottles.

The £20 per week temporary Universal Credit increase remains in place until April 2021. As the Government has done throughout this crisis, it will continue to assess how best to support low-income families, which is why we will look at the economic and health context in the new year before making any decisions.

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency observed limited waning in vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation and death more than 20 weeks post-vaccination with Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) or Comirnaty (Pfizer). This was less evident in younger adults not in a clinical risk group, suggesting that if such individuals were vaccinated early, they should still be protected for longer than older individuals.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that booster vaccines should be offered to those more at risk from serious disease and who were vaccinated during phase one of the programme in priority groups one to nine. Younger, healthy individuals may be expected to generate stronger vaccine-induced immune responses from primary course vaccination compared to older individuals.

National Health Service hospitals in England have procedures in place which recognise that retention and reissue of a patient’s own routine medicines, following a review, allows patients to continue with their familiar regime in their home or from their community pharmacy and reduces discharge delays and adverse incidents. Additional clinically urgent medicines, prescribed during the stay, are supplied by the hospital.

Other procedures include dispensing for discharge at the start of a stay, full dispensing of all medicines needed at discharge or, for short episodes where no changes are made to the patient’s medicine regime, no supply. The new Community Pharmacy Discharge Medicines Service can support patients requiring on-going support with their medicines needs after discharge.

All hospitals, whether NHS or private, are subject to the same regulatory standards, overseen by the Care Quality Commission. We have made no estimate of the potential for NHS cost savings of inpatients retaining their prescribed medications upon discharge.

From 11 October, travellers vaccinated in over 37 countries and territories became eligible for reduced testing and quarantine requirements for ‘rest of the world’ category countries, if they have not visited a ‘red list’ country or territory in the 10 days before arriving in England. These travellers should also be fully vaccinated with one of the four Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved vaccines, AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria, Pfizer, Moderna, Janssen. This includes derivations, such as Covishield.

Those fully vaccinated with an approved vaccine arriving from Turkey can demonstrate their status with a vaccine certificate from the relevant public health body. Arrivals from Cyprus must use the Cypriot EU Digital COVID Certificate to demonstrate their vaccine status.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programme on medicines optimisation includes improving the use of medicines and reducing wastage and aims to help patients to improve their outcomes; take their medicines as intended; avoid taking unnecessary medicines; reduce wastage of medicines; and improve medicines safety. Reducing waste medicines is also a focus for the National Health Service environmental programme 'Delivering a net zero NHS'.

In addition, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England has completed a review on overprescribing, which was published on 22 September 2021. The review sets out a series of further practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients get the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring clinicians’ time is well-used and taxpayer money is spent wisely.

Dispensing funding for the 12 months commencing 1 April 2021 represents a 0.1% decrease on the envelope for the 12 months commencing 1 April 2020. Therefore, NHS England and NHS Improvement do not expect there to be a significant change in total dispensing fees received. Under the agreed methodology, if there is any over or underspend in the 12 months commencing 1 April 2021, this will be taken into account when calculating funding from 1 April 2022.

Dispensing funding for the 12 months commencing 1 April 2021 represents a 0.1% decrease on the envelope for the 12 months commencing 1 April 2020. Therefore, NHS England and NHS Improvement do not expect there to be a significant change in total dispensing fees received. Under the agreed methodology, if there is any over or underspend in the 12 months commencing 1 April 2021, this will be taken into account when calculating funding from 1 April 2022.

The data is not held in the format requested. Currently the only childcare setting in which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing is routinely carried out is children’s secure homes. To minimise waiting times for all PCR testing, including in children’s homes, we have procured additional laboratory capacity and adopted a regional processing model to reduce travel times and increase efficiency.

No specific assessment has been made. Children and young people aged under 18 years and six months old who usually attend an education or childcare setting and who have been identified as a close contact can continue to attend as normal.

Working parents or guardians of a child or young person who has been told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace may be eligible for support via the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme if they live in England and meet specific eligibility criteria. The payment covers the full 10-day self-isolation period. If an individual has to look after someone who is required to self-isolate, they may also qualify for other welfare and COVID-19 support, such as Universal Credit and/or the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advises that asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen constitutes a risk group for the purpose of COVID-19 vaccination of children. Hyposplenism or reduced spleen function in coeliac disease is uncommon in children and the prevalence correlates with the duration of exposure to gluten. Therefore, children diagnosed with coeliac disease early in life whose condition is well managed are unlikely to require vaccination.

Clinical judgment should be applied in identifying these children on a case by case basis.

The Government looked to the independent Pay Review Bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff. The Government has accepted the NHS Pay Review Body and Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations in full.

Once implemented, all NHS staff within the two Review Bodies’ remit groups for this year will receive a 3% pay uplift, backdated to April 2021. Additional payments are not being considered.

The Government looked to the independent Pay Review Bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff. The Government has accepted the NHS Pay Review Body and Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations in full.

Once implemented, all NHS staff within the two Review Bodies’ remit groups for this year will receive a 3% pay uplift, backdated to April 2021. Additional payments are not being considered.

The Government looked to the independent Pay Review Bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff. The Government has accepted the NHS Pay Review Body and Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations in full.

Once implemented, all NHS staff within the two Review Bodies’ remit groups for this year will receive a 3% pay uplift, backdated to April 2021. Additional payments are not being considered.

The Government looked to the independent Pay Review Bodies for a pay recommendation for National Health Service staff. The Government has accepted the NHS Pay Review Body and Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration’s recommendations in full.

Once implemented, all NHS staff within the two Review Bodies’ remit groups for this year will receive a 3% pay uplift, backdated to April 2021. Additional payments are not being considered.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are investing an additional £95 million in maternity services to support recruitment of 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians. £26.5 million of this investment will go to multi-disciplinary training. The National Health Service (NHS) is investing £52 million to fast track its Long Term Plan commitment to ensure that all women will have access to all of their maternity notes and health promotion information through a smart phone or other device by 2023/24.

The Department announced a new £500,000 NHS maternity leadership training programme to address issues raised in the Ockenden review. Maternity and neonatal leaders across 125 Trusts and 44 local maternity systems are receiving support to help them lead improvements in workplace culture and facilitate greater collaborative working between nurses, doctors, midwives and obstetricians.

A refreshed national Maternity and Neonatal Safety Improvement Programme ensures that themes emerging from learning nationally are turned universally into changes to clinical practice, behaviour and service models locally.

The majority of restrictions were lifted prior to 16 August 2021, waiting until this date to lift the self-isolation requirement on fully vaccinated contacts of positive cases has enabled more people to become fully vaccinated which significantly reduces the risk of severe illness and onward transmission and provided greater protection for people across the country.

Health and care settings will continue to maintain appropriate infection prevention and control processes. Related guidance will be kept under review and updated based on the latest clinical evidence where appropriate. Supporting pregnant women using maternity services during the coronavirus pandemic: Actions for NHS providers’, will continue be aligned with the guidance on infection prevention and control.

No assessment has been made regarding the specific impacts in question. However, assessments of the broader impact of the self-isolation requirements have been made for all age groups, including young adults. We recognise that young adults’ educational, social, and by extension health outcomes are highly impacted by self-isolation.

The shielding programme has now ended in England. People who were previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable will not be advised to shield or follow specific national guidance. The same guidance for the general population should now be followed.

Those who remain concerned should discuss any risks with their National Health Service clinician.

The shielding programme has now ended in England, meaning that people who were previously considered clinically extremely vulnerable will not be advised to shield in the future or follow specific national guidance. The same general guidance for the whole population should now be followed. Those who remain concerned should discuss any risks their National Health Service clinician.

National Health Service (NHS) trusts in England providing maternity services have partnered with service users and commissioners to form local maternity systems (LMS), aligned to integrated care partnerships.

