Kate Osamor

As fraud offences are ‘priority offences’ under the Online Safety Act (OSA), all user-to-user services in scope must prevent illegal fraudulent content from appearing on their platforms and swiftly remove if it does. They must also effectively mitigate the risk of their service being used to facilitate fraud.

The OSA also requires in-scope platforms to provide accessible complaints and appeals procedures for their users. Additionally, those services over the designated threshold (Category 1 services) must uphold their terms of service.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs. We will strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive including through Ofsted, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage schools to set up Resourced Provision or special education needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

High quality teaching and support is the single most important in-school factor in improving outcomes for pupils, including those with autism or other SEND.

All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high quality, evidence-based training. This is crucial given the central role SENCOs play in supporting pupils with SEND.

Universal SEND Services brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for the school and further education workforce. The programme aims to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those with autism. The contract offers autism awareness training and resources. Over 200,000 professionals have received autism training from an Autism Education Trust training partner since the programme launched in May 2022.

Our universities are autonomous bodies, independent of government, and are therefore responsible for managing their own budgets. Student Support Regulations ensure that the support provided by British taxpayers is targeted at those who have a substantial and recent connection with the UK.

Higher education (HE) providers operate their own hardship funds to support students who have financial issues. Like domestic students, international students can apply to their provider to request support. HE providers also offer dedicated support to their international students pre-arrival, on-arrival and during their studies. Students experiencing financial difficulties should contact their university to discuss their circumstances.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs offers information and guidance for international students who may be experiencing unexpected financial hardship, which is available here: https://www.ukcisa.org.uk/Information--Advice/Fees-and-Money/Unexpected-financial-hardship.

Tackling the terrible state of child poverty in this country is our priority every day and the Taskforce is looking at every lever we can pull across Government to do this.

The Taskforce has already heard from charities, experts and families and will publish its strategy in the Spring.

In developing a Child Poverty Strategy, the Child Poverty Taskforce is considering all children across the United Kingdom. We recognise the distinct challenges of poverty faced by migrant children. The causes of child poverty are deep-rooted, with solutions that go beyond government, and the Taskforce is exploring all available levers in response.

The Home Office sets the immigration rules and grants immigration leave to individuals which allows them to live and work in the UK. DWP cannot pay public funds benefits to individuals where the Home Office has applied a ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ condition to their immigration status.

The income taper in Housing Benefit ensures people in work are better off than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health.

Notwithstanding these positive outcomes from work, the Department acknowledges there is a challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and receiving their housing support through Housing Benefit and will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

Maternity pay is primarily a health and safety provisions for pregnant working women. It is not intended to replace a woman's earnings completely, rather it provides a measure of financial security to help pregnant working women take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth.

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work. Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance rates are reviewed annually and were raised again by 6.7% in April from £172.48 to £184.03.

Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance are not paid in respect of each child but in respect of each pregnancy. The qualifying conditions for both are generally based on a woman's recent employment and earnings. They are not intended to assist with the costs associated with the birth of a new child or children.

The Child Poverty Taskforce will explore how we can harness all available levers to reduce child poverty, including by listening to stakeholders on potential changes, before publishing a strategy in Spring 2025.

Additionally, the Government is committed to reviewing Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is working to improve the availability and accuracy of allergen information for non-prepacked foods, which includes foods made to order in restaurants.

Last year, the FSA board agreed that businesses selling non-prepacked foods, such as cafes and restaurants, should be required to provide allergen information to consumers in writing, as well as having a conversation.

As a non-ministerial department, the FSA cannot make legislation, but has written to ministers in England and Wales, the Executive in Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland, who would ultimately decide whether to change the law.

Any new legislation needs to be carefully considered, taking into account the views of all stakeholders and the balance of costs and benefits, and the FSA will provide more information to support a decision on legislation if needed.

To make improvements more quickly, the FSA is creating best practice guidance for businesses, which makes it clear that they should provide both written allergen information and support this with a conversation. A public consultation on this guidance has recently concluded and the guidance, along with tools to assist businesses in following it, will be published early next year.

The FSA has conducted a number of research projects looking at the provision of allergen information by businesses, including those in the hospitality sector. The FSA is currently carrying out another two research projects, a consumer survey and a food business survey, to understand the allergen information provision landscape and allow for evaluation of change.

Food business operators are legally required to ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed, or trained, or both, in food hygiene and safety measures.

