Liz Saville Roberts

Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy engage with counterparts at the Welsh Government regularly, to ensure the safety of the public across the UK. This has included discussion of the House of Commons Petitions Committee Report and the steps the Government has taken to address their recommendations.

The Government has now implemented the recommendations it accepted following the Petition Committee’s report, complementing the ongoing programme of action which continues to tackle the key issues associated with fireworks. This includes the 2021 fireworks public safety information programme, with all campaign materials translated into Welsh.

Officials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy engage with counterparts at the Welsh Government regularly, to ensure the safety of the public across the UK. This has included discussion of the House of Commons Petitions Committee Report and the steps the Government has taken to address their recommendations.

The Government has now implemented the recommendations it accepted following the Petition Committee’s report, complementing the ongoing programme of action which continues to tackle the key issues associated with fireworks. This includes the 2021 fireworks public safety information programme, with all campaign materials translated into Welsh.

The Government has now implemented the recommendations it accepted following the Petition Committee’s report on fireworks. We have no current plans to introduce further restrictions on the sale and use of fireworks to the public but we continue to monitor the situation.

Earlier this year, the UK purchased some Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured at the Serum Institute of India, which form part of the UK's agreement for 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

The following table shows estimated greenhouse gas emission from the domestic combustion of oil in the UK in 2019 by country, measured in million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e), from the UK’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Greenhouse gas emission from the domestic combustion of oil in the UK in 2019 (MtCO2e)

Officials are working with the Department of International Trade to ensure that our international agreements are consistent with and support our ambitious domestic policy agenda. The Government is committed to upholding all its international obligations, including those on subsidy control. We do not anticipate any incompatibility issues with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which does not contain any commitments on subsidies that conflict with the proposals in the Subsidy Control Bill.

An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Subsidy Control Bill , which gives an overarching assessment of the impact the measures in the Bill will have on public institutions and business. It focuses on the subsidy control regime’s framework, rather than the individual subsidies that may be awarded under it.

An Impact Assessment was published alongside the Subsidy Control Bill , which gives an overarching assessment of the impact the measures in the Bill will have on public institutions and business. It focuses on the subsidy control regime’s framework, rather than the individual subsidies that may be awarded under it.

Cambo is not a new oilfield, it was licensed in 2001. The development proposal from Cambo is being scrutinised in line with robust regulatory procedures and no decision has yet been taken.

Oil and natural gas are still required for heating, cooking and transport, and are vital to the production of many everyday essentials like medicines, plastics, cosmetics and household appliances. While we are working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee, with the UK as net importers of both oil and gas.

Looking forward, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with our climate goals. We have committed to launching the checkpoint by the end of 2021.

The Government recognises the importance of investing in electricity transmission network infrastructure to enable renewable generation to build and connect to the grid. The electricity transmission network in Wales and across Great Britain is regulated via a price control, set and administered by Ofgem, as the independent regulator. The current price control commenced on 1 April this year, and it includes £8.7bn of upfront funding for electricity transmission across Great Britain, £5.4bn (2018/19 prices) of which is allocated to National Grid Electricity Transmission which owns and operates the electricity transmission network in England and Wales. Further funding of up to £10bn for future projects to enable net zero is also available across the next price control (electricity transmission and gas), including readying the network for further renewable generation.

The UK Government remains firmly committed to the renewables industry across the UK, including in Wales. To date, Contracts for Difference (CfD) have been awarded to 5 projects in Wales, totalling around 200MW of capacity. Future CfD auctions will provide further opportunities for developers of renewable electricity projects in Wales to secure contracts and expand the amount of capacity supported by the scheme in Wales.

We expect deliveries of the vaccines from CureVac later this year, if required. This will be subject to successful clinical trials and regulatory approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Smart meters are replacing traditional gas and electricity meters in Great Britain as part of an essential infrastructure upgrade to make the energy system more efficient and flexible, enabling the cost-effective delivery of net zero greenhouse gas emissions.

All smart meters are capable of recording electricity that is exported to the grid from onsite renewable generation sources, such as solar panels.

The rollout is making good progress, with 23.6 million smart and advanced meters in homes and small businesses across Great Britain, as of the end of December 2020.

The latest data on the rollout of smart meters is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/smart-meters-statistics.

The Government’s ambitions are for a world-leading system that unlocks innovation and growth throughout all parts of the economy across the UK. Research and development are central to igniting the UK’s economic recovery, boosting productivity, creating new jobs and improving people’s quality of life.

Last Summer, we published the R&D Roadmap which outlines our plan to ensure the UK is the best place in the world for scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs to live and work. Through our R&D Places Strategy, we will ensure research and development benefits the economies in places across the UK, including Wales, as part of our wider commitment to levelling up.

In November 2020, the Spending Review set out the government’s plan to cement the UK’s status as a global leader in science and innovation by investing £14.6bn in R&D in 2021-22. We will increase public R&D investment to £22bn per year by 2024-25. This investment supports our commitments set out in the R&D Roadmap and helps consolidate our position as a science superpower.

We are continuing to work with devolved administrations and other Government departments on delivering the R&D Roadmap.

The Government remains committed to securing UK gigafactories.

Ministers and Officials in the Department are regularly engaging with potential investors. These discussions are ongoing, and it would not be appropriate for me to comment on specific cases.

There are a range of factors that will influence the location of any UK gigafactory investment, and ultimately this decision will be a commercial matter. There are several locations across the UK that may meet the requirements of investors, including in Wales.

As we deliver our 10 point plan, we recognise it is important to ensure that our ambitious policy interventions do not lead to increased emissions elsewhere. We are working across government to better understand this potential issue, known as carbon leakage, including the impact it could have on the UK.

As set out in the interim report of the Net Zero Review published in December, a range of approaches could potentially help to address carbon leakage. The EU’s proposed carbon border levy is one policy option, which we are monitoring closely.

The UK will continue working closely with all our international partners to address climate change across the economy, using our G7 and COP26 Presidencies to ensure that we build back better following the coronavirus pandemic.

All children’s toys on the UK market, whether sold or supplied individually or along with children’s magazines, must meet the safety requirements set out in the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 (‘The Regulations’). Under the Regulations, any toys distributed in the UK must not jeopardise the safety or health of users or third parties when they are used as intended or in a foreseeable way, bearing in mind the behaviour of children. The Regulations also set out requirements for warnings and safe use labels on toys and other safety obligations that must be met by manufacturers, importers and distributors; again, these apply however the toys are supplied.

Any toys distributed along with children’s magazines must be safe and meet the requirements of the Regulations. The Office for Product Safety and Standards and local authority Trading Standards have powers to enforce the Regulations.

The Government has introduced a UK Emissions Trading Scheme, enabling steelmakers, and others in industry, to use markets to decarbonise in a cost-effective way. The Department works closely with both HM Treasury and the Devolved Administrations on this Scheme. The Government recognises the important role that the UK steel industry plays in keeping our economy moving and growing post COVID-19, and has therefore put in place a package of ongoing measures to support it during this challenging time and beyond. This includes more than £500 million in relief since 2013 to make the sector’s electricity costs more competitive.

The Government has introduced a UK Emissions Trading Scheme, enabling steelmakers, and others in industry, to use markets to decarbonise in a cost-effective way. The Department works closely with both HM Treasury and the Devolved Administrations on this Scheme. The Government recognises the important role that the UK steel industry plays in keeping our economy moving and growing post COVID-19, and has therefore put in place a package of ongoing measures to support it during this challenging time and beyond. This includes more than £500 million in relief since 2013 to make the sector’s electricity costs more competitive.

I welcome Britishvolt’s announcement. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister set out recently in his 10 Point Plan, manufacturing electric vehicles and developing the required supply chain right here in the UK is a key part of building back better and greener. A Gigafactory will support industry, provide high quality jobs and help the automotive sector transform over the coming decade - as we make strides towards our world-beating net zero goals.

The Government has announced nearly £500m of support through the Automotive Transformation Fund to drive the electrification of the UK automotive sector. This is part of the up to £1 billion that this government previously committed to these efforts. The application process is managed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre on behalf of BEIS and funding will be allocated on a competitive basis, dependent on a full assessment of the relative value for money of any request received.

I welcome Britishvolt’s announcement. As my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister set out recently in his 10 Point Plan, manufacturing electric vehicles and developing the required supply chain right here in the UK is a key part of building back better and greener. A Gigafactory will support industry, provide high quality jobs and help the automotive sector transform over the coming decade - as we make strides towards our world-beating net zero goals.

The Government has announced nearly £500m of support through the Automotive Transformation Fund to drive the electrification of the UK automotive sector. This is part of the up to £1 billion that this government previously committed to these efforts. The application process is managed by the Advanced Propulsion Centre on behalf of BEIS and funding will be allocated on a competitive basis, dependent on a full assessment of the relative value for money of any request received.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is planning to release in spring 2021 estimates of gross domestic expenditure on research and development in 2019 including estimates of R&D performed in different parts of the United Kingdom.

The latest available figures are for 2018: the ONS has estimated R&D performed was £786m in Wales, £2,706m in Scotland, £715m in Northern Ireland, and £32,862m in England. Dividing by the ONS mid-year population estimates would give figures of about £250 for Wales, £498 for Scotland, £380 for Northern Ireland, and £587 for England.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is developing plans to run a pilot public awareness campaign focussing on counterfeit goods in the beauty and hygiene sector in 2021. If successful, the IPO will consider further campaigns for other product sectors such as counterfeit electrical products.

The Government is committed to ensuring that only safe products can be sold in the UK. Distributors, including those selling online, have legal responsibilities under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 to ensure that equipment has the required labelling and that they do not make equipment available on the market where they know or suspect it to be unsafe. Manufacturers and importers must ensure that only safe electrical products are placed on the market, monitor the safety of their products in use and keep distributors informed of the monitoring.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) are conducting a review of the Product Safety framework to ensure it remains one of the best in the world in both protecting consumers and enabling businesses to innovate and grow. The review will consider the impact on product safety of new technologies and new business models, including e-commerce.

The Energy White Paper is a priority and it will be published this Autumn.

The inaugural meeting of the Hydrogen Advisory Council (HAC) was on 20 July 2020. It is expected to meet quarterly for at least the next two years with the next meeting scheduled on 14 October 2020.

Hydrogen is one potential option for decarbonising heating, alongside other solutions, including heat pumps and heat networks. The Government is therefore supporting a range of research, development and testing projects involving hydrogen to help determine the feasibility of using low carbon hydrogen as an alternative to the use of natural gas for heating in homes.

The Government is working closely with industry and other stakeholders to identify further testing and trials needed to provide evidence on issues including safety, feasibility, costs and benefits and the overall consumer experience.

We are exploring ways to promote UK hydrogen activity and enhance international cooperation at COP26.

COP provides an ideal platform to showcase UK's unique hydrogen opportunities. Harnessing UK geographical advantages such as offshore wind resource and potential CO2 storage for low carbon hydrogen production, with deployment across the energy system to enable deep decarbonisation in line with our net zero commitment.

Options under discussion include demonstration of hydrogen appliances developed under the Hy4Heat programme, as part of the BEIS Energy Innovation Portfolio; representation from leading UK hydrogen companies and projects; and discussion of international cooperation to accelerate clean energy innovation, including hydrogen. We will continue to develop this thinking in the coming months.

The Government is committed to the development of hydrogen as a decarbonised energy carrier for the UK and we are currently developing our strategic approach to hydrogen. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is Chair of the Climate Action Implementation Cabinet Committee (CAI) which covers topics including hydrogen. BEIS officials and I also continue to work across government departments, including an on-going review of governance arrangements, to ensure we work effectively to develop new policy to help bring forward the technologies and supply chain we will need to grow the UK hydrogen economy.

Currently, we are seeing an increase in flexible working with many businesses rapidly adapting to remote working, using new technology and finding new ways of working. As we move beyond the current situation, and the economy begins to reopen, we are very keen to do more to promote flexible working in all its forms.

This Government is clear about the benefits of flexible working for employers and for their employees. In our manifesto we said that, subject to consultation, we would introduce measures to make flexible working the default.

Currently there are no plans to change the bank holiday dates.

The Government regularly receives requests for additional bank and public holidays to commemorate a variety of occasions. The current pattern of public and bank holidays is well established and acknowledged within the country.

Whilst an additional bank holiday may benefit some communities and sectors, the cost to the economy of an additional bank holiday is considerable. The estimated cost to the economy of the one-off bank holiday for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 was £1.2 billion.

No discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government on the deployment or promotion of wooden wind turbines. We welcome innovation in this area, provided the appropriate construction and safety standards are met.

No discussions have taken place with the Welsh Government on the deployment or promotion of wooden wind turbines. We welcome innovation in this area, provided the appropriate construction and safety standards are met.

To date, the Government has committed up to £3.08 billion to City and Growth Deals across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This includes Deals already agreed in Cardiff, Swansea Bay, and North Wales.

These Deals are an important part of our approach to driving growth, attracting long-term investment, and creating sustainable, high-quality jobs in Wales.

Regions need to regularly assess the benefits and deliverability of their individual programmes in light of changing local circumstances. We will work with all areas to ensure City and Growth Deals respond are responsive, so they can continue to deliver maximum impact for their local area.

At at 2018, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) data shows that China had the following FDI positions in UK sectors:

Estimates of FDI that are based on the UK regional location of such investments are not available.

The Coronavirus outbreak is the biggest public health emergency in a generation and every part of the Government is being mobilised to protect our public health. While civil service capabilities and resources are being redeployed accordingly, supporting industry onto a pathway consistent with net zero remains a key priority and work continues to ensure we meet our commitments.

Steel is a key industrial sector of strategic importance to the UK economy, and we remain committed to designing and delivering the £250 million Clean Steel Fund as planned. We will continue to work closely with stakeholders to develop the scheme, ensuring that it meets their interests.

The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest public health emergency in a generation and Government is being mobilised to protect public health - with Civil Service capabilities and resources being redeployed accordingly. Nonetheless, supporting industry onto a pathway consistent with Net Zero remains a key Government priority and work continues at pace to ensure we meet our commitments.

We remain committed to engaging with industry to design and deliver the £100 million Low Carbon Hydrogen Fund as planned.