LMS’ share information and learning in a structured and systematic way, working with partners to turn learning into service improvement; co-designing and implementing a vision for local maternity and neonatal services with local women through Maternity Voices Partnerships; and implementing shared solutions wherever possible through shared clinical and operational governance.

The Government expects all NHS trusts to operate in line with the latest evidence and guidelines on all aspects of maternity care and baby loss.

No estimate of the number of dental practices in York or England accepting new National Health Service (NHS) adult patients has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for commissioning primary dental care services to meet local need, including for new patients.

Availability of NHS dentistry continues to be constrained in many cases due to the impact of COVID-19 infection prevention and control measures. NHS dentists have been asked to meet as many prioritised needs as possible, focussing first on urgent care and vulnerable groups, followed by overdue appointments. The Department are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and Public Health England to increase access taking into account the ongoing infection prevention and control and social distancing requirements.

General Practices (GP) have remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments to those who need them as well as telephone and online consultations and are grateful for the effort they have made to support their patients. As outlined in the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter of the 19 July 2021 to GP practices, it remains a clear expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible. This is the approach many practices are taking and in July 2021, over half of all appointments (excluding vaccination appointments) were face to face (57.2%).

NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care (and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice) to inform its long-term strategy.

The Department continues to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and GPs to assess the impact of different types of appointment and to improve access for all patient groups. The public sector equality duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the impact of their policies on different protected characteristics, one of which is age.

General Practices (GP) have remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments to those who need them as well as telephone and online consultations and are grateful for the effort they have made to support their patients. As outlined in the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter of the 19 July 2021 to GP practices, it remains a clear expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible. This is the approach many practices are taking and in July 2021, over half of all appointments (excluding vaccination appointments) were face to face (57.2%).

NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care (and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice) to inform its long-term strategy.

The Department continues to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and GPs to assess the impact of different types of appointment and to improve access for all patient groups. The public sector equality duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the impact of their policies on different protected characteristics, one of which is age.

General Practices (GP) have remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments to those who need them as well as telephone and online consultations and are grateful for the effort they have made to support their patients. As outlined in the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter of the 19 July 2021 to GP practices, it remains a clear expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible. This is the approach many practices are taking and in July 2021, over half of all appointments (excluding vaccination appointments) were face to face (57.2%).

NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care (and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice) to inform its long-term strategy.

The Department continues to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and GPs to assess the impact of different types of appointment and to improve access for all patient groups. The public sector equality duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the impact of their policies on different protected characteristics, one of which is age.

General Practices (GP) have remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments to those who need them as well as telephone and online consultations and are grateful for the effort they have made to support their patients. As outlined in the NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter of the 19 July 2021 to GP practices, it remains a clear expectation that practices should offer a blend of face to face and remote appointments, with remote triage where possible. This is the approach many practices are taking and in July 2021, over half of all appointments (excluding vaccination appointments) were face to face (57.2%).

NHS England and NHS Improvement have commissioned an independent evaluation to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care (and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice) to inform its long-term strategy.

The Department continues to work with NHS England and NHS Improvement and GPs to assess the impact of different types of appointment and to improve access for all patient groups. The public sector equality duty requires public authorities to have due regard to the impact of their policies on different protected characteristics, one of which is age.

We are currently reviewing the potential merits of extending workplace daily contact testing to additional sites outside of the critical sectors already identified by the Government. Our initial focus is on completing the extension of the workplace daily contact testing scheme to 2,000 sites, as announced on 26 July. As of 16 August, contacts who are fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate, but daily contact testing will continue in approved sites for contacts who are not yet fully vaccinated.

Guidance for clinically extremely vulnerable individuals was published on 12 July 2021 and outlines the support that people can access. There are currently no further plans for support specifically aimed at clinically extremely vulnerable people.

Employers continue to have a legal responsibility to protect their employees and others from risks to their health and safety and be able to explain to their employees the measures they have in place to keep them safe at work. Employers may request employees to undertake regular testing for COVID-19 to identify people who are asymptomatic.

There is no ongoing assessment to investigate the needs of people with serious underlying health conditions who may feel afraid to leave their homes since the move to Step four.

Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals, many who have serious underlying health conditions, are currently advised to follow the guidance that is in place for the general population.

No estimate has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement are responsible for commissioning primary dental care services to meet local need.

Aducanumab (Aduhelm) does not currently have a marketing authorisation for use in the United Kingdom. Subject to marketing authorisation approval, companies have freedom of pricing for new active substances under the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access agreed between the Government and industry.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assesses all new medicines and makes recommendations on whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources and should be routinely funded. NICE has begun its appraisal of aducanumab for treating mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and currently expects to publish final guidance in May 2022, subject to licensing. Commercial discussions between NHS England and the company may take place in parallel with NICE’s appraisal, in line with NHS England’s Commercial Framework.

Aducanumab (Aduhelm) does not currently have a marketing authorisation for use in the United Kingdom. Subject to marketing authorisation approval, companies have freedom of pricing for new active substances under the voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access agreed between the Government and industry.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) assesses all new medicines and makes recommendations on whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources and should be routinely funded. NICE has begun its appraisal of aducanumab for treating mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and currently expects to publish final guidance in May 2022, subject to licensing. Commercial discussions between NHS England and the company may take place in parallel with NICE’s appraisal, in line with NHS England’s Commercial Framework.

We have implemented the recommendation of the Independent Medicines and Medical Device (IMMDS) Review which calls for the establishment of specialist mesh centres. As of April 2021, eight National Health Service trusts are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to provide specialised services for women with complications of mesh inserted for urinary incontinence and vaginal prolapse.

The Review recommended a patient-identifiable database for the implantation of all devices, including vaginal mesh. NHS Digital has developed a pelvic floor registry under the Surgical Devices and Implants Direction, which will collect information from pelvic floor and mesh related procedures. Specialist mesh removal centres will be required to provide information to the pelvic floor registry.

We are considering the associated actions for improvement that relate to mesh and we will respond in full to the IMMDS Review this year.

The Department established a patient reference group to provide challenge, advice and scrutiny to the Government’s response to the Report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Review. There were 14 members of the Group, of which two people have been affected by, or hold an interest in, pelvic mesh.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is developing a world-leading regulatory regime for medical devices that prioritises patient safety. This includes an expectation that all devices placed onto the market will hold a UK Conformity Assessed mark by July 2023. A public consultation on the regulation of medical devices, which will provide an opportunity for views to be gained from patients and the wider public, is expected to launch this summer and new regulations are planned to follow the consultation in late spring 2022.

We have made no such assessment.

The ‘rule of six’ applies in all indoor settings, including the children’s indoor play sector and this clear and consistent approach assists the public and enforcement officials such as the police, local authorities and public health officials to understand the requirements.

We have not made a specific assessment of potential effect of such misunderstandings of the rule of six. However, the Government continues to work closely with local authorities and the police to support effective enforcement. We keep all social distancing restrictions under continuous review.

The ‘rule of six’ applies in all indoor settings, including the children’s indoor play sector and this clear and consistent approach assists the public and enforcement officials such as the police, local authorities and public health officials to understand the requirements.

We have not made a specific assessment of potential effect of such misunderstandings of the rule of six. However, the Government continues to work closely with local authorities and the police to support effective enforcement. We keep all social distancing restrictions under continuous review.

This information is not currently available in the format requested.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The information requested is not held centrally.

We are preparing for a potential booster vaccination programme from the autumn. Whilst we are planning for several potential scenarios, final decisions on the timing and scope of the booster programme will be taken in line with results from key clinical studies. Any decision on a booster vaccination programme will be informed by independent advice from the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation.

