Luke Evans

There are no current plans to create an independent advisory body on the effects of population growth. The effects of population growth and other demographic shifts are already considered as part of wider work in government.

UK government statistics show average retail prices of petrol and diesel were approximately 134 and 138 pence per litre respectively on 7^th October.

These are 58 and 61 pence per litre lower than the all-time peak of 4^th July 2022.

The Government has not made this specific assessment. However, the most recent statistical projections of rates of fuel poverty can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/fuel-poverty-and-winter-fuel-payment-in-england-ad-hoc-statistics-2023-and-2024.

This Government is absolutely committed to ensuring pensioners are supported. Everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement. The Government expects energy suppliers to do everything they can to support customers who are struggling with bills, especially vulnerable customers. It is important that anyone who is struggling to pay their energy bills contact their supplier.

I am working closely with Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure they are doing everything they can to support all vulnerable consumers and those struggling to pay their bills.

In the King’s Speech 2024, the government has committed to introduce a Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, which could provide the legislative basis to implement the statutory open data scheme. The government will respond to the road fuels consultation, published earlier this year, in due course.

The Digital Markets, Competition & Consumer Act 2024 gives the Competition and Markets Authority information gathering powers to undertake the permanent monitoring function. We will commence these provisions as soon as possible.

Under the UK’s Online Safety Act relevant services will need to prevent children from accessing the most harmful content, including content promoting eating disorders. Ofcom has also proposed in its draft child safety codes that platforms take steps to protect children from depressive content and body image content.

The government recognises that these issues must also be addressed working with our international partners. Once established, the new UK-US working group will facilitate the sharing of expertise and evidence, including from implementation of the UK’s Online Safety Act, on the impact of social media on children’s mental health and well-being.

The UK’s Online Safety Act places duties on online platforms to tackle illegal content and protect children’s safety by mitigating risks identified. Platforms will need to put in place proactive measures to prevent the unlawful supply, or offer to supply, of controlled drugs on their services.

The government recognises that these issues must also be addressed working with our international partners. Once established, the new UK-US working group will facilitate the sharing of expertise and evidence, including from implementation of the UK’s Online Safety Act.

The Government is committed to improving mobile coverage across the UK. Ofcom’s most recent coverage data for the former constituency of Bosworth shows 97% 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators and that 5G is available from at least one mobile network operator outside 88% of premises.

I am aware that Ofcom’s coverage data does not always reflect consumers’ experience of mobile networks at a local level, and I am intent on ensuring Ofcom takes all necessary steps to improve the accuracy of its coverage data.

Alongside this, the Government intends to reform the planning system in a way that will make it easier to build digital infrastructure.

The government is firmly committed to supporting the growth of the TV and film industry across every nation and region.

Our TV sector, in particular, is centralised in London and the South East, which is why my Right Honourable Friend the Secretary of State has called on broadcasters to be more ambitious in growing the sector outside of London and the South East, and to commission more content from right across the UK. My Department is taking forward work to understand the barriers to further growing the industry outside of London and we are committed to working with the sector to ensure the right framework, conditions and support are in place for this to happen.

Through our UK-wide funding programmes, investment in infrastructure, tax reliefs and support for independent British content, we want the UK to be the best place in the world to make films. We fund the British Film Institute (BFI) to support the film sector through nationwide funding and initiatives. The BFI’s ten year strategy, Screen Culture 2033, sets out its core principle to reach across the full breadth of our nation. The BFI have sought to devolve funding, share power, and support networks across regions, in particular through their Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) which is a collaboration of 8 film hubs.

The BFI is also tackling skills shortages in the sector to underpin growth across the UK. Under the BFI’s National Lottery Skills Clusters Fund, £8.1 million has been awarded to enable six Skills Clusters across the UK to identify skills gaps, coordinate local skills training, and develop clearer pathways to long-term employment in the sector.

We support the British Film Commission’s (BFC) work, with £6 million in funding, over the last five years. This funding has supported the growth of seven geographic production hubs across the UK, by investing in infrastructure and attracting global film productions that bring inward investment into the local and national economy.

We also want to support independent British content, to ensure stories from across the UK are told on screen. We recently brought in the Independent Film Tax Credit to support homegrown talent. This will mean that for the first time productions with a budget up to £15 million will be eligible for a relief of 53% on qualifying expenditure. Films with a budget up to £23.5 million are also eligible for the IFTC and the relief will be tapered. We also support indie content across the nations and regions to grow internationally through the £28 million UK Global Screen Fund (UKGSF).