In August 2019, the Government announced a £250 million Clean Steel Fund to support the UK steel sector to transition to lower carbon iron and steel production, through investment in new technologies and processes. The Fund will help the sector towards achieving our target of net zero emissions by 2050 , by maximising longevity and resilience while harnessing clean growth opportunities.

Steel industry stakeholders provided positive responses to our recent Call for Evidence, which closed in November 2019. The Department is currently analysing responses to inform the scheme’s design, and as we develop the scheme, we will continue to engage closely with the sector to ensure that it meets the needs of businesses.

The Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund (LCHF) was announced in August 2019. The fund is intended to support the development of technology to produce hydrogen at scale, as a decarbonised energy carrier alongside other decarbonised gases. Formal engagement has yet to begin, but we will be discussing the design of the fund with stakeholders throughout 2020, with a view to making a call for bids in 2021. This will involve engagement with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

The Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund (LCHF) was announced in August 2019. The fund is intended to support the development of technology to produce hydrogen at scale, as a decarbonised energy carrier alongside other decarbonised gases. Formal engagement has yet to begin, but we will be discussing the design of the fund with stakeholders throughout 2020, with a view to making a call for bids in 2021.

The Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund (LCHF) was announced in August 2019. The fund is intended to support the development of technology to produce hydrogen at scale, as a decarbonised energy carrier alongside other decarbonised gases. Formal engagement has yet to begin, but we will be discussing the design of the fund with stakeholders throughout 2020, with a view to making a call for bids in 2021. This will involve engagement with the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

Biogas is produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) using biomass feedstocks such as food and on-farm waste (e.g. manure and slurries). Biogas can be used to generate electricity?or?heat (or both?outputs?in a CHP?system).?The Government supports AD as an effective treatment for organic waste that produces renewable fuel, heat or energy and a nutrient rich by-product, digestate, which can be used as a fertiliser.

The Government regularly engages with the Welsh Government, at both ministerial and official level, on a range of issues including biogas.

The Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund is still under development, and no funds have been allocated to date. The Government is working with industry to inform design of the scheme, and further details will be available later in 2020. We welcome ongoing engagement with stakeholders in the region on a range of industrial decarbonisation options including low carbon hydrogen.

Biogas is produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) using biomass feedstocks such as food and on-farm waste (e.g. manure and slurries). Biogas can be used to generate electricity?or?heat (or both?outputs?in a CHP?system).?Alternatively, it can be upgraded into biomethane to directly replace natural gas in the gas grid. The Government supports AD as an effective treatment for organic waste that produces renewable fuel, heat or energy and a nutrient rich by-product, digestate, which can be used as a fertiliser.

Currently, biogas and biomethane produced by AD are supported by the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (RHI). The RHI has funding confirmed for new deployment of renewable heat technologies until 31 March 2021. The Budget on 11 March confirmed a new allocation of flexible tariff guarantees on the non-domestic RHI and announced a new support scheme for biomethane production to increase the proportion of green gas in the grid, funded by a Green Gas Levy.

The Department engages regularly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at both ministerial and official level, on a range of issues including biogas.

Biogas is produced through anaerobic digestion (AD) using biomass feedstocks such as food and on-farm waste (e.g. manure and slurries). Biogas can be used to generate electricity?or?heat (or both?outputs?in a CHP?system).?Alternatively, it can be upgraded into biomethane to directly replace natural gas in the gas grid. The Government supports AD as an effective treatment for organic waste that produces renewable fuel, heat or energy and a nutrient rich by-product, digestate, which can be used as a fertiliser.

Currently, biogas and biomethane produced by AD are supported by the non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive scheme (RHI). The RHI has funding confirmed for new deployment of renewable heat technologies until 31 March 2021. The Budget on 11 March confirmed a new allocation of flexible tariff guarantees on the non-domestic RHI and announced a new support scheme for biomethane production to increase the proportion of green gas in the grid, funded by a Green Gas Levy.

The Department engages regularly with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, at both ministerial and official level, on a range of issues including biogas.

Ministers and officials regularly speak with the Welsh Government on issues such as the transition to zero emission vehicles and the impact on the wider supply chain, including batteries, to support vehicle electrification.

Through the Advanced Propulsion Centre programme, BEIS is providing CNH Industrial project funding to develop an advanced engine, fuelling system and composite gas storage tanks to enable tractors to run on compressed natural gas. This technology is designed to utilise bio-methane production on farms, harnessing the bio-digestion of farm waste. This project addresses a key supply chain gap for high performance gas storage and aims to help revolutionise the farming industry and the supply of farm machinery including utility vehicles.

Ministers and officials are in regular contact with DIT counterparts and Welsh Government officials on this matter.

We are exploring hydrogen’s potential to deliver against our clean growth goals – meeting our decarbonisation needs and capturing the commercial opportunities of the global low carbon shift.

There is tremendous opportunity for the UK to build both internal capacity and export potential for low carbon hydrogen. The future market for all?hydrogen?technologies could yield around £5.3bn of GVA and create nearly 50,000 jobs to meet demand in export and domestic markets[1].

With South Wales housing being one of the UK’s key industrial clusters, we will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government and local stakeholders on a range of decarbonisation options including low carbon hydrogen.

[1] Energy Innovation Needs Assessment, Sub-theme report – Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, October 2019 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-innovation-needs-assessments.

While I have not had any direct discussions on this, BEIS officials are in regular contact with DIT counterparts and Welsh Government officials on this matter.

We are exploring hydrogen’s potential to deliver against our clean growth goals – meeting our decarbonisation needs and capturing the commercial opportunities of the global low carbon shift.

There is tremendous opportunity for the UK to build both internal capacity and export potential for low carbon hydrogen. The future market for all?hydrogen?technologies could yield around £5.3bn of GVA and create nearly 50,000 jobs to meet demand in export and domestic markets[1].

With South Wales being one of the UK’s key industrial clusters, we will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government and local stakeholders on a range of decarbonisation options including low carbon hydrogen.

[1] Energy Innovation Needs Assessment, Sub-theme report – Hydrogen and Fuel Cells, October 2019 - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-innovation-needs-assessments.

The Government is committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity and other decarbonised gases to support the UK’s net zero target. We are investing up to £121m in hydrogen innovation across the value chain and have announced a £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund which will support deployment of low carbon hydrogen production facilities. Hydrogen could play a key role in decarbonising parts of the transport network that are currently hard to electrify, including on the rail network. The Government welcomes the development of viable hydrogen-powered rolling stock by Alstom working with rolling stock owners Eversholt and Porterbrook Leasing with Birmingham University, and recognises the opportunity to build a distinctive UK capability.

The UK Government is committed to working with the Welsh Government as well as with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to deliver an ambitious and successful summit for the whole of the UK.

The Business Secretary is committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government on common portfolio areas including Energy and Climate Change. This collaborative engagement between the UK Government and the Welsh Government will support the successful delivery of COP26.

Officials from the UK and Welsh Governments are in regular dialogue about COP, and met again at senior level this week.

The UK Government is committed to working with the Welsh Government as well as with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to deliver an ambitious and successful summit for the whole of the UK.

The Business Secretary is committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government on common portfolio areas including Energy and Climate Change. UK Government officials are routinely engaging with officials in the Welsh Government on the organisation of COP26. This collaborative engagement between the UK Government and the Welsh Government will support the successful delivery of COP26.

Officials from the UK and Welsh Governments are in regular dialogue about COP, and met again at senior level this week.

We are committed to exploring the option of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, alongside electricity and other decarbonised gases. This includes exploring the role of electrolytic hydrogen production.

In the UK we are investing £33 million in innovation for hydrogen production, including support to accelerate the development of electrolytic hydrogen generation through our Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply competition. One of the projects funded will develop larger capacity, lower cost electrolysers. Another is developing an innovative green hydrogen production solution, combining floating offshore wind farm with offshore electrolysis.

We also announced our £100m Low Carbon Hydrogen Production Fund which aims to deploy low carbon hydrogen production capacity to enable greater use of hydrogen as a decarbonisation option across the energy system.

The Government is committed to exploring the development of hydrogen as a strategic decarbonised energy carrier, which has potential to support the UK’s efforts to decarbonise transport and meet the 2050 Net Zero target. The UK is well placed to be a leader in hydrogen and fuel-cell powered transportation due to our high-quality engineering and manufacturing capability and we are investing in innovation within the hydrogen supply chain from production to end use.

The Government’s £23 million Hydrogen for Transport programme aims to increase the uptake of fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) and grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations. We are delivering nine new refuelling stations, upgrading five existing stations, and deploying hundreds of new hydrogen vehicles. Alongside this, the £2 million FCEV Fleet Support Scheme is supporting public and private sector fleets to become early adopters of hydrogen fuel-cell cars and vans.

The Government has a long-standing programme of support to maintain the competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Through the Automotive Sector Deal, we are working with the industry to develop world-leading battery technologies.

We have already invested £274 million in the Faraday Battery Challenge (FBC) through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Faraday is a cutting-edge programme, helping UK businesses to lead the world in the design, development, and manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles. Under the FBC, we have invested £120 million in the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) which will open in 2020 and provide a state-of-the-art pilot facility to test new cell technology. UKBIC will play a key role in laying the groundwork to secure a battery Gigafactory in the UK.

In October 2019, the Government announced up to £1 billion of additional funding to develop UK supply chains for the large-scale production of, and research and development for, electric vehicles.

The UK Government is committed to working with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive to deliver an ambitious and successful summit for the whole of the UK.

The Business Secretary and Welsh Government ministers have instructed officials to work collaboratively across a number of common portfolio areas, including climate change. This is part of the ongoing engagement between the UK Government and the Welsh Government to support the successful delivery of COP26.

The Department has not assessed kaolinite-rich clay deposits in Wales, though I would encourage my officials, alongside Welsh Government representatives, to meet with private sector investors who have commercially viable proposals for such activity. This is the case for any investment proposition in the UK, including Wales.

The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.

In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.

The media landscape has changed significantly since the Leveson Inquiry, and with it, the system of press self-regulation. We now have a stronger system through The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The government is committed to independent self regulation of the press, and does not intervene in or oversee the work of IPSO.

In 2016 IPSO commissioned its own external review which found it had made some important achievements in demonstrating it was an independent and effective regulator, and that it was largely compliant with the recommendations of the Leveson Report.

Although sport is a devolved matter, the Government continues to liaise closely with its counterparts in the Welsh Government.

As part of a promotional deal with the Football Association (FA), the National Lottery has provided a total of £10m in funding for the 66 clubs in the National Football League. This is a promotional deal led by the National Lottery and the Football Association. The National League is responsible for distributing funds and determining how and when the clubs receive this funding.

The National Lottery is now working with the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland FAs to explore similar initiatives.

Media outlets across the UK are facing existential pressures due to the impacts of Covid-19. The government remains in regular dialogue with stakeholders across the media sectors regarding ways in which this can be mitigated, in addition to the unprecedented package of nationwide support announced by the Chancellor.

In terms of newspapers in particular, the government has provided specific support to publishers during the crisis. The government has clarified that all journalists, including broadcast journalists, and other ancillary staff, are ‘key workers’ for the purposes of access to childcare and educational places. The government also issued guidance to local authorities on the importance of newspaper delivery, which has been critical to the continued dissemination of public interest news.

The government has also sought to maximise newspapers’ advertising opportunities by implementing a public information campaign to ensure the distribution of authoritative, up-to-date information about Covid-19, while also alleviating publishers’ financial pressures. The current partnership brings together over 600 titles across the UK, the vast majority of which are local papers. As with any media planning approach, titles are selected on their ability to engage with audiences at a national, regional and local level and to ensure value for money, reach and targeting efficacy.

For online media outlets, the government has taken steps to ensure the use of ‘keyword blocklisting’ technology is not inadvertently damaging any news publishers’ online advertising revenues for Covid-19 related stories. Additionally, the Chancellor brought forward the commencement of zero-rating of VAT on all e-newspapers in order to bring savings to readers and support digital publishing.

The department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in regular dialogue with stakeholders about ensuring the support offered is as effective and fair as it can be. Ministers are engaging with broadcasters (both TV and radio) and news publishers on a regular basis to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on their day to day operations, and how the government can support them. The government will continue to consider all possible options in the interests of promoting and sustaining high-quality news journalism.

We recognise the extremely difficult circumstances which heritage and tourism businesses, including heritage railways, are currently facing across the country as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. To assist in mitigating this impact, the Chancellor has announced an extensive financial support package for business and workers in the current economic emergency. The Heritage Alliance, of which the Heritage Railway Association is a member, is represented at weekly Ministerial teleconferences with DCMS, in order to communicate members’ issues and concerns to Government to help us to seek solutions and mitigations.

Heritage railways may wish to apply for further support from the Heritage Emergency Fund, a £50million scheme launched by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the heritage sector through the Covid-19 pandemic. They may also want to approach Historic England, who have announced a £2million programme of grants for smaller, specialist organisations and projects.

The Environment Bill’s explanatory notes have been updated with relevant examples to clarify that the legislation will enable us to work towards reducing the environmental impact of nappies. The notes set out that the resource efficiency powers in the Bill would enable us to make the provision of information about the environmental impact of nappies mandatory, which would be subject to conditions on assessing impact and consultation.

The explanatory notes will be published when the Bill is introduced into the Lords in the next Parliamentary session.

We have had no discussions on the proposals to create a new offence of ecocide.

We are proactively engaging with the assistance dog community and relevant stakeholders on the impacts on dog movements from Great Britain to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are in a continuing dialogue with Guide Dogs UK and meet with them on a regular basis. We will continue to work closely with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members on pet travel requirements.

After the end of the transition period the UK became a third country in relation to the EU Pet Travel Scheme. In February 2020 we submitted an application to allow the UK to become a Part 1 listed third country, this status would mean similar animal health and documentary requirements to pet movements between Member States. On 3 December 2020 the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed of the EU voted in favour of giving the United Kingdom Part 2 listed status for the purposes of non-commercial pet travel after the Transition Period. This listed status has been formally adopted by the EU.

We will continue to press the EU Commission in relation to securing Part 1 listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for assistance dog users travelling to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are clear that we meet all the animal health requirements for this and we have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity.