‘Building the right support’, published in October 2015, is the national plan to improve care, reduce avoidable admissions and provide support in the community for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The ‘Building the right support’ Delivery Board has been established to drive and monitor progress and can commission any work considered necessary to ensure the target is met.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is leading a new programme of work to transform the way they regulate services for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The CQC set out their expectations for providers in ‘Right support, right care, right culture’, as well as in their updated guidance, which gives inspectors further support to identify warning signs of a closed culture in services. This supports improvements in the quality of care provided to people with a learning disability and autistic people.

As of April 2021, there has been a 30% reduction since 2015 in the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in specialist inpatient settings.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are committed to delivering continuity of carer to most women, so that it becomes the default model of care for women in maternity services across England. In 2018/19, Health Education England (HEE) distributed £745,000 to support the implementation of Continuity of Carer models in maternity care. In 2020/21 HEE has also been delivering a £300,000 national training package to support Continuity of Carer.

The NHS Long Term Plan commits to ensuring that 75% of black and Asian women and a similar percentage of women from the most deprived neighbourhoods are offered Continuity of Carer by March 2024, with an interim ambition of 51% by March 2022.

NHS Digital has engaged widely with stakeholders over several years on the new system, including patient groups and professional clinical organisations. NHS Digital has publicised this coming into effect through a press notice, web content, social media, engagement with the media and through stakeholder channels. The new system will now start on 1 September, allowing an additional two months to engage with patients, doctors, health charities and others.

Applications to use data are always subject to the greatest scrutiny. Access to data can only be requested for specific purposes, such as medical research and planning and audits are carried out to ensure it is only being used for the purpose given.

NHS Digital proactively promoted this new data collection through their website, engagement with media, stakeholder and patient groups and social media channels. They sought to raise awareness of the collection and its importance to the health and care system, but also to provide patients with a choice if they do not want their data to be used in this way by registering a data-opt-out.

The new system will start on 1 September, allowing a further two months where we will engage with patients, doctors, health charities and others to strengthen awareness and understanding.

The Department is working with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), including the NIHR’s Clinical Research Network, NHS England and NHS Improvement and the GBS3 team to encourage trusts to take part in this important trial and to mitigate any individual challenges that might prevent their participation.

All of the currently authorised COVID-19 vaccines are suitable for use in immunocompromised individuals, including those with blood cancer. The clinical studies for these vaccines excluded immunocompromised subjects and therefore no data is currently available regarding the use of these vaccines when used at the same time as immunosuppressant medicines or the immune response in those on such medications. However, data is being collected on use of the vaccines in immunocompromised subjects and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will assess this data as soon as it become available. Public Health England is also monitoring the impact of COVID-19 vaccines on a broad range of outcomes including symptomatic disease, infection and hospitalisations as set out in the vaccine surveillance strategy, including protection in different clinical risk groups.

An informal review was carried out to help inform future working. We are unable to provide the information requested as it relates to the ongoing formulation of Government policy. A full review in the form of a statutory inquiry will take place.

Public Health England has not made an assessment.

General practice is open and has been throughout the pandemic. In March 2021 over half of all appointments were face to face. On 20 May 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published updated standard operating procedures for general practice in the context of COVID-19. A blended approach of both face to face and remote appointments should be available to patients according to clinically appropriateness. Patient preferences for face to face and remote care need to be respected unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. Practice receptions should be clearly open, so patients without access to phones or online services are not disadvantaged. Practices are to review communications to ensure patients understand how to access general practitioner services.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have an independent evaluation underway to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice. NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group will also work with the Local Medical Committee to improve understanding of local general practice access issues.

General practice is open and has been throughout the pandemic. In March 2021 over half of all appointments were face to face. On 20 May 2021, NHS England and NHS Improvement published updated standard operating procedures for general practice in the context of COVID-19. A blended approach of both face to face and remote appointments should be available to patients according to clinically appropriateness. Patient preferences for face to face and remote care need to be respected unless there are good clinical reasons to the contrary. Practice receptions should be clearly open, so patients without access to phones or online services are not disadvantaged. Practices are to review communications to ensure patients understand how to access general practitioner services.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have an independent evaluation underway to understand the impact for staff, patients and the wider health and care system of using digital tools in primary care and in particular the effectiveness of online consultation systems and triage approaches in general practice. NHS Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group will also work with the Local Medical Committee to improve understanding of local general practice access issues.

The Government is committed to sustainable improvement of the adult social care system and will bring forward proposals in 2021.

Endoscopy is a key part of diagnostic activity. The 2020 Spending Review committed £325 million for diagnostics in 2021/22, including the development of community diagnostics hubs. The exact allocations of this funding will be confirmed in due course.

In addition, the Accelerator programme has commenced in May 2021 which supports 13 integrated care systems and £160 million has been allocated to support new rapid programmes of work over a 13 week period, which include diagnostic recovery. Learning from these sites will be applied rapidly across England to support wider elective recovery. Alongside the Accelerator programme, £1 billon is being invested in 2021/22 through the Elective Recovery Fund. Endoscopy activity is one of the activities included as part of the Elective Recovery Fund. This fund is available across England for all providers of secondary care services to increase levels of elective activity including diagnostics.

The NHS had since taken a range of further measures to further optimise the use of medicines and reduce wastage.

Medicines cannot normally be reused as the quality of returned medicines cannot be assessed on physical inspection alone. The World Health Organization’s guidelines state that if the quality of an item is unacceptable in the donor country, it is also unacceptable as a donation. Moreover, there are patent issues involved in donating medicines to other countries.

The NHS had since taken a range of further measures to further optimise the use of medicines and reduce wastage.

Medicines cannot normally be reused as the quality of returned medicines cannot be assessed on physical inspection alone. The World Health Organization’s guidelines state that if the quality of an item is unacceptable in the donor country, it is also unacceptable as a donation. Moreover, there are patent issues involved in donating medicines to other countries.

Anyone who is travelling abroad and who is not exempt from these restrictions should provide a reasonable excuse for doing so. This does not include travel overseas to visit a childcare bubble or travel overseas to provide childcare. However, there are express reasonable excuses such as for access or contact arrangements between parents and children that live in different countries, or where it is reasonably necessary to provide care to a child with an underlying health condition.

No such assessment has been made. Data on National Health Service orthodontic waiting times is not available at a national level due to regional variation in the collection of data.

Contractual arrangements for the first six months of the 2021/22 financial year have been communicated to practices by NHS England and NHS Improvement. NHS orthodontists have been asked to maximise safe throughput to meet as many prioritised needs as possible. A revised unit of orthodontic activity threshold has been set at 80% for full payment of NHS contractual value, based on data that indicates practices have capacity to safely achieve more activity than in the final quarter of 2020/21. It is expected that this increased threshold will improve patient throughput and reduce waiting times for treatment.

No such assessment has been made.

National Health Service dentists throughout the country have been asked to focus on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. This has been underpinned by the requirement for dental providers to deliver 60% of normal activity volumes for the first six months of 2020/21 for full payment of the NHS contractual value. As dental activity increases, a new flexible commissioning initiative will be relaunched in the City of York for dental providers this financial year, which in conjunction with a flexible commissioning toolkit introduced by NHS England and NHS Improvement, will allow available capacity to be focused on those that need it most and increase access for patients.

In circumstances where patients are unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a NHS dental practice, they are advised to call NHS 111 who will assist in booking an appointment at one of over 100 designated urgent care centres, which continue to stay open across Yorkshire and the Humber.

National Health Service dentists have been asked to maximise safe care, focussing on urgent care and vulnerable groups followed by overdue appointments. This has been underpinned by the setting of activity thresholds for full payment of NHS contractual value. In addition, NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided a flexible commissioning toolkit to local commissioners to help focus the available capacity on those that need it most and to reduce oral health inequalities.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments on the spread of variants of concern internationally to inform Ministerial decisions on borders policy. These risk assessments cover a range of factors for each country including assessment of surveillance and sequencing capability, available surveillance and genome sequencing data, evidence of in-country community transmission of COVID-19 variants, evidence of exportation of new variants to the United Kingdom or other countries and travel connectivity with the UK.

