Kevan Jones

As of 22 June 2023 there were 23 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the Office of Veterans’ Affairs (OVA). In order to increase support to veterans, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the OVA over the next three years.

It is optional for employees to disclose their ethnicity and sexual orientation and disclosing this data could breach the confidentiality of the individuals working in the OVA due to the size of the unit.

Details of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Details of meetings for the period of January - March 2023 will be available shortly.

After digital content is published online it may be shared and reproduced by anyone.

All material produced by civil servants, ministers, government departments and agencies in the course of their work belongs to the Crown and is Crown copyright. The Cabinet Office digital team would not create bespoke content related to a Minister’s constituency work, their personal life or any party political events. In line with the civil service code, Cabinet Office officials do not work on Ministerial events that are deemed to be political or personal in nature.

We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.

It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.

a) The following list provides the business units that make up the Cabinet Office at the time of answering the question. This is limited to the core department and does not reflect any arms length bodies or executive agencies. The makeup of the department is subject to change following shifts in ministerial priorities and objectives. This has changed over the course of the four years in scope of this question.

• Prime Minister's Office

• Propriety and Constitution Group

• Government in Parliament

• Economic and Domestic Secretariat

• Intelligence and Security Committee

• National Security Secretariat

• Joint Intelligence Organisation

• Cabinet Secretary Group

• Government Digital Service

• Central Digital and Data Office

• Government Communication Service

• Office of Government Property

• Infrastructure and Projects Authority

• Civil Service Human Resources

• Government Business Services

• Government Commercial Function

• Government Security Group (Includes UKSV)

• Borders

• Geospatial Commission (MOG Pending)

• Public Sector Fraud Authority

• Equality Hub

• Commercial Models (GCF)

• COP Presidency

• Chief Operating Officer's Office

• People and Places

• Strategy, Finance, and Performance

• Central Budgets

• CO Commercial

• CO Digital

• Public Bodies and Priority Projects Unit

• Public Inquiry Response Unit

• Modernisation and Reform Unit

• Office for Veterans' Affairs

• Delivery Group

• CO HMT Commercial

• Infected Blood Inquiry

• Grenfell Inquiry

• Covid Inquiry

b) We do not routinely publish this financial data, as has been the case under successive administrations.

My Private Office currently has six staff to support me in my role as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, attending Cabinet.

In line with Cabinet Office policy, it is permissible for Business Units to provide hospitality for meetings with external partners such as industry or foreign governments.

All Business Units within the Cabinet Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.

The Cabinet Office’s hospitality spend is published on GOV.UK in the usual way.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Digital officers' work is allocated in discussion between the Cabinet Office Communications team, policy teams and ministerial private offices. Allocation depends on a range of factors including subject, location and staff availability.

As a result, digital media officers attend various events with Ministers as and when needed.

Governments and ministers of all political parties have always used a wide variety of media to help inform the public about issues which may affect their lives.

We are now in a digital age, and social media channels are therefore an important part of government, ministers’ and parliamentarians’ communications.

In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance .

Statistics on the composition of the Civil Service workforce, including regional, diversity and earnings data, are published in the usual way to ensure they meet the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality and public value.

Setting out the budget may lead to inaccurate figures due to in-year budget changes. Instead, I can provide the actual spend.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience, such budgets have existed under successive administrations.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The total actual expenditure for the Cabinet Office Communications cost centre, for the periods in question is as follows:

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The budget for Communications team staff, including the two Digital Media Officers, is held by the Director of Communications and is accounted for in line with Cabinet Office personnel budget management processes.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs does not have a dedicated photographer and draws on resources from the Cabinet Office Communications team who support all Ministers in the Department.

The Cabinet Office Communications team employs two Digital Media Officers who support all Ministers in the Department. This is an essential part of helping to explain the Department's policies and priorities to a wider audience.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is located in the Cabinet Office and works with all UK Government departments and a large range of other private, charity and public sector organisations who collectively deliver support and services to veterans.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is headed by a Director and has approximately 23 staff, in addition to receiving support from colleagues in the Cabinet Office communications and external affairs team, as well as the Minister’s private office.

As announced in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget 2023, the Government is providing an additional £33 million to the Office for Veterans’ affairs over the next three years. This will allow for a significant expansion of the team in order to increase the service provided to veterans.

We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Photographers are a cross-government resource, supporting departments and Ministers, and play a critical role in the support of the Government’s digital communications activity and in progressing key policy areas.

The Major Project Leadership Academy (MPLA) is an 18 month programme aimed at senior leaders, SCS1 and above, of the projects in the Government's Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP).

The Cabinet Office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the hon. Member would like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.

The Government is committed to publishing details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external organisations on gov.uk, and does so on a quarterly basis.

There is no record of any meetings taking place with Astra Asset Management UK in the past two years.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000, and £25,000 in the wider public sector, are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The driving principle behind public procurement policy is to award contracts on the basis of value for money, which means the optimum combination of cost and quality over the lifetime of the project, not just price alone. The best way to test for and to demonstrate this principle is via an open competition, as is required in most cases by public procurement legislation.

It is open to organisations to consider and bid for contract opportunities where appropriate. This Government is committed to ensuring procurement opportunities are accessible to a range of organisations, and in supporting start-ups, small businesses and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises to participate in government procurement.

The Cabinet Office has examined its official records and found no communication with the BBC regarding the Rt Hon. Member for Tamworth between 29th June and 3rd July.

There is no record of any communication from the Cabinet Office to the BBC regarding the Rt Hon. Member for Tamworth between 29 June and 3 July.

The Prime Minister's office has no record of receiving this correspondence. If the hon. Member would like to supply a further copy, a reply will be sent.

This information is not held centrally.

Details of Government contracts above £10,000 and £25,000 in the wider public sector are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

The report undertaken by the Second Permanent Secretary - available in the Library of the House - did not identify any allegations relating to staff gatherings on this date.

For the avoidance of doubt, there was no such expenditure on 20 May 2020 either.

Details of Ministers’ official meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK.

The Forfeiture Committee last convened on 20th May 2021.

The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.

This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.

The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.

This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.

The OVA has looked at how the frequency of suicide within the veteran community can best be measured and has identifed a robust methodology which does not require the placing of new duties on coroners. The new approach utilises data collected through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population, including looking at suicide related deaths of veterans.

This new approach does not prevent coroners from seeking information about veteran status where it is felt that this is relevant to the suicide being investigated and the coroner has previously been informed by family members that the person was a veteran. There is a single point of contact at the MOD for coroners to obtain information on whether the suicide victim was a former member of the UK’s armed forces.

The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.

The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.

The new methodology to measure the frequency of suicide within the veteran community will utilise data gathered through the 2021 England and Wales census to compare the health of the veteran population with the health of the general population. This will include suicide related deaths of veterans and we intend to include a breakdown by service as part of this analysis. This analysis will be undertaken in 2023, and in the interim the OVA will be working with ONS and the MOD to conduct a 10 year look back at veteran deaths by suicide. This work will inform us how many veterans have died through suicide and other causes including drug and alcohol misuse from 2011-2021, and to estimate the number that died homeless. Through the new methodology and our broader research programme we will explore data linking opportunities to understand veterans’ wider experiences, support needs and interaction with public services.

As has been the case under successive Administrations, non-scheduled air travel is necessary at times for undertaking Government and Royal Household official visits. This may be to the timing and flexibility needed, for security reasons, or due to the location being visited. It can also provide better value for money in the cases of larger delegations (which can include journalists).

The Government has procured a single A321 aircraft for use by Ministers and senior members of the Royal Family. The aircraft was procured through an existing Crown Commercial Framework (RM6016 PSTVS Lot 4) in order to achieve a timely, beneficial and cost-effective solution for the government. Early market engagement concluded that a wet lease was able to offer the best balance between value for money, availability and operational flexibility.

The Cabinet Office ran a competition through the Framework and the winning supplier then offered three best options to meet the requirement. Based on this, cost estimates for the procurement of the aircraft were considered against a range of options and it was assessed that an initial term of 2 years, with the opportunity for annual extensions to the full life of the contract, offered the best balance between value for money and flexibility.

The decision to procure an aircraft was based on a range of factors including guaranteed availability; a biosecure aircraft; UK branding; and an aircraft with a transatlantic range. Before the contract is extended beyond the initial 2 years, an assessment will be made on the most cost-effective option that will range from extending the contract to launching an open competition for a new contract.

As has been the case under successive Administrations, non-scheduled air travel is necessary at times for undertaking Government and Royal Household official visits. This may be to the timing and flexibility needed, for security reasons, or due to the location being visited. It can also provide better value for money in the cases of larger delegations (which can include journalists).

The Government has procured a single A321 aircraft for use by Ministers and senior members of the Royal Family. The aircraft was procured through an existing Crown Commercial Framework (RM6016 PSTVS Lot 4) in order to achieve a timely, beneficial and cost-effective solution for the government. Early market engagement concluded that a wet lease was able to offer the best balance between value for money, availability and operational flexibility.

The Cabinet Office ran a competition through the Framework and the winning supplier then offered three best options to meet the requirement. Based on this, cost estimates for the procurement of the aircraft were considered against a range of options and it was assessed that an initial term of 2 years, with the opportunity for annual extensions to the full life of the contract, offered the best balance between value for money and flexibility.

The decision to procure an aircraft was based on a range of factors including guaranteed availability; a biosecure aircraft; UK branding; and an aircraft with a transatlantic range. Before the contract is extended beyond the initial 2 years, an assessment will be made on the most cost-effective option that will range from extending the contract to launching an open competition for a new contract.

As has been the case under successive Administrations, non-scheduled air travel is necessary at times for undertaking Government and Royal Household official visits. This may be to the timing and flexibility needed, for security reasons, or due to the location being visited. It can also provide better value for money in the cases of larger delegations (which can include journalists).

The Government has procured a single A321 aircraft for use by Ministers and senior members of the Royal Family. The aircraft was procured through an existing Crown Commercial Framework (RM6016 PSTVS Lot 4) in order to achieve a timely, beneficial and cost-effective solution for the government. Early market engagement concluded that a wet lease was able to offer the best balance between value for money, availability and operational flexibility.

The Cabinet Office ran a competition through the Framework and the winning supplier then offered three best options to meet the requirement. Based on this, cost estimates for the procurement of the aircraft were considered against a range of options and it was assessed that an initial term of 2 years, with the opportunity for annual extensions to the full life of the contract, offered the best balance between value for money and flexibility.

The decision to procure an aircraft was based on a range of factors including guaranteed availability; a biosecure aircraft; UK branding; and an aircraft with a transatlantic range. Before the contract is extended beyond the initial 2 years, an assessment will be made on the most cost-effective option that will range from extending the contract to launching an open competition for a new contract.

As has been the case under successive Administrations, non-scheduled air travel is necessary at times for undertaking Government and Royal Household official visits. This may be to the timing and flexibility needed, for security reasons, or due to the location being visited. It can also provide better value for money in the cases of larger delegations (which can include journalists).

The Government has procured a single A321 aircraft for use by Ministers and senior members of the Royal Family. The aircraft was procured through an existing Crown Commercial Framework (RM6016 PSTVS Lot 4) in order to achieve a timely, beneficial and cost-effective solution for the government. Early market engagement concluded that a wet lease was able to offer the best balance between value for money, availability and operational flexibility.

The Cabinet Office ran a competition through the Framework and the winning supplier then offered three best options to meet the requirement. Based on this, cost estimates for the procurement of the aircraft were considered against a range of options and it was assessed that an initial term of 2 years, with the opportunity for annual extensions to the full life of the contract, offered the best balance between value for money and flexibility.

The decision to procure an aircraft was based on a range of factors including guaranteed availability; a biosecure aircraft; UK branding; and an aircraft with a transatlantic range. Before the contract is extended beyond the initial 2 years, an assessment will be made on the most cost-effective option that will range from extending the contract to launching an open competition for a new contract.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Further to the answer given to PQ 91 on 19 May 2021, Government Ministers regularly comment on the mental health services available to veterans, both in Parliament and in the media, and will continue to do so because it is vital that those who do require support know what is available through Op Courage in the NHS and how to access it.