The FSA provides support for food businesses through guidance and training to help drive up knowledge and compliance with allergen regulations and safe practices. For example, free allergen e-learning was launched in 2020 and has over 700,000 users to date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is working to improve the availability and accuracy of allergen information for non-prepacked foods, which includes foods made to order in restaurants.

Last year, the FSA board agreed that businesses selling non-prepacked foods, such as cafes and restaurants, should be required to provide allergen information to consumers in writing, as well as having a conversation.

As a non-ministerial department, the FSA cannot make legislation, but has written to ministers in England and Wales, the Executive in Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland, who would ultimately decide whether to change the law.

Any new legislation needs to be carefully considered, taking into account the views of all stakeholders and the balance of costs and benefits, and the FSA will provide more information to support a decision on legislation if needed.

To make improvements more quickly, the FSA is creating best practice guidance for businesses, which makes it clear that they should provide both written allergen information and support this with a conversation. A public consultation on this guidance has recently concluded and the guidance, along with tools to assist businesses in following it, will be published early next year.

The FSA has conducted a number of research projects looking at the provision of allergen information by businesses, including those in the hospitality sector. The FSA is currently carrying out another two research projects, a consumer survey and a food business survey, to understand the allergen information provision landscape and allow for evaluation of change.

Food business operators are legally required to ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed, or trained, or both, in food hygiene and safety measures.

The FSA provides support for food businesses through guidance and training to help drive up knowledge and compliance with allergen regulations and safe practices. For example, free allergen e-learning was launched in 2020 and has over 700,000 users to date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is working to improve the availability and accuracy of allergen information for non-prepacked foods, which includes foods made to order in restaurants.

Last year, the FSA board agreed that businesses selling non-prepacked foods, such as cafes and restaurants, should be required to provide allergen information to consumers in writing, as well as having a conversation.

As a non-ministerial department, the FSA cannot make legislation, but has written to ministers in England and Wales, the Executive in Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland, who would ultimately decide whether to change the law.

Any new legislation needs to be carefully considered, taking into account the views of all stakeholders and the balance of costs and benefits, and the FSA will provide more information to support a decision on legislation if needed.

To make improvements more quickly, the FSA is creating best practice guidance for businesses, which makes it clear that they should provide both written allergen information and support this with a conversation. A public consultation on this guidance has recently concluded and the guidance, along with tools to assist businesses in following it, will be published early next year.

The FSA has conducted a number of research projects looking at the provision of allergen information by businesses, including those in the hospitality sector. The FSA is currently carrying out another two research projects, a consumer survey and a food business survey, to understand the allergen information provision landscape and allow for evaluation of change.

Food business operators are legally required to ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed, or trained, or both, in food hygiene and safety measures.

The FSA provides support for food businesses through guidance and training to help drive up knowledge and compliance with allergen regulations and safe practices. For example, free allergen e-learning was launched in 2020 and has over 700,000 users to date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has policy responsibility for food safety, including food allergen labelling, in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and is working to improve the availability and accuracy of allergen information for non-prepacked foods, which includes foods made to order in restaurants.

Last year, the FSA board agreed that businesses selling non-prepacked foods, such as cafes and restaurants, should be required to provide allergen information to consumers in writing, as well as having a conversation.

As a non-ministerial department, the FSA cannot make legislation, but has written to ministers in England and Wales, the Executive in Northern Ireland, and Food Standards Scotland, who would ultimately decide whether to change the law.

Any new legislation needs to be carefully considered, taking into account the views of all stakeholders and the balance of costs and benefits, and the FSA will provide more information to support a decision on legislation if needed.

To make improvements more quickly, the FSA is creating best practice guidance for businesses, which makes it clear that they should provide both written allergen information and support this with a conversation. A public consultation on this guidance has recently concluded and the guidance, along with tools to assist businesses in following it, will be published early next year.

The FSA has conducted a number of research projects looking at the provision of allergen information by businesses, including those in the hospitality sector. The FSA is currently carrying out another two research projects, a consumer survey and a food business survey, to understand the allergen information provision landscape and allow for evaluation of change.

Food business operators are legally required to ensure that food handlers are supervised, instructed, or trained, or both, in food hygiene and safety measures.

The FSA provides support for food businesses through guidance and training to help drive up knowledge and compliance with allergen regulations and safe practices. For example, free allergen e-learning was launched in 2020 and has over 700,000 users to date.

The majority of the medicines that can be used for weight management, including injectable medicines containing liraglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide, are prescription only medicines. They cannot be advertised, including through social media, to the general public or supplied without a valid prescription. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (HMR) tightly regulate the manufacture, sale, and supply of such products.

Through its dedicated Criminal Enforcement Unit, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) works with partners to enforce the HMR and to disrupt the illegal trade in weight loss and other medicines. Selling or supplying weight loss medicines without a prescription is a criminal offence, and the MHRA takes robust and proportionate enforcement action where non-compliance is identified, including prosecution where appropriate.

The Government is currently exploring what steps may need to be taken regarding the safety of the cosmetics sector, including in relation to the provision of dermal filler and weight loss injections for cosmetic purposes. The Government will set out its position at the earliest opportunity.

Documents created about Hong Kong pre 1997 are part of the FCDO's ongoing high priority transfer programme to The National Archives. Currently we have transferred documents up to 1994 (Link to catalogue: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C15105). We aim to have completed the transfer of all documents up to 1997 to The National Archives by approximately 2027.

The FCDO is committed to being a principled humanitarian donor, prioritising humanitarian assistance to people in greatest need by using data and evidence to guide allocation decisions.

We have announced a doubling of support for people hit by the humanitarian emergency in Sudan, as well as providing support for people in Gaza, in Lebanon and in other crisis situations.

The UK is providing support to tackle malnutrition in north-east Nigeria through the Humanitarian and Resilience Programme (HARP).

In 2024/25, the UK provided £12 million through HARP to UNICEF's Multisectoral Integrated Nutrition Action for Children, Adolescents and Women in North-East Nigeria (MINA) programme for prevention and treatment of malnutrition which aims to reach 500,000 children with life-saving support. HARP reduces mortality and increases resilience for people with the most severe humanitarian needs by (i) addressing food insecurity and malnutrition and (ii) protecting vulnerable people from harm.

The UK supports access to essential life-saving health services in northern Nigeria through the Lafiya Programme. Lafiya supports the states of Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Borno and Yobe to strengthen their health systems to improve access for the poorest and most vulnerable people. This includes access to inpatient, outpatient and community-based services to detect and treat severe acute malnutrition. The UK invests in Global Nutrition programmes including the Child Nutrition Fund which provides 1:1 matched funding for Nigerian Federal and State governments to scale up resource allocation for nutrition, and financing for 6 million units of Micronutrient Supplements for pregnant women.

The UK is committed to tackling the increasing levels of malnutrition across northern Nigeria. The FCDO will make funding decisions for programming in 2025/26 in due course.

The UK was pleased to support the Rio de Janeiro G20 Ministerial Declaration on International Tax Cooperation, including the commitment to cooperate to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed.

The Government is committed to making sure that the richest in our society pay their fair share on their wealth and assets. That is why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms at the Budget on 30 October to make the tax system fairer and more sustainable.

The G20 can play an important role in helping countries implement progressive tax systems by sharing best practice, building capacity on tackling avoidance and evasion, and supporting international cooperation to increase tax transparency.

The availability of data in respect of the number of families that have No Recourse to Public Funds condition is currently limited, while the Home Office transitions its casework operations to a new management information system until the transition process is complete.

Once fully migrated to the new system, it will be possible to explore what further information on NRPF can be produced.

As at the end of June 2024, in line with the latest published Transparency data, out of the 8,607 claims received by the Windrush Compensation Scheme, we are aware of 56 claimants* who have unfortunately passed away after having submitted a claim.

The Windrush Compensation Scheme staff are working hard to ensure claims are prioritised for claimants with critical or life-limiting illnesses and would encourage any claimants in this situation who have not been in recent contact with our casework teams to do so. We recognise the significant impact difficult circumstances such as these can have on individuals, and their families, and we remain committed to continually improving our support and services.

In the difficult circumstances where a claimant has passed away after submitting a compensation claim, before the claim is fully resolved, the team is committed to working closely with the representative of the estate, usually a member of the family, to ensure the compensation payment is made as quickly as possible to the representative.

Our priority is to ensure people receive the maximum compensation as quickly as possible. We have reduced the time to allocate a claim for a substantive casework consideration, from 18 months to under 4 months, with the aim to allocate quicker where possible. This period includes all essential eligibility checks, together with a Preliminary Assessment to make an initial payment of £10k wherever possible.

*Please note that this data is manually recorded and is reliant on the person receiving the information on a claimant’s death, notifying the Windrush Compensation Scheme to record this information.