Decisions to ‘red list’ countries are taken by Ministers, informed by evidence including the JBC’s analysis as well as other relevant information about the risk of the spread of variant. Working in partnership with local authorities, enhanced testing and sequencing has been and will be targeted towards areas and communities assessed to potentially be at risk. Positive tests will be sequenced to identify any further spread of the COVID-19 variant first found in South Africa.

Whenever restrictions are being considered, the Government assesses the impact those restrictions may have on the health of the public. Any potentially negative impacts have to be considered against the public health benefits associated with controlling the spread of COVID-19.

Public Health England publishes and updates the ‘COVID-19: mental health and wellbeing surveillance report’, which presents close to real-time surveillance on the mental health and wellbeing of the population in England during the pandemic and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-mental-health-and-wellbeing-surveillance-report

No specific assessment has been made of the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on mental health care outcomes.

The Government published the ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’ on 22 February, to provide a roadmap out of restrictions that balances social and economic priorities while remaining vigilant to the latest scientific evidence.

At each step of the roadmap we will make an assessment against the following four tests: the vaccine deployment programme continues successfully; the evidence shows vaccines are sufficiently effective in reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated; infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the National Health Service; and our assessment of the risks is not fundamentally changed by new variants of concern. Following these tests will manage the risk of needing to increase restrictions, including further lockdown.

In order to set out a strategy for full relaxation, we will learn more about the impact of the vaccination programme and the effects of easing of restrictions. We are conducting a number of reviews, including on social distancing and other baseline measures. The results of these reviews will help inform the timing and circumstances under which we may be able to lift remaining restrictions.

Discussions are ongoing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) about additional funding for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its assessment of COVID-19 costs incurred by the sector the Government will take account of the £370 million increased advance payments paid to community pharmacies

The support package for community pharmacy also included general COVID-19 business financial support, funding for Bank Holiday openings, social distancing measures and the medicine delivery service to shielded patients and free personal protective equipment, as well as non-monetary support, including the removal of some administrative tasks, flexibility in opening hours and the delayed introduction of new services. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal was agreed with the PSNC in 2019. Negotiations on year three 2021/22 with the PSNC will begin shortly, which will take account of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community pharmacy.

Discussions are ongoing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) about additional funding for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its assessment of COVID-19 costs incurred by the sector the Government will take account of the £370 million increased advance payments paid to community pharmacies

The support package for community pharmacy also included general COVID-19 business financial support, funding for Bank Holiday openings, social distancing measures and the medicine delivery service to shielded patients and free personal protective equipment, as well as non-monetary support, including the removal of some administrative tasks, flexibility in opening hours and the delayed introduction of new services. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal was agreed with the PSNC in 2019. Negotiations on year three 2021/22 with the PSNC will begin shortly, which will take account of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community pharmacy.

Discussions are ongoing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) about additional funding for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its assessment of COVID-19 costs incurred by the sector the Government will take account of the £370 million increased advance payments paid to community pharmacies

The support package for community pharmacy also included general COVID-19 business financial support, funding for Bank Holiday openings, social distancing measures and the medicine delivery service to shielded patients and free personal protective equipment, as well as non-monetary support, including the removal of some administrative tasks, flexibility in opening hours and the delayed introduction of new services. The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal was agreed with the PSNC in 2019. Negotiations on year three 2021/22 with the PSNC will begin shortly, which will take account of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on community pharmacy.

Currently, ivermectin for oral use is not a licensed human medicine in the United Kingdom. For ivermectin to be granted a marketing authorisation in the UK, an application must be submitted to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for review. The MHRA has processes in place to expedite such an application, and assess this for quality, efficacy and safety.

The MHRA is aware that ivermectin, administered orally, is being studied for safety and efficacy in numerous clinical trials worldwide and is used in some countries in the treatment of COVID-19. While some studies have reported findings, other large studies are still on-going.

The Department is continuing to monitor any new, high quality evidence from clinical trials in both the United Kingdom and overseas on the effectiveness of vitamin C as an intervention for COVID-19. One of the UK priority clinical trial platforms, REMAP-CAP, is trialling high-dose vitamin C in patients who have been admitted to an intensive care unit with COVID-19.

In parallel, the Department is working closely with RAPID C-19 as part of a multi-agency initiative to ensure any products deemed safe and effective in clinical trials to treat COVID-19 can rapidly be brought into wider use across the National Health Service.

There has been no formal assessment. The Government is keeping all measures under constant review, including any expansion of the list of designated ports.

New visiting arrangements will start on 8 March. From then, we will support care homes to allow every resident to nominate one named person who can have regular indoor visits. More detail on these changes will be published in updated visiting guidance. We will continue to look carefully at the latest data and set out plans for the next phase of visits for people in residential care.

We commissioned research through the National Institute for Health Research on how to manage or mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia and their carers living in the community. We have supported day care services in implementing good Infection Prevention and Control by providing personal protective equipment and testing. We recognise the need for support groups to continue and as such formally organised groups of up to 15 can continue to meet.

On 9 April the Global Travel Taskforce published its report setting out a framework for the safe return of international travel from 17 May at the earliest, including the introduction of a ‘traffic light’ system for England, with different requirements for travellers based on whether a country is categorised as red, amber or green. The system will be flexible and able to respond to changes in the level of risk. Measures will be formally reviewed on or before 28 June, 31 July and 1 October.

Under the current national restrictions, it is illegal to go on holiday. For those facing significant financial hardship as a result of testing charges, there is support available detailed on GOV.UK. This is available for individuals who already receive income-related benefits and they will be required to pay back their debt to the Government in 12 monthly instalments. All of these measures will be kept under constant review including the impact on families and those with protected characteristics.

The managed quarantine and testing measures have been introduced in Regulations that have a ‘sunset’ date of 8 June 2021.

We are working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to help social media platforms identify and take action against incorrect claims about the virus in line with their terms and conditions. This includes anti-vaccination narratives that could endanger people’s health.

The Government created the cross-Whitehall Counter Disinformation Unit in March 2020, bringing together cross-Government monitoring and analysis capabilities to tackle online misinformation and disinformation. The Counter Disinformation Unit looks for trends on social media platforms so that we can work with them and other partners to respond to misleading content rapidly. Given the importance of protecting freedom of expression, this can be a range of actions from labelling, to downranking, to removal where there is significant risk of harm, in line with a platform’s terms and conditions.

For phase two of the COVID 19 vaccination programme, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation published its interim advice on 26 February, setting out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age.

We have been monitoring the requirements across the supply chain from supplier through to patients for some time. All vaccine candidates’ supply and onward deployment have clear supply chain plans across the value chain, including materials, manufacturing, transportation, storage, and distribution. Three of the United Kingdom's seven COVID-19 vaccines are being manufactured in the UK. The Government has worked closely with the manufacturers to ensure that we have sufficient capacity secured.

The Government has also invested over £300 million in securing and scaling up the UK’s manufacturing capabilities to be able to respond to this pandemic, which includes investments in Wockhardt where the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is filled and finished. As of 25 January 2021, 6,573,570million people in the UK had been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine. We continue to plan to hit our target of vaccinating all four priority groups by 15 February.

No vaccine would be authorised for supply in the United Kingdom unless the expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met.  Each COVID-19 vaccine candidate is assessed on a case by case basis and is only authorised once it has met robust standards of effectiveness, safety and quality by the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The independent expert working group have supported the MHRA’s proposals for a proactive safety monitoring strategy. This comprises the Yellow Card scheme and a special active monitoring programme which is available at the following link:

https://coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

The Department is leading extensive communications activity to reassure the public, providing advice and information to support those who have been prioritised to receive a vaccine and anyone who has questions about the vaccination process.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, people aged over 80 years old and frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

If testing centre staff are captured in phase one due to their age or clinical risk factors, then they will be prioritised accordingly. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts, such as the JCVI. Phase two may include targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Visiting a person who is terminally ill is a permissible reason for staying away from home overnight under the January 2021 lockdown restrictions.

