Karl McCartney

Over 70% of the global economy now has net zero or carbon neutrality commitments, up from less than 30% when the UK assumed the COP Presidency. Over 100 countries have submitted enhanced 2030 targets, but we must increase global ambition to keep 1.5 degrees in reach and will continue to push all countries, particularly the G20, to do so.

I am delighted that my revised Disclosure Guidelines have now been published. These Guidelines will come into force on 31 December and will be key to the requisite culture change and thinking approach needed when investigators and prosecutors carry out their disclosure obligations.

This will ensure that better, fairer decisions are made in criminal cases, which will help to ensure that fewer cases are dropped post-charge due to issues arising due to late disclosure.

The Government has committed to update Parliament through an oral statement on next steps within 25 sitting days following the publication of the final report on 20 May, and it is our intention to make this statement as soon as possible. Additionally, we will bring forward amendments at Report Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the Other Place with the intention of speeding up the implementation of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery has been appointed as the chair of the expert group to advise on the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry’s recommendations on compensation. The names of the other members of the expert group have not been disclosed to safeguard the privacy and ability of experts to continue their frontline clinical roles whilst advising on Government policy.

The Cabinet Office holds no information in relation to the Inquiry's methodology. The process and findings of the independent inquiry are a matter for the Chair, Sir Brian Langstaff.

The Government will respond in full to Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations on compensation following the publication of the Inquiry’s final report on 20th May, and we will provide an update to Parliament on next steps within 25 sitting days following this date. Additionally, we will bring forward amendments at Report Stage of the Victims and Prisoners Bill in the Other Place with the intention of speeding up the implementation of the Government’s response to the Infected Blood Inquiry.

In England, as reported in the English Housing Survey, 799,000 dwellings (3 per cent) used oil central heating as their main heating system in 2019. In Scotland, as reported in the Scottish House Condition Survey, 129,000 households (5 per cent) used oil as their primary heating fuel in 2019. Data for Greater London, Inner London and Lincoln are not available.

Data on domestic petroleum consumption by Local Authority (including those authorities within Inner and Outer London, Lincoln and Scotland) is published annually in subnational total final energy consumption. The data available refers to domestic petroleum consumption as a whole, heating oil is not identified separately.

The total prize payout by game type and region is not collated.

The total amount that has been paid out in prizes since 2010 is £38,447.5 million and the list below shows how this is broken down each year during that period. This information has been collated from an analysis of Camelot UK Lotteries Limited annual accounts, which are publicly available:

• 2019/20 - £4,505.0 million

• 2018/19 - £4,128.5 million

• 2017/18 - £3,928.4 million

• 2016/17 - £3,943.2 million

• 2015/16 - £4,198.9 million

• 2014/15 - £4,043.0 million

• 2013/14 - £3,636.6 million

• 2012/13 - £3,697.6 million

• 2011/12 - £3,388.6 million

• 2010/11 - £2,977.7 million

The 3rd National Lottery Licence sets out the amount the operator and good causes retain after certain costs (for example, prizes, lottery duty and retailer commission).

Camelot UK Lotteries Limited publish their annual report on their website. Profit for the financial year and total comprehensive income attributable to owners of the Company after tax from 2010/2011 to 2019/2020 is shown below:

• 2019/20 - £78.1m

• 2018/19 - £68.0m

• 2017/18 - £68.4m

• 2016/17 - £70.5m

• 2015/16 - £77.5m

• 2014/15 - £71.0m

• 2013/14 - £58.5m

• 2012/13 - £54.6m

• 2011/12 - £33.3m

• 2010/11 - £28.6m

The operation of the National Lottery and the distribution of good cause income are two separate processes. As the current operator of the National Lottery, Camelot UK Lotteries Limited has no influence over the distribution of National Lottery good cause income.

All good cause income generated through National Lottery sales is placed into the National Lottery Distribution Fund which is distributed by the 12 National Lottery Distributing Bodies at arms length from the Government. The Lottery Distributing Bodies distribute funding across four good cause areas as set out in legislation, the National Lottery etc Act 1993; communities 40%, arts 20%, heritage 20%, and sport 20%.

There is a publicly available database to access information on distribution of Lottery funding that can be accessed through the Gov.uk website. This website brings together National Lottery grant data from the commencement of the National Lottery in 1994 to January 2018 and allows searches to be made for good cause grants in each region within specific timeframes. Due to technical limitations with the historic database, we have not yet been able to incorporate more recent National Lottery grant data. We are currently developing a new database which will be launched this year and will include data from 2018 onwards.