Regarding pet travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government is working with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on a long term solution which respects the rights of assistance dog users and pet owners to travel with the minimum of friction. Guidance on pet travel to Northern Ireland is available on the DAERA’s NIDirect website.

We are proactively engaging with the assistance dog community and relevant stakeholders on the impacts on dog movements from Great Britain to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are in a continuing dialogue with Guide Dogs UK and meet with them on a regular basis. We will continue to work closely with assistance dog organisations to share the latest advice and guidance (in accessible formats) with their members on pet travel requirements.

After the end of the transition period the UK became a third country in relation to the EU Pet Travel Scheme. In February 2020 we submitted an application to allow the UK to become a Part 1 listed third country, this status would mean similar animal health and documentary requirements to pet movements between Member States. On 3 December 2020 the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed of the EU voted in favour of giving the United Kingdom Part 2 listed status for the purposes of non-commercial pet travel after the Transition Period. This listed status has been formally adopted by the EU.

We will continue to press the EU Commission in relation to securing Part 1 listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for assistance dog users travelling to the EU and to Northern Ireland. We are clear that we meet all the animal health requirements for this and we have one of the most rigorous pet checking regimes in Europe to protect our biosecurity.

Regarding pet travel between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Government is working with the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) on a long term solution which respects the rights of assistance dog users and pet owners to travel with the minimum of friction. Guidance on pet travel to Northern Ireland is available on the DAERA’s NIDirect website.

In 2019, the UK imported soya and soybean products equivalent to 3.5 million tonnes of soybeans. When combined with the volume of embedded soya imported into the UK, for example in animals fed on soya, the total consumption is equivalent to the import of around 4.2 million tonnes of soybean.

In 2018, the Government convened the UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soya for industry actors to work together towards the common goal of legal and sustainable soya. Since the Roundtable’s inception, the UK has doubled the proportion of soya imports which are certified as sustainable in a two-year period, from 15% in 2017 to 32% (1.12 million tonnes) in 2019. If we also include soya sourced from areas that are considered at low risk of tropical deforestation, such as North America, and soya covered by the Amazon Soy Moratorium contract, we calculate that 62% of soya (2.17 million tonnes) consumed in the UK is either covered by a deforestation and conversion free standard or comes from an area where there is a low risk of deforestation linked to production.

The Government recognises that voluntary commitments by businesses have not been sufficient to tackle deforestation and is committed to ensuring there is no place for illegally produced commodities on our supermarket shelves. That is why we have introduced a world-leading due diligence law through the Environment Bill. The law will prohibit larger businesses from using commodities produced on land occupied or used illegally and make it mandatory for businesses to conduct due diligence on their supply chains. Once operational, it will help to eradicate illegal deforestation from our supply chains.

In our 2019 manifesto we promised to maintain the current annual budget to farmers for the lifetime of this parliament. At the recently concluded Spending Review the UK Government met this commitment by providing new exchequer funding on top of the remaining EU funding in each nation to ensure that farmers receive the same total funding next year as they received in 2019 when the manifesto commitment was made.

The Government has been working closely with supermarkets to ensure that disabled people have access to the food and essential goods that they need.

We have published guidance online that explains what steps people can take if they are unable to access food. This guidance has been shared with local authorities, retailers and charities to help them respond to enquiries from those seeking help. The guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-accessing-food-and-essential-supplies.

Supermarkets have been working at pace to expand the total number of delivery and click and collect slots. We have secured a limited number of supermarket delivery slots for the dedicated use of vulnerable people who are having difficulties in securing access to food and who have no other options available to them. We are working closely with local authorities and charities to help make sure these delivery slots are made available to those who need them most. We have built a bespoke digital service to enable local authorities and a number of charities to directly refer individuals for access to the prioritised slots.

Most supermarkets also offer protected in-store shopping hours to the disabled and their carers.

All major supermarkets have introduced cashless volunteer shopping cards that can be purchased online and used by volunteers to purchase foods on behalf of those self-isolating or in vulnerable groups.

The Agriculture Bill gives the Secretary of State powers to provide financial assistance for particular listed purposes, including: managing land or water to protect or improve the environment; protecting or improving the health and welfare of livestock; supporting public access to and enjoyment of the countryside, farmland or woodland; protecting or improving the health of plants; and protecting or improving the quality of soil. Funding such purposes will enable the delivery of a number of Defra’s future policies, including the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which will be the cornerstone of our future agricultural policy.

Founded on the principle of “public money for public goods”, ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions. Land managers will be paid for delivering the following public goods set out in the 25 Year Environment Plan:

• clean air
• clean and plentiful water
• thriving plants and wildlife
• protection from and mitigation of environmental hazards
• beauty, heritage and engagement with the environment
• mitigation of and adaptation to climate change

We are working closely with a range of environmental and agricultural stakeholders to collaboratively design the new scheme so that it is fit for purpose. We are currently running a programme of Tests and Trials, the priorities for which are the building blocks we will need for the National Pilot. The National Pilot will provide a critical opportunity to test and refine the scheme design prior to full rollout of the ELM scheme across England.

We are also working closely with stakeholders to inform the design of other future financial assistance schemes which we intend to introduce using the financial assistance powers during the seven-year agricultural transition period from 2021 to 2028.

Flood Re (FR) covers the UK, including Wales. It is available through more than 85 insurance brands representing 94% of the home insurance market. FR does not deal directly with homeowners, but instead allows insurance companies to choose whether to pass the flood risk element over to them for a set, below market-cost, premium.

As of 30 September 2019, there were 12,567 policies in Wales backed by FR. In Dwyfor Meirionnydd, there were 388 policies. The lowest granularity FR can provide figures for is at a constituency level so FR cannot provide a number for Fairbourne, Gwynedd.

Whilst HS2 presents a significant opportunity for businesses of all sizes across the UK, HS2 Ltd does not track the proportion of HS2 jobs and apprenticeships that are located in Wales. As HS2 Ltd’s supply chain will consist of up to 400,000 contract opportunities, a smaller number of critical contracts are monitored and so far, there are 27 suppliers based in Wales delivering work on critical contracts. It is likely there will be many more jobs and apprenticeships created in factories and businesses in Wales from the HS2 project within the supply chain.

Ministers and officials have engaged with their Welsh counterparts throughout the global pandemic on a wide range of issues. While financial support for the maritime sector in Wales is predominantly a matter for the Welsh Assembly, particularly where it relates to non-reserved harbours and ports, the financial support that the Chancellor has announced, including business support loans and the job retention scheme, is in place to support all parts of the economy including the maritime sector. My officials and I have worked closely throughout the pandemic with all parts of the maritime sector on the challenges they have faced and the support that they need.

The Department for Transport is also supporting Cabinet Office in the delivery of the £200 million Port Infrastructure Fund, helping ports to build and enhance vital import facilities. The Welsh ports of Fishguard, Holyhead, and Pembroke have been awarded grants totalling £2.8 million.

Department of Transport officials have met with their Welsh Government counterparts on several occasions to discuss e-scooter regulations, both prior to national trials commencing and subsequently. Meetings at a Ministerial level have not taken place.

Accelerating the shift to public and active transport was one of the six strategic priorities identified for the development of the Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The Plan is due for publication in Spring 2021 and will set out a holistic and cross-modal approach to decarbonising the entire transport system.

Last year, the Prime Minister also launched ambitious plans to boost cycling and walking in England, so that half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked by 2030. This includes a £2 billion package of funding for active travel over the next 5 years. Additionally, in England, our long-term National Bus Strategy, to be published in the coming months, will provide the right, accessible services for people and communities in ways that meet their needs and provide positive encouragement to use the bus instead of the car.

Transport policy in Wales is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Welsh Government.

Decarbonising transport, including sports utility vehicles, is a key priority for the Government’s forthcoming Transport Decarbonisation Plan. It will set out how we are taking decisive action to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 and also investing £5 billion to increase the share of journeys taken by public transport, cycling and walking. A green paper on the UK’s post-EU CO2 emissions regulations on new vehicles and the first-ever National Bus Strategy will be published shortly.

A candidate whose theory test certificate expires will have received the service for which they paid the fee.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) pays its contractor, Pearson, per theory test delivered. If candidates were exempted from having to pay for a retake, then the DVSA and in turn the taxpayer would incur these costs. In addition, applications for a re-test would need to be validated and systems amended to remove the requirement for payment in these cases. The DVSA’s focus should rightly be on developing solutions to address the backlog of practical driving tests that has arisen as a result of the pandemic.

HM Treasury publish an annual ‘Country and Regional Analysis’, which presents statistical estimates for the allocation of identifiable expenditure between the UK’s countries and regions. For 2018-2019 the analysis shows that transport spend per capita in 2018-2019 was £474 in England, £642 in Scotland, £395 in Wales and £354 in Northern Ireland.

Data for vehicle purchases are not available. However, the following table shows the number of battery electric cars registered for the first time in the UK, by NUTS 1 region, during the first 6 months of 2020.

Data covering all of 2020 are scheduled to be published in April 2021.

* The UK total includes 4 new registrations that could not be assigned a region due to an incomplete or invalid postcode.

Regulations on the use and ownership of jet skis and other personal water craft is a reserved matter for the UK Parliament. This is because they are within the scope of shipping, technical and safety standards of vessels that are not ships for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

Although the vast majority of personal watercraft users operate their craft responsibly, the Department for Transport are currently considering how to ensure that any who willfully or neglectfully cause accidents or endanger the safety of others can be prosecuted.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is working closely with the Department for Transport to prepare for a safe return to driver testing. It will announce details of resumption in due course.

Before practical driving tests are reintroduced, the DVSA will inform the driver training industry, which will help candidates to prepare and reach the standard of driving needed to pass their test.

Hydrogen fuel cell technology could play a role in supporting the transition to zero emissions transport, as long as it is produced in a sustainable way. The £23 million Hydrogen for Transport programme will support the rollout of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure, which is expected to help reduce barriers to the deployment of hydrogen heavy duty vehicles.

The Government is also supporting the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s Decarbonising Transport Networks+, which are removing barriers to low carbon transport. This includes a hydrogen trial and a decarbonisation of freight trial. Furthermore, the £20 million government Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial, which concludes this year, includes lorries running on hydrogen dual-fuel.

The Department has been in regular consultation with officials from the Welsh Government in developing our biofuels policy, including on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The RTFO has been successful in promoting a market for sustainable renewable fuels across the United Kingdom since 2008.

In July 2018 the Department for Transport published the Transport Energy Model¹. This was developed to provide an objective assessment of the relative environmental performance of the powertrain technologies and fuel choices for different vehicle types.

This assessment concluded compressed natural gas (CNG) vans are estimated to reduce CO₂ tailpipe emissions by between 6-9% compared to diesel and between 22-25% for equivalent petrol models. Tailpipe emissions of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) are estimated to be approximately equivalent to petrol models.

_1:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/739462/transport-energy-model.pdf

Government collaboration with the devolved administrations and local authorities is crucial to facilitating the transition to zero emission vehicles and addressing local air quality issues. Regular discussions about rapid chargepoints, as well as other measures to support electric vehicles, are held on an ongoing basis with the Welsh Government.

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) had a Devolved Authority (DA) Roundtable in November 2019 with officials from all DAs, where we discussed progress and shared lessons, including around rapid chargepoint rollout.

OLEV are working with Welsh officials to organise a workshop in Wales, where local authorities can hear about and discuss best practice to supporting Zero Emission Vehicle uptake in their areas.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. For SSP purposes, any periods of sickness which last for four or more days in a row, and are less than 8 weeks apart, are treated as linked and therefore count as one period of sickness. Once waiting days have been served, SSP is paid for all days of work missed because of sickness in any linked periods. The current definition supports employees who have fluctuating conditions who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition, such as endometriosis.

The government recently published a consultation in which we sought views on a range of proposals to reform SSP. Reform to SSP forms part of a wider package of proposals which seek to reduce ill-health related job loss and support disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and thrive in work.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. It is paid by employers at £95.85 per week for up to 28 weeks in any one period of entitlement.

SSP is designed to balance support for an individual when they are unable to work because of sickness with the costs to employers of providing such support. SSP is paid from the fourth day of sickness for absences not related to COVID-19 to avoid an employer facing the burden of paying for all minor absences. The rules apply to all employees where they meet the eligibility criteria, regardless of the nature of their health condition.

For SSP purposes, periods of sickness for four or more days in a row are known as a Period of Incapacity for Work. Periods of Incapacity for Work are linked and treated as one period of sickness, if the gap between them is not more than eight weeks. Where an employee has two or more linked periods, SSP is paid from the first day in the linked period. This is because waiting days will have been served in the earlier period. The linking rules add protections to both employers, by imposing limits on their liability to make payments, and to employees by not penalising those who suffer from reoccurring health problems, such as endometriosis.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides a minimum level of income for employees when they are sick or incapable of work. For SSP purposes, any periods of sickness which last for four or more days in a row, and are less than 8 weeks apart, are treated as linked and therefore count as one period of sickness. Once waiting days have been served, SSP is paid for all days of work missed because of sickness in any linked periods. The current definition supports employees who have fluctuating conditions who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition, such as endometriosis.

The government recently published a consultation in which we sought views on a range of proposals to reform SSP. Reform to SSP forms part of a wider package of proposals which seek to reduce ill-health related job loss and support disabled people and people with health conditions to stay in and thrive in work.

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is payable for up to 28 weeks per sickness absence. Sickness absences which are less than 8 weeks apart count as the same period of sickness. This supports employees who have fluctuating conditions, such as endometriosis, who may take frequent, shorter absences from work as part of managing their health condition. Individuals will no longer be eligible for SSP after a continuous series of linked periods which lasts more than 3 years. In a new period of sickness, employees are eligible for 28 weeks of SSP.

Where an individual’s SSP entitlement has ended, they may be able to claim Universal Credit and new style Employment and Support Allowance when their SSP ends, depending on individual circumstances.

Currently, while preparing to undertake an assessment, Healthcare Professionals can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes a learning module on chronic pain that contains a section on endometriosis. Current guidance enables Healthcare Professionals to have a satisfactory understanding of endometriosis and how it can affect an individual’s ability to work. Experienced clinicians can also support them in assessing individuals with conditions that they may not be familiar with.