As from 26 January 2021, 65 community pharmacies have started to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service, with more pharmacies joining the service over the coming weeks.

Some pharmacists and members of their team have also been working with general practitioners (GPs) to deliver the vaccine in many areas of the country.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with all the national pharmacy organisations on plans to ensure that community pharmacies are used to optimal effect in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, starting with the sites that can do this at scale.

There is now a list of vaccine sites on the NHS website regularly updated as they come on stream, so you can check what services are available in your constituency including pharmacy sites. This is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/hospital-hubs-and-local-vaccination-services/

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

If teachers are captured in phase one due to their age or clinical risk factors then they will be prioritised. However, as advised by the JCVI, we are not considering vaccinating teachers in phase one. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to the surveillance and monitoring of data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts such as the JCVI. Phase two of the deployment may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services, such as teachers.

The Department, the National Health Service and Public Health England are committed to providing accurate and timely data in order to improve the transparency of the COVID-19 vaccine programme.

Since 24 December 2020, we have published weekly data on the total number of vaccinations among those aged under 80 years old and over in England. From 11 January, daily data for the United Kingdom has been published showing the total number vaccinated to date, including first and second doses.

More detailed data of vaccinations by age group and region in England was published on 14 January. This will now be a weekly publication. As the programme develops it is hoped more reliable data will be able to be extracted and published.

The Department is regularly in discussions with other countries, including Israel, on a wide range of COVID-19 issues, to share learnings and collaborate internationally on the vaccination programme.

By 15 February we aim to have offered a first vaccine dose to everyone in the top four priority groups identified by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

As large numbers of people from at risk groups are given an effective vaccine, we will be able to gather the evidence to prove the impact on infection rates, hospitalisation and reduced deaths. If successful, this should lead to a substantial reassessment of current restrictions.

Over 6.5 million people in the United Kingdom have now received their first dose of the vaccine.

However, we need to understand the full impact the vaccines have on infection rates and transmission rates, which will become clearer as more people receive their vaccination. As this evidence is gathered and analysed, we will gain a greater understanding of infection rates, hospitalisation and reduced deaths and if successful, this should lead to a reassessment of current restrictions.

As part of their response to the current pandemic, providers have increased critical care surge beds. However, this has not been to specifically help reduce waiting lists. The use of these beds will be dependent upon the prevailing priorities for treatment.

Each provider will carry out a risk assessment to determine whether a patient requires a period of time within critical care post procedure and ensure that a bed is available if required.

Information on average waiting times for knee surgery is not published in the format requested. Knee surgery is included in the category ‘trauma and orthopaedics’, for which the median waiting time in weeks for October 2020 was 14.3 weeks.

The National Health Service (NHS) has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes and is working with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure a COVID-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively across every region of the United Kingdom.

Alongside local partners, the NHS has been working to ensure fair access and maximum uptake of the vaccine which is why it has developed three different models of delivery. Included in this are hospital hubs, local vaccination services and vaccination centres. More than 730 vaccination sites have already been established across the UK and hundreds more are opening this week to take the running total to over 1,000.

NHS Test and Trace allow sufficient time to identify samples which exceed the median turnaround time and aim to automatically resolve before a complaint is received.

Any referrals are passed on to a dedicated team which specialises in tracking down missing results.

Between 24 December to 30 December, for in-person tests (local test sites, mobile testing units and regional test sites), 33.0% were received within 24 hours compared to 16.9% in the previous week. Between 24 December and 30 December, the median time taken to receive a test result for regional test sites decreased to 29 hours, compared to 38 hours in the previous week. The median time for local test sites decreased to 29 hours from 42 hours and mobile testing units decreased to 29 hours from 32 hours during the same period.

Deloitte’s role has focused on work to help set up testing facilities, home and satellite delivery channels and designing the digital platform that enables people to book a test and register their kit. Deloitte does not have a role in the generation of results, handling of results data or the digital flow of results data. This is carried out by NHS.

Results are generated in our laboratories and are then passed to the National Pathology Exchange, NHS Digital and the NHS Business Service Authority where results are communicated back to individuals. Results are also sent to Public Health England who then communicate positive case information to Directors of Public Health.

Under the November 2020 COVID-19 lockdown regulations, carers can arrange for friends or family to care for a vulnerable or disabled person that they usually look after as a form of respite care. If a carer needs a break, or to receive medical treatment, they can arrange for a friend or family member to come into the home of the person who needs care, to stay and provide care overnight. This arrangement is permissible if it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of respite care to be provided for the person being cared for.

Cabinet Office guidance published on GOV.UK sets out further information on the permitted reasons for an overnight stay during the November 2020 COVID-19 lockdown. The Government is keeping this guidance under constant review, and any changes to this guidance will be announced in due course.

On 26 November, the Government announced the alert level tier for each area which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-local-restrictions

The criteria for being prescribed the freestyle libre glucose monitoring device were extended on 11 November 2020 to include both people with Type 1 diabetes and people who have insulin treated Type 2 diabetes who are living with a learning disability and who are recorded on their general practitioner’s learning disability register.

Nationwide restrictions came into effect from 5 November due to exponential rates of infection across England. On 2 December, they will expire and we intend to return to a tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends and Parliament will have a vote to agree the way forward.

Nationwide restrictions came into effect from 5 November due to exponential rates of infection across England. The restrictions imposed by local COVID alert level regulations will be removed by the regulations imposing this new national intervention, so these reviews are no longer required. On 2 December, they will expire and we intend to return to a tiered system on a local and regional basis according to the latest data and trends and Parliament will have a vote to agree the way forward.

Nationwide restrictions came into force in England on 5 November. A typical new infection takes in the region of five days to produce symptoms and time is then required for them to request and take a test, and for the results to be processed. There is a further delay before changes in infection numbers become apparent in hospitalisation and death statistics. It is therefore too early to measure the impact of the new restrictions on COVID-19 levels in England, as current data will be reflective of infections occurring before those restrictions came into force.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre is developing methodology to measure the effectiveness of these restrictions once sufficient time has elapsed for any impact to be apparent in data sources.

Nationwide restrictions came into force in England on 5 November. A typical new infection takes in the region of five days to produce symptoms and time is then required for them to request and take a test, and for the results to be processed. There is a further delay before changes in infection numbers become apparent in hospitalisation and death statistics. It is therefore too early to measure the impact of the new restrictions on COVID-19 levels in England, as current data will be reflective of infections occurring before those restrictions came into force.

The Joint Biosecurity Centre is developing methodology to measure the effectiveness of these restrictions once sufficient time has elapsed for any impact to be apparent in data sources.

A lack of schooling is known to have a negative impact on children, reducing their life chances and exacerbating physical and mental health issues. This was made clear by the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers in their statement on schools and childcare. Therefore, any decisions on children missing school need to be taken in light of this risk to their overall wellbeing. Furthermore, there is strong evidence that children are much less susceptible to severe illness from COVID-19. This has been detailed in the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ paper on children, schools and transmission.

The Chief Medical Officer is clear that being physically active is important to long-term health and crucial for keeping people healthy during the ongoing pandemic. Evidence suggests that regular physical activity can promote good physical health and help manage stress and anxiety.

The national restrictions are designed to get the ‘R’ rate under control through limiting social contact and reducing transmissions. People are still allowed to leave their homes for exercise and recreation outdoors, with their household or on their own, or with one person from another household or support bubble. However, the Government have not introduced further exemptions because it is important that the restrictions are simple to understand.