The IPA’s Mandate requires the IPA to support the successful delivery of Government’s Major Programmes and Projects projects by providing independent reviews at key decision points in the life-cycle of a Project. These reviews advise and support the project delivery organisation in achieving delivery of the project.

IPA Reviews do not offer external commentary on progress of Programmes or Projects for publication. They are conducted by independent, qualified and accredited reviewers. The reports are confidential and are exempt from publication under sections 33, 35, 41 and 43 of the FOI Act. Transparent information about the delivery of Government's major projects can be accessed through The IPA’s Annual Report.

The compensation framework study will provide advice on potential compensation framework design and solutions to Government. It is important that Sir Robert Francis QC, the independent reviewer, is able to complete his work as quickly as thoroughness allows.

At the outset of the Infected Blood Inquiry, the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster decided that it was overwhelmingly in the public interest that legal representation for infected and affected core participants in the inquiry should be funded by Government, and without means testing. This funding will continue until the conclusion of the Inquiry. However, this study is quite separate from the Inquiry. Sir Robert will want to hear directly from infected and affected people and put them at the heart of the process. Legal representation will not be required in order to put forward views.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is currently established for 22 staff. Those numbers are kept under review to ensure it has sufficient capacity to lead the Government’s delivery of the Veterans Strategy, working in concert with the many Departments that contribute to this. The OVA has an office in the Cabinet Office estate. Staff are able to work from there, or other Cabinet Office buildings, in line with COVID safe working guidance.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is currently established for 22 staff. Those numbers are kept under review to ensure it has sufficient capacity to lead the Government’s delivery of the Veterans Strategy, working in concert with the many Departments that contribute to this. The OVA has an office in the Cabinet Office estate. Staff are able to work from there, or other Cabinet Office buildings, in line with COVID safe working guidance.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs is currently established for 22 staff. Those numbers are kept under review to ensure it has sufficient capacity to lead the Government’s delivery of the Veterans Strategy, working in concert with the many Departments that contribute to this. The OVA has an office in the Cabinet Office estate. Staff are able to work from there, or other Cabinet Office buildings, in line with COVID safe working guidance.

The Government is committed to making access to support for veterans as easy as possible, including raising awareness of what support is available and how promoting it can be accessed. This support includes Veterans UK and NHS services, such as the recently launched Op Courage Mental Health pathway, as well as the charity sector and recently provided funding to the Veterans Gateway. HMG does this through the education and support the MOD provides to those leaving the Armed Forces, with enhanced support such as the Defence Transition Service for those with the most complex needs.

Ministers have and will continue to appear in the media and in Parliament outlining the range of mental health support available to veterans, as seen recently with the introduction of Op Courage, NHS England’s dedicated veterans mental health pathway.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Secretary of State for Defence represent veterans in Cabinet, ensuring their interests are included in any relevant policy discussions. Attendance at Cabinet is the prerogative of the Prime Minister.

The meeting was to discuss the safe return of fans and Covid certification, as part of ongoing work on event pilots. The European Super League was not discussed. I did not join the meeting.

Details of the contracts for the A321 will be published by the Government shortly. As always, the procurement decision was made with value for money for the taxpayer in mind. The A321 will be substantially cheaper, and “greener” to operate than current arrangements and also offers significant value for money compared to the ad-hoc hire of private planes.

The lease agreement was achieved through the use of existing travel contract frameworks. A tender competition was run using those frameworks following advice from the Crown Commercial and Government Legal Services.

Details of the contracts for the A321 will be published by the Government shortly. As always, the procurement decision was made with value for money for the taxpayer in mind. The A321 will be substantially cheaper, and “greener” to operate than current arrangements and also offers significant value for money compared to the ad-hoc hire of private planes.

The lease agreement was achieved through the use of existing travel contract frameworks. A tender competition was run using those frameworks following advice from the Crown Commercial and Government Legal Services.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

This £10million fund will help deliver charitable projects and initiatives across the UK that support veterans with mental health needs. The Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, in addition to disbursing their regular funding of £10million per annum, will design and run an open grant competition to award the additional funding to organisations delivering in-scope programmes in support of veterans' mental health.

The £475,000 is new funding representing an opportunity to improve the ability of charities to work together and with government, enhancing the provision of support for veterans and the broader Armed Forces Community. Therefore the additional funds have been allocated to the Office for Veterans’ Affairs, within the Cabinet Office.

I refer the Rt Hon member for North Durham to the answer I gave to the member for Easington on the 14th January, column 135901.

On 5 November, the Government acted swiftly in accordance with growing evidence of virus prevalence to put in place new national COVID-19 restrictions in England. Guidance on the closing of certain businesses and venues in England is available on the Government website. As stated in the guidance, businesses may continue offering delivery and click-and-collect services (where items are pre-ordered and collected without entering the premises).

Leaving the EU presents a golden opportunity to reform our procurement rules by creating a brand new, bespoke system which works for British businesses and citizens, and complies with our international obligations. We intend to publish our proposals later this year.

There is no single legal framework for arm's length bodies (ALBs). ALBs are sponsored by individual departments, and the legal framework pertaining to any particular ALB will depend on how it has been established.

The Government recognises the lifelong duty which the nation owes to those who serve in the Armed Forces. The Government created the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) to ensure veterans are represented right at the heart of Government for the first time.

The OVA will be responsible for coordinating the Government's services and support for veterans. It will lead the delivery of the Strategy for our Veterans, to realise the Government's ambition of making the UK the best place to be a veteran anywhere in the world by 2028.

The OVA will shortly set out the first action plan containing targets for the OVA to deliver initiatives for veterans and the commitments by Departments to make improvements in the support they offer.

With regard to the OVA’s budget, I refer the Rt. Hon. member to the answer I gave him on 22 October 2019, to question 1606.

The Government recognises the lifelong duty which the nation owes to those who serve in the Armed Forces. The Government created the Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA) to ensure veterans are represented right at the heart of Government for the first time.

The OVA will be responsible for coordinating the Government's services and support for veterans. It will lead the delivery of the Strategy for our Veterans, to realise the Government's ambition of making the UK the best place to be a veteran anywhere in the world by 2028.

The OVA will shortly set out the first action plan containing targets for the OVA to deliver initiatives for veterans and the commitments by Departments to make improvements in the support they offer.

With regard to the OVA’s budget, I refer the Rt. Hon. member to the answer I gave him on 22 October 2019, to question 1606.

My Hon. Friend the Minister of State for Science and Investment Security will be meeting with representatives from the maritime sector for a general introduction in the near future.

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

The Government has no such plans.

The Government does not have a shareholding in Ultra Electronics.

The agreed undertakings are available on GOV.UK. As set out in the undertakings, the boards of the SecureCos will be comprised solely of British nationals with the appropriate security clearance and the non-executive Director appointed to the boards of each SecureCo will be appointed by the Government. The size of the boards is a matter for Ultra.

The agreed undertakings are available on GOV.UK. As set out in the undertakings, the boards of the SecureCos will be comprised solely of British nationals with the appropriate security clearance and the non-executive Director appointed to the boards of each SecureCo will be appointed by the Government. The size of the boards is a matter for Ultra.

Up to £3.6 million of funding is available for the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre over 3 years.

All full-time staff will be employed by the British Geological Survey, which is delivering the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre.

As my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State said at the BEIS Select Committee in June 2022, the Government is preparing a Critical Minerals Strategy, that will be published soon.

Through the Strategy, the Government will mitigate risks and promote a more resilient global supply chain, through diversification, international partnerships and the circular economy

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues on a range of topics.

My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular meetings with Ministerial colleagues on a range of topics.

We are fully committed to enabling the Inquiry to get to the bottom of the Horizon scandal so it can set out exactly what went wrong. Ministers and senior civil servants are responsible and accountable for policy, and we have therefore asked that the Inquiry redact the names of junior civil servants that appear in documents we provide if they have not had a decision-making role. This request is consistent with the approach adopted by the department when handling matters covered by the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act.

The Department’s definition of a junior civil servant is those at Grades 6 and 7, Senior Executive Officer (“SEO”), Higher Executive Officer (“HEO”), Executive Officer (“EO”) or Administrative Officer/Assistant levels.

We are fully committed to enabling the Inquiry to get to the bottom of the Horizon scandal so it can set out exactly what went wrong. Ministers and senior civil servants are responsible and accountable for policy, and we have therefore asked that the Inquiry redact the names of junior civil servants that appear in documents we provide if they have not had a decision-making role. This request is consistent with the approach adopted by the department when handling matters covered by the Data Protection Act and Freedom of Information Act.

The Department’s definition of a junior civil servant is those at Grades 6 and 7, Senior Executive Officer (“SEO”), Higher Executive Officer (“HEO”), Executive Officer (“EO”) or Administrative Officer/Assistant levels.

Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards Service (B&STSS) acts as the prosecuting authority for investigations carried out by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

B&STSS uses its own legal powers to assess, investigate and take action, where appropriate, on any matter ASA refers to it. Action available to B&STSS includes arranging undertakings with traders and prosecutions.

As announced on 26 May, the Government will be providing a £150 one-off disability Cost of Living Payment to the 6 million people who receive disability benefits. The Government is also providing an additional one-off £300 payment for UK pensioners and £400 for all domestic electricity customers through the expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS). The Government will also continue to provide support through the Warm Home Discount Scheme and Cold Weather Payments, which help to ensure the most vulnerable are better able to heat their homes over the colder months.

Where a Company has been subject to a compulsory strike off and there is a suspected breach of the Companies Act 2006 by a Director, Companies House may make a Criminal Referral to the Insolvency Service to consider whether to commence a criminal investigation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Government committed in the Clean Growth Strategy to improve as many private rental homes as possible to EPC band C by 2030 where practical, affordable and cost effective and consulted on this commitment in the winter of 2020/2021. A response to this consultation will be published in due course.

I am in regular email contact with Mr Alan Bates, founder of the Justice For Sub-postmasters Alliance (JFSA). The most recent exchange was on the 8 February 2022.

Officials from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) met with the JFSA on 26 January 2022.

The Government has been informed that a significant proportion of compensation cases have been paid by Northern Powergrid. Any remaining cases remain under investigation or in progress.

Under Ofgem’s rules, Northern Power Grid must compensate customers for the inconvenience caused by loss of supply if the level of required service is not met.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Ofgem and network operators, including Northern Powergrid, on the 6^th December 2021, setting out his expectations that Distribution Network Operators make every effort to deliver compensation to affected customers swiftly and without delay, considering the burden making a detailed application might place on impacted customers, and in line with the Guaranteed Standards expectations.

Northern Powergrid had paid a significant proportion of compensation cases by Christmas 2021. Any cases remaining unpaid to this date are still under investigation or in progress as required by Ofgem’s regulation.

The Government has not made an estimate of the number of UK-built service operations vessels that are operating to offshore windfarm sites at Dogger Bank.

Alternative Dispute Resolution is a consensual process, through which those making claims (and their advisors) can question and challenge how their claims have been assessed. It is a fundamental tenet of Alternative Dispute Resolution that questions and challenges are addressed in good faith so as to obtain a comprehensive and consensual resolution of all claims. As participants in the process are not obliged to accept any offers made by Post Office, there is no need for an appeals process.

Claims will be assessed by applying the specific facts of the individual cases to established legal principles and any other factors which support reaching a fair outcome. Those making claims (and their advisors) can question and challenge those assessments, and it is a fundamental tenet of Alternative Dispute Resolution that questions and challenges are addressed in good faith so as to obtain a comprehensive and consensual resolution of the claims.

Alternative Dispute Resolution is a consensual process, through which those making claims (and their advisors) can question and challenge how their claims have been assessed. The Terms of Reference for the Historical Shortfall Scheme explain its Dispute Resolution procedure. Processes for those with quashed convictions will be agreed between the Post Office and a claimant’s legal representatives.

Post Office will consider all claims for compensation made by a postmaster, branch manager and/or assistant whose conviction is quashed or who has submitted an eligible claim under the Historical Shortfalls Scheme, including claims made for consequential losses.