As previously advised, Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) plans to develop and deliver a learning module on endometriosis as part of their upcoming Continuous Professional Development schedule. As agreed with the department, this training module is scheduled for delivery in July 2021. Once delivered all Healthcare Professionals will be expected to complete the module as part of their Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme

Currently, while preparing to undertake an assessment, Healthcare Professionals can access a wide range of clinical resources to research any conditions presented. This includes a learning module on chronic pain that contains a section on endometriosis. Current guidance enables Healthcare Professionals to have a satisfactory understanding of endometriosis and how it can affect an individual’s ability to work. Experienced clinicians can also support them in assessing individuals with conditions that they may not be familiar with.

As previously advised, Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA) plans to develop and deliver a learning module on endometriosis as part of their upcoming Continuous Professional Development schedule. As agreed with the department, this training module is scheduled for delivery in July 2021. Once delivered all Healthcare Professionals will be expected to complete the module as part of their Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme

Personal Independence Payment (PIP), and the level at which it can be paid, is based on the daily living and mobility needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, rather than being based on the condition or disability itself. People with endometriosis are able to access PIP in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

Universal Credit (UC) claimants with endometriosis are able to access UC in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities.

A Work Capability Assessment is used to determine someone’s capacity to work or engage in work-related activity, rather than their specific health condition

In the PIP application process, claimants’ main disabling condition is only recorded for collation by the Department at assessment. It is not recorded at the point of application. The Department does not therefore hold data on the number of applicants to PIP with particular conditions. Only those who have a disability assessment determination decision will have a main disabling condition recorded for them.

In respect of the second part of your question, I would like to refer you to the detailed statistics for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) that can be found in Stat-Xplore: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/.

We collect data on the main disability condition for those who have had a PIP clearance. This includes those awarded and disallowed at assessment and can be broken down by disability. ‘Endometriosis’ is found under ‘Diseases of the ovary, uterus, cervix, vagina and vulva’ which is under the main disability group of ‘Genitourinary disease’

Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html.

The specific information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Between the 16^th March and the end of April, we received over 1.8 million claims for Universal Credit. Overall, that is six times the volume that we would typically experience, and in one week we had a tenfold increase. DWP is standing up to this challenge and payment timeliness for Universal Credit remains high.

We have re-deployed around 10,000 staff to critical frontline services and made important changes to processes.

The Department is continually impacting and assessing the service being offered to customers and we continue to keep staff numbers under review as part of our response to the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market.

Throughout this period, we have collected insight from DWP colleagues on their experiences. We have also refreshed and developed a wide range of wellbeing resources to support our people and will continue to do so.

The Department is continually assessing the service being offered to customers and we continue to keep staff numbers under review as part of our response to the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market. We have already committed to increasing the number of Work Coaches and Case Managers and recruitment is already underway.

These pauses were brought in to safeguard the public and staff and because we recognised the need for our staff to focus on the processing of new claims.

We are currently reviewing these measures in light of the latest public health advice and will confirm next steps as soon as possible.

DWP has no plans to increase Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance or Income Support. These benefits were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 as part of the annual up-rating exercise.

There has not been a temporary change to the length of the Initial Assessment Period during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Universal Credit assessment period and payment structure are fundamental parts of the design. The assessment period runs for a full calendar month from the date of entitlement and the Universal Credit pay date will be within seven calendar days after the end of the initial assessment period. Subsequent pay dates will be the same each month. It is not possible to award a Universal Credit payment as soon as a claim is made, as the assessment period must run its course before the award of Universal Credit can be calculated.

No claimant in need of support has to wait 5 weeks for payment under Universal Credit. New Claim Advances of up to 100% of a claimant’s estimated award are available within a few days if claimants need support during their first assessment period.

We do not systematically collect data on the employment sector background of UC claimants because this does not affect entitlement to UC.

There have not been any occasions reported in the last two, five and ten years where Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors have been denied full access to workplaces within prisons.

There have not been any occasions in the last 12, 24 and 36 months where Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors have been denied full access to workplaces within prisons.

Vitamin B12 is only available as an injection and therefore must be classified as prescription only under the regulations as suitable training needs to be given for its administration. The condition for which it is prescribed also means the product must be classified as a prescription only medicine and therefore no further assessment has been made of the potential merits of making these products available over the counter. Patients are prescribed vitamin B12 for pernicious anaemia and need medical input to diagnose, monitor their condition and treat it appropriately.

Formal discussions have therefore not been held with the Welsh Government or NHS England on the reclassification of vitamin B12. Officials have responded to patient enquiries to explain the rationale for the classification of this medicine as they have arisen.

Vitamin B12 is only available as an injection and therefore must be classified as prescription only under the regulations as suitable training needs to be given for its administration. The condition for which it is prescribed also means the product must be classified as a prescription only medicine and therefore no further assessment has been made of the potential merits of making these products available over the counter. Patients are prescribed vitamin B12 for pernicious anaemia and need medical input to diagnose, monitor their condition and treat it appropriately.

Formal discussions have therefore not been held with the Welsh Government or NHS England on the reclassification of vitamin B12. Officials have responded to patient enquiries to explain the rationale for the classification of this medicine as they have arisen.

Our priority is to ensure that patients continue to have access to the medicines they need. We continue to work closely with industry, the National Health Service and others in the supply chain to deliver the shared goal of continuity of safe patient care by mitigating any potential disruption to supply into the United Kingdom of medicines at the end of the transition period.

As set out in a letter from the Department to industry of 3 August, we are implementing a multi-layered approach, that involves asking suppliers of medicines and medical products to the UK from or via the European Union to get trader ready, reroute their supply chains away from any potential disruption and stockpile to a target level of six weeks on UK soil where this is possible. The letter is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-to-medicines-and-medical-products-suppliers-3-august-2020/letter-to-medicine-suppliers-3-august-2020

The Vaccine Taskforce is procuring vaccines for the whole of the United Kingdom, including Wales. The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care meets weekly with counterparts in the devolved administrations for discussions of key COVID-19 issues across all four nations. The Government is working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure successful delivery across the whole of the UK.

Estimates using the latest data from Apple and Google show that 87% of iOS smartphone users and 93% of Android smartphone users in the United Kingdom can install a version of the operating system with the contact tracing technology the National Health Service app uses.

This means over 33.5 million people in England and Wales can download and use the NHS app.

Estimates using the latest data from Apple and Google show that 87% of iOS smartphone users and 93% of Android smartphone users in the United Kingdom can install a version of the operating system with the contact tracing technology the National Health Service app uses.

This means over 33.5 million people in England and Wales can download and use the NHS app.

Estimates using the latest data from Apple and Google show that 87% of iOS smartphone users and 93% of Android smartphone users in the United Kingdom can install a version of the operating system with the contact tracing technology the National Health Service app uses.

This means over 33.5 million people in England and Wales can download and use the NHS app.

Guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) demonstrate a clear need for more evidence to support routine prescribing and funding decisions of unlicensed cannabis-based medicines for severe treatment resistant epilepsy and other conditions. We are working hard with the health system, industry and researchers to improve the knowledge base available. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng144

With regard to Government financial support for vulnerable children with intractable epilepsy who are reliant on privately-paid for medical cannabis, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt. hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead on 15 May 2020 to Question 43850.

No assessment has been made.

We have provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities including charities like Young Minds to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time.

We are taking action to ensure that children and young people have access to support in schools. Our £8 million Wellbeing for Education Return programme will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and access to resources they need to support children and young people, teachers and parents.

On 8 September, the Government launched a mental wellbeing campaign for children and young people. This involves an extension of Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters webpage with content specifically for children and young people and their parents and carers. The campaign will raise awareness of the guidance and tools available to support mental wellbeing and ensure children and young people who need urgent support are directed towards the right services.

The preferred route to enable deployment of a new vaccine for COVID-19 is through the usual marketing authorisation (product licensing) process. If a suitable COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with strong supporting evidence of safety, quality and efficacy, becomes available, we will seek to license that vaccine through the usual route. Any temporary authorisation of the supply of an unlicensed vaccine would be by exception and the timing of this would depend on the public health need.

All vaccines will undergo a thorough assessment of quality, safety and efficacy before being licenced. The preferred route to enable deployment of a new vaccine for COVID-19 is through the usual marketing authorisation (product licensing) process. If a suitable COVID-19 vaccine candidate, with strong supporting evidence of safety, quality and efficacy, becomes available, we will seek to license that vaccine through the usual route. Until the end of December 2020, European Union legislation requires biotechnological medicines (which would include candidate COVID-19 vaccines) to be authorised via the European Medicines Agency, and a marketing authorisation granted by them would automatically be valid in the United Kingdom. From January 2021, the UK’s licensing authority the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will have new powers to license all medicines, including vaccines. Following vaccine deployment, safety will be proactively and continuously monitored.

NHS England and NHS Improvement produced a list at the beginning of the pandemic of those who were at higher risk of becoming seriously ill if they contracted COVID-19. This list has two levels of higher risk:

- High risk (clinically extremely vulnerable); and

- Moderate risk (clinically vulnerable).

People who were high risk included those who have blood or bone marrow cancer, such as leukaemia, lymphoma or myeloma.

It is advised that those with blood cancers follow the NHS England and NHS Improvement advice that is regularly updated on their website. This can be found at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

We are continuing to work across Government to ensure that clinically extremely vulnerable people can return to work safely. Further guidance will be issued on 1 August 2020.

The figure provided in response to Question 62541 was for general practitioners located in England only. This figure does not include dental practices.

Since 1988, successive Governments have voluntarily provided ex-gratia financial and non-financial support for people affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through historic treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood or blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2017, country specific support schemes were set up in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These four schemes are devolved, and each nation has made different choices around their offers of support over time.

We are aware that there are disparities between the schemes, and we are working with our partners in the devolved nations and other relevant Government departments to improve parity of support for all beneficiaries across the United Kingdom.

14 million items of personal protective equipment have been sold to wholesalers who supply general practitioners located in England only.

Our personal protective equipment (PPE) strategy is United Kingdom-wide, making sure that frontline workers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have the PPE they need to stay protected while taking care of patients. We are working closely with the devolved administrations to co-ordinate the distribution of PPE across the UK.

We are working to agree a protocol between the four nations of the UK to underpin our approach to PPE sourcing and supply. The stock positions in each of the four nations is changing rapidly, which means on some occasions other nations, including Scotland, have been able to restock from their own sources more quickly. Representatives from the four nations are in touch regularly and there is an established system of mutual aid to make sure PPE gets to the frontline across the whole of the UK.

Current clinical advice is that testing of individuals without symptoms should be used where clinically appropriate, predominantly for outbreak investigation and infection control. We continue to use the latest science and clinical advice to inform our approach. Our primary focus is symptomatic people to ensure that everyone who needs a test can get one. On that basis, we are not currently using our testing capacity to provide asymptomatic testing to support exit health monitoring for persons departing the United Kingdom for international travel.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office currently advises British nationals against all but essential international travel, with the exemption of a number of countries and territories which have been assessed as no longer presenting an unacceptably high risk to British people travelling abroad. The list of exempted destinations is under constant review.

New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) subcommittees do not usually have observers like the main committee meetings. Subcommittees usually only consist of a subgroup of NERVTAG committee members and may recruit temporary co-opted specialists if this is relevant and important to the subject matter. Subcommittees always report back to the main committee.

The New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) secretariat does not routinely circulate the minutes of meetings or reports to anyone outside of the list of members and observers, unless they are specifically requested. However, all minutes and reports are published online and are freely accessible.

The Chief Medical Officers from all devolved administrations have a delegate that attends the New and Emerging Respiratory Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) meetings in an observer capacity. Thus, the Welsh Government does have representation at the NERVTAG meetings, as do all devolved administrations.

The recommendations of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) on personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement are publicly available and can be accessed online.

The contents of the pandemic influenza stockpile were based on the recommendations of NERVTAG. Following advice from the NERVTAG committee on the inclusion of gowns in the stockpile, the NERVTAG sub-committee for PPE was asked to confirm the specification (sterile non/sterile) for the market analysis. This was received by Public Health England in November 2019 and the market analysis was being finalised prior to seeking policy and financial approval from the Department, Welsh Government, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Assembly. Once approval was received the procurement exercise would have commenced in early 2020. However, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak the focus shifted to procuring gowns for immediate distribution to the National Health Service and social care.

The overall number of tests for COVID-19 is published daily by the Government and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public

However, the information is not broken down to the level of detail being requested.

Data on those infected with COVID-19 are collected by Public Health England (PHE) for new diagnoses and hospitalised patients. Standard recording practice across laboratory systems requires recording of only minimal data (such as date of birth and name) as these records are not intended for disease surveillance purposes.

PHE has begun a rapid review to better understand how COVID-19 may be having an impact on different ethnic groups. As part of this review, PHE is matching thousands of laboratory records of COVID-19 cases to other health records to draw down accurate data on ethnicity, age, sex and geographical region. The first results will be published by the end of May.

NHS England and NHS Improvement lead on reporting deaths with confirmed COVID-19 in hospital. They publish a daily summary that includes a breakdown by ethnicity which can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-daily-deaths/

The Office for National Statistics publishes provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales, including deaths involving COVID-19, by age, sex and region, in the latest weeks for which data are available. These data can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/weekending24april2020

The Public Health England COVID-19 dashboard shows the number of cases confirmed by NHS/PHE labs for each region and upper tier local authority in England. The dashboard can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-track-coronavirus-cases

Public Health England (PHE) has been asked by the Chief Medical Officer to review the potential that some ethnic minority groups are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. PHE is hosting a series of stakeholder events in the coming weeks, which will involve the devolved administrations and opportunities to collaborate and share learning will be part of the discussion.

Trevor Phillips is not leading or running the review. The review is being led by Public Health England (PHE). Mr Phillips and his company will be but one source of intelligence alongside the National Institute for Health Research research call and PHE’s own surveillance expertise. Their input will be specific and time limited.

PHE is hosting a series of stakeholder events in the coming weeks and these discussions will include government and public health specialists from the devolved administrations, community and faith groups, voluntary sector leads, organisations that represent migrant populations, local government leaders and public health specialists, academics and researchers, Royal Colleges and other Government departments.

We are very concerned by the apparent disproportionate number of people from minority ethnic backgrounds who have died, both within the National Health Service and overall. We have asked Public Health England to complete a rapid review to understand how COVID-19 may be having an impact on different ethnic groups, and other groups of concern. The Terms of Reference will be announced in due course.

To complement this rapid review, the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation issued a joint call on 22 April for research proposals to investigate emerging evidence of an association between ethnicity and COVID-19 incidence and adverse health outcomes.

Information on the number of COVID-19 tests conducted in immigration removal centres is not held.

Between April 2015 and March 2020, the UK reached 55.1 million young children, women and adolescent girls through our nutrition programmes.

We remain committed to the Nutrition for Growth process and will continue to work closely on preparations for the 2021 Summit with the Government of Japan. Options for any new Nutrition for Growth commitment will be reviewed once the internal business planning process is complete.

The UK Government recognises that countries with ongoing humanitarian crises can be particularly affected by COVID-19 and that access to drinking water can be reduced. In the first response phase to COVID-19 we provided £20 million of finance to UNICEF for urgent COVID-19 support including for water, sanitation and hygiene. We also supported the provision of emergency drinking water in a number of humanitarian contexts, including to nineteen Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Yemen, through our support to the Hygiene and Behaviour-change Coalition (HBCC), working with Unilever during the pandemic. As a longer-term effort, the UK Government met its 2015 - 2020 target of 60 million people with improved water or sanitation, of which 26.2 million people were based in fragile states. Going forward, the UK will continue to work with the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, which includes 69 partner governments, to increase political commitment to improving access to clean water and sanitation in the context of COVID-19 response and recovery.

The FCDO is committed to working with others to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children by 2030. Our steps to deliver this commitment include: Support for efforts to protect children in low income countries through our commitment of up to £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Over 2021-2025, Gavi will support the roll-out of the most comprehensive package of vaccines to the world's poorest countries, focusing the hardest to reach children. This will include immunising 490 million children against measles, averting approximately 1.4 million preventable deaths; Support for delivery of quality antenatal and post-natal care, including through the Global Financing Facility in 36 countries, which is helping countries challenged by service disruptions due to the pandemic; and; Promotion of a highly cost-effective set of nutrition services for women and children, including breastfeeding support, provision of nutritional supplements and treatment for acute malnutrition. Between April 2015 and March 2020, we reached 55.1 million young children, women and adolescent girls through our nutrition programmes.

Leading the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics is a priority for our G7 Presidency. We are using our G7 Presidency to champion support for vulnerable countries and to promote global health and development. This will include strengthening global and national health systems, as we pursue our vision for a safer, healthier and more prosperous world.

A due diligence obligation set out in the Environment Bill will make it illegal for UK businesses to use agricultural commodities if they have not been produced in line with local laws protecting forests. This will help to ensure that UK imports of soya come from sustainable sources, and the Government is working to encourage other major markets to take a similar position.

As President of the COP26 climate change conference, the UK is also working to establish a new partnership between consumer and producer countries of agricultural commodities. The partnership will promote collaboration between governments and accelerate action to stop deforestation caused by agricultural commodities, including soya, and encourage trade in commodities that have been grown sustainably.

This political engagement complements UK International Climate Finance for forest protection and sustainable agriculture in key regions, including soya-producing regions of Brazil.

We are closely monitoring the situation in Western Sahara and are in regular contact with the parties, including the Government of Morocco. We are also in close contact with the UN, both in New York and in the region. We continue to urge the parties to avoid further escalation, return to the ceasefire agreement, and re-engage with the UN-led political process. We strongly support the UN Secretary General's efforts to appoint a Personal Envoy as soon as possible.

We are closely monitoring the situation in Western Sahara and are in regular contact with the parties, including the Government of Morocco. We are also in close contact with the UN, both in New York and in the region. We continue to urge the parties to avoid further escalation, return to the ceasefire agreement, and re-engage with the UN-led political process. We strongly support the UN Secretary General's efforts to appoint a Personal Envoy as soon as possible.

The UK supports UN-led efforts to reach a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. We have regular exchanges with the parties to the Western Sahara dispute, including Morocco. Association Agreements, including the UK-Morocco Association Agreement, include provisions for political dialogue.

The Government remains extremely concerned about all dual British nationals detained in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognise dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees. We continue to urge the Iranian Government to immediately release all British-Iranian nationals arbitrarily detained in Iran to enable them to return to their families in the UK. The welfare of British-Iranian citizens in Iran is also of paramount importance, and we call on Iran to uphold its commitments under international law to treat all detainees in line with international standards. We have continued to raise the cases of British-Iranian nationals detained in Iran at the most senior levels, and discuss them at every opportunity with our Iranian counterparts.

COVID-19 is a compound and protracted crisis, where the impacts on health, economies, food security, stability and society will hit the world's poorest and most fragile countries hardest. As a leading donor to the global COVID-19 response and one of the biggest humanitarian donors globally, we are ensuring that our support goes to those who need it the most, including refugees and other forcibly displaced populations.

We have so far pledged up to £790 million of UK aid to counter the health and economic impacts of COVID-19, and to further the search for vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. In addition, we have pivoted over 200 bilateral programmes towards addressing direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 response.

We are paying particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable. Our funding for UNHCR is focused on supporting refugees. Our support to UNFPA and UNICEF will protect the rights of women and girls, including addressing gender-based violence and ensuring continued access to sexual and reproductive health care. We have also recently announced a package of £119 million to provide relief to over six million people and help prevent famine in countries hit by conflict and COVID-19.

The UK Government works to ensure that recipients of UK Aid, including minority religious communities, are not discriminated against because of their faith. The UK is committed to delivering its aid according to internationally-recognised humanitarian principles. These principles ensure that humanitarian assistance is delivered to those who are most vulnerable and most in need of this assistance irrespective of race, religion or ethnicity. This includes minority religious communities, who are assessed by our partners when determining those most in need of protection and assistance.

The FCDO's use of country context analysis has increased the understanding of how religious dynamics and religious groups are factored into all of our country programmes. The FCDO undertakes interdisciplinary analysis of a country's politics, society, state and economy to identify the most significant problems that hinder development and the main entry points and opportunities to create change. There is a strong emphasis on how politics, security, and demographics interact with economic growth and human development. This includes the role of religion and discrimination of religious minorities.

The Government has discussed mobility arrangements across a number of areas as part of negotiations on our future relationship with the EU. The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. This will apply from the end of the transition period to all UK nationals travelling to and within the Schengen area for purposes such as tourism. This is the standard length of stay that the EU provides to the nationals of eligible third countries that offer visa-free travel access for EU citizens, in line with existing EU legislation.

As things stand, stays beyond the EU's 90/180 day visa-free allocation from 1 January 2021 onwards will be for individual Member States to decide and implement through domestic entry rules and visa arrangements for non-EU citizens. UK nationals will need to discuss the specifics of their situation with the relevant Member State authorities and should be prepared to provide any extra documentation that may be required. Under the UK's new immigration system, EU citizens will be treated as non-visa nationals for the purposes of tourism after the end of the transition period. EU citizens will be able to come to the UK as visitors for six months without the need to obtain a visa. This length of stay is the standard visitor provision for the nationals of all other non-visa countries.

Advancing gender equality and women's rights are a core part of the UK Government's mission, and Global Britain's role as a force for good in the world, including fulfilling every girl's right to 12 years of quality education. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to this agenda.

Substantial progress has been made since the launch of the Strategic Vision in 2018. Highlights include announcing the biggest ever donor commitment to support and accelerate the Africa-led movement to end female genital mutilation (£50 million), securing unilateral agreement by the 53 Commonwealth Leaders to work to ensure 12 years of quality education for all girls by 2030, and generating world-leading evidence on how to drive down global rates of violence against women and girls through our What Works to Prevent Violence programme. Between 2019-20 alone UKaid supported 25.4 million women to access modern methods of family planning, helping to save thousands of lives.

As part of the launch of the new FCDO, we will refresh and build on existing strategies, as well as develop new approaches, but we do not see the core ambitions of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality changing.

We are concerned by the death sentences handed to Mohammed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa. We continue to raise both cases at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain. The Bahraini Government is fully aware that the UK opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We continue to monitor their case, as it is taken to the Court of Cassation for final review.

At present, the law provides for Child Benefit to be paid to one parent only. The parent who claims Child Benefit can voluntarily choose to pay an agreed proportion to the other parent. Where parents separate and both have care of their child, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) encourage them to agree who should claim Child Benefit. Where they cannot reach an agreement, the law allows HMRC to decide, at their discretion, who should receive the payment based on information from both parents, including the number of days the child lives with them, and the actual costs incurred by each of them on things such as clothing, food and accommodation.

Currently there are no plans to change the law to split payments of Child Benefit where parents have separated and share care of their children. The Government believes that directing payment to the person mainly responsible for the child best ensures that the money goes to the person most likely to bear the weight of everyday care and expenditure.

The Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) has been, and continues to be, one of the most generous self-employed COVID-19 support schemes in the world.

The SEISS is not intended to provide a month-by-month replacement of income. Due to the volatility of self-employed income and the lack of granular data that HMRC hold on self-employed trading profits, precise mapping of income replacement month by month is not possible. Instead, the SEISS provides a lump sum payment to support eligible self-employed individuals whose businesses have been affected by coronavirus.

The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.

The UK government has supported businesses across the UK through a range of schemes this year, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

As business rates is a devolved tax it is for the devolved administrations to determine reliefs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. However, the UK government has already guaranteed the devolved administrations an additional £16 billion of resource funding to provide support to people, businesses and public services this year. This comprises £8.2 billion for the Scottish Government, £5.0 billion for the Welsh Government and £2.8 billion for the Northern Ireland Executive.

For mortgage payers, the Government has worked with mortgage lenders and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure the financial sector provides access to mortgage payment holidays. In addition, support for Mortgage Interest provides qualifying borrowers who cannot afford their mortgage interest with financial help, enabling them to stay in their homes.

The Government has provided an unprecedented package of financial support for tenants. This includes providing nearly £1 billion of additional support for private renters claiming Universal Credit or Housing Benefit by increasing the Local Housing Allowance rate in 2020-21. The Government paused possession proceedings over the summer and now, to ensure that renters served notice can stay in their homes over winter, has extended notice periods to six months in all but the most egregious cases. And there will be no enforcement of evictions in areas of local lockdown, where access to premises is restricted, or over the Christmas period in England and Wales.

To help people in problem debt get their finances back on track, the budget for free debt advice in England has been increased to over £100 million this financial year. And from May 2021 the Breathing Space scheme will offer people in problem debt a pause of up to 60 days on most enforcement action, interest, fees and charges.

As part of the Plan for Jobs, the Chancellor announced over £3 billion of new funding for green buildings. This funding is subject to the Barnett formula. We are working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure they have the best information about likely changes in Barnett funding to facilitate their financial planning.

The Government remains committed to helping businesses and workers through the present very difficult time, and has announced unprecedented support, including a range of grant and tax deferral schemes, and £300 billion of guarantees, equivalent to 15 per cent of UK GDP. For voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, the government has pledged £750 million to ensure they can continue their vital work supporting the country during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Government remains closely engaged with the financial regulators to monitor and assess risks around cash relating to COVID-19. In order to help control the virus, all businesses and individuals have been encouraged to follow the latest Government advice. To work safely during Coronavirus, retailers have been recommended to minimise contact around transactions, for example, considering using contactless payments. However, it remains the individual retailer’s choice as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card.

Some acquirers (the financial services firms which enable retailers to process card payments) are taking voluntary measures to support their business customers, for example through waiving fees, and the Government welcomes such action.

Furthermore, the Payment Systems Regulator is currently carrying out a market review into card-acquiring services. Its review is examining how competition is working, including looking at the fees retailers pay for card-acquiring services and the quality of service they receive. The interim findings will be published in Q3 2020.

The Treasury’s priority is to support the whole UK economy through Covid-19. IT HAS taken unprecedented steps to support viable businesses to stay afloat and protect the incomes of the most vulnerable.

The Welsh Government and Office of the Secretary of State for Wales play a key part in these discussions, and there is regular engagement on the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and the Welsh Government’s plans to protect jobs and support key sectors in Wales.

In light of the Covid-19 outbreak, the Chancellor has introduced a range of measures to help individuals and businesses through the crisis, including grants, loans and relief from business rates at a cost of more than £300 billion.

Property agencies are included in the temporary reduced rate provided that the contract is between the customer and the agent, and that the agent has the power to grant someone a licence to occupy holiday accommodation. Passenger transport for more than 10 people is ordinarily zero-rated for VAT purposes.

Expanding the scope of the temporary VAT reduction would come at a considerable cost to the Exchequer. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review.

The Government has announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until 31 October. This Scheme must be temporary, and we must ensure people can get back to work when it is safe to do so and get the UK economy up and running again.

Many charities and social enterprises have benefitted from existing measures to support employers and businesses. Under these measures, charities have deferred VAT bills and will pay no business rates for their shops next year. In April the Government announced a £750 million support package for charities. £360 million of funding will be allocated directly to charities providing essential services and supporting vulnerable people including children and young people, while £370 million will be available to local charities including through the National Lottery Community Fund.

In addition, the Government has announced a £1 billion catch-up package to help teachers support those who have fallen behind while out of school and over £100 million to support remote learning.

On 22 June, the Prime Minister announced that the Government will relax the current public health guidance for those identified as Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) to shield at home. This means from 1 August they will be able to return to work if they are unable to work from home, provided their workplace is COVID-safe.

It is important that this group continue to take careful precautions, and employers should do all they can to enable them to work from home where this is possible, including moving them to another role if required. Where this is not possible, the CEV should be provided with the safest on-site roles that enable them to maintain social distancing from others.

If employers cannot provide a safe working environment, the CEV will continue to have access to an unprecedented package of financial support. This is not limited to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but also includes the introduction of the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, and an increase in the generosity of welfare payments worth a further £8bn.

Current guidance for those who live with the shielded, including those in multi-generational households, is that they do not need to shield themselves but must carefully follow guidance on social distancing.

The Government takes care to pay due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, including the equality impacts of the SEISS, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality.