No such assessment has been made.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies provided advice and evidence to the Department on the risks of transmission through different routes and environments which is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933225/S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf

In recognition of the importance of transparency in these unprecedented times, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been publishing the statements and the accompanying evidence it has reviewed to demonstrate how the scientific understanding of COVID-19 has continued to evolve as new data emerges, and how SAGE’s advice has quickly adapted to new findings that reflect a changing situation.

The Government has these restrictions constantly under review.

We have no plans to do so.

Contact tracers continue to direct individuals to COVID-19 guidance on mental health, their general practitioner or NHS 111 for the appropriate support.

Until 3 December, tiers requirements will not apply because of the new national restrictions. As part of the national restrictions, however, we continue to recognise providing informal social care to relatives and vulnerable people is of the highest importance.

If the relatives are being hosted for a gathering for the purposes of a commemorative event to celebrate the life of a person who has died, such as a wake, the gathering cannot consist of more than 15 persons, it must take place at premises other than a private dwelling, and the gathering organiser must adhere to the precautions in relation to the gathering as laid down in the local COVID-19 alert level restrictions.

Persons resident in a local Covid alert level high area can only meet indoors with a person living in a local Covid alert medium, including staying overnight, whether socially distanced or not, if one of the exemptions apply. This includes where they are in linked households, otherwise known as a social bubble, amongst others.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies will continue to publish minutes from its meetings and the supporting scientific papers on the GOV.UK website, as has been the case since the start of the pandemic.

It remains our objective to negotiate a future relationship with the European Union to ensure that patients across the United Kingdom continue to have unfettered access to the medicines and medical products they need at the end of the transition period.

In consultation with the devolved administrations and crown dependencies, we are working with trade bodies, suppliers and the health and care system to implement detailed plans to help ensure the continued supply of medicines and medical products, including Enzalutamide, in all scenarios. In the Department’s letter to industry of 3 August, we asked suppliers to get trader ready, consider alternative routes away from potential disruption and stockpile medicines that come from or via the EU on UK soil to a target level of six weeks where this is possible. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

It remains our objective to negotiate a future relationship with the European Union to ensure that patients across the United Kingdom continue to have unfettered access to the medicines and medical products they need at the end of the transition period.

In consultation with the devolved administrations and crown dependencies, we are working with trade bodies, suppliers and the health and care system to implement detailed plans to help ensure the continued supply of medicines and medical products, including Enzalutamide, in all scenarios. In the Department’s letter to industry of 3 August, we asked suppliers to get trader ready, consider alternative routes away from potential disruption and stockpile medicines that come from or via the EU on UK soil to a target level of six weeks where this is possible. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

Our laboratories are already processing more than a million tests a week and we recently announced new facilities and technology to process results more quickly. Due to unprecedented demand, we continue to target testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak and prioritising at-risk groups.

We increased our testing capacity to 500,000 tests a day by the end of October, expanding our network of testing sites. For the residents of York, there is a local testing centre at Wentworth Way Car Park at the University of York and a regional testing centre at Poppleton Bar Park and Ride.

Early data suggests that a significant proportion of exposure to the virus is seen in the hospitality sector, which is even more pronounced in younger age groups.

10pm closure seeks to strike the balance of allowing people to continue to socialise while reducing social contact and minimising negative impact on the economy. This relies on us ensuring that businesses remain COVID-secure.

We have put in place an unprecedented package of support to support impacted businesses, including over £11 billion already been paid out through the Small Business Grants Fund and Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Business Grants Fund to over 897,000 businesses across the country, with a further £617 million available to councils to use at their discretion to support small businesses which are not eligible for the main grant scheme.

The Government receives a range of inputs in order to make all its decisions relating to COVID-19 restrictions - including monitoring the impact of restrictions in local areas via the Joint Biosecurity Centre and monitoring international experience.

We have also seen in Belgium that the package of measures introduced, including early closures in some regions, was effective in controlling transmission rates

The Government keeps all its COVID-19 restriction measures under review and will closely monitor the impact of this policy.

Where the Department has used secondary legislation to put in place measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, those Regulations stipulate that a review of these measures must take place within 28 days. In making a decision on how to proceed, we comply with our legal duties under the Equality Act 2010 (particularly the Public Sector Equality Duty) and the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984, Part 1 of the National Health Service Act 2006 and the Family Test. We keep the situation under continuous review, to consider whether the measures contained in the Regulations are still a necessary component of an effective response.

At the beginning of the pandemic, the National Health Service faced significant pressures as it responded to patient demand from COVID-19 cases. The action taken to free up capacity included the postponement of non-urgent elective treatment while protecting urgent services.

However, during the pandemic, key waiting times were at maintained at pre-pandemic levels. From March to July 2020, over 91% of people referred urgently were seen by a consultant within two weeks - the same as in March to July 2019 - and 95% of people started a first treatment for cancer within a month of a decision to treat, compared to 96% in March to July 2019.

The National Health Service Nightingale hospitals are an unprecedented response to an unprecedented challenge and created additional capacity to ensure the NHS can respond to demand if needed.

The Nightingale hospitals are available to support the NHS when needed. Local clinical leaders are working to determine how this is done whilst considering the needs of all patients requiring NHS care.

Patients currently awaiting treatment under the elective care pathway for non-urgent day case or overnight stay are able to undertake a COVID-19 test via the elective care COVID-19 home test service. Any suitable elective care patient can be submitted for a test and this service also covers parents who need to accompany their child to the hospital and partners who need to attend elective caesarean births with the mother.

The patient receives specific elective care test instructions to ensure they take the test three days before their procedure date, in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s clinical guidance.

A courier then picks up the test from the patient and delivers the sample to a laboratory where it is processed, ensuring a rapid turnaround time to result. When the sample is processed, the result is issued simultaneously to the patient and hospital via SMS and e-mail respectively.

In the most recent year for which data are available, 2018, 320,395 primary cancers were diagnosed in England. The total for the most recent five years for which data are available, 2014-2018, was 1,528,923.

The data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cancer-registration-statistics-england-2018-final-release

The data presented represents diagnoses of cancer rather than individual people as people may be diagnosed with more than one type of cancer in a given year.

The Government does not publish data in the format requested.

The Government does not publish data in the format requested.

The Government does not publish data in the format requested.

The Government does not publish data in the format requested.

The Department uses local data and intelligence to establish demand and based on this information offers capacity through its delivery channels of home testing, mobile testing and walk-through and drive-through testing to support the requirement of the area. The Department is continuing to work to boost capacity which has now increased to over 500,000 tests a day.

As the Prime Minister set out, if we are to beat the virus then everyone, at all times, needs to limit social contact as much as possible. We are seeing daily case numbers rise rapidly and across the country, which is why the Government, the Chief Medical Officer and the Chief Scientific Adviser jointly agreed the changes we announced.

The rules have been simplified and strengthened so they are easier to understand, and so the police can identify and disperse illegal gatherings. We are also acting now to get the virus under control and, if we achieve that, we may be able to make changes and potentially lift the restrictions.

The Government is keeping its social distancing measures under continual review and will only make changes when we are confident we can do so safely.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care keeps the restrictions and requirements under constant consideration, to ensure the measures continue to be both proportionate and necessary. The Government will continue to issue guidance to support the public.

The Government is keeping its social distancing measures under continual review and will only make changes when we are confident we can do so safely.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care keeps the restrictions and requirements under constant consideration, to ensure the measures continue to be both proportionate and necessary. The Government will continue to issue guidance to support the public.

We have set out a clear and consistent limit of six people of any age in all settings. This makes things easier to understand for the public and easier to enforce by the police and public health officials.

Health is a devolved matter, and each administration has the discretion to manage the risks as they see fit.

Over 1 million National Health Service staff received pay rises in April from existing multi-year deals and in July we accepted the independent pay review body’s recommendations of a 2.8% pay rise for specialty and associate specialist doctors, dentists, consultants and salaried general practitioners. The Government will carefully consider the pay review bodies’ recommendations for other staff groups next year when we receive them.

