Kirsteen Sullivan

On 20 May, the EHRC opened its consultation on the changes made to the draft updated statutory Code of Practice following the Supreme Court ruling. This consultation is open until 30 June.

We will consider the EHRC's final draft Code of Practice once it has been submitted and engage with them to ensure it provides the clarity service providers need, in line with the Supreme Court ruling.

Once the final draft is agreed, we will follow the correct parliamentary process.

I am proud that progress is being made, with 40% of MPs now women, but we want to see this replicated at all levels of Government. Last summer my Ministerial colleague Bridget Philipson met with members of 50:50 Parliament, where they discussed the importance of gender equality in parliament and the barriers that women can face.

The government is committed to commencing the Equality Act 2010’s provision requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections. We are currently exploring when to commence the section 106 provisions. We believe that every party has a duty to demonstrate greater progress towards better representation of the population that they seek to serve.

Repurposing existing offshore and onshore infrastructure could make a significant contribution to the UK’s drive to net-zero. In 2022, analysis by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) identified more than 100 pipelines which could be suitable for CCS or hydrogen projects.

The NSTA supports government and others to identify opportunities for repurposing, including for carbon dioxide or offshore hydrogen transportation and storage projects.

We are already seeing this in practice. HyNet will be served by a combination of new and existing infrastructure, with more than 90 miles of offshore and onshore pipeline being repurposed.

The government is working with regulators to ensure that the future telecommunications requirements of the energy, water and transport sectors are understood. And the government will draw on the National Infrastructure Commission’s analysis for the forthcoming 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy.

We are working with stakeholders, including local authorities, on how GBE could support local and community energy.

The UK will work closely with Scottish Government on this matter as part of the Vision Statement signed in October which committed to exploring joint working on community energy.

The government is considering how it can support the development of telecommunications infrastructure for a decarbonised energy system, and whether spectrum access would be appropriate. As part of this, my officials are in regular discussion with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ofgem and Ofcom on energy system telecommunications needs.

We are supporting the UK SAF industry in a range of ways. We are building demand for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) through the SAF Mandate, introduced in January this year. We have introduced legislation to deliver a revenue certainty mechanism to support potential SAF producers across the UK. We also run a grant funding scheme, the Advanced Fuels Fund, for which £63m of funding is available in 2025/26 for the producers of SAF.

Together, these measures will give investors the confidence to support the commercial scale production of SAF in the UK, creating green jobs and developing skills.

We recognise that SAF is more expensive than jet fuel. This is why the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate has been designed to protect against excessive costs. The SAF Mandate also has a built-in review process so the Government can take action to change scheme parameters if necessary. The pricing of SAF are commercial decisions for the market though we are working to further understand interactions between the SAF Mandate and SAF pricing. We are engaging with relevant stakeholders – including airports, airlines, fuel suppliers and trade associations to do this.

When setting SAF policy, we have to carefully balance a range of factors including potential cost impacts on airlines and passengers and the need to drive decarbonisation across the transport sector.

We continue to monitor trends in the SAF market and will review our assumptions where necessary when developing policies such as the revenue certainty mechanism which aims to support SAF production in the UK.

Skills and education policy are devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, whereas employment policy is not devolved, except for in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

DWP in Scotland provides extensive support to young people. This includes flexible provision driven by local need using DWP Flexible Support Fund, and support delivered by specialist youth work coaches based in Jobcentres and through 16 Youth Hubs. Strategic engagement with Scottish Government is fundamental in developing the additional employment support available through their No One Left Behind Policy which is delivered by Local Authorities via Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs). This support is agreed and designed based on local need, with input from DWP and other Stakeholders.

Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan later this year, we will develop a new national cancer plan. The cancer plan will include more details about how to improve outcomes for all tumour types, including lobular breast cancer. We plan to engage with a wide range of cancer partners on the national cancer plan, including charities and patient representative bodies.

The Government remains committed to successful implementation of the Deposit Return Scheme, which is a critical step in moving towards a circular economy that delivers sustainable growth and produces less waste, rubbish, and litter.

The Government is keen to ensure that VAT is not a barrier to effective operation of the Deposit Return Scheme. The Government is considering how best to achieve this while maintaining the integrity of the tax, and this work is being supported by engagement with industry representatives, including the British Soft Drinks Association.

National Policy Statements set out the need for the development of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects and the Government's policy for meeting that need. NPSs provide clarity, certainty and transparency on Government policy for scheme promoters, the planning inspectorate, decision makers and the wider public.

As part of this government’s growth agenda, we will publish a cross-cutting 10-year infrastructure strategy, which will communicate to the public our approach to housing, economic and social infrastructure. The government has committed to delivering an infrastructure pipeline to provide a clear sense of the government’s long-term infrastructure priorities.

The Government fully understands the importance of enabling employees to share in the fruits of a company’s success, and for businesses to reward and retain employees effectively. The UK share schemes are popular, generous and internationally competitive.

A call for evidence on Save As You Earn (SAYE) and the Share Incentive Plan (SIP) ran from June to August 2023. It sought views on whether the schemes are meeting their policy objectives and opportunities to improve and simplify them. The Government is considering the responses to the call for evidence, and is grateful to those who took the time to respond.

The Government keeps all tax reliefs under review, to ensure they continue to meet their policy objectives in a way that is fair and effective.

The holdings in the Russian Military Studies Centre are an under-utilised resource. These holdings are currently being catalogued with their future provision, and access to them, subject to review.

The Government recognises the distress felt by those who are victims of theft, and such matters should be reported, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts to provide justice. Theft of goods, regardless of value, is a criminal offence under the Theft Act 1968 and the maximum penalty is seven years’ imprisonment. The sentencing guidelines for theft acknowledge that, where the items stolen were of substantial value to the victim, then regardless of their monetary worth and consequential financial harm to victims and others, this will indicate a higher level of harm, and the offender should be sentenced accordingly.

The government does not intend to introduce a specific offence of theft involving high value goods from haulage or freight vehicles.