DCMS does not hold this information. The amount the National Lottery operator spends on advertising is a commercial decision, subject to conditions set out in the licence which specify minimum amounts that must be spent on marketing. For the current year the figure is £72m or 1.07% sales, whichever is higher. Information for further years can be found at Schedule 10, Condition 11, Part 1 of the third licence at the following link: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/NL-licences/NL-Third-licence.pdf

DCMS does not hold this information. The amount the National Lottery operator spends on advertising is a commercial decision, subject to conditions set out in the licence which specify minimum amounts that must be spent on marketing. For the current year the figure is £72m or 1.07% sales, whichever is higher. Information for further years can be found at Schedule 10, Condition 11, Part 1 of the third licence at the following link: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/PDF/NL-licences/NL-Third-licence.pdf

University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are well positioned to support the skills needs of local economies, placing employers at the heart of designing their specialist curriculum, mostly in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects such as engineering and digital technologies. There are over 500 employers involved in the 48 open UTCs, including leading names such as JCB, Network Rail, Toyota, Siemens and the Royal Navy, helping to create 30,000 opportunities for young people to train as the engineers, technicians and scientists of the future.

UTCs will continue to play a role in building the skills capabilities the country needs now and in the future following COVID-19. An immediate focus for UTCs will be to help this year’s leavers use and build on their technical skills through becoming apprentices, as well as other paths to employment including progression to universities, or going straight into technical jobs.

Our latest guidance for schools and other educational settings is set out below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-schools-and-other-educational-settings.

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

Officials in the Department for International Trade work closely with their counterparts in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Intellectual Property Office on matters relating to the protection of intellectual property (IP) rights around the world.

Government ministers and our Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have raised this matter with the Saudi Arabian government and will continue to make representations about any alleged broadcast infringement activities of UK IP.

We understand broadcasting piracy on satellite in Saudi Arabia, through the pirate operator beoutQ, has now stopped. This followed pressure by the UK, the US, European countries, and major sports rights holders.

We are aware that there are continued issues of infringement of UK-owned intellectual property rights across all industries through the use of IPTV apps, and we will work with the IPO to address these issues and work to protect UK intellectual property in all territories.

The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. The RTFO has been highly successful in securing a market for the supply of low carbon liquid fuels in the UK.

Under current carbon budgets, low carbon fuels contribute a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the domestic transport sector. In 2022, low carbon fuel that were reported under the RTFO saved on average 82 per cent carbon emissions compared to the fossil fuels that they replaced, saving 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. In 2022, low carbon fuel made up 6.8 per cent of total road fuel supplied.

The Department plans to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate from 2025, which will require at least ten per cent of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The Jet Zero Strategy set out that the use of SAF could contribute up to 17% of the emissions savings needed in the aviation sector by 2050.

The Department has accelerated the uptake of advanced low carbon fuels by allocating £171 million to advanced fuel demonstration projects through four competitions and is setting up a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and approval of advanced fuels for aviation.

The Department will also publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy to further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050.

The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. The RTFO has been highly successful in securing a market for the supply of low carbon liquid fuels in the UK.

Under current carbon budgets, low carbon fuels contribute a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the domestic transport sector. In 2022, low carbon fuel that were reported under the RTFO saved on average 82 per cent carbon emissions compared to the fossil fuels that they replaced, saving 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. In 2022, low carbon fuel made up 6.8 per cent of total road fuel supplied.

The Department plans to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate from 2025, which will require at least ten per cent of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The Jet Zero Strategy set out that the use of SAF could contribute up to 17% of the emissions savings needed in the aviation sector by 2050.

The Department has accelerated the uptake of advanced low carbon fuels by allocating £171 million to advanced fuel demonstration projects through four competitions and is setting up a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and approval of advanced fuels for aviation.

The Department will also publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy to further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050.

The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. The RTFO has been highly successful in securing a market for the supply of low carbon liquid fuels in the UK.

Under current carbon budgets, low carbon fuels contribute a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the domestic transport sector. In 2022, low carbon fuel that were reported under the RTFO saved on average 82 per cent carbon emissions compared to the fossil fuels that they replaced, saving 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. In 2022, low carbon fuel made up 6.8 per cent of total road fuel supplied.

The Department plans to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate from 2025, which will require at least ten per cent of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The Jet Zero Strategy set out that the use of SAF could contribute up to 17% of the emissions savings needed in the aviation sector by 2050.

The Department has accelerated the uptake of advanced low carbon fuels by allocating £171 million to advanced fuel demonstration projects through four competitions and is setting up a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and approval of advanced fuels for aviation.

The Department will also publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy to further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050.