It is not possible for HMRC to know the reasons why an individual’s profits may have dropped in earlier years from income tax self-assessment returns. However, by calculating the grant on a three-year average of profits, the SEISS supports people who saw a dip in profits for parental/sickness leave.

HMRC have published statistics about the number and value of SEISS claims made by 31 May, including a breakdown by gender. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-june-2020

The Government takes care to pay due regard to the equality impacts of its policy decisions relating to the Covid-19 outbreak, including the equality impacts of the SEISS, in line with all legal requirements and the Government’s commitment to promoting equality.

It is not possible for HMRC to know the reasons why an individual’s profits may have dropped in earlier years from income tax self-assessment returns. However, by calculating the grant on a three-year average of profits, the SEISS supports people who saw a dip in profits for parental/sickness leave.

HMRC have published statistics about the number and value of SEISS claims made by 31 May, including a breakdown by gender. These can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/self-employment-income-support-scheme-statistics-june-2020

Travel insurance typically applies only for losses that cannot be recovered from elsewhere. Customers should therefore first contact travel providers or accommodation providers for reimbursement. In the next instance, credit card providers would provide a refund under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 if the payment was made by credit card and cost was over £100 per unit. However, travel insurance policies differ so customers should check the terms and conditions of their policy or speak to their insurer.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published guidance for firms handling consumer claims during the Covid-19 crisis. Where consumers have two potentially valid avenues of redress against regulated firms (for example, from an insurer and credit provider) there is nothing in their rules that stops an insurer, credit provider or other regulated firm settling the claim in full (so long as there is no disadvantage to the consumer in this) and, where appropriate, seeking to claim back from the other firm involved.

The FCA will be consulting in the coming weeks on guidelines so that in future their expectations of firms and the choices for consumers will be clearer. More broadly, the FCA has said that, in light of COVID-19, insurers must consider very carefully the needs of their customers and show flexibility in their treatment of them.

The UK Government values the contribution of care workers greatly, particularly during the current COVID-19 crisis.

HM Revenue and Customs are working with the Welsh Government to understand the nature of the payments. Under the longstanding rules of income tax, any payments made in connection with an employment are chargeable to income tax and National Insurance contributions.

This is consistent with the Government’s approach across different forms of financial support during COVID-19, including payments made under the Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employment Income Support Scheme, which are liable to tax.

The Welsh Government have been provided with over £1.6bn to support people, businesses and public services through COVID-19.

HMPPS is working closely with Public Health Wales, Welsh Government, Public Health England, the NHS and the Department for Health and Social Care to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Alongside existing procedures to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases, HMPPS are ensuring that staff have access to personal protective equipment where necessary and have introduced a procedure for the protective isolation of individuals in custody when it is considered that they may be infected with the virus. HMPPS are also working with prison health teams in Wales to ensure that there is a joint approach to any incidents.

Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with all of the devolved administrations on matters of importance to the economy across the UK, including Environment policy. Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management policy is devolved. It is for the devolved administrations to set their own priorities and determine the allocation of funds as they choose.

Treasury Ministers and officials have regular discussions with all of the devolved administrations on matters of importance to the economy across the UK, including Environment policy. Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management policy is devolved. It is for the devolved administrations to set their own priorities and determine the allocation of funds as they choose.

All passengers must complete the Passenger Locator Form online, however, once completed they can print off their finished form to show carriers before departing to the UK.

Passengers may seek assistance, from family, friends or another third party, to complete on their behalf.

There are dedicated helplines for members of the public who are encountering issues with completing the PLF form. Whilst these helplines can provide advice, they cannot complete the form on behalf of the passenger.

The contact telephone number from within the UK is 0800 678 1767 and is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm. These calls are free of charge.

The contact telephone number when outside the UK is 0044 207 113 0371 and is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm. These calls are charged dependant on the network provider.

The latest published information of applications and concluded applications by UK country to 31 March 2021 are published in Tables EUSS_01 and EUSS_03_WAL of the quarterly EUSS statistics tables (EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office has so far invested nearly £8 million in marketing campaigns to encourage eligible EEA nationals and their family members to apply to the EUSS, and provided grant funding of £22 million through to 30 September 2021 to a network of now 72 organisations across the UK working to help vulnerable groups to apply.

Plans have been shared with communication colleagues in the Devolved Administrations throughout to align and support respective efforts; and core assets have consistently been produced in Welsh translation and shared widely. We will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations, local authorities, community organisations and others to encourage remaining EEA nationals and their family members eligible for the EUSS to apply and secure their rights in the UK.

We have made clear we will take a pragmatic and flexible approach to dealing with late applications and have already published non-exhaustive guidance on what will be considered reasonable grounds for making one.

The latest published information of applications and concluded applications by UK country to 31 March 2021 are published in Tables EUSS_01 and EUSS_03_WAL of the quarterly EUSS statistics tables (EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office has so far invested nearly £8 million in marketing campaigns to encourage eligible EEA nationals and their family members to apply to the EUSS, and provided grant funding of £22 million through to 30 September 2021 to a network of now 72 organisations across the UK working to help vulnerable groups to apply.

Plans have been shared with communication colleagues in the Devolved Administrations throughout to align and support respective efforts; and core assets have consistently been produced in Welsh translation and shared widely. We will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations, local authorities, community organisations and others to encourage remaining EEA nationals and their family members eligible for the EUSS to apply and secure their rights in the UK.

We have made clear we will take a pragmatic and flexible approach to dealing with late applications and have already published non-exhaustive guidance on what will be considered reasonable grounds for making one.

The latest published information of applications and concluded applications by UK country to 31 March 2021 are published in Tables EUSS_01 and EUSS_03_WAL of the quarterly EUSS statistics tables (EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics, March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Home Office has so far invested nearly £8 million in marketing campaigns to encourage eligible EEA nationals and their family members to apply to the EUSS, and provided grant funding of £22 million through to 30 September 2021 to a network of now 72 organisations across the UK working to help vulnerable groups to apply.

Plans have been shared with communication colleagues in the Devolved Administrations throughout to align and support respective efforts; and core assets have consistently been produced in Welsh translation and shared widely. We will continue to work with the Devolved Administrations, local authorities, community organisations and others to encourage remaining EEA nationals and their family members eligible for the EUSS to apply and secure their rights in the UK.

We have made clear we will take a pragmatic and flexible approach to dealing with late applications and have already published non-exhaustive guidance on what will be considered reasonable grounds for making one.

We are continuing to explore the role of the Welsh language in our immigration system, reflecting its importance to both the communities where it is spoken and to the UK as a whole. Language skills are an important part of integration for those coming to work, study or settle in the UK.

The UK’s policy for confirmed victims of modern slavery is to consider granting discretionary leave to remain on a case-by-case basis, based on the individual’s circumstances. The published policy can be found on gov.uk Discretionary leave for victims of modern slavery casework guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk) and gives a number of examples in which a grant of discretionary leave is appropriate.

Confirmed victims of modern slavery who are also asylum seekers are eligible for a grant of leave under the same policy, but this usually only needs to be considered if the asylum claim is refused.

As part of the New Plan for Immigration announced on 24 March 2021, we are consulting on a proposal that confirmed victims with long-term recovery needs linked to their modern slavery exploitation can be considered for a grant of temporary leave to remain to assist their recovery. This builds on our end-to-end needs-based approach to supporting victims. We also make clear that temporary leave to remain may be available to victims who are helping the police with prosecutions and bringing their exploiters to justice.

The Home Office keeps all fees under review.

The Home Office has acknowledged the judgment given in the recent court case on child registration fees, where the Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision the Home Office had not demonstrated compliance with its duties under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 in setting the child registration fee

A Section 55 assessment of the child registration fee is currently being carried out.

The Home Office publishes data on citizenship applications and grants at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/immigration-statistics-data-tables-year-ending-june-2020#citizenship

An incomplete payment is just one of a number of reasons which could lead to an application being rejected and included under the ‘rejected applications’ heading in Table 4.

The Home Office does not have accessible management information on applications rejected in Wales specifically, as a result of being unable to pay the non-administrative costs of citizenship fees. Fees are set according to section 68 of the Immigration Act 2014 and are set within parameters agreed by Parliament.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021.

The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally.

The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow.

The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021.

The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally.

The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow.

The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021.

The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally.

The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow.

The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration announced an inspection of contingency asylum accommodation on 25 January 2021.

The department acknowledges the ICIBI’s decision to publish on 8 March the initial findings from site visits to Napier Barracks and Penally.

The ICIBI’s inspection continues and a full inspection report will follow.

The duration of the inspection is a matter for the ICIBI and upon its conclusion, following standard procedure set out in the UK Borders Act 2007, the Department will issue a formal response alongside the inspection report as it is laid before Parliament and published on Gov.UK.

The Home Office secured use of the site for six months under emergency provisions within the Town and Country Planning regulations, Part 37 of which can be used for Crown emergency development. We are aware of the need for further planning consent for use of the site beyond March 2021.

Any further planning application will be made in line with the legal requirements and in consultation with the County Council local planning authority and other statutory bodies

There have been no confirmed cases of Covid at the Penally Training camp since September 2020.

The Home Office secured use of the site for six months under emergency provisions within the Town and Country Planning regulations, Part 37 of which can be used for Crown emergency development. We are aware of the need for further planning consent for use of the site beyond March 2021.

Any further planning application will be made in line with the legal requirements and in consultation with the County Council local planning authority and other statutory bodies

There have been no confirmed cases of Covid at the Penally Training camp since September 2020.

It is illegal to use privately owned e-scooters on the roads and the pavements. How the police enforce road traffic laws is an operational matter for individual Chief Officers who will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.

We do not publish the costs of our accommodation & support contracts as they are considered commercially sensitive.

The use of MoD sites lessens our reliance on hotels and provides savings for the taxpayer of approximately 50 per cent.

We are working to reduce the cost of the asylum system, which is under significant pressure, and are considering a number of accommodation options while we fix the broken asylum system to make it firmer and fairer.

The Government is committed to ensuring all communities are treated fairly. We are equally clear that we will not tolerate law breaking.

That is why we set out in the Queen’s Speech in December 2019 our firm aim to bring forward legislation this session to strengthen the powers available to the police to tackle unauthorised encampments.

Legislation will target those causing harm and disruption, rather than those simply wanting to enjoy the countryside

We are not able to provide the information requested.

We have a statutory obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. Due to the unpredictable nature of asylum intake we are unable to forecast the number of people to be accommodated at Penally over the next four weeks.

Transfer out of Penally is dependant on the amount of dispersed accommodation being available through people being granted asylum and moving on and the procurement of additional dispersal properties. We are unable to predict the number of people who will be dispersed from Penally camp in the next four weeks.

We are not able to provide the information requested.

We have a statutory obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute. Due to the unpredictable nature of asylum intake we are unable to forecast the number of people to be accommodated at Penally over the next four weeks.

Transfer out of Penally is dependant on the amount of dispersed accommodation being available through people being granted asylum and moving on and the procurement of additional dispersal properties. We are unable to predict the number of people who will be dispersed from Penally camp in the next four weeks.

There are currently 118 asylum seekers accommodated at Penally training camp, Pembrokeshire.

The Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have worked intensively with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Dyfed, Powys police and other partners as we have stood up and are now operating on the site.

The Penally training camp is temporary, contingency accommodation whilst we continue to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation. The MOD has given permission to use the site for 12 months.

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Penally into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Penally in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use; Napier Barracks. This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

Accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Dispersal Accommodation is a mixture of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s), flats, houses or hostel-based properties. Location will be based on the availability of properties suitable for each asylum seekers needs.

Our accommodation providers are also working to maximise accommodation procurement opportunities throughout the UK, however they can only do so with local authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation dependent upon it becoming available.

There are currently 118 asylum seekers accommodated at Penally training camp, Pembrokeshire.

The Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have worked intensively with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Dyfed, Powys police and other partners as we have stood up and are now operating on the site.

The Penally training camp is temporary, contingency accommodation whilst we continue to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation. The MOD has given permission to use the site for 12 months.

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Penally into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Penally in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use; Napier Barracks. This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

Accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Dispersal Accommodation is a mixture of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s), flats, houses or hostel-based properties. Location will be based on the availability of properties suitable for each asylum seekers needs.

Our accommodation providers are also working to maximise accommodation procurement opportunities throughout the UK, however they can only do so with local authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation dependent upon it becoming available.

There are currently 118 asylum seekers accommodated at Penally training camp, Pembrokeshire.

The Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have worked intensively with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Dyfed, Powys police and other partners as we have stood up and are now operating on the site.

The Penally training camp is temporary, contingency accommodation whilst we continue to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation. The MOD has given permission to use the site for 12 months.

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Penally into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Penally in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use; Napier Barracks. This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

Accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Dispersal Accommodation is a mixture of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s), flats, houses or hostel-based properties. Location will be based on the availability of properties suitable for each asylum seekers needs.

Our accommodation providers are also working to maximise accommodation procurement opportunities throughout the UK, however they can only do so with local authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation dependent upon it becoming available.

There are currently 118 asylum seekers accommodated at Penally training camp, Pembrokeshire.

The Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have worked intensively with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Dyfed, Powys police and other partners as we have stood up and are now operating on the site.

The Penally training camp is temporary, contingency accommodation whilst we continue to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation. The MOD has given permission to use the site for 12 months.

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Penally into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Penally in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use; Napier Barracks. This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

Accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Dispersal Accommodation is a mixture of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s), flats, houses or hostel-based properties. Location will be based on the availability of properties suitable for each asylum seekers needs.

Our accommodation providers are also working to maximise accommodation procurement opportunities throughout the UK, however they can only do so with local authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation dependent upon it becoming available.

There are currently 118 asylum seekers accommodated at Penally training camp, Pembrokeshire.

The Home Office and Clearsprings Ready Homes have worked intensively with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Hywel Dda University Health Board and Dyfed, Powys police and other partners as we have stood up and are now operating on the site.

The Penally training camp is temporary, contingency accommodation whilst we continue to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation. The MOD has given permission to use the site for 12 months.

At present the Home Office will continue to regularly move small numbers of people out of Penally into Dispersal Accommodation in line with business as usual processes and will continue to route new people into Penally in line with public health guidance.

Those asylum seekers being moved to Dispersal Accommodation will not be moved to the other Ministry of Defence site currently in use; Napier Barracks. This site is also providing temporary contingency accommodation for asylum seekers whilst their claims are examined.

Accommodation for supported asylum seekers is arranged by private sector providers through contractual arrangements with the Home Office. Dispersal Accommodation is a mixture of Homes of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s), flats, houses or hostel-based properties. Location will be based on the availability of properties suitable for each asylum seekers needs.

Our accommodation providers are also working to maximise accommodation procurement opportunities throughout the UK, however they can only do so with local authority agreement. It is our intention to move all individuals in contingency accommodation into suitable dispersed accommodation dependent upon it becoming available.

As required by law, we provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation, paid for by the taxpayer.

We welcome independent scrutiny and routinely facilitate inspections by the ICIBI or another relevant body.

The Department is responding to further preliminary enquiries made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration but has not yet received a formal notice of inspection. Preliminary correspondence is not routinely published but the ICIBI may include relevant information in any final inspection report that is published on gov.uk.

The Home Office is currently reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations.

Our ambition is to house asylum seekers within the asylum estate without the need for contingency accommodation. We are working to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation.

As required by law, we provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation, paid for by the taxpayer.

We welcome independent scrutiny and routinely facilitate inspections by the ICIBI or another relevant body.

The Department is responding to further preliminary enquiries made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration but has not yet received a formal notice of inspection. Preliminary correspondence is not routinely published but the ICIBI may include relevant information in any final inspection report that is published on gov.uk.

The Home Office is currently reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations.

Our ambition is to house asylum seekers within the asylum estate without the need for contingency accommodation. We are working to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation.

As required by law, we provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation, paid for by the taxpayer.

We welcome independent scrutiny and routinely facilitate inspections by the ICIBI or another relevant body.

The Department is responding to further preliminary enquiries made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration but has not yet received a formal notice of inspection. Preliminary correspondence is not routinely published but the ICIBI may include relevant information in any final inspection report that is published on gov.uk.

The Home Office is currently reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations.

Our ambition is to house asylum seekers within the asylum estate without the need for contingency accommodation. We are working to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation.

As required by law, we provide asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute with accommodation, paid for by the taxpayer.

We welcome independent scrutiny and routinely facilitate inspections by the ICIBI or another relevant body.

The Department is responding to further preliminary enquiries made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration but has not yet received a formal notice of inspection. Preliminary correspondence is not routinely published but the ICIBI may include relevant information in any final inspection report that is published on gov.uk.

The Home Office is currently reviewing the recommendations of the rapid review and, as previously stated, will seek to publish a summary of the recommendations.

Our ambition is to house asylum seekers within the asylum estate without the need for contingency accommodation. We are working to address the issues putting pressure on our asylum accommodation.

The Home Office is working closely with Policing/National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to assess the scale and impact of the incident. This includes undertaking a robust and detailed assessment and verification of all affected records. Once complete we will develop and implement a plan to recover as many lost records as is possible over the next few weeks.

There are currently 116 pharmacies (101 Boots pharmacies and 15 independent community pharmacies) participating in the Ask for ANI codeword scheme in Wales. There is an on-going sign-up process open to all pharmacies to join the scheme, so the total number of pharmacies involved in the scheme is increasing each week.

Those accommodated at Penally training camp and Napier barracks have access to medical professionals and mental health support.

Our providers are trained to identify vulnerabilities and where safeguarding issues are identified the first responder will make an assessment to the level of risk and the next appropriate response to provide support.

Regular welfare checks are conducted on all service users, including behavioural monitoring of those who show signs of vulnerability and are not engaging with fellow service users and staff.

We work closely with our accommodation providers to ensure that all service users are aware of, and have access to, Migrant Help’s helpline. This is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, if they need help, advice or guidance, including signposting to wider mental and medical health services.

The Home Office do not publish a breakdown of self-harm incidents relating to service users.

Work to explore further options to accommodate asylum seekers in line with the Government’s statutory obligations included examining the potential to utilise MOD sites at short notice after engagement with officials from MOD. This scoping process identified?Penally?Training Camp and Napier Barracks.

The basic requirements for the Home Office were that the sites were capable of housing, safely and securely, on a temporary basis, large numbers of single adult male asylum seekers, that the sites were either available or could be vacated by the MOD at short notice, and that the accommodation provider, Clearsprings Ready Homes, could operate the sites safely and securely, providing for asylum seeker needs.

There are no records available regarding potential use of the site in 2015 – 2016. There are no plans to publish the scoping exercise.

Work to explore further options to accommodate asylum seekers in line with the Government’s statutory obligations included examining the potential to utilise MOD sites at short notice after engagement with officials from MOD. This scoping process identified?Penally?Training Camp and Napier Barracks.

The basic requirements for the Home Office were that the sites were capable of housing, safely and securely, on a temporary basis, large numbers of single adult male asylum seekers, that the sites were either available or could be vacated by the MOD at short notice, and that the accommodation provider, Clearsprings Ready Homes, could operate the sites safely and securely, providing for asylum seeker needs.

There are no records available regarding potential use of the site in 2015 – 2016. There are no plans to publish the scoping exercise.

Asylum seekers have been transferred to Penally from tier 2 regions. Transfers have not been made in areas where tier 3 restrictions are in place.

All movements of asylum seekers are undertaken with due regard to regulations in place in both England and Wales.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide support including accommodation to destitute asylum seekers whilst their claims are being considered.

In recent months, the asylum system has faced significant pressures and it has become necessary to source, and use, additional temporary accommodation, such as hotels, to ensure the Home Office can continue to meet its statutory obligations towards destitute asylum seekers.

Following an urgent scoping exercise, we identified further suitable and available accommodation and put it to use quickly. This now includes the use of two MOD sites in Kent and Pembrokeshire. The sites are being run by Clearsprings Ready Homes, one of the Home Office’s Accommodation Providers under our Asylum Accommodation and Support contracts.

The number of asylum applicants transferred out of Napier barracks and Penally training camp are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

However, the latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.

Medical practitioners with an asylum claim who have been waiting 12 months or more for a decision on that claim can already apply to work in the many important medical practitioner roles included on the Shortage Occupation List.

Medical practitioners with an asylum claim who have been waiting 12 months or more for a decision on that claim can already apply to work in the many important medical practitioner roles included on the Shortage Occupation List.

We are fixing a broken asylum system and creating a new one which will be fairer and firmer and compassionate towards those who need our help.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the length of time to process and asylum claim but we are determined to clear the backlog to help speed up decisions and prevent people becoming stuck in the system for long periods of time.

We are working to streamline cases and have already made significant progress in prioritising cases with acute vulnerability, those in receipt of the greatest level of support including, UASCs, and those that require a reconsideration.

Asylum Operations has developed a recovery plan focused on returning interviews and decisions back to pre-COVID-19 levels as soon as possible. We are also seeking to secure temporary resources to assist from within the Home Office and other government departments, along with other potential options.

The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide support including accommodation to destitute asylum seekers whilst their claims are being considered.

In recent months, the asylum system has faced significant pressures and it has become necessary to source, and use, additional temporary accommodation, such as hotels, to ensure the Home Office can continue to meet its statutory obligations towards destitute asylum seekers.

Following an urgent scoping exercise, we identified further suitable and available accommodation and put it to use quickly. This now includes the use of two MOD sites in Kent and Pembrokeshire. The sites are being run by Clearsprings Ready Homes, one of the Home Office’s Accommodation Providers under our Asylum Accommodation and Support contracts.

The number of asylum applicants transferred out of Napier barracks and Penally training camp are not available in a reportable format and to provide the information could only be done at disproportionate cost.

However, the latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area, which includes those in hotel and wider government facilities. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support.

Work to explore further options to accommodate asylum seekers in line with the Government’s statutory obligations included examining the potential to utilise MOD sites at short notice. This scoping process identified Penally Training Camp and Napier Barracks.

The basic requirements for the Home Office were that the sites were capable of housing, safely and securely, on a temporary basis, large numbers of single adult male asylum seekers, that the sites were either available or could be vacated by the MOD at short notice, and that the accommodation provider, Clearsprings Ready Homes, could operate the sites safely and securely, providing for asylum seeker needs.

There are no plans to publish the scoping exercise.

There are several different types of accommodation blocks at Penally.

The beds in the accommodation blocks consist of either a single bed or a sole use pod within a block. A pod comprises of 2 bunks (4 beds) separated by a lockable cabinet. Only 1 of the 4 beds in a pod is in use at any time.

The number of people varies according to block size and type however the numbers in each room is calculated to ensure that it is possible to adhere to COVID rules.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration has stated his intention to conduct an inspection in this area, but the timings are yet to be confirmed and formally notified to the Department.

All accommodation provided is required to be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped, and to comply with relevant national or local housing legislation. These standards apply to all accommodation used by the Home Office including the Ministry of Defence site in Pembrokeshire.

There are electric wall heaters in place in all accommodation blocks and communal areas within Penally.

All accommodation provided is required to be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped, and to comply with relevant national or local housing legislation. These standards apply to all accommodation used by the Home Office including the Ministry of Defence site in Pembrokeshire.

There are electric wall heaters in place in all accommodation blocks and communal areas within Penally.

The Home Office has sought Public Health advice on how we can make best use of this accommodation, working within the constraints of the configuration, whilst minimising risks from Covid-19.

Risk mitigations include limiting occupancy in dormitories ensuring a minimum distance between beds of at least 2 metres. This is complemented by a range of additional safety measures including increased cleaning of surfaces, availability of hand sanitisers, a track and trace system and communications with residents around covid-19 control measures. Asylum seekers will have the same access to testing as the general population.

The Home Office’s contractor?has an outbreak management plan which will be enacted if we experience an outbreak.?

The Government demands the highest standards from contractors and their accommodation and monitor them closely to ensure this is maintained. All accommodation provided is required to be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped, and to comply with relevant national or local housing legislation. These standards apply to all accommodation used by the Home Office including the Ministry of Defence sites in Pembrokeshire and Folkestone.

The Home Office has sought Public Health advice on how we can make best use of this accommodation, working within the constraints of the configuration, whilst minimising risks from Covid-19.

Risk mitigations include limiting occupancy in dormitories ensuring a minimum distance between beds of at least 2 metres. This is complemented by a range of additional safety measures including increased cleaning of surfaces, availability of hand sanitisers, a track and trace system and communications with residents around covid-19 control measures. Asylum seekers will have the same access to testing as the general population.

The Home Office’s contractor?has an outbreak management plan which will be enacted if we experience an outbreak.?

The Government demands the highest standards from contractors and their accommodation and monitor them closely to ensure this is maintained. All accommodation provided is required to be safe, habitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped, and to comply with relevant national or local housing legislation. These standards apply to all accommodation used by the Home Office including the Ministry of Defence sites in Pembrokeshire and Folkestone.

All asylum seekers are subject to an initial screening process by UK Visas and Immigration, which includes health and safeguarding checks. Further checks are also made, to confirm suitability for transfer to the accommodation. On site, accommodation provider staff are available at all times should health concerns arise, with healthcare arrangements in place, linked to local NHS provision.

Additionally, all asylum seekers have access to the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service provided for the Home Office by Migrant Help offers support and guidance to vulnerable migrants.

AIRE asylum services provide free independent advice, guidance and information on the asylum process, accommodation, financial support, finding legal representation and any other asylum related matters. AIRE run a national helpline that is free and accessible to all asylum seekers in the UK.

We remain in regular contact and committed to working with the Welsh Government and relevant health bodies in respect of the accommodation of asylum seekers at Penally.

It is not appropriate for me to comment on individual cases.

The Home Office has no published data to answer this question. The information is not readily available nor held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The National Automatic Number Plate Recognition Service (NAS) is a national system replacing the current National ANPR Data Centre (NADC), used by Police Forces to interrogate ANPR data.

The department has submitted a bid to HMT as part of the spending review process and we are in active discussions about the amount of money that we should be investing in the National ANPR Service (NAS), both centrally and out to individual forces. We have shared with the Treasury the full cost of NAS and its potential replacement for the forthcoming year and for subsequent years, including what will flow centrally and what will flow through individual forces. We expect a decision on the funding settlement from HMT this month.

Programme costs are separated into 3 categories; first the cost of building and rolling out the NAS infrastructure, software and any related changes to the force systems; second costs for the programme team and; third the cost to maintain NAS system and its legacy system, National ANPR data centre (NADC). The costs for delivering the new NAS system is by far the most significant and, subject to commercial negotiation, the annual cost of NAS service following the commercial negotiations is likely to amount to c. £15 million per year and takes into account the costs of keeping legacy systems in place until the Minimal viable product (MVP) is delivered in Spring 2021 and programme costs. The negotiation has achieved future years reduction on service costs which benefit policing long term.

The current programme overspend is approximately £6.9m for this financial year and considers the costs of delivering the MVP and any programme costs. The additional in year costs are to focus on delivering the critical MVP, but an overall reduction in service costs has been achieved over the lifetime of the new contract presently being negotiated.

The programme set itself an original target of transitioning all users from the current NADC system and legacy local systems by Autumn 2020. We are now targeting a MVP in Spring 2021 with the legacy NADC system being retired in Spring 2022 once all forces have been transitioned across to NAS. Since the award of the G-Cloud contact in 2018 to the current delivery partner there have been 3 key releases to date. The current release is forecast to be 7 months later than originally planned.

Both during and since the programme reset in May 2016, where a review of the critical objectives of the programme that were set April 2015, it has undergone extensive assurance both internally within the department and externally through Cabinet Office, GDS and HMT.

The programme continues to build confidence in the delivery of the NAS through regular engagement with our Programme User Group and it’s subgroups, as well as, weekly update meetings with the NPCC ANPR Portfolio Change Lead. Programme teams also manage regular contact with forces and LEAS to provide updates in addition to weekly briefing notes to provide updates and progress. The SRO is in discussion with the ANPR Portfolio Lead about establishing a group of senior police representatives to manage the NAS roadmap into the future.

The Department remains committed to completing the delivery of NAS, realising the benefits of NAS and delivering police effectiveness and operational efficiency savings. These include cashable reduction in running costs through the decommissioning of legacy systems and a wide range of broader benefits such as reducing the time to identify a vehicles of interest, public time savings, improved searches and better intelligence sharing.