Claims will be assessed by applying the specific facts of the individual cases to established legal principles and any other factors which support reaching a fair outcome. Those making claims (and their advisors) can question and challenge those assessments, and it is a fundamental tenet of Alternative Dispute Resolution that questions and challenges are addressed in good faith so as to obtain a comprehensive and consensual resolution of the claims.

The Government’s role as shareholder is to ensure that the Post Office is delivering its social purpose alongside building a stable business. The Government continues to support the Post Office with subsidy. The Government, through my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State, holds 100% of the issued share capital. There is a special share in POL (nominal value of £1) which is held directly by the Secretary of State. The value of this investment is published annually in the BEIS accounts.

The proposed Alternative Dispute Resolution is a consensual process which aims to resolve claims consensually at an early stage to avoid the cost and delay for claimants which comes with having to litigate matters through the courts.

Post Office will consider all claims for compensation made by a postmaster, branch manager and/or assistant whose conviction is quashed and will seek to resolve those claims swiftly, fairly and consensually with that individual. The founding principles, including dispute resolution procedure where a postmaster is not happy with the outcome they receive in the Historical Shortfall Scheme were endorsed by the legal representatives for the claimants’ steering group in the group litigation.

I wrote to the Chair of Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance on 1 December about financial redress.

The Department’s analysis shows that changes in retail prices of petroleum products, such as petrol and diesel, are primarily driven by changes in global market prices for crude oil and exchange rates.

Recognising that fuel is a major cost for households and businesses, the Government has kept fuel duty frozen. This is the twelfth consecutive freeze saving the average UK car driver a cumulative £1,900, compared to the plans the previous Government set out in 2010.

New ecodesign and energy labelling requirements for lighting products came into force in Great Britain on 1st October 2021; equivalent regulations came into force in Northern Ireland on 1st September.

There are limited exemptions built into the regulations in order to ensure that certain lighting technologies remain viable whilst the market for lighting products achieves higher levels of energy efficiency. These exemptions include G9 halogen light sources intended for use in high temperature applications such as ovens, provided that these light sources also meet further conditions which are set out in Schedule 4 of The Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Lighting Products) Regulations 2021.

In the progress update published in September, Sir Wyn Williams clearly outlines his approach towards legal representation and funding for Core Participants.

Sir Wyn Williams made it clear in his Statement of 19 May that all parties whose decision-making is under the spotlight are cooperating fully with the Inquiry.

As the Inquiry is now statutory, the Chair has the power to compel all witnesses to give evidence if necessary.

The Government has worked with Advent to monitor compliance with the undertakings given at the time of their acquisition of Cobham, including commitments to give advanced notice of plans to sell parts of the business.

The Met Office does not own any seagoing vessels. It works with partners to gather observations of meteorological and oceanographic conditions from third party voluntary observing ships, buoys or light vessels, both nationally and internationally, in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

The Oil and Gas Authority does not have any boats in its service at this point in time.

Intellectual property previously held by Cobham within the UK has transferred to new ownership following Advent International’s sale of Cobham’s UK businesses.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has met with the new owners to secure assurances on their continued investment in the UK businesses and security controls remain in place under the new owners to protect security sensitive information.

Some 400 early payments have been made in respect of lower value claims from the Historical Shortfall Scheme. Since these are not representative of the scheme as a whole average data is not yet available. I have asked Post Office Limited to consider options for the publication of headline scheme data.

The Historical Shortfall Scheme received over 2,450 claims. Around 400 compensation payments have been made through the scheme and other claims are progressing.

Post Office and the independent panel are focused on progressing claims as quickly as they can and the Department continues to monitor the Scheme’s progress closely. It is essential claims are assessed thoroughly and a number of the cases are complex and stretch back over a long period of time.

The Historical Shortfall Scheme received over 2,450 claims. Around 400 compensation payments have been made through the scheme and other claims are progressing.

Post Office and the independent panel are focused on progressing claims as quickly as they can and the Department continues to monitor the Scheme’s progress closely. It is essential claims are assessed thoroughly and a number of the cases are complex and stretch back over a long period of time.

I announced to the House on 19 May 2021 that the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry would be put on a statutory footing on 1 June 2021. At the same time, I made a written ministerial statement with the revised Terms of Reference for the Inquiry. That statement can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2021-05-19/hcws40

The Inquiry’s revised Terms of Reference have been clarified to make clear that the Inquiry can investigate the Post Office’s decision-making in pursuing the prosecution of Postmasters in relation to Horizon.

The Inquiry is independent of government, but I would expect the Inquiry will provide detail of the witnesses who are being called ahead of the hearings once these are scheduled.

I announced to the House on 19 May 2021 that, with the agreement of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister, I will put the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry on to a statutory footing on 1 June 2021. This change will give Sir Wyn Williams powers to compel organisations to provide documents and witnesses to give evidence, under oath if necessary, to ensure the Inquiry can get to the bottom of what happened and get the postmasters the answers they are looking for.

The associated costs that have accrued as a result of the setting up of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry are £459,000 as of April 30^th 2021.

On 19 May, I announced that the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry would be made a statutory inquiry from 1 June 2021. The Inquiry will set out its working procedures which will be issued in September 2021.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on the number of people that have been asked to give evidence to the Inquiry.

As per the revised Terms of Reference for the Inquiry that I made in the House in a Written Ministerial Statement on 19 May, the Inquiry will aim to submit its findings to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by Autumn 2022. The final report will be published by the Secretary of State and the Government will respond in due course.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is independent of the Department, and so BEIS does not have information on who will be called to appear before it to give evidence at the Inquiry hearings. This is for Sir Wyn Williams to decide as Chair of the Inquiry.

I announced to the House on 19 May that the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry will be established as a statutory public inquiry on 1 June. This will enable Sir Wyn Williams to take evidence from witnesses under oath should he wish to do so.

There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place for fireworks that controls who can purchase them, their availability and use, curfews and their safety as a product.

We agree with the conclusion of the Petition Committee’s 2019 inquiry into fireworks, that any further restrictions on fireworks sold to the public by retail outlets could lead to more individuals buying products inappropriately, through online social media sources or from outside the UK. This could drive individuals to source fireworks from illegitimate or unsafe suppliers, where products may not meet the UK’s safety requirements.

The Government will continue to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks.

The Maritime Enterprise Working Group (MEWG) was set up, following the publication of the National Shipbuilding Strategy in 2017, to provide a forum for the UK’s professional marine engineering, science, manufacturing and technology community for addressing issues of common concern to secure a truly competitive, sustainable and globally successful marine engineering and shipbuilding industry.

On 16 March 2021, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence and Shipbuilding Tsar announced that we are currently conducting a refresh of the National Shipbuilding Strategy which will be published this summer. As part of this, we will consider whether to adapt or strengthen the existing structures to enable strong partnership working between Government and industry going forward.

There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place for fireworks that controls who can purchase them, their availability and use, curfews and their safety as a product.

We agree with the conclusion of the Petition Committee’s 2019 inquiry into fireworks, that any further restrictions on fireworks sold to the public by retail outlets could lead to more individuals buying products inappropriately, through online social media sources or from outside the UK. This could drive individuals to source fireworks from illegitimate or unsafe suppliers, where products may not meet the UK’s safety requirements.

The Government will continue to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks.

Post Office Limited has extended its current contract with Fujitsu for a short period to allow sufficient time to develop its long-term IT strategy, including the approach to any IT system that it will use in the long-term. This was considered the appropriate commercial decision by Post Office Limited. Government representatives were not present at Post Office Limited’s meetings with Fujitsu to discuss the extension. The Government representative on the POL Board – UKGI’s Shareholder Non-Executive Director – was involved in the collective Board decision to extend the contract at the March 2021 Board meeting.

BEIS officials consider several factors when assessing whether a request can be obtained at proportionate cost. One such factor is the time a request is made. A request made close to the time it is requesting information from is easier to process and respond to. A request sent a significant time after an event is much more difficult to process in a timely way, as it involves a recall of historic records by the records team.

BEIS officials have assessed that publication of the correspondence between Paula Vennells and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy dated between July 2013 and December 2013 can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Government has recently consulted on proposals to increase the eligibility criteria for Debt Relief Orders to help more people deal with their financial difficulties and to provide a fresh start. The consultation includes increasing the total amount of debt allowable in a Debt Relief Order. The consultation proposes an increase from the current debt limit of £20,000 to £30,000 but also seeks views on whether a different limit should be implemented. The consultation closed on 26 February 2021 and the Government is currently reviewing the responses.

The Government’s consultation on the monetary eligibility requirements for Debt Relief Orders closed on 26 February 2021. The ability to add pre-existing debts to a Debt Relief Order after an application has already been made is outside the scope of the current consultation. However, the Government keeps the legislative framework under review.

The litigation protocol agreed between the Government and Post Office Ltd is to enable the sharing and protection of legally privileged information between Post Office Limited and the Government. Its scope does not extend to commercial arrangements between Post Office Ltd and Fujitsu (or any other third party).

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The details regarding contracts with Fujitsu and seeking to recoup costs, is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

The purpose of the Inquiry is to understand and acknowledge what went wrong in relation to Horizon and to ensure that there is a public summary of the failings that occurred at Post Office Ltd. At the Inquiry’s outset its Terms of Reference were published, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-2020/terms-of-reference.

As such, the Inquiry will consider only those matters set out in its Terms of Reference.

Click-and-collect services allow goods to be pre-ordered and collected without customers entering the premises. Customers thus remain in well ventilated spaces - which are, by definition, safer environments and where transmission is less likely to occur.

The safer workplaces guidance provides information to help employers make their workplaces COVID-Secure for their employees, visitors, and customers. The guidance does not replace existing employment, health and safety or equalities legislation. It provides information to employers on how best to meet these responsibilities in the context of COVID-19.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The details regarding contracts with Fujitsu and seeking financial compensation, are an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

The Department has not taken, and has no plans to take, any legal action against Fujitsu.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The details regarding contracts with Fujitsu and seeking financial compensation, are an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

The Department has not taken, and has no plans to take, any legal action against Fujitsu.

The Government recognises how important it is for businesses to be able continue operating during these very challenging times, which is why all shops are able to operate click-and-collect (where goods are pre-ordered and collected off the premises) and delivery services.

For businesses remaining open, mixed retail principles set out in the guidance apply to all retailers, and businesses are expected to close sufficiently distinct sections.

Any business or venue that provides goods for sale or hire that are not considered essential must close. Businesses may continue offering delivery and click-and-collect services (where items are pre-ordered and collected without entering the premises). People can also leave home to collect or return orders from these businesses.

The other people’s home guidance was updated on 6 January to reflect the national lockdown. Where it is absolutely necessary for delivery drivers to enter someone’s home, they can do so by following the guidance, respecting social distancing and wearing a face mask.

The preliminary efficacy data is positive and indicates that the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is 70.4% effective across two different dosage regimens. One of these dose regimens could be up to 90% effective.

To beat this pandemic, it has always been likely that we would need more than one vaccine. We have now seen excellent results with multiple vaccine candidates. There will be variations between the vaccines in how well they work for different population subgroups and how long the protection lasts, alongside other factors.

The University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine has the distinct advantage that it can be stored at fridge temperature, making it easier to transport and distribute globally than other Covid-19 vaccines. The fact that the vaccine has been manufactured by AstraZeneca at cost also means it is affordable, potentially making this UK-developed vaccine a vaccine for the world.

The Vaccine TaskForce’s portfolio includes different types of vaccine and we continue to keep the portfolio under review.

The number of people who can attend a wedding or a wedding celebration is 15 people depending on local restrictions. Weddings remain exempt from the rule of six. We understand these guidelines may be difficult for couples and venues and are keeping them under constant review.

Mobile hairdressers and other close contact services can operate in other people’s homes as long as they apply the COVID-secure guidelines for working in other people’s homes and the specific guidance for close contact services. Both guides can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

As part of the Government’s response to the pandemic, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a host of measures to help businesses, including loans, tax deferrals and cash grants.

