Lincoln Jopp

Small businesses are vital to our high streets and communities, and an essential part of the government’s mission for economic growth.

Financial support for small businesses is available through the British Business Bank. Further advice and support are available through the Business Support Service, local Growth Hubs, and the Help to Grow: Management scheme. The Government is also taking forward a package of measures to tackle late payments, helping to improve the cash flow for small businesses across the UK.

The Clean Power Action Plan calls for the rapid acceleration of solar deployment to 45-47 GW by 2030, which will require significant increases in all types of solar.

The UK has already seen successful floating solar PV projects, such as the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir. The Government is following with interest the ongoing research into floating solar PV deployment, whilst recognising current challenges with regards to technology and cost.

The joint Government/Industry Solar Taskforce is looking at this technology and other innovative solar solutions. These will be highlighted in the Solar Roadmap, due for publication in Spring.

The Government response to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee's report on grassroots music venues sets out our commitment to working with the sector to support the sustainability of the entire music ecosystem. In particular, the Government is urging the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to help safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector.

The Government has also announced £2.5m of continued funding for the Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025-26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40,000 to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for music lovers across the UK.

Yes, ministers are keen to visit studios across the country, including Shepperton, and to continue to support the UK’s incredible film and HETV sector, which contributes billions to our economy, fuels tens of thousands of jobs and is a huge source of soft power on the global stage.

The department is committed to improving access to educational opportunities for all young people by ensuring that they can access a quality educational offer that adds value and helps them to achieve their long term career aspirations and goals.

There are six state-funded mainstream secondary schools in the Spelthorne constituency area, two of which have sixth forms: St Paul’s Catholic College (Ascension Catholic Academy Trust) and The Bishop Wand Church of England School (Instanter Learning Trust). St Paul’s is rated Outstanding by Ofsted, with a high performing sixth form, and Bishop Wand is rated Good. Spelthorne residents also attend Salesian School, another Ofsted rated Outstanding school, in neighbouring Runnymede.

While these schools account for most of Spelthorne’s 16-18 year-olds, significant numbers also attend nearby further education colleges: Strode’s College in Egham (rated Good by Ofsted) and Esher Sixth Form College (rated Outstanding by Ofsted). Smaller numbers travel to Woking College and Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge College.

In terms of the oversight of local provision, local authorities have a statutory duty to identify and track the participation of 16 and 17 year-olds in education. This includes supporting those who are not participating to do so and making sure that there is sufficient and suitable education and training provision to meet their needs. If a local authority identifies a need for additional provision, they can negotiate with existing providers to expand their provision. Where that provider is an academy, the academy trust can then make a ‘significant change’ request for the department to consider.

The local authority can also approach the department to submit a case to address a gap in post-16 provision for young people. The department has not received such a request from Surrey County Council, nor any significant change requests from Spelthorne schools.

The department works closely with stakeholders representing the autistic community, including Ambitious about Autism, to understand the issues faced by autistic children and young people and develop solutions.

We know that consistent, meaningful co-production is vital to improving the experiences of all children, young people and their families, and we are committed to listening to and working with autistic children and young people. As such, I would be happy to consider an invitation to meet with Ambitious about Autism’s youth network.

We have recently announced the establishment of a Neurodivergence Task and Finish group which will bring together a group of leading neurodiversity experts who will work closely with the department. The group will work to improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream settings, in a way that works for neurodivergent children and young people.

This group will carefully listen to the views and experiences of neurodivergent children and young people. The department is eager to hear their views on how we can improve systems and the support that is offered to them to ensure we make positive changes.

Ministers and officials have regular conversations with Transport for London on a variety of issues. Transport in London is devolved to the Mayor and TfL is responsible for operational decisions. Operators can consider and propose zonal changes where a positive business case can be demonstrated.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on autism states that the precise cause of autism is unknown, but that genetic factors play a substantial role in the aetiology, and a number of environmental factors are also thought to play a part in development. Further information is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/autism-in-adults/background-information/causes-risk-factors/

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Clinical Knowledge Summary on autism states that the precise cause of autism is unknown, but that genetic factors play a substantial role in the aetiology, and a number of environmental factors are also thought to play a part in development. Further information is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/autism-in-adults/background-information/causes-risk-factors/

The Home Office are working with the City of London Police to replace Action Fraud with a new and improved national police reporting service for fraud and cyber crime.

The new service will provide better support services and reporting tools for victims, provide greater intelligence to law enforcement, and allow for greater prevention and disruption at scale.  This will include an upgraded call centre and a new user-friendly, accessible website for reporting fraud, offering simpler pathways to support and guidance.

A phased introduction of the new service is underway and will continue throughout 2025.

The first phase, completed in November 2024, saw the introduction of the new crime and intelligence management system. This will improve the analysis of reports, the quality of intelligence drawn from them, and how quickly this is sent to police forces for investigation.

I have interpreted your question to be asking for the number of foreign personnel on exchange or embedded with the UK Armed Forces.

The table below shows the number of foreign exchange personnel that were on strength with an active assignment, as at 15 Oct 2024, by assigned location country in either overseas or the United Kingdom.

It is my personal responsibility to represent veterans at Cabinet and I am proud to do it.

With the Office for Veterans Affairs now part of the MOD and the Minister for Veterans and People working across Government and with veteran groups, we are determined to bring forward a range of action to better serve our veteran community, including ensuring HM Armed Forces Veteran Cards to be used as voter identification, waiving visa fees for non-UK veterans who have served for four or more years and their dependents, and putting the Armed Forces Covenant fully into law.