Lord Robertson of Port Ellen

A dedicated COP26 Unit, comprising 230 staff, has been set up in the Cabinet Office to oversee preparations for COP26. The COP26 Unit works closely with other government departments and the global diplomatic network.

The UK Government supports UN Global Sustainability Goals on road safety and has supported research to improve road safety and reduce the impact of road crashes on poor people in developing countries. The UK Government has invested £20 million through the Global Road Safety Facility through DFID and the Department of Health and Social Care. This facility has generated new evidence on road safety, and has influenced World Bank investments in roads. The facility succeeded in including Road Safety as a criteria in the Bank’s corporate Safeguarding Framework. Several other Multilateral Development Banks are now using this as a model. It is estimated by the World Bank that as a result of this work over 2,100 road deaths and injuries were avoided in developing countries in 2017.

DFID also works to share UK expertise on road safety with developing country governments including Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda. The Department for Transport held an International Conference on Road Safety in the UK in September 2019 and will lead the UK delegation at the UN’s 3rd Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Sweden in February 2020.

Her Majesty’s Government will be attending the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety representing the United Kingdom and will share our world leading expertise in road safety.

The Government issued a public call to action to support the increased requirements of personal protective equipment (PPE). The aim was to reach suppliers who had experience of supplying PPE and also those who had no prior experience but who had access to sources of PPE through their business contacts. To date this has resulted in 15,000 suppliers offering their help and support. All offers were prioritised based on volume, price, clinical acceptability and lead time – this is the time from an offer being accepted by the Department to the supplier delivering those items. Suppliers are evaluated by Departmental officials on their financial standing, compliance with minimum product specifications and ability to perform the contract. These were often private businesses whose net asset position is only one factor in evaluating their offer.

Contracts are awarded by the appropriate Departmental accounting officer in line with Departmental policy and procedures.

The Government ran a public consultation on a range of firearms safety issues between 24 November 2020 and 16 February 2021.

Amongst other issues, the consultation sought views on high muzzle energy rifles and whether enhanced security arrangements are necessary for these rifles to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. Over 12,000 responses were received to the consultation. The Government is considering these responses carefully and will publish its response to the consultation in due course.