There is particular support for smaller businesses and the self-employed to help bolster the existing package of support available. For example, the Bounce Back Loan Scheme enables small businesses quicker access to finance, where they can borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 with no repayments due for a year, and no interest charged during that time either.

Sir Wyn Williams has 28 years’ judicial experience, and the Government has full confidence in his ability to decide how to engage relevant parties. The Government, Post Office Limited and Fujitsu have already agreed to cooperate fully with the Inquiry, and Sir Wyn will keep the Government informed of what progress is being made.

The Post Office Policy team in BEIS has 4 full-time equivalent staff. The team works with the UKGI Post Office Shareholder team as well as experts from other functions within BEIS, including analysts, lawyers, and a correspondence team.

In April 2019 the BEIS Post Office policy team was made up by 2 staff members and has doubled in size since then.

The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) issued a report on Post Office Sponsorship in October 2019, noting that a Framework Document and MOU were in the process of being finalised. A Framework Document outlining key activities, roles, responsibilities and accountabilities between BEIS, UKGI and Post Office Ltd has been agreed and was published on 25 March 2020. The document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-limited-shareholder-relationship-framework-document.

The Department has retained a copy of Second Sight’s final report into the Post Office Limited's Horizon IT system.

At the time of triennial reviews, all non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) undergo a substantive review at least once every 3 years. As Post Office Ltd is classified as a Public Corporation, they are out of scope. The published guidance on the reviews can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/triennial-reviews-guidance-and-schedule.

The Department has no plans to publish such assessments.

No legal advisor representing BEIS attended the Post Office Limited GLO Sub-Committee. Among the committee’s attendees were the UKGI Shareholder Representative and the UKGI General Counsel as an observer.

No Ministerial Direction was sought on this matter. Post Office Limited (POL) handled the defence of the Group Litigation as operational matters are an exclusive responsibility for the Company, as outlined in the Framework Document.

All costs in doing so, including legal costs and the settlement in December 2019, were paid using funds from POL’s commercial revenue. BEIS sought and received assurance throughout the process that no public funding was used to contest the litigation.

The legal defence of the litigation was handled solely by Post Office Ltd.

The Post Office appointed Womble Bond Dickenson and Herbert Smith Freehills in the latter stages of the litigation. BEIS was not a party to the litigation and did not take part in the proceedings which were handled by Post Office Limited and their own legal team. Therefore, BEIS incurred no external legal costs.

The Post Office appointed Womble Bond Dickenson and Herbert Smith Freehills in the latter stages of the litigation. BEIS was not a party to the litigation and did not take part in the proceedings which were handled by Post Office Limited and their own legal team. Therefore, BEIS incurred no external legal costs.

The Post Office Limited’s Horizon IT system litigation has been considered by both the Performance and Risk Challenge Panel and the Performance and Risk Committee as part of the Committee’s considerations regarding its Performance and Risk report.

The Post Office Limited’s Horizon IT system litigation has been considered by both the Performance and Risk Challenge Panel and the Performance and Risk Committee as part of the Committee’s considerations regarding its Performance and Risk report.

In the 2017-18 Annual Report and Accounts, the Group Chief Internal Auditor (GCIA) from the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) provided an overall ‘moderate’ opinion on the framework of governance, risk management, and control within the Department for 2017-18. This was an increase from the ‘limited’ level of assurance received by the Department for 2016-17. The Report is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018.

The strengthened assurance rating recognised the good progress made and initiatives taken across the Department to further develop the governance, risk management, and control environment. This included continuing the transformation to a single Department and the introduction of new risk management and contract management frameworks. New control measures were introduced, supported by a new internal controls team to strengthen the Department’s approach to assurance and to address control weaknesses identified by the GIAA, such as ensuring internal audit actions are implemented promptly.

Since 2017-18 the Department has continued to make improvements within its internal control environment, more detail on which is set out in subsequent Annual Reports and Accounts.

As noted by the GIIA, this has been achieved against the backdrop of a challenging scale of policy and programme work that the Department has been able to deliver concurrently.

No Ministerial Direction was sought on this matter.

Discussions between the Post Office and BEIS on this matter are legally privileged and therefore will not be subject to publication.

Discussions between the Post Office and BEIS on this matter are legally privileged and therefore will not be subject to publication.

As BEIS was not party to the litigation and the litigation was handled by Post Office Limited and their own legal team, it has not been included as a specific agenda item for ARAC in the last two years.

As BEIS was not party to the litigation and the litigation was handled by Post Office Limited and their own legal team, it has not been included as a specific agenda item for ARAC in the last two years.

URENCO operations in the UK are regulated by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), with clear criteria for the reporting of security breaches. Security breaches are reported to the ONR and to the UK, Dutch, and German members of the Security Work Group. The Security Working Group is made up of regulators from the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, and the US, as well as representatives from the Enrichment Technology Company and URENCO. Severe breaches may also be reported to the board of URENCO, on which Directors appointed by Ultra-Centrifuge Nederland NV and Uranit GmbH sit.

Post Office Ltd. (POL) handled the defence of the Group Litigation. All costs in doing so, including legal costs and the settlement in December 2019, were paid using funds from POL’s commercial revenue. BEIS sought and received assurance throughout the process that no public funding was used to contest the litigation.

Post Office Ltd. (POL) handled the defence of the Group Litigation. All costs in doing so, including legal costs and the settlement in December 2019, were paid using funds from POL’s commercial revenue. BEIS sought and received assurance throughout the process that no public funding was used to contest the litigation.

The Department is working to make the UK the best place in the world for all businesses to thrive and grow.

The UK maritime sector has strategic importance for our economy and we encourage private investment into the sector. We have recently supported the £33 million investment in Artemis in Belfast to develop an autonomous water taxi.

The maritime sector is also benefitting from the Government’s Covid-19 support, which includes access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Covid-19 Business Interruption Loans.

We have now provided other close contact services like beauty salons in England, except Leicester, with the certainty they need to reopen from Monday 13 July, subject to them following the COVID-secure guidelines.

We need to be confident services are able to reopen in a COVID-secure way for the staff and customers. Our approach is guided by the scientific and medical advice, and our guidance has been developed with input from firms, unions, industry bodies and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland, and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Government has issued guidance on maintaining educational provision for the children of critical workers during the Covid-19 outbreak. The guidance does not use the term ‘key workers’.

Critical workers are defined as those whose work is critical to the Covid-19 response, based on consultation across Government. This could include workers that install electronic security systems, for example in hospitals. However, within the guidance on critical workers, there is no blanket inclusion for workers in that particular occupation, or in any other construction occupation.

Government policy remains that construction work should continue, provided that it is undertaken in a manner consistent with the PHE guidance.

On 11 December 2019, Post Office Ltd reached a settlement of £57.75m to conclude the Horizon litigation claim. No government money was used to fund the settlement or the related litigation. These were fully funded by Post Office Ltd from its commercial revenues.

It is impossible to ignore the financial and emotional suffering that the Horizon litigation process has caused for affected postmasters and their families. The Post Office has accepted – on the Horizon Accounting System – that it got things wrong in the past in its dealings with a number of postmasters and has apologised. This apology is only the start of a process of real change in the Post Office so that this situation is never repeated again.

The Post Office has notified the Department that they have settled two long-running and complex disputes with sub-postmasters who had declined to join the group litigation. As an operational matter for the Post Office, the Government was not party to the discussions.

Post Office Limited will announce a scheme in the near future which will address historic shortfalls for postmasters who were not part of the Group Litigation. Post Office Limited are actively considering how best to reach all relevant postmasters both past and present as part of this process.

The Government recognises that postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office network and it is committed to ensuring cultural change takes place regarding the Post Office's engagement and relationship with postmasters.

As such I am keen to hold discussions with representatives of the Communication Workers Union. My office has been in touch with the Communication Workers Union and are waiting for a response.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices and their postmasters play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. Postmasters and specific projects that Post Office Limited have established to support is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.

The Government has had a Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Board of Post Office Limited since the company was separated from the Royal Mail in April 2012. This right is provided for in POL’s Articles of Association. Tom Cooper was appointed as a Director of UK Government Investments through a competitive process and was proposed to BEIS as the department’s next representative on the POL Board. This was agreed by BEIS and Tom Cooper was appointed on 27 March 2018.

Tom Cooper does not receive a salary for being on the Post Office Board.

The Government has had a Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Board of Post Office Limited since the company was separated from the Royal Mail in April 2012. This right is provided for in POL’s Articles of Association. Tom Cooper was appointed as a Director of UK Government Investments through a competitive process and was proposed to BEIS as the department’s next representative on the POL Board. This was agreed by BEIS and Tom Cooper was appointed on 27 March 2018.

Tom Cooper does not receive a salary for being on the Post Office Board.

The Government has had a Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Post Office Board since the company was separated from the Royal Mail in April 2012. Susannah Storey occupied the role from 18 April 2012 until 26 March 2014, followed by Richard Callard from 26 March 2014 until 27 March 2018.

Tom Cooper has been the occupier of this role since 27 March 2018.

The Government has had a Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Post Office Board since the company was separated from the Royal Mail in April 2012. Susannah Storey occupied the role from 18 April 2012 until 26 March 2014, followed by Richard Callard from 26 March 2014 until 27 March 2018.

Tom Cooper has been the occupier of this role since 27 March 2018.

The Government recognises that postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office network and it is committed to ensuring cultural change takes place regarding the Post Office's engagement and relationship with postmasters.

As such, I am keen to hold discussions with representatives of the Communication Workers Union. My office has been in touch with the Communication Workers Union and are waiting for a response.

As announced to the House by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 5 November, the Government intends to introduce a scheme to assist those facing serious hardship as a result of a life-changing injury, illness or loss of life for which UK-based Thomas Cook companies would have been liable, but for insolvency.

While the government cannot and will not step into the shoes of Thomas Cook, we are developing proposals to make payments to those in need, and who otherwise will receive nothing. Any scheme must strike a responsible balance between supporting those in the most serious financial need and our responsibility to the taxpayer. Accordingly, it will be a capped fund, sufficient to ensure there is support for those customers facing the most serious hardship.

Legislation to deliver the scheme will be introduced in due course.

The Secretary of State delegates the role of Shareholder Representative on the Post Office Board to UK Government Investments (UKGI). Tom Cooper (Director, UKGI) is the current Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Post Office Board.

UKGI, as the Shareholder Representative, oversees corporate governance, strategy, and the stewardship of the Post Office’s financial and other resources on behalf of BEIS. As well as the seat on the Post Office Board, UKGI Shareholder NED also sits on the Audit and Risk Committee.

The shareholder team monitors financial and operational performance of the business against the long-term strategy, holding the business to account in delivering against its commercial and policy objectives. UKGI are also responsible for ensuring the business is provided with sufficient investment and subsidy funding to achieve its target of being commercially sustainable in the longer term, whilst meeting its social obligations, particularly around minimum network coverages requirements.

Finally, UKGI advises ministers on both commercial and policy issues, supporting them in Parliament and with the wider set of stakeholders who have an interest in Post Office matters.

There are no plans to review these duties.

The Maritime Enterprise Working Group does not receive continued funding from the public purse. In 2018 the Department for Business, Energy & industrial Strategy contributed £20,000 towards a study of the UK shipbuilding competitiveness and market focus.

Postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office, and their branches are vital to communities across the country. That is why Government takes Post Office Limited’s (POL) relationship with its postmasters very seriously.

The Post Office's Chair acknowledges the criticism received in the Horizon litigation and has committed to applying the lessons learnt. BEIS Ministers and officials will continue to raise these matters and monitor these issues in their regular engagement with the Post Office.

Progress on this work and other issues of mutual interest will also continue to be discussed at the quarterly working group between the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, Post Office and Government under my chairmanship.

Ministers and officials meet with Nick Read, CEO of Post Office Limited’s on a regular basis and meetings with Ministers are included on the regular transparency return.

The letter received from the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance is still being considered and a response will be provided in due course.