The NHS reward offer is about much more than basic pay and includes excellent benefits such as generous annual leave and a much-valued pension scheme. We want to ensure that the NHS employment offer continues to attract, retain and reward staff and this offer continues to be kept under review.

From 14 September, social gatherings, both indoors and outdoors, must be limited to six people. There are several exemptions including where a household or support bubble is larger than six and for support groups which meet qualifying conditions.

The majority but not all support groups are not subject to the six person social gathering limit if they are in COVID-secure settings or public outdoor spaces, and are organised by a business, a charitable, benevolent or philanthropic institution or a public body to provide mutual aid, therapy or any other form of support to its members or those who attend its meetings. This includes, but is not limited to, providing support:

- to victims of crime (including domestic abuse);

- to those with, or recovering from, addictions (including alcohol, narcotics or other substance addictions) or addictive patterns of behaviour;

- to new and expectant parents;

- to those with, or caring for persons with, any long-term illness, disability or terminal condition or who are vulnerable;

- to those facing issues related to their sexuality or identity including those living as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender; and

- to those who have suffered bereavement.

Up to 30 people can attend funerals. This does not include wakes. Wakes are included in the revised guidelines of up to six people only.

The NHS COVID-19 app was made available in England and Wales on 24 September.

There remains an increased risk of transmission of COVID-19 where families and communities come together following the death of a loved one, from any cause. While recognising the importance of these rituals and gatherings, it is strongly advised, in order to stay safe, that numbers of mourners in physical attendance are kept to a modest number.

The premises will limit capacity based on how many people it can safely accommodate with social distancing in place. The guidance advises that the number of attendees should be restricted to a maximum of 30 persons for public health reasons. This is on the basis there is a high risk of social mixing and contact due to the nature of the events. In some cases the premises may restrict attendance to less than 30 people.

Guidance for managing a funeral during the COVID-19 pandemic is provided at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-managing-a-funeral-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/covid-19-guidance-for-managing-a-funeral-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic

NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning a comprehensive health service. CCGs make decisions about the planning and commissioning of healthcare services that meet the needs of their local population. The Government supports CCGs in local, clinically-led commissioning of services, as they are best placed to know the different needs of their areas.

NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning a comprehensive health service. CCGs make decisions about the planning and commissioning of healthcare services that meet the needs of their local population. The Government supports CCGs in local, clinically-led commissioning of services, as they are best placed to know the different needs of their areas.

We recognise how hard the impact of COVID-19 has been on people's relationships with their loved ones. Since 4 July, Government guidance has allowed couples to meet both indoors and outdoors. Single-adult households are able to form a support bubble which allows for close contact as normal. The guidance on social distancing from people you do not live with is critical to controlling the spread of the virus and keeping people safe, but we recognise that this is particularly challenging for people who do not cohabit with their partners to comply with. We are looking closely at this issue at present.

We recognise how hard the impact of COVID-19 has been on people's relationships with their loved ones. Since 4 July, Government guidance has allowed couples to meet both indoors and outdoors. Single-adult households are able to form a support bubble which allows for close contact as normal. The guidance on social distancing from people you do not live with is critical to controlling the spread of the virus and keeping people safe, but we recognise that this is particularly challenging for people who do not cohabit with their partners to comply with. We are looking closely at this issue at present.

The Government recognises that the effect of long-term social distancing is likely to impact different groups in a variety of ways, including disabled people and their families. These impacts have been carefully considered as part of the process for determining what measures to include in the Coronavirus Regulations and guidance, in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. We appreciate this is an ongoing concern which is why we are engaging with a wide range of charities and representative organisations.

Guidance on social distancing can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing/coronavirus-covid-19-meeting-with-others-safely-social-distancing

This guidance outlines that it may not always be possible or practicable to maintain social distancing when providing care to a young child, or person with a disability or health condition. People should still limit close contact as much as possible when providing these types of care and take other precautions such as washing hands and opening windows for ventilation.

We recognise how difficult it has been for people to be cut off from their friends and family throughout the past few months. Support bubbles are to assist the loneliest and most isolated in society. They were introduced to provide extra support to some of those most impacted by the difficult effects of the social restrictions, while ensuring we continue to keep the rate of transmission low. The policy has been targeted at single-adult households.

People should socially distance from those not in their household or support bubble in order to keep people around them safe, limit the risk of the transmission of the virus and limit chains of transmission. We recognise that it may not always be possible or practicable to maintain social distancing when providing care to a young child or infant. People should still limit close contact as much as possible when providing childcare and take other precautions such as washing hands and clothes regularly.

Guidance on meeting people from outside of your household has been published and can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household

The Government recognises the crucial role played by key workers and the huge efforts they have been making to balance their work and childcare responsibilities during this difficult period. We acknowledge that for some keyworkers, COVID-19 restrictions will create challenges for managing these responsibilities. We equally appreciate the challenges faced by the employers of key workers, who have ensured that our critical services have kept running.

People should socially distance from those not in their household or support bubble in order to keep people around them safe, limit the risk of the transmission of the virus and limit chains of transmission. We recognise that it may not always be possible or practicable to maintain social distancing when providing care to a young child or infant. People should still limit close contact as much as possible when providing childcare and take other precautions such as washing hands and clothes regularly.

We do not record this data directly, but the Office for National Statistics provides information on employment rates and hours worked comparing men and women with and without dependent children. The 2019 release is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/familiesandthelabourmarketengland/2019

We have already released a pilot version of the app to a selected group of ‘Early Adopter’ users - NHS Volunteer Responders and residents of the Isle of Wight and the London Borough of Newham. The pilot is helping us test how the app performs at scale and learn about the user experience. This will inform national roll out in due course.

From Monday 14 September, people must not meet with those from other households socially in groups of more than six. This rule will not apply to individual households or support bubbles of more than six who will still be able to gather together.

Single-adult households are able to form a support bubble which allows for close contact as normal. The guidance on social distancing from those who people do not live with is critical to controlling the spread of the virus and keeping people safe, but we recognise that this is particularly challenging for people who rely on grandparents for childcare to comply with. We are looking closely at this issue at present.

Guidance on meeting people from outside of the household has been published and is available at the following link:

See refreshed guidance on social contact, including the exceptions to the 6 person limit

There is a requirement for the Government to review the restrictions set out in the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) Regulations (England) 2020 at least every 28 days, including the restrictions on the size of gatherings, based on the available scientific evidence on whether these measures continue to be needed to control the virus.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care conducts the review in consultation with with other Ministers. Decisions on when to change the limit on the size of gatherings will be informed by expert advice to ensure that the measures continue to be both proportionate and necessary to protect against, control or provide a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection in England.

The NHS Pension Scheme requires participating employers to perform certain duties including remittance of scheme contributions and providing information on employment and pension records. NHS England and NHS Improvement are the responsible employer for performing such duties in relation to general practitioner (GP) contractors, surgery based salaried GPs and freelance GP locums in England. In September 2015 they contracted Capita to provide a service administering these functions on their behalf.

Whilst Capita are reliant on GP practices to submit information promptly, several historic and current issues relating to the administration of GP pension records have been identified. NHS England and NHS Improvement have initiated a comprehensive action plan to remedy the situation, working closely with the Scheme Administrator and in dialogue with The Pensions Regulator and the British Medical Association.

The Chancellor announced changes to the annual allowance taper thresholds in the March 2020 budget.

Following the changes, no one with net income before tax below £200,000 will be caught by the tapered annual allowance. We estimate that this will take up to 96% of general practitioners and up to 98% of National Health Service consultants outside the scope of the taper. Those who still experience tapering are the very highest earners in the NHS.

We are continuing to work with NHS Employers to ensure that NHS staff have access to information and advice about their pensions.

There are no plans to extend the existing charges exemption for pregnant women and those who have given birth in the last 12 months due to the pandemic.