The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. The RTFO has been highly successful in securing a market for the supply of low carbon liquid fuels in the UK.

Under current carbon budgets, low carbon fuels contribute a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the domestic transport sector. In 2022, low carbon fuel that were reported under the RTFO saved on average 82 per cent carbon emissions compared to the fossil fuels that they replaced, saving 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. In 2022, low carbon fuel made up 6.8 per cent of total road fuel supplied.

The Department plans to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate from 2025, which will require at least ten per cent of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The Jet Zero Strategy set out that the use of SAF could contribute up to 17% of the emissions savings needed in the aviation sector by 2050.

The Department has accelerated the uptake of advanced low carbon fuels by allocating £171 million to advanced fuel demonstration projects through four competitions and is setting up a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and approval of advanced fuels for aviation.

The Department will also publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy to further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050.

The Government has supported the uptake of low carbon fuels for 15 years through its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO sets targets for the supply of low carbon fuels and sustainability criteria, which these fuels must meet. The RTFO has been highly successful in securing a market for the supply of low carbon liquid fuels in the UK.

Under current carbon budgets, low carbon fuels contribute a third of greenhouse gas (GHG) savings in the domestic transport sector. In 2022, low carbon fuel that were reported under the RTFO saved on average 82 per cent carbon emissions compared to the fossil fuels that they replaced, saving 7.2 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions. In 2022, low carbon fuel made up 6.8 per cent of total road fuel supplied.

The Department plans to introduce a Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) mandate from 2025, which will require at least ten per cent of UK aviation fuel to be made from sustainable sources from 2030. The Jet Zero Strategy set out that the use of SAF could contribute up to 17% of the emissions savings needed in the aviation sector by 2050.

The Department has accelerated the uptake of advanced low carbon fuels by allocating £171 million to advanced fuel demonstration projects through four competitions and is setting up a UK SAF Clearing House to support the testing and approval of advanced fuels for aviation.

The Department will also publish a Low Carbon Fuels Strategy to further support investment by setting out a vision for the deployment of low carbon fuels across transport modes up to 2050.

Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.

The Government response to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, was published on 29 January 2024. The consultation received nearly 28,000 responses. Whilst there are no plans to publish the names of all the organisations that responded, we did confirm that we received responses from 896 organisations as well as 307 responses from those who disclosed links with the tobacco industry.

As outlined in our consultation response, the UK is a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and so had an obligation to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. In the consultation response we summarise the views of respondents with disclosed links to the tobacco industry but have been clear that we have not considered these views when determining our policy response.

Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.

The Government response to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, was published on 29 January 2024. The consultation received nearly 28,000 responses. Whilst there are no plans to publish the names of all the organisations that responded, we did confirm that we received responses from 896 organisations as well as 307 responses from those who disclosed links with the tobacco industry.

As outlined in our consultation response, the UK is a party to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and so had an obligation to protect public health policy from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. In the consultation response we summarise the views of respondents with disclosed links to the tobacco industry but have been clear that we have not considered these views when determining our policy response.

Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.

This is why the Government is planning to create a smokefree generation by bringing forward legislation so that children turning 15 years old this year or younger, will never be legally sold tobacco products.

Since this announcement, officials have undertaken a series of discussions with retailers and most recently met with the British Independent Retailers Association, the Association of Convenience Stores, and other trade associations to discuss the smokefree generation and youth vaping policy. We will continue to engage with the retail sector and ensure they are supported to implement future legislation.

The Government’s Life Sciences Vision sets out our ambition to develop a globally competitive life sciences investment ecosystem in the United Kingdom. While no assessment has been made, the 2024 voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth includes several policies that will benefit innovative companies and drive innovation into the United Kingdom. This includes an exemption from payment for small companies with under £6m of sales to the National Health Service and a taper for medium sized companies with between £6 million and £30 million of sales.

Commitments in the current voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing and access around patient access and uptake for innovative medicines have had a substantial positive impact on the speed of medicines access in England, ensuring that National Health Service patients benefit from cutting-edge treatments including personalised CAR-T cancer therapies, lifechanging treatments for rare conditions, and lifesaving gene therapies. The new voluntary scheme for branded medicines pricing, access and growth agreement will continue to build on these significant achievements, for example, through the piloting of new approaches for paying for ground-breaking advanced therapy medicinal products.

We do not expect disproportional impacts on people with less common conditions resulting from these policies. Provisions in the scheme allow for companies to apply for price increases should supply of products be otherwise uneconomical. Under specific circumstances an adjusted ‘Top-up Payment Percentage’ can also be considered for other older medicines where there would otherwise be a negative impact on patients.