Membership of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group includes representatives from industry, government and academia. The Group reviews and selects representatives on an ad hoc basis as necessary. Government representation includes: Ministry of Defence; Department for International Trade; Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy; and Department for Transport.

The Secretary of State delegates the role of Shareholder Representative on the Post Office Board to UK Government Investments (UKGI). Tom Cooper (Director, UKGI) is the current Shareholder Non-Executive Director on the Post Office Board.

UKGI, as the Shareholder Representative, oversees corporate governance, strategy, and the stewardship of the Post Office’s financial and other resources on behalf of BEIS. As well as the seat on the Post Office Board, UKGI Shareholder NED also sits on the Audit and Risk Committee.

The shareholder team monitors financial and operational performance of the business against the long-term strategy, holding the business to account in delivering against its commercial and policy objectives. UKGI are also responsible for ensuring the business is provided with sufficient investment and subsidy funding to achieve its target of being commercially sustainable in the longer term, whilst meeting its social obligations, particularly around minimum network coverages requirements.

Finally, UKGI advises ministers on both commercial and policy issues, supporting them in Parliament and with the wider set of stakeholders who have an interest in Post Office matters.

There are no plans to review these duties.

Postmasters are the backbone of the Post Office network and it is clearly vital they have a body that represents their interests.

Since 2015 National Federation of Sub-Postmasters have been funded by a grant provided by Post Office. This equates to £1.5 million per annum for its annual operations and £1 million per annum for specific projects established to support postmasters. The annual grant is paid on a quarterly basis. Individual project grants will be paid in line with the requirements of the specific projects. Any grant funding to the NFSP is paid from POL's own commercial revenues.

Prior to the Grant Agreement in 2015, NFSP received an annual payment of £175k from the Post Office along with occasional payments for specific projects. The rest of NSFP’s funding came from members’ subscription payments.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20th January 2020 to Question 3683: the letter is being considered and a response will be provided in due course. In the meantime, is not appropriate for Government to publish the payment request.

The Department has received a letter from the Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance. This is being considered and a response will be provided in due course.

Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Post Office.

Government has robust mechanisms in place to maintain oversight of the Post Office that are regularly reviewed. UKGI acts as Shareholder Representative for BEIS, overseeing POL’s corporate governance, strategy, and the stewardship of POL’s financial and other resources on behalf of the shareholder, as well as holding a non-executive seat on POL’s Board.

Ministers and officials are in regular contact with the Post Office.

Government has robust mechanisms in place to maintain oversight of the Post Office that are regularly reviewed. UKGI acts as Shareholder Representative for BEIS, overseeing POL’s corporate governance, strategy, and the stewardship of POL’s financial and other resources on behalf of the shareholder, as well as holding a non-executive seat on POL’s Board.

Departments publish quarterly details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations on GOV.UK. These can be found at the following links:

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) (from July 2016) - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) (to July 2016) - https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bis-quarterly-publications-april-to-june-2012

The Online Safety Bill has been designed to tackle user generated content. Some advertising which takes the form of organic, user generated content is in scope of the Bill. Companies in scope will have to prevent the proliferation of illegal content and ensure that children who use their services are not exposed to harmful or inappropriate content.

The Online Advertising Programme recently closed its consultation and will look at the entire advertising ecosystem in relation to harms caused by paid-for online advertising.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety.

Sport England continues to invest in access to swimming, awarding £7,111,146 in grassroots swimming and diving, including £3,099,500 directly to Swim England, since the start of 2020. This supports Swim England’s work to develop the swimming workforce, including the Institute of Swimming which delivers training for swimming teachers.

Regulation of the wider sport and physical activity workforce is a key role of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA). Sport England have invested £5 million into CIMSPA who are leading on the ‘Retrain to Retain’ programme which provides training to members of the sport workforce. This is currently being targeted at swimming teachers and potential swimming teachers to get them to return to work or join the industry.

On the Level 2 qualification, Sport England is funding CIMSPA to work with all governing bodies of sport to modernise their training for coaches and improve access to coaching qualifications, especially for people from underrepresented groups.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to indoor and outdoor pools. Swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy as well as being a crucial life skill in terms of water safety.

Sport England continues to invest in access to swimming, awarding £7,111,146 in grassroots swimming and diving, including £3,099,500 directly to Swim England, since the start of 2020. This supports Swim England’s work to develop the swimming workforce, including the Institute of Swimming which delivers training for swimming teachers.

Regulation of the wider sport and physical activity workforce is a key role of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMPSA). Sport England have invested £5 million into CIMSPA who are leading on the ‘Retrain to Retain’ programme which provides training to members of the sport workforce. This is currently being targeted at swimming teachers and potential swimming teachers to get them to return to work or join the industry.

On the Level 2 qualification, Sport England is funding CIMSPA to work with all governing bodies of sport to modernise their training for coaches and improve access to coaching qualifications, especially for people from underrepresented groups.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is the lead department for telecommunications policy, including the security and resilience of telecommunications subsea cables. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is the lead department for the energy sector, including subsea energy cables.

Cable operators have arrangements in place to ensure a prompt response to damage or disruption. These arrangements draw upon national and international cable laying and repair companies. The Government works with cable operators, energy infrastructure operators, regulators and others to provide advice and guidance, assess risks and ensure that the appropriate mitigation measures, including the provision of specialist capabilities, are in place to enable an effective response to actual or potentially disruptive incidents.

Under the Online Safety Bill, companies will have duties with regard to user-generated content advertising, such as posts by influencers and posts by companies on their social media feeds. Companies will need to minimise the risk of illegal user-generated content appearing on their services, and take swift action to remove it once alerted to it.

The legislation will not cover adverts which are placed directly or indirectly through a contract between an advertiser and an advertising service. It is important to keep the scope of the Bill manageable, to ensure its success in regulating the most harmful forms of user-generated content. We are however awaiting the report from the Joint Committee scrutinising the Draft Bill and will carefully examine any recommendations in this area.

Harms associated with paid-for advertising will be addressed holistically via the Online Advertising Programme. In February 2019, we announced that we will consider how online advertising is regulated. In 2020 we launched a call for evidence and we will be launching a public consultation on the Online Advertising Programme in the coming months.

‘Broadband’ is defined by the technology type and replaced older ‘narrowband’ technologies such as ‘dial-up’ as a method of connecting to the internet. There is therefore no speed threshold which a connection must reach in order to be considered ‘broadband’.

As announced by the Prime Minister, the Government will proceed cautiously to Step 4 of the Roadmap on 19 July. At Step 4, most of the legal restrictions imposed throughout the pandemic will be removed and all remaining businesses will be able to reopen.

The Government will provide guidance for Step 4 of the Roadmap to help businesses and the public to make informed decisions about how to manage risks from COVID-19.

Following the Government’s call for evidence in 2020 we will be launching a public consultation by the end of this year as the next steps of our Online Advertising Programme.

Whilst online advertising presents benefits, it also presents new challenges for consumers, businesses and society as a whole. It raises questions over the collection, analysis and use of consumer data, as well as the appropriateness and accuracy of targeting. The scale and speed of advertising has also highlighted possible challenges around content standards and harmful advertisements.

We are currently working to shape the consultation and what it will consider. Ultimately we want to ensure standards about the placement and content of advertising can be effectively applied and enforced online so that consumers have limited exposure to harmful or misleading advertising.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people have the best opportunities to engage in sport and physical activity. Our Sporting Future strategy sets out how important it is for all children to have a good experience of sport and physical activity while they are young.

The Government’s arm’s-length body, Sport England, has invested over £190 million into physical activity for children and young people over 2016-2021, including programmes such as the £40 million Families Fund, which encourages low-income families with children to do sport and physical activity together. Initiatives such as the Studio You video platform, funded by Sport England and powered by This Girl Can, are also encouraging more teenage girls to be active.

The Government’s School Sport and Activity Action Plan (jointly published by the Department for Education, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and Department for Health and Social Care in July 2019) sets out a commitment to ongoing collaboration to support the delivery of high-quality PE lessons and to ensure that sport and physical activity are an integral part of both the school day and after-school activities. This is supported by £320 million per year through the PE and sport premium. More recently, the Government has hosted roundtables on how to take support for young people even further, and has committed to updating the Government sport strategy, with children and young people central to this.

Gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with advertising codes of practice issued by the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) and the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), which are enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Failure to comply with the advertising codes is also a breach of the Gambling Commission’s social responsibility code and it can take appropriate action. These codes already require that gambling marketing is socially responsible and does not create the impression that gambling products are an investment opportunity when they are not.

Whether a consumer is due a refund will depend on the terms of their contract or agreement. The Citizens Advice consumer service offers consumers free advice on their rights and how to take their complaint forward. The helpline can be contacted on 0808 223 1133, and via www.citizensadvice.org.

As the communications regulator, Ofcom’s role is to ensure communication providers’ comply with their legal duties on security under the Communications Act 2003. Ofcom is also the competent authority for the digital infrastructure sector under the Network and Information Systems Directive 2020.

It is the role of the NCSC to advise industry following cyber attacks.

The NCSC will continue to play this role working closely with Ofcom under the new regime introduced in the Telecoms Security Bill. Ofcom will work with NCSC to ensure that it always has access to the right level of information which can be accessed by those with the appropriate level of security clearance.

Below is headcount data from Ofcom’s Annual Reports since 2010, figures which are in the public domain:

The reduction between 2010 and 2012 reflects headcount reductions in the wider public sector at the time. Since then, Ofcom has had a number of new duties conferred on them which account for subsequent headcount rises.

The Government’s approach to reopening venues and events has been based on safety and wider public health concerns. We continue to work closely with sport governing bodies and venues across the country to fully assess what support is needed during this challenging time.

As a result of this work, on 19 November 2020 we announced a £300 million Sports Winter Survival Package which aims to protect their immediate futures over the winter period. Decisions on allocations are being undertaken by an Independent Board, whilst Sport England are responsible for administering the fund.

This support is in addition to the multi-billion pound package of business support from government that has enabled many sports clubs and leisure businesses to survive, including the furlough scheme and business interruption loan scheme. Sports have accessed many hundreds of millions of pounds of support through this.

The Government remains committed to engaging across the sector to maintain a complete picture of the financial impact of Covid-19 to ensure sports venues survive this difficult period wherever possible.

In the recently announced Spending Review £30m of capital investment was committed for 2021-22 as the first tranche of the Youth Investment Fund. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

In the recently announced Spending Review £30m of capital investment was committed for 2021-22 as the first tranche of the Youth Investment Fund. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

In the recently announced Spending Review £30m of capital investment was committed for 2021-22 as the first tranche of the Youth Investment Fund. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

In the recently announced Spending Review £30m of capital investment was committed for 2021-22 as the first tranche of the Youth Investment Fund. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

In the recently announced Spending Review £30m of capital investment was committed for 2021-22 as the first tranche of the Youth Investment Fund. This will provide a transformational investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

The funding will be allocated from the Government’s unprecedented £750 million package of support which is benefiting tens of thousands of frontline charities, so they can continue their vital work. More than £60 million of this package has already been provided to organisations working with vulnerable children and young people.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and the important role of youth services in supporting them.

We are engaging regularly with key youth organisations and colleagues in other government departments to understand the impact of Covid-19 on the provision of vital services for young people, and options for addressing this.

We will keep engaging with the youth sector as plans for the Youth Investment Fund develop, and expect to publish further details in due course.

No money has been distributed through the Youth Investment Fund to date.

DCMS officials continue to assess how COVID-19 is impacting on young people and youth services. We will keep engaging with the youth sector as plans for the Youth Investment Fund develop, and expect to publish further details in due course.

In February 2019, the evaluation of the Great Exhibition of the North was completed and a detailed final report was published by Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, the lead delivery partner, following sign off from local partners and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The final report identified that the exhibition received 3.8 million visits across 80 days of events, installations and activities, and that 90% of visitors felt that the exhibition had changed their perceptions of Newcastle Gateshead, 84% saying that they would recommend Newcastle Gateshead to friends and relatives and generated £126 million for the local economy in Newcastle Gateshead.

A copy of the final report can be found here

The Government appreciates that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to many of DCMS’ sectors, including the stand-up comedy sector, which is why we announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency.

On Sunday 5 July 2020, the Secretary of State announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. Live comedy is a much loved part of the British cultural landscape. Comedy venues and organisations will be eligible to apply for support through the package.

The Live Comedy Association attends the regular ministerially-chaired roundtables that ensure we are assisting all our Creative Industries sectors as effectively as possible. In addition, officials are in regular contact with the Live Comedy Association, ensuring that the needs of the comedy industry are fully understood.

We will continue to work with the stand-up comedy sector to understand the difficulties the industry faces and help it access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

Sports and physical activity facilities play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.The Government has made it clear that it will adopt a phased approach based on scientific and medical advice, and that the primary goal is to protect public health.

Ice-skating rinks were able to reopen from 15 August. These facilities are able to offer on-site services to customers, provided they are COVID-secure and follow Government guidance. Elite athletes have been able to access specialist sports facilities for training purposes since mid-April.

As part of its UK Telecoms Supply Chain Review, the Government set out its position on the stringent restrictions that should be applied to the presence of high risk vendors in the UK telecoms networks in January 2020.

The Review focused on 5G and full fibre networks. We have not estimated the specific costs associated with the removal of equipment from high risk vendors in the UK’s 4G mobile networks. Cost estimates produced for the review represented the aggregated view across all mobile technologies (2G,3G,4G,5G).

The performing arts industry is one the UK's greatest success stories and we are doing all we can to support the sector through the pandemic. We are providing unprecedented assistance including a years' business rates holiday, government loans, the recently-extended Self Employed Income Support Scheme, the Job Retention Scheme that hundreds of organisations have received support from.

Additionally, DCMS has worked closely with its arm’s-length bodies to deliver tailored support packages at speed, including the £160m Emergency Funding Package announced by Arts Council England, made possible by Government funding. This intervention complements the financial measures already announced to ensure immediate resilience of this vital sector.

The package includes £140 million of support for artistic organisations including independent theatres; and £20 million of financial support for individuals, including self-employed theatre practitioners, so they can better sustain themselves, and their work, in the coming months. To date more than 9000 individuals and organisations have been successful in applying for this emergency funding.

The Secretary of State, myself and officials continue to consult the Art sector extensively to ensure we fully understand the financial impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the sector.

On the basis of that engagement, DCMS and ACE are continuing to work closely to consider the additional measures required to ensure the long-term recovery and growth of the cultural sector, including independent theatres, and we remain committed to opening up venues as soon as it is safe to do so and are working directly with the sector on detailed advice and guidance.

We will look at opening forms of holiday accommodation in Step 3 of the government’s recovery strategy, currently planned for 4 July at the earliest. This will be subject to the further scientific advice and the latest risk assessment at the time.

My Department has launched the Cultural Renewal Taskforce to help our sectors’ businesses prepare to reopen when it is safe to do so. To inform this Taskforce, we have set up a Visitor Economy Working Group to specifically focus on the practicalities and guidelines for restarting tourism activity during the recovery period. We remain in regular contact with holiday park stakeholders as part of this group and via the Tourism Industry Emergency Response Group.

There are twenty-one members of the UK Shipbuilding Skills Taskforce, three of whom were also part of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group. The lead for the skills work of the Working Group from BMT MarRI-UK is a member of the Taskforce, as well as representatives from Babcock International Group and UKNEST who were also members of the Maritime Enterprise Working Group. This will ensure that the reports and conclusions of the Working Group will be considered in the work of the Taskforce.

There are other members on the Taskforce representing the same organisations that were represented on the Working Group such as BAE Systems, Cammell Laird and A&P Group, the Royal Navy and the University of Strathclyde. The Taskforce also has members who represent organisations which were not part of the Working Group and so will bring different views and experience.

To ensure the Taskforce is connected to existing stakeholder groups working on shipbuilding, the Chair of the Taskforce will join the Maritime Skills Commission and the Shipbuilding Enterprise for Growth so that the work of these groups is aligned.

The administration of Troops to Teachers undergraduate bursaries is undertaken by the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) funding team, alongside other ITT funding. In academic year 2021/22 the team is administering funding for approximately 6,000 trainees in total. The ITT Funding team consists of 6 full-time equivalent staff members and the administration of this funding is undertaken collectively. No civil servants are working solely on administration of the Troops to Teachers scheme.

Since January 2021, one trainee has been awarded a bursary under the Troops to Teachers undergraduate bursary scheme. As they commenced their course in the 2021/22 academic year, the bursary will be paid in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.

A further two trainees were in receipt of the bursary in the 2020/21 academic year, with one of these trainees receiving the remainder of their bursary in the 2021/22 academic year. The combined cost to the public purse of these two trainees since the 2020/21 academic year is £60,000. The department cannot disaggregate the exact amount paid since January 2021 because it makes payments to initial teacher training (ITT) providers as a proportion of their total funding spread from September to July, rather than an amount per trainee each month.

The department is currently planning to publish information on outcomes for ITT trainees in the 2020/21 academic year in July 2022 which will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training. However, data is not routinely published on Troops to Teachers.

Veterans who have a degree can and do undertake postgraduate ITT courses, where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £26,000 available on these routes into teaching.

The department is committed to further promoting opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching. Many veterans already utilise department services to support service leavers into ITT each year. As part of the cross-government Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-2024, the department has committed to increase collaboration with the Ministry of Defence to promote opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching, increasing signposting, events and communications tailored to veterans. The department also encourages them to take up services we offer such as ‘get school experience’ and our ‘teacher training advisers’ service that will help them towards a career in teaching.

Since January 2021, one trainee has been awarded a bursary under the Troops to Teachers undergraduate bursary scheme. As they commenced their course in the 2021/22 academic year, the bursary will be paid in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.

A further two trainees were in receipt of the bursary in the 2020/21 academic year, with one of these trainees receiving the remainder of their bursary in the 2021/22 academic year. The combined cost to the public purse of these two trainees since the 2020/21 academic year is £60,000. The department cannot disaggregate the exact amount paid since January 2021 because it makes payments to initial teacher training (ITT) providers as a proportion of their total funding spread from September to July, rather than an amount per trainee each month.

The department is currently planning to publish information on outcomes for ITT trainees in the 2020/21 academic year in July 2022 which will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training. However, data is not routinely published on Troops to Teachers.

Veterans who have a degree can and do undertake postgraduate ITT courses, where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £26,000 available on these routes into teaching.

The department is committed to further promoting opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching. Many veterans already utilise department services to support service leavers into ITT each year. As part of the cross-government Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-2024, the department has committed to increase collaboration with the Ministry of Defence to promote opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching, increasing signposting, events and communications tailored to veterans. The department also encourages them to take up services we offer such as ‘get school experience’ and our ‘teacher training advisers’ service that will help them towards a career in teaching.

Since January 2021, one trainee has been awarded a bursary under the Troops to Teachers undergraduate bursary scheme. As they commenced their course in the 2021/22 academic year, the bursary will be paid in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years.

A further two trainees were in receipt of the bursary in the 2020/21 academic year, with one of these trainees receiving the remainder of their bursary in the 2021/22 academic year. The combined cost to the public purse of these two trainees since the 2020/21 academic year is £60,000. The department cannot disaggregate the exact amount paid since January 2021 because it makes payments to initial teacher training (ITT) providers as a proportion of their total funding spread from September to July, rather than an amount per trainee each month.

The department is currently planning to publish information on outcomes for ITT trainees in the 2020/21 academic year in July 2022 which will be available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-teacher-training. However, data is not routinely published on Troops to Teachers.

Veterans who have a degree can and do undertake postgraduate ITT courses, where they can access the bursaries and scholarships of up to £26,000 available on these routes into teaching.

The department is committed to further promoting opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching. Many veterans already utilise department services to support service leavers into ITT each year. As part of the cross-government Veterans’ Strategy Action Plan: 2022-2024, the department has committed to increase collaboration with the Ministry of Defence to promote opportunities for service leavers to get into teaching, increasing signposting, events and communications tailored to veterans. The department also encourages them to take up services we offer such as ‘get school experience’ and our ‘teacher training advisers’ service that will help them towards a career in teaching.

PE and school sport play an important part in supporting pupils to recover from the effects of school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government has confirmed the overall funding for the Primary PE and sport premium will continue at £320 million for the 2021/22 academic year. Funding will be allocated according to a formula and details will be confirmed in the autumn as in previous years. Schools will be permitted to carry forward any unspent PE and sport premium funding from the current academic year to ensure that this is spent to benefit primary pupils’ physical education, school sport and physical activity recovery.

In June 2021, the Department announced £1.4 billion of additional funding for education recovery. This is in addition to the £1.7 billion already committed, bringing total investment announced for education recovery over the past year to over £3 billion. Schools have the flexibility to determine how they choose to spend some of this funding to support the needs of their pupils, including on activities to support health and wellbeing where needed. The Government has also provided £10.1 million of funding to support schools to reopen their sports facilities and increase the opportunity for children and young people to take part in extra-curricular and community sport.

PE and school sport play an important part in supporting pupils to recover from the effects of school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government has confirmed the overall funding for the Primary PE and sport premium will continue at £320 million for the 2021/22 academic year. Funding will be allocated according to a formula and details will be confirmed in the autumn as in previous years. Schools will be permitted to carry forward any unspent PE and sport premium funding from the current academic year to ensure that this is spent to benefit primary pupils’ physical education, school sport and physical activity recovery.

In June 2021, the Department announced £1.4 billion of additional funding for education recovery. This is in addition to the £1.7 billion already committed, bringing total investment announced for education recovery over the past year to over £3 billion. Schools have the flexibility to determine how they choose to spend some of this funding to support the needs of their pupils, including on activities to support health and wellbeing where needed. The Government has also provided £10.1 million of funding to support schools to reopen their sports facilities and increase the opportunity for children and young people to take part in extra-curricular and community sport.

PE and school sport play an important part in supporting pupils to recover from the effects of school closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Government has confirmed the overall funding for the Primary PE and sport premium will continue at £320 million for the 2021/22 academic year. Funding will be allocated according to a formula and details will be confirmed in the autumn as in previous years. Schools will be permitted to carry forward any unspent PE and sport premium funding from the current academic year to ensure that this is spent to benefit primary pupils’ physical education, school sport and physical activity recovery.

In June 2021, the Department announced £1.4 billion of additional funding for education recovery. This is in addition to the £1.7 billion already committed, bringing total investment announced for education recovery over the past year to over £3 billion. Schools have the flexibility to determine how they choose to spend some of this funding to support the needs of their pupils, including on activities to support health and wellbeing where needed. The Government has also provided £10.1 million of funding to support schools to reopen their sports facilities and increase the opportunity for children and young people to take part in extra-curricular and community sport.

The Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care to regularly review the latest evidence on children and young people’s mental wellbeing, including the impact of physical activity and sport.

Evidence from a number of sources suggests that good quality sporting activity can have a positive impact on children and young people’s general wellbeing and mental health. Research by The National Centre for Social Research shows that participating in organised sports and joining after school clubs can help to improve primary school children’s academic performance and social skills.

There is also evidence that organised sporting activity can have a positive effect on personal development and contribute to wellbeing by increasing self-esteem and self-confidence, and improving social skills. Such activity can have a beneficial effect on mental health by reducing anxiety, emotional distress and depressive symptoms.

The Department has provided £900,000 to the Inclusion 2020 programme since 2018, which supports 9,328 schools with continuing professional development to ensure that PE and school sport is inclusive of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This programme funded the development of new teacher resources such as the ‘All about Autism, All about Me’ digital toolkit, endorsed by the National Autistic Society, which provides support for making PE and sport inclusive to pupils with autism spectrum conditions.

The Department has committed to continue to fund a programme to support children and young people with SEND to take part in PE and school sport. It launched an open competition process last month to select a new programme.

The Department for Education works with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department of Health and Social Care to deliver the School Sport and Activity Action Plan which aims to increase participation in sport and physical activity by children and young people.