Urgent dental care was available through the peak pandemic period via urgent dental centres and all dental practices providing NHS services were able to restart face to face care from 8 June.

The Nightingale hospitals were built to treat COVID-19 patients and do not have, for example, the operating theatres that would be required for elective surgery. The NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate is now providing elective diagnostic services (computerised tomography) to local patients.

The Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group is working with its health partners to ensure cancer screening in the area can return to full capacity. General practitioner (GP) and hospital services have adapted to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but are now starting to re-introduce screening safely and in line with national guidance.

Throughout the pandemic response, cancer specialist teams at York and Scarborough hospitals have worked to ensure urgent cases continue to be seen promptly, and patients continue to be encouraged to contact their GP via phone or online consultation if they have any concerns.

On 14 May 2020, NHS England published an ‘Operating Framework for urgent and planned services in hospital settings during COVID-19’ which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/05/Operating-framework-for-urgent-and-planned-services-within-hospitals.pdf

As part of this guidance, local healthcare systems and individual providers were asked to “maximise opportunities for creating physical and / or visible separation between clinical and non-clinical areas used by patients on a planned and elective care pathway and those on an urgent and emergency care pathway” and to “maintain consistency in staff allocation where possible and reduce movement of staff and the crossover of care pathways where feasible”.

The Government acknowledges that social distancing policy is having an impact on mental health and wellbeing.

Public Health England has published guidance on social distancing and self-isolation, and advice on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak, together with guidance for parents and carers about supporting their children’s mental health and wellbeing.

On 5 June, the Government published guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19. On 12 June, the Government also updated its guidance on staying alert and safe (social distancing), which sets out advice on staying safe when meeting family members, friends and how to form a support bubble. Both sets of guidance are must be referred to when planning visits to supported living environments.

We are also reviewing and updating the specific guidance on supported living environments, which will be published shortly.

The Government acknowledges that social distancing policy is having an impact on mental health and wellbeing. Public Health England has published guidance on social distancing and self-isolation, and advice on how to look after your mental health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

On 23 June, the Prime Minister announced changes to the Regulations which come into effect on 4 July. Included in these changes is that two households of any size can now meet inside and outdoors. This change in the Regulations enables more opportunity for emotional support through contact with family members for those in supported living.

The Department and Public Health England are currently updating the guidance for supported living provision to include advice on visiting in light of the easing of rules for social gatherings. We expect this guidance to be published shortly.

To meet the Government social distancing measures and to contain the spread of COVID-19 all routine dentistry was suspended at the start of the pandemic.

NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that National Health Service dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to gradually restart from 8 June where practices assess that they have the necessary personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control. The aim is to increase levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety.

A copy of the letter that was published can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/Urgent-dental-care-letter-28-May.pdf

We still expect all NHS dental practices to provide urgent telephone advice and triage. Dentists are giving urgent advice remotely and, if needed, prescriptions for painkillers or antibiotics. All urgent face to face treatment that is clinically necessary will still be available for patients who are triaged by their dentist or NHS 111 into one of over 600 urgent dental care centres set up by NHS England and NHS Improvement.

To ensure the safety of all dental care professionals and patients NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer have published the latest standard operating procedure guidance.

This can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/dental-standard-operating-procedure-transition-to-recovery/

NHS England and NHS Improvement announced on 28 May that National Health Service dentistry outside urgent care centres will begin to restart from 8 June with the aim of increasing levels of service as fast as is compatible with maximising safety. The letter outlines that practices need to consider the Public Health England guidance on infection control protocols and personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to deliver care in a way that is safe, operationally deliverable and allows dental practices flexibility to do what is best for patients and their teams.

There has been limited domestic manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE) to date. Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort to unleash the potential of British industry to manufacture PPE for the health and social care sectors. We have identified opportunities and sourced new supply channels for materials to make PPE at pace, enabling new manufacturing to commence. The Government is also working to support the scale-up of engineering efforts for small companies capable of contributing to supplies.

The Government has signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE through United Kingdom-based manufacturers, including aprons, facemasks, visors and gowns and has already taken delivery of products from new, certified UK manufacturers. These will contribute to the national effort to meet the unprecedented demand for PPE.

There has been limited domestic manufacture of personal protective equipment (PPE) to date. Lord Deighton is leading the Government effort to unleash the potential of British industry to manufacture PPE for the health and social care sectors. We have identified opportunities and sourced new supply channels for materials to make PPE at pace, enabling new manufacturing to commence. The Government is also working to support the scale-up of engineering efforts for small companies capable of contributing to supplies.

The Government has signed contracts to manufacture over 2 billion items of PPE through United Kingdom-based manufacturers, including aprons, facemasks, visors and gowns and has already taken delivery of products from new, certified UK manufacturers. These will contribute to the national effort to meet the unprecedented demand for PPE.

Shielding advice is kept under review, taking into account currently available evidence. We will issue further guidance about shielding and social distancing for clinically vulnerable groups as new evidence emerges.

The Government understands how challenging this period is, especially for those with long term conditions, and is doing everything possible to support the clinically extremely vulnerable. This includes clearly communicating any changes in advice for this group so those shielding are confident they are receiving the correct information for them.

The Government has established a Vaccines Taskforce to coordinate the work going on across Government, academia and industry to accelerate the development and manufacture of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Work is proceeding at pace, with the support of industry and academic partners, to ensure that the United Kingdom has capacity to deliver across different vaccine types while those vaccines are still under development.

As the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has said, we are working closely with the industry-led BioIndustry Association Manufacturing Taskforce. It brings together a range of businesses keen to use their expertise to ensure the UK can produce a vaccine at scale, once it has been found.

The new Government ‘Vaccines Taskforce’ is working with the BioIndustry Association Taskforce to review options for increasing the capacity of domestic capability to manufacture vaccines, in response to COVID-19, including how to support the acceleration and expand the capacity of the Vaccines Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, so that it becomes operational earlier than planned and is able to manufacture population level doses.

For COVID-19, the type of vaccine manufacturing capacity needed will be determined by the nature of the vaccine that is developed and the technology used to produce the vaccines. The scale of facility needed will depend on how potent the vaccines are, and the productivity of the processes used to produce them.

This work is proceeding at pace, with the support of industry and academic partners, to ensure that we are identifying suitable capacity across different vaccine types, while those vaccines are still under development.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has an important role to play in leading the global health response. We want to see WHO continue to learn lessons on how to improve its response to global health emergencies and as such would expect a full review of all elements of their response to COVID-19 to take place once they are out of response mode, as has occurred after previous Public Health Emergencies of International Concern.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has an important role to play in leading the global health response. We want to see WHO continue to learn lessons on how to improve its response to global health emergencies and as such would expect a full review of all elements of their response to COVID-19 to take place once they are out of response mode, as has occurred after previous Public Health Emergencies of International Concern.

From 2019/20, we are investing £57million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. A breakdown of funding for each year to 2023/24 is shown in the attached table.

This funding will see 100% of sustainability and transformation partnerships (STPs) having received investment for localised suicide reduction programmes by the end of 2022/23, and 80% of STPs having received investment for bereavement support services. By 2023/24, 100% of STPs will have received investment for both suicide reduction programmes and bereavement support services.

Other mental health commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan will support suicide prevention, such as 24 hours a day, seven days a week crisis care for all ages available via NHS 111, and integrated community support for adults with severe mental illness.

From 2019/20 to 2023/24, we are investing a total of £57 million in suicide prevention through the NHS Long Term Plan. This will see investment in all areas of the country by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services.

The NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24 sets out how funding allocations for suicide reduction programmes will be phased through a targeted allocation process, based on rates of suicide in each sustainability and transformation partnership area, with funding amounts being based on the number of suicides in an area and as a proportion of suicides in England.

The following table shows, in cash terms, the total additional funding available in each year above what was available in 2018/19: