Lord Black of Brentwood

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport does not have policy responsibility for the Press Recognition Panel to ensure that there is no Government interference in its independent work. There is a long-standing principle that public bodies must be politically impartial, and must ensure the proper use of public money at all times. As a public body, the Press Recognition Panel is bound by the Cabinet Office rules for all such bodies.

The Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 provides a framework for the introduction of a future bans on the advertising and offering for sale, in England and Northern Ireland, of low-welfare animal activities abroad. Future decisions on the next steps will be evidence-based and subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

The Government will introduce the most ambitious programme for animal welfare in a generation. We are considering the most effective ways to deliver these commitments and will be setting out next steps in due course.

The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, and will be considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England in due course.

The Government is confident that the measure to introduce VAT on private school fees is compatible with the Human Rights Act 1998.

Child sexual abuse is a despicable crime, and this Government will be taking robust action to better safeguard children and ensure that perpetrators face the full force of the law.

In its final report, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended the introduction of a mandatory reporting duty for certain individuals. We thank the Independent Inquiry for all their work on this important matter and pay tribute to all the brave survivors who shared their experience. We will be quickly identifying how we can move forward with delivery of the Inquiry’s recommendations.

The Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime. We are committed to safeguarding rural communities, with tougher measures to clamp down on anti-social behaviour, strengthened neighbourhood policing, and stronger laws to prevent farm theft and fly-tippers.

Along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) to help tackle these crimes. Future funding will be subject to a forthcoming Spending Review.

The NWCU works on behalf of all police forces to assist in the prevention and detection of wildlife crime and reduce the harm posed by organised crime.

The Metropolitan Police Wildlife Crime Unit is a separate MPS unit and as such is a matter for the Mayor of London.

Value for money lies at the heart of all Government decisions, and the Royal Charter sets out that the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) Board must have regard to the need to ensure it achieves value for money. The PRP has an objective of ‘Ensuring our systems and processes are effective and provide value for money’ and reports on this annually in its annual report and accounts, which are published on its website.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) provides funding for the Press Recognition Panel (PRP) annually. MoJ made a payment to the PRP of £430k for the 2024/25 financial year in April 2024. Whilst the Lord Chancellor is the conduit for the PRP with HM Treasury, they have no responsibility under the Royal Charter that created the PRP, for setting the PRP’s success criteria. Instead, the Royal Charter sets out that the PRP Board must have regard to the need to ensure the PRP achieves value for money. The PRP report against this criteria, and other deliverables, in its annual report and accounts which are publicly available.