The Government, through DCMS and Sport England, funds support for school sport through Active Partnerships and a contract with the Youth Sport Trust to provide training and coordination for School Games Organisers based in 450 host schools across the country. Over 95% of schools in England take part in The School Games, which provides an annual calendar of competition at local, regional, and national levels.

The Government has recently confirmed the continuation of £11 million funding for School Games Organisers until the end of this financial year.

The Government recognises that the national lockdown has had a huge impact on children and young people’s education, which will take more than a year to catch up. On 27 January 2021, the Government announced a further £300 million of new funding for high quality tutoring to help children and young people catch up. The Government will be working in collaboration with the education sector to develop specific initiatives for summer schools, and a COVID-19 premium to support catch up, alongside developing a long term plan to support pupils to catch up over the course of this Parliament. Further detail on this funding and support will be confirmed in due course.

The COVID-19 outbreak has had an impact on backlogs of cases in family courts. We are working closely with the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice and other key partners in the family justice system to make sure that we prioritise children’s welfare during this difficult and unprecedented time.

I recognise the additional support that foster families need at this time. That is why we have provided £125,000 in additional funding for Fosterline to deliver free-to-access and specialist one-to-one support to foster families. The service has focussed on reducing the risk of breakdown in fostering placements to ensure stability for looked-after children and increasing capacity by providing new or prospective carers with access to the specialist information they need.

I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22 January 2021 to 136013.

Guidance is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision. The overall definition of vulnerable children has been in place since March 2020. It includes children who are assessed as being in need under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, children who have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) and children who have been identified by the school or local authority as otherwise vulnerable for any other reason. Therefore, since the outset, guidance has been clear that schools and local authorities have had full flexibility to allow children to attend school based on their assessment of the child’s needs.

A number of examples of the factors that schools may wish to consider under this third category of vulnerability (otherwise vulnerable category) have been provided throughout the outbreak. This is not an exhaustive or definitive list and the guidance states that these categories are given as examples that schools might wish to factor in when identifying otherwise vulnerable children. Schools should interpret this in light of the wide range of information they have available to them, such as the needs of the child and their family.

One specific example within this list includes the term “those who may have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example due to a lack of devices or quiet space to study)”. This was first cited in published guidance on 28 Aug 2020 to include reference to the fact that children having difficult engaging in remote education might be a factor that schools may wish to consider when identifying children who may be vulnerable.

I can confirm that a response has been sent to the letter dated 9 November 2020, from the right hon. Member for North Durham.

Our top priority remains the welfare of students, staff, and the communities around higher education (HE) providers. To help providers make informed decisions about their provision, the government issued guidance on national restrictions and return of students in spring term for the sector based on the latest public health advice.

We are taking further steps to reduce transmission, including by significantly reducing the number of students returning to university from their winter break accommodation, and limiting the number of people travelling to and from university facilities. We are prioritising the return to face-to-face teaching for courses which are most important to be delivered in-person, predominately clinical based courses such as medicine and dentistry, in order to support the pipeline of future key workers. The guidance on which courses can return can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/950583/Students_returning_to_and_starting_higher_education_in_Spring_Term_2021_FINAL_v3.pdf.

As stated in the spring term 2021 student return guidance, all HE providers should offer asymptomatic mass testing to all students on their return. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses. NHS Test and Trace is working with providers to support the roll-out of mass asymptomatic testing via lateral flow devices for all students on their return. This support will be in the form of personal protective equipment, testing kits, and cost recovery for workforce. Local community testing is also now available in some areas. HE providers should work with their local authority to consider how the local mass asymptomatic testing might help their students.

All universities have plans for managing and controlling outbreaks. These have been agreed with local directors of public health and continue to be reviewed and updated based on emerging lessons and local situations. We expect universities and other HE providers to continue to prioritise the health and safety of their staff, students, and local community by putting in place measures that apply to their individual circumstances.

Agreement with the EU on all elements of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which includes programme participation, was concluded on the 24 December 2020. We said we would consider participation in elements of Erasmus+ on a time-limited basis, provided the terms were in the UK’s interests. The EU would not meet those terms and we did not consider participation would be in the interests of the UK taxpayer. Through the new Turing scheme we will provide UK students with the opportunity to study not only in Europe, but in countries across the world.

Following the end of term break, our top priority for January 2021 will be the welfare of students, staff, and the communities around higher education (HE) providers. As stated in the January 2021 student return guidance published on 2 December 2020, all higher education providers should offer asymptomatic mass testing to all students on their return. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/students-returning-to-higher-education-from-spring-term.

The department has sent communications to all HE providers on 2 December detailing the roll-out plans for January tests on return. Providers must return their data capture forms, including lateral flow device (LFD) test kit orders, to the department by 8 December. Providers selecting LFD testing will receive their kits by 18 December, thus ensuring testing of returning students can commence on 4 January.

The department and the Department of Health and Social Care have been hosting a series of webinars in December 2020 to discuss roll-out plans for January 2021. These sessions are also being used to hear and address providers’ concerns about signing up to the testing programme.

There are no legal obligations placed upon foster carers to facilitate birth family meetings. Arrangements for children to keep in touch with their family are set out by courts or in care plans. Foster parents will necessarily be involved in ensuring that the child in their care is able and supported to attend those meetings, and they may therefore have a role in facilitating or hosting birth families.

Ultimately, contact arrangements should be focused on, and shaped around, the child’s needs. Maintaining contact is crucial to help children and young people develop their identity and history, and to understand their lives and their sense of self. However, the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration at all times, and each child’s wishes and needs for contact should be individually considered and regularly assessed.

The department's guidance on vulnerable children describes how children living in care can stay in touch with their family during the COVID-19 outbreak. Contact arrangements should be assessed on a case by case basis taking into account a range of factors including the government’s social distancing guidance and the needs of the child. Additional information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care.

The department has already produced guidance for children’s social care provision, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-childrens-social-care-services/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-local-authorities-on-childrens-social-care.

The guidance on new local restrictions includes exemptions for arrangements where children do not live in the same household as both their parents or guardians, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-restrictions-areas-with-an-outbreak-of-coronavirus-covid-19.

The department may review its guidance for children’s social care provision based on any new information that could impact this area.

The government is providing £2.5 billion (£3 billion when including Barnett funding for devolved administrations), for the National Skills Fund. The National Skills Fund will support adults to learn and reach their potential in the labour market.

My right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, recently announced that for adults who do not currently have a level 3 qualification, the government will be fully funding their first full level 3 through the National Skills Fund.

Currently, adults who are between the ages of 19 – 23 are eligible for full funding for their first full level 3. We are now extending eligibility for a first full level 3 so adults who are above the age of 23 can also benefit from level 3 courses and qualifications with high economic value and strong alignment with government priorities.

This offer will focus on the valuable skills, including vocational skills, that will help adults get ahead in the labour market, ensuring the best possible returns for individuals, employers and the nation.

The government remains committed to consulting on aspects of the National Skills Fund to ensure that we develop a fund that helps adults learn valuable skills and prepare for the economy of the future.

We are continuing to review the ongoing implications of the COVID-19 outbreak and we are considering the most appropriate time and approach we can take to launch the consultation, ensuring we have meaningful discussions with employers, providers and users.

Postgraduate master’s and doctoral degree loans are intended as a contribution to the cost of postgraduate study. The loan can be used by students according to their personal circumstances to cover tuition fees, maintenance costs or any other costs associated with study. There are no plans to extend this further.

The Department has published guidance for the full opening of schools from the beginning of the autumn term. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

The Department has worked closely with Public Health England (PHE) to develop this guidance based on a ‘system of controls’ which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. This provides a framework for schools to put in place proportionate protective measures to manage risk effectively.

The majority of staff in schools will not require personal protective equipment (PPE) beyond what they would normally need for their work. PPE is only needed in a very small number of cases, which are set out clearly in the guidance.

On 26 August 2020, the Department revised its guidance on face coverings in schools and colleges following a new statement by the World Health Organisation on 21 August, which advised that children aged 12 and over should wear face coverings under the same condition as adults, particularly when they cannot guarantee at least a 1 metre distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.

As a result, from 1 September, in areas of national Government intervention, face coverings should be worn by staff, visitors and pupils in years 7 and above when moving around schools indoors, for example in corridors and communal areas, where social distancing cannot be safely managed. Nationwide, schools will have the discretion to require staff, visitors and pupils in years 7 and above to wear face coverings in indoor communal areas where social distancing cannot be safely managed, if they believe that it is right in their particular circumstances.

Primary school children will not need to wear a face covering and based on current evidence and the measures that schools are already putting in place, face coverings will not be necessary in the classroom even where social distancing is not possible. Face coverings would have a negative impact on teaching and their use in the classroom should be avoided.

The Department has published guidance for the full opening of schools from the beginning of the autumn term. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools

The Department has worked closely with Public Health England (PHE) to develop this guidance based on a ‘system of controls’ which, when implemented in line with a revised risk assessment, create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of the infection is substantially reduced. This provides a framework for schools to put in place proportionate protective measures to manage risk effectively.

The majority of staff in schools will not require personal protective equipment (PPE) beyond what they would normally need for their work. PPE is only needed in a very small number of cases, which are set out clearly in the guidance.

On 26 August 2020, the Department revised its guidance on face coverings in schools and colleges following a new statement by the World Health Organisation on 21 August, which advised that children aged 12 and over should wear face coverings under the same condition as adults, particularly when they cannot guarantee at least a 1 metre distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.

As a result, from 1 September, in areas of national Government intervention, face coverings should be worn by staff, visitors and pupils in years 7 and above when moving around schools indoors, for example in corridors and communal areas, where social distancing cannot be safely managed. Nationwide, schools will have the discretion to require staff, visitors and pupils in years 7 and above to wear face coverings in indoor communal areas where social distancing cannot be safely managed, if they believe that it is right in their particular circumstances.

Primary school children will not need to wear a face covering and based on current evidence and the measures that schools are already putting in place, face coverings will not be necessary in the classroom even where social distancing is not possible. Face coverings would have a negative impact on teaching and their use in the classroom should be avoided.

To qualify for support from Student Finance England, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the United Kingdom and meet the relevant ordinary residence requirements. Most persons must have been ordinarily (lawfully) resident in the United Kingdom and Islands, or, in some cases, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, for the 3 years prior to the first day of the first academic year of their course, excluding periods of temporary absence. These are longstanding requirements.

Student Finance England publishes guidance for students about the eligibility criteria for student support, to include the ordinary residence requirements:
https://www.practitioners.slc.co.uk/supporting-materials/.

Higher education providers are autonomous institutions and responsible for setting their own fees. Higher education providers will of course want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses that are fit for purpose and that help students progress their qualifications.

As of 11 June, no university had made a submission of changes in the level of chargeable fees for courses during the COVID-19 outbreak for the academic year 2019/20. It is possible that a higher education provider has submitted adjustments for an individual or sub-set of students on a course. However, these adjustments would have been processed on a student-by-student basis, and no information is recorded on the reason for a fee reduction being recorded.

The Department anticipates that the vast majority of students will be able to use the calculated grades they receive in the summer to move on to their next steps.

There may be a relatively small number of students, including some private candidates, where there is not enough evidence to calculate a grade. The Department understands that 16 to 19 schools and colleges will consider a range of other evidence and information for these students to allow them to progress wherever possible.

Students who are unable to receive a calculated grade will also have the opportunity to sit exams in the autumn.

I can confirm that the letter, received into the Department on 16 April 2020, from the right hon. Member for North Durham has been responded to. A response was signed and sent via email to the right hon. Member on 10 June 2020.

The Department is committed to ensuring that children can continue to learn at home in these very difficult circumstances. We recognise that many schools and colleges have already shared resources for children who are at home, and we are grateful for this.

The Department has issued guidance for schools which signposts to an initial list of free online resources identified by educational experts and teachers. Many other suppliers have also helpfully made their resources available for free. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources.