The biometric systems within the scope of the HOB Programme, IDENT1 (storing the Police fingerprint collection) and the National DNA database, are used on a daily basis by Police Forces and are fundamental to their operations.

HOB is delivering new capabilities that the Police are using to support their operations, and these have been well received. This includes Strategic Mobile capability, the ability for Police Forces to share DNA and fingerprint data with EU Member States under the Prüm Decisions, and HOB will very soon be delivering a replacement DNA Database which will be an important development for Policing and the Criminal Justice community.

In July the Home Office Biometrics (HOB) Programme completed its annual refresh of the Programme Business Case, which was approved by the Home Office Portfolio Investment Committee and subsequently submitted to the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury. With regards to the HOB budget, an underspend of £1m was declared for financial year 2019/20.

HOB continues to involve Policing in all areas of the programme and provides regular updates on progress through a variety of forums and with the oversight and regulatory bodies for biometrics (for example the Biometrics Commissioner and Forensics Science Regulator). The programme also provides advice to the Permanent Secretary and Ministers with regular updates on the programme.

The National Law Enforcement Data Programme (NLEDP) is replacing the Police National Computer (PNC) and Police National Database (PND) with the Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS).

The department has submitted a bid to HMT as part of the Spending Review which is ongoing.

The programme overspend is currently £45M. This excludes costs associated with risk and optimism bias.

The programme had expected to transition all users of PNC to LEDS by December 2021 and decommission PNC by June 2022. The programme is now targeting the transition of PNC users to LEDS by June 2023 and the decommission of PNC by December 2023.

The programme had expected to transition all users of PND to LEDS by June 2023 and decommission PND by December 2023. The programme is now targeting the transition of PND users to LEDS by September 2024 and the decommission of PND by March 2025.

The programme is exploring options for how the replacement of PNC and PND could potentially be delivered sooner.

The confidence in the delivery of LEDS is increasing with the implementation of a LEDS pilot service to 7 Police Forces allowing them to access Driving Licence Images at the roadside by Police issued mobile devices. The programme is planning for a wider roll-out of this capability from April 2021 onwards.

NLEDP has well documented benefits into how LEDS can support policing through efficiency and effectiveness savings. For example, since the LEDS pilot service went live it saves up to 66% of police time when performing a roadside identity check. The programme has also invested significant effort into reviewing the use of data, not just technology. The programme has completed a Data Protection Impact Assessment, consulted upon a new Parliamentary Code for LEDS data and established an independent group of privacy bodies to critique our work on data.

The programme has undergone extensive assurance, both internally within the department and externally throughout Cabinet Office and HMT. The programme has also recently appointed an External Review Team, with full support from senior Police Chiefs, which will review the full scope, remit and approach of the programme. Outcomes from this review will be agreed and taken forward with full co-operation of Home Office, Police Chiefs and Police IT Leads. This review will conclude in April 2021 with full involvement of Cabinet Office and Treasury.

The Department remains committed to completing the delivery of NLEDP, realising the benefits of LEDS and delivering police effectiveness and efficiency savings. These include cashable reduction in running costs and a wide range of broader benefits such as reducing the time to identify a person of interest, public time savings, improved searches and reduced training overheads.

The Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) is replacing the current Airwave radio system, used by the emergency services, with the Emergency Services Network which runs over the commercial EE network with priority and pre-emption for emergency service users.

The Spending Review is ongoing and it would be wrong to prejudge the outcome.

Programme costs are separated into 3 categories; first the cost of building and rolling out the new ESN system; second costs borne locally by users for things like devices and accessories that they’ll need to use the ESN, and; third the cost to maintain Airwave until ESN has been adopted by all users and Airwave can be switched off. The costs for maintaining Airwave are by far the most significant and, subject to commercial negotiation, the annual cost of extending Airwave beyond the current contract end date of December 2022, is likely to be in excess of £450m per annum, taking into account local Airwave costs.

The programme set itself an original target of transitioning all users from the current Airwave system onto the ESN and switching Airwave off by December 2019. We are now targeting an Airwave switch off date no later than 2025. The investment case for the programme remains positive even with this later Airwave switch off timescale.

Both during and since the programme reset in 2018, it has undergone extensive assurance both internally within the department and externally through Cabinet Office and HMT. The programme has also been scrutinised by the National Audit Office and Parliament (Public Accounts Committee and Home Affairs Select Committee). An Independent Assurance Panel chaired by a Non-Executive Director from HMRC and made up of several industry experts also regularly assures the programme and provides advice to the Permanent Secretary and Ministers. I, (Home Secretary) receive regular updates on the programme.

The Department remains committed to completing delivery of the ESN and switching off Airwave as quickly as possible. We stand by our commitment to the Emergency Services that we will only transition from Airwave to ESN when it is operationally safe to do so. In the meantime, Airwave continues to provide a resilient service.

Through the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme (VPRS), we have worked closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to identify and resettle refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict who are in need of protection. Since the VPRS was expanded in September 2015, more than 19,750 refugees have found protection in the UK through this route and we are now close to meeting our full commitment. The Home Office continuously reviews the operation of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and uses feedback from delivery partners, stakeholders and refugees to better understand the outcomes of the refugees we resettle and to drive improvement to our processes.

In June 2019, the Government reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to refugee resettlement by announcing a new, global UK Resettlement Scheme. While we hoped to have both met our commitment to resettle 20,000 vulnerable refugees through the VPRS, and started the new scheme earlier this year, the unprecedented restrictions and pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has meant this has not yet been possible. We are evaluating how to respond to these ongoing restrictions and pressures, but we expect to resume refugee resettlement activity when safe.

In June 2019, the Government reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to refugee resettlement by announcing a new, global UK Resettlement Scheme. We had anticipated – prior to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) – that this scheme would have begun in the second quarter of 2020. Unfortunately, we remain unable to undertake resettlement activity at this stage due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

We are evaluating how to respond given these restrictions and pressures, but we expect to resume refugee resettlement activity when safe. Our plans for restarting depend on a variety of factors, including the lifting of restrictions imposed by the governments of host refugee countries, local authority and central government capacity, and recovery of the asylum system from the impact of COVID-19.

In June 2019, the Government reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to refugee resettlement by announcing a new, global UK Resettlement Scheme. We had anticipated – prior to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) – that this scheme would have begun in the second quarter of 2020. Unfortunately, we remain unable to undertake resettlement activity at this stage due to the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

We are evaluating how to respond given these restrictions and pressures, but we expect to resume refugee resettlement activity when safe. Our plans for restarting depend on a variety of factors, including the lifting of restrictions imposed by the governments of host refugee countries, local authority and central government capacity, and recovery of the asylum system from the impact of COVID-19.

From 1 January 2021, we will introduce the UK’s points-based system.

EU citizens wishing to work in the UK or within the UK’s territorial waters will need to apply for a visa under the new system.

We recognise the rich and unique contribution the Welsh Language makes to our United Kingdom as a whole.

We are assessing the potential merits of amending the Immigration Rules to include recognition of Welsh Language Skills in our immigration system and will provide our conclusion in due course.

We have been reviewing the level of the cash allowances provided to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute, as we do each year to ensure that they remain capable of meeting their essential living needs.

As a result of this work, the standard allowance has been raised to £39.60 per week from £37.75 per week, an increase of around 5%. This increase is significantly higher than the current general rate of inflation, which Office of National Statistics data shows was only 0.5% in the 12 months period to May.

The level of the allowance is not linked to social security benefits.

In addition to the allowance, we also provide free accommodation, with utilities and council tax paid for and there is free access to the NHS and free access to education for their children.

The UK has a generous record in supporting asylum seekers. Last year, we made around 20,000 grants of asylum or protection (one of the higher figures in Europe), as well as offered protection to 3,000 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children – the highest number of any country in Europe. In addition, we have directly resettled around 20,000 people from the most dangerous areas of the world (especially Syrians) in the UK over the last 5 years. Finally, we spend around £14 billion per year in Overseas Aid, helping millions of people around the world. This is the highest amount of any country in Europe and we are the only G7 country to meet the 0.7% of GNI Overseas Aid target

Throughout the Covid-19 outbreak, the Government’s priority is to protect those selling sex from harm and exploitation and target those who exploit vulnerable people involved in sex work and prostitution. We continue to work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure current legislation achieves these aims.

We have no plans to introduce a moratorium. Local areas and police forces are best placed to identify and respond to issues related to sex work. They are supported in this by National Police Chiefs Council guidance which rightly prioritises the safety of sex workers over enforcement action.

Though the Government is aware of different legislative approaches to sex work and prostitution, we have not seen unequivocal evidence that decriminalisation is the best way to reduce harm and exploitation.

We understand that those who are vulnerable and involved in selling sex can face a number of challenges that affect their ability to access services particularly during the Covid-19 outbreak. The Government has published guidance on accessing services such as those for health, sexual violence, modern slavery and domestic abuse. Existing specialist support services continue to be available to those seeking help. We are also providing £76m to charities and organisations throughout the country to support victims of modern slavery, sexual violence and domestic abuse. Of this, the Ministry of Justice is providing £10m to support sexual violence services through Covid 19 pressures. A further £3m per annum until 2022 will also be invested in the recruitment of more Independent Sexual Violence Advisors across the country.

We have also taken swift action to ensure we continue to deliver essential services and support for victims of modern slavery enabled sexual exploitation during the Covid-19 pandemic. We will provide £1.73 million of funding for charities, announced by the Chancellor last month, to provide emergency support to victims of modern slavery. We also announced on 6 April 2020 that all individuals in accommodation support provided by the Victim Care Contract will not be required to move on for the next three months.

In terms of financial and welfare support, the Government is providing support to those who are self-employed and have lost income due to Covid-19. Those affected may be eligible to claim a grant though the Covid-19 Self-employment Income Support Scheme. The Government is committed to providing a safety net for the most vulnerable in society and recognises that access to regular financial support is vital. We have made changes to ensure people who need financial help have access to the benefit system. We have temporarily relaxed the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed Universal Credit claimants affected by the impact of Covid-19, for the duration of the outbreak.

The Government has put in place measures to support those experiencing homelessness during Covid-19. The Secretary of State for Housing announced a total of £3.2 billion of additional funding for Local Government to help them respond to Covid-19 pressures across services they deliver. This includes increasing support for services such as housing to help the most vulnerable.

Healthcare services remain open including general practice, drug and alcohol, and sexual health services. Whilst they have reduced face to face appointments, some services are able to see urgent, priority or vulnerable clients (including sex workers) seeking support where necessary.

Details of the automatic visa extension, and other immigration changes relating to COVID-19 can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coronavirus-covid-19-immigration-and-borders.

The Home Office is working closely with other government departments to support people, including migrants with no recourse to public funds, through this crisis. We are taking a compassionate and pragmatic approach to an unprecedented situation.

Migrants with leave under the Family and Human Rights routes can apply to have the NRPF restriction lifted by making a ‘change of conditions’ application if there has been a change in their financial circumstances. The Home Office has recently digitised the application form to make sure it is accessible for those who need to remain at home, and I can assure you that the applications are being dealt with swiftly and compassionately.

Many of the wide-ranging Covid-19 measures the government has put in place are not public funds and therefore are available to migrants with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). We therefore do not believe it is necessary to suspend the NRPF condition.

The Coronavirus job retention scheme, self-employment income support and statutory sick pay are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Contribution-based benefits are also not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. Additionally, measures we have brought forward such as rent and mortgage protections are not considered public funds and can be accessed by migrants with leave to remain.

Local authorities may also provide basic safety net support if it is established that there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution, for example, where there are community care needs, migrants with serious health problems or family cases where the wellbeing of a child is in question.

In addition, the Government has made in excess of £3.2bn of funding available to local authorities in England and additional funding under the Barnett formula to the devolved administrations to enable them to respond to Covid-19 pressures across all the services they deliver, including services helping the most vulnerable.

More information on the support available to migrants, including those with NRPF, can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-get-support-if-youre-a-migrant-living-in-the-uk.

The safety and health of people in the detention estate is of the utmost importance. We are following all Public Health England guidance on COVID-19 and have robust contingency plans in place, including measures such as protective isolation.

Basic hygiene is a key part of tackling COVID-19. Handwashing facilities are available in all immigration removal centres and we are working closely with suppliers to ensure we have an adequate supply of soap and cleaning materials. In addition, each centre has posters and leaflets to inform staff and detainees about the importance of handwashing and social distancing to minimise the risk from COVID-19. Detainees are also able to speak to staff directly for advice on the protective measures in place.

The UK’s Points-Based Immigration System Policy Statement published on 19 February sets out how we will fulfil our commitment to the British public and take back control of our borders.

People coming to the UK from any country in the world for the purpose of work or study, other than some short-term business visitors and short-term students, will need to obtain a visa for which they will pay a fee. A list of current fees can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data

The Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System (BICS) is predominately funded by its users. It is right those who use it contribute to its cost, thereby reducing the burden on the UK taxpayer.

We keep our fees for immigration and nationality applications under review and ensure they are within the parameters agreed with HM Treasury and Parliament, as set out in Section 68 (9) of the Immigration Act 2014.

We require individuals coming under existing immigration routes to demonstrate an appropriate level of English. Currently, for skilled workers, this is currently set at intermediate (B1) level. Applicants can meet this requirement if they:

• pass a Secure English Language Test at an approved test centre;
• are a medical professional who has passed an English Language assessment for their professional registration in the UK;
• hold a degree qualification which was taught in English;
• are a national of a majority English-speaking country; or
• have shown that they meet the requirement in a previous immigration application.

Having a suitable English language requirement is crucial to ensuring people coming to live, work and study in the UK are able to integrate into society. Future requirements will broadly reflect current arrangements.

The Government published “The UK’s Points-Based System: Policy Statement” on 19 February, follwing the report of independent Migration Advisory Committee in January.

The Migration Advisory Committee advised against regional variations, hence we will deliver a system which works for the whole of the UK.

In delivering on its manifesto commitments for a Austrialian style new points-based system, the Government has considered relevant views, evidence, and analysis. We will also keep labour market data under careful scrutiny.