The Department has also issued information, guidance and support to parents and carers of children who are learning from home at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/supporting-your-childrens-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Leading state schools have collaborated to open The Oak National Academy, which was launched online on 20 April. This new initiative is led by 40 teachers who have assembled video lessons and resources for any teacher in the country to make use of if they wish to do so. 180 video lessons will be provided each week, across a broad range of subjects, for every year group from Reception through to Year 10. Additionally, the BBC has developed resources for families as part of a comprehensive new education package, which is now available on TV and online at BBC Bitesize.

The Government has also committed over £100 million to boost remote education. This includes, 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. Further information can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-technology-for-remote-education-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

School leaders, teachers and support staff are central to the country’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19) and we thank them wholeheartedly for their support at this difficult time.

It is important to underline that schools remain safe places for children and staff. Fewer people making the journey to school and fewer people in educational settings will reduce the risks of spreading the virus.

The Government’s guidance on COVID-19 for educational settings is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19.

Advice on implementing social distancing in education and childcare settings can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

Public Health England’s advice about how to help stop the spread of the virus and stay safe is available here:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19.

The Government is strongly advising people, including education staff, with serious underlying health conditions which put them at very high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 to follow shielding measures in order to keep themselves safe. Staff in this position must not attend work. More advice on shielding can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19.

Schools will remain closed until further notice, except for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. We will only re-open schools when the scientific advice indicates it is safe to do so, and will engage closely with the sector on our approach.

The Government encouraged schools to remain open in order to continue to look after critical workers’ children and vulnerable children throughout the Easter holidays and we are grateful to the many schools that did so.

No decision has been taken yet on arrangements for future school holidays.

The Department has no jurisdiction over maternity arrangements as these are covered by the Conditions of Service for School Teachers in England and Wales (known as “the Burgundy Book”) which is widely incorporated into teachers' contracts and covers areas such as maternity pay, sick pay and resignation periods.?This is a national agreement between trade unions and teacher organisations.

HM Government is committed to tackling waste crime and we are preparing significant reforms to continue to increase the pressure on illegal waste operators.

Our planned electronic waste tracking reforms will make it harder than ever to misidentify waste or dispose of it inappropriately. Planned changes to the Carriers, Brokers and Dealers licensing regime will modernise licensing and make it harder still for rogue operators to escape detection. We have also consulted on reforming waste exemptions which are often used to hide criminal activity, and will publish our response later this year.

These will come in addition to measures in the Environment Act 2021 which gives agencies stronger powers of entry and access to evidence in prosecuting waste crime, and existing powers we have already given the regulator in recent years to tackle illegal waste sites, including the ability to lock sites and to force rogue operators to clean up all their waste

As per our commitment in our landmark Resources & Waste Strategy, the Joint Unit for Waste Crime has been set up to disrupt serious and organised waste crime and reduce its impact on the economy, the environment and local communities. Through shared intelligence and enforcement, the Joint Unit is identifying, disrupting and deterring criminals and making them pay for the damage they have done to communities and the environment. In the two years since the Joint Unit for Waste Crime launched it has worked with over 50 partner organisations and engaged in 74 multi-agency days of action, which have resulted in 52 associated arrests by other agencies.

These arrests were carried out by other agencies for non-waste crime offences so this is not data held by the Joint Unit for Waste Crime.

1 x Manager

1 x Senior Team leader

1 x Technical officer

8 x Environmental Crime Officers

1 x Digital researcher

1 x Communications and engagement officer

1 x HMRC intelligence officer

We expect to publish the response to the recent consultation in due course.

'Associated arrests' relates to arrests carried out by other agencies during the investigation, but as a direct result of the activity either at the location of the intervention or as a result of intelligence gained during the intervention. For example, by the police for offences including theft, handling stolen goods, etc.

There are a number of legal mechanisms in place to control the export of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), and to ensure that when WEEE is exported it is managed safely. These include:

• A ban on exporting WEEE from the UK for disposal;
• A ban on exporting hazardous WEEE from the UK to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development;
• A requirement for those involved in the export of waste, including WEEE, to take all necessary steps to ensure the waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling or recovery;
• A requirement for businesses to obtain approval from the Environment Agency (EA) to export whole items of WEEE or WEEE derived materials.

The Basel Convention on the transboundary movement of hazardous waste, to which the UK is a Party, agreed changes on 15th June which will further tighten international controls on the export of WEEE. The UK Government supports these changes which, from 2025, will require exporters to obtain prior consent from the Competent Authority in both the country of dispatch and destination to export all types of WEEE for recycling.

The EA regulates the export of waste in England, including WEEE. EA officers carry out pro-active and intelligence led inspections to stop waste shipments that breach regulations before they leave ports. In 2020-21, 869 containers were stopped, of which 176 were returned to a waste site as they were unsuitable for export; 27 of those containers were found to contain WEEE.

Any UK operator found to be illegally exporting waste can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine.

The requirement to demonstrate competence for waste site permits is well established.

In 2019 the Government strengthened the regulators' assessment and enforcement of operator competence to raise the standard of competence across all permitted waste sites. This included expanding the list of convictions to be taken into account when assessing permit applications to include, for example, offences related to organised crime and violent or threatening behaviour as well offences relating to fraud and tax evasion.

The Government also recently consulted on reform of the waste carrier, broker, dealer regime and expect to publish the response in due course.

The Environmental Services Association (ESA) estimates the cost of waste crime to the English economy in the 2018/19 financial year at £924 million. Scaled up to UK-level, the cost is estimated to be a little over £1 billion. The work done on behalf of ESA uses data produced by sources including HMRC, the Environment Agency (EA) and Defra, as well as EA analysis into costs and impacts of waste crime.

We have already taken action by introducing new powers to stop illegal waste sites posing a risk to the environment, including the ability to lock up sites and to force rogue operators to clean up all their waste. Building on this, measures in the Environment Act 2021 give agencies stronger powers of entry and access to evidence in prosecuting waste crimes. We have also set up the Joint Unit for Waste Crime to disrupt serious and organised waste crime and reduce its impact.

Our electronic waste tracking reforms will make it harder than ever to mis-identify waste or dispose of it inappropriately. Planned changes to the Carriers, Brokers and Dealers licensing regime will modernise licensing and make it even harder for rogue operators to escape detection. We will also soon publish our plans for reform of the exemptions regime, removing opportunities for criminals to abuse the system.

In the two years since its launch in January 2020 the Joint Unit for Waste Crime has worked with over 50 partner organisations and engaged in 74 multi-agency days of action. These have resulted in 52 associated arrests. It is the lead responsible organisation for four organised criminal groups. There have been a number of multi-agency interventions against these groups, including refusal of permits, intelligence-targeted waste sampling and spray marking, and intelligence-led road stops.

The Joint Waste Crime Team currently employs 14 staff.

Taking cases forward to prosecution is only one part of the Environment Agency's (EA) overall enforcement activity. Other interventions such as Notices requiring action and civil sanctions are quicker and can be effective in securing good outcomes for the environment in different ways.

The Regulatory Enforcement & Sanctions (RES) Act 2008 made civil sanctions available to the EA to use from 2011. The number of enforcement undertakings accepted by the EA under the RES Act has nearly doubled from 2016 to 2020. This has included, for example, the compensation of £975,000 made by Wessex Water following sewage pollution at Swanage Harbour in November 2018.

The EA focuses prosecutions on the most serious and harmful pollution cases, allowing it to focus resources where the impact is greatest. We still take the most serious cases to court. The size of fines for environmental offences are at the highest they have ever been, and custodial sentences are now being imposed regularly for environmental offences.

The Government has ensured that recent additional funding to the Environment Agency (EA) to tackle waste crime is now part of its baseline, and so, the EA is able to prioritise funding for the Joint Unit for Waste Crime more effectively.

The Department has made no assessment of the rise in professional misconduct claims made against veterinary practices in the UK. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) is the regulatory body for the veterinary profession in the UK and at present can only hear cases against individual veterinary surgeons amounting to gross professional misconduct.

The RCVS has submitted proposals to Defra for reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, including amendments to the disciplinary system including statutory regulation of veterinary practices, not just individual vets. These proposed changes are currently being considered.

The reasons for the declines in woodcock populations are likely to include disturbance and habitat loss because of land drainage and changes in woodland management. The Government is not currently persuaded that hunting has a significant detrimental impact on the woodcock, and there are no current plans for a ban. We continue to keep evidence regarding the impacts on species under review to inform policy decisions.

The Marine Management Organisation currently charters two vessels under a framework agreement with Atlantic Services, a UK company based in Aberdeen.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science owns one vessel, the RV Cefas Endeavour, which was constructed by and purchased from Ferguson Shipbuilders Ltd in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency does not own any vessels.

The Environment Agency owns five vessels which were built in Pembroke, South Wales.

The investigation into Niramax and abuse of the landfill tax system was conducted by HM Revenue & Customs. The Environment Agency and the Joint Unit for Waste Crime only provided support to their investigation.

No recent assessment has been made of the adequacy of the Environment Agency's surveillance powers in respect of tackling waste crime, nor is one planned. The Environment Agency considers its existing authority to conduct directed surveillance adequate.

The Government addressed the recommendations set out in the review into serious and organised waste crime through the Resources and Waste Strategy. This committed to mandating the electronic tracking of waste, subject to consultation. The Environment Bill includes powers to introduce mandatory waste tracking and a consultation is planned for later this year.

In parallel we asked five organisations to explore and develop ideas for waste tracking using the Government’s GovTech Catalyst Challenge Fund. The feasibility projects included research into tracking waste through electronic chips and sensors, the use of blockchain, and open data standards, as well as new data analytics and the use of artificial intelligence, to help users decide what to do with the waste they produce. We also conducted further user research to improve our understanding of the reporting requirements of businesses, local authorities, regulators and Government. This information has helped inform the development of the consultation and define the functionality of a future digital service.

In England the Environment Agency is responsible for the regulation of the waste management sector. This includes the investigation of, and enforcement against, criminal activity in the sector.

Waste crime includes a broad spectrum of illegal activity, including large-scale illegal dumping of waste, avoidance of Landfill Tax, deliberate misdescription of waste, and fly-tipping. Bodies other than the Environment Agency may take responsibility for investigating and taking action against criminal activity as well. For example, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) undertakes investigations into illegal activity regarding Landfill Tax, while local authorities also have powers to tackle certain types of waste crime, such as fly-tipping.

The Joint Unit for Waste Crime (JUWC) brings agencies together in partnership, including HMRC, to investigate and take enforcement action against criminal activity in the waste management sector. The JUWC has developed intelligence links and sharing arrangements with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors including law enforcement agencies, infrastructure providers and the financial services sector.

The Environment Agency has taken 19 actions against Niramax Group, including providing advice and guidance once, issuing six warning letters, five enforcement notices, one caution and three court proceedings. Fines totalling £26,000 and costs of £10,500 have been awarded.

The Environment Agency did not conduct any investigations as part of Operation Nosedive. The Operation was led by HMRC and the Environment Agency acted in a supporting role only.

The Environment Agency recorded 109 hours against Operation Nosedive between May 2016- July 2018 for relevant Proceed of Crimes Act related activities. There is no related cost schedule.

Further to Question 136454, the number of commercial dogs from Russia into the United Kingdom for 2018 to 2020 are as follows;

The Animal and Plant Health Agency does not hold data on the country of origin for non-commercial pets moving into the United Kingdom, and therefore this answer relates solely to dogs imported from Russia commercially. The commercial importation requirements apply to dogs, cats and ferrets who:

• Travel in groups of more than five (unless travelling with a specific exemption for sports shows or training)
• Travel more than five days before or after their owner or authorised person
• Are being moved for the transference of ownership (including rescue animals being rehomed) or for sale

In 2018, 60 dogs were imported commercially into the United Kingdom from Russia and in 2019, 70 dogs were moved in this way. We do not currently have figures for the number of dogs commercially imported from Russia to the United Kingdom in 2020.

Local authorities are responsible for the management and maintenance of public rights of way. They are required to keep a Rights of Way Improvement Plan to plan improvements to the rights of way network in their area, which is usually available on the authority’s website. This must include an assessment of the local rights of way including the condition of the network.