At the Autumn Budget, the Chancellor confirmed that from 1 April 2025, UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV productions will receive a 5% increase in Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit (AVEC), for an overall rate of 39%.

In addition, to boost the contribution of film tourism to local economies, DCMS Arm’s-Length Body VisitBritain uses high profile filming locations across the UK as part of its international tourism marketing activity.

The previous public body review of Arts Council England was paused during the election and has now been closed.

We have announced a new review of Arts Council England and further details will be announced in due course.

After 14 years of indifference and cultural vandalism, this government is committed to making sure that arts and cultural activities will no longer be the preserve of a privileged few.

We are currently considering the responses to the consultation that we received, and hope to publish a response in the near future.

DCMS supports NBCUniversal’s proposal to invest in Bedfordshire. A world-class, large-scale resort and theme park has the potential to transform the area, drive growth, create thousands of jobs and boost UK tourism.

The details of conversations between private investors and the Government are confidential.

DCMS supports NBCUniversal’s proposal to invest in Bedfordshire. A world-class, large-scale resort and theme park has the potential to transform the area, drive growth, create thousands of jobs and boost UK tourism.

The details of conversations between private investors and the Government are confidential.

School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and the smooth running of schools. They are crucial to ensuring children are given the best possible life chances.

In the survey ‘Use of teaching assistants in schools’, carried out by the department in 2023, 75% of school leaders reported they found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was difficult for 29% of leaders.

The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

The SSSNB will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education and drive high and rising standards, so that every child has the best life chances.

School support staff play a vital role in children’s education and the smooth running of schools. They are crucial to ensuring children are given the best possible life chances.

In the survey ‘Use of teaching assistants in schools’, carried out by the department in 2023, 75% of school leaders reported they found it either 'fairly’ or ‘extremely’ difficult to recruit teaching assistants. The survey found that retention was difficult for 29% of leaders.

The department values and recognises the professionalism of the entire school workforce and will address recruitment and retention challenges by reinstating the School Support Staff Negotiating Body (SSSNB).

The SSSNB will be tasked with establishing a national terms and conditions handbook, training, career progression routes and fair pay rates for support staff. This reform will ensure that schools can recruit and retain the staff needed to deliver high quality, inclusive education and drive high and rising standards, so that every child has the best life chances.

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time. The right time to discuss any funding for state funded schools is at the Spending Review.

Children with Education, Health and Care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.

The IFS report also projects that transfers from the private to the state-sector will be low at equivalent to less than 1% of state funded places.

The department regularly speaks to local authorities about all local pupil place planning pressures.

This government is committed to ending the VAT exemption that private schools enjoy and will confirm the introduction of these changes at the Budget on 30 October. The Office for Budget Responsibility will also certify the government’s costings for these measures at that time. The right time to discuss any funding for state funded schools is at the Spending Review.

Children with Education, Health and Care plans that provide a necessary local authority funded place at a private school will not be impacted by this policy. This is because local authorities can reclaim VAT on service expenditure through existing routes.

Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) assumes a net gain to the public finances of £1.3 to 1.5 billion per year in the medium to long run as a result of removing tax exemptions from private schools. This would allow for about a 2% increase in state school spending in England. This analysis can be found here: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/tax-private-school-fees-and-state-school-spending.

The IFS report also projects that transfers from the private to the state-sector will be low at equivalent to less than 1% of state funded places.

The department regularly speaks to local authorities about all local pupil place planning pressures.

We are looking carefully at how to position further investment including grants as part of the Spending Review process. Eligible cattle, sheep and pig farmers can still apply for a funded vet visit to improve their animals’ health and welfare.

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway has made grants available to improve the health and welfare of livestock. The grants have been codesigned with farmers, academics, vets and industry representatives.  We continue to work with the industry on how the Pathway can encourage cage free systems of farming.

The Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme is an EU legacy scheme and legislation in place which will close it on the 31 of December 2025. The Government has committed to championing British farming, whilst protecting the environment, and is currently considering the best way to support our farming sectors in the future, including horticulture.

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation. As outlined in our manifesto we will end puppy smuggling.

We are considering the most effective ways to deliver our commitments and will be setting out next steps in due course.

The UK maintains high standards on the information that is provided on food labels, whether that be mandatory or voluntary, so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy.

All food and drink sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules. The fundamental principle of food labelling rules is that information provided to the consumer must not mislead and must enable the safe use of food.

Country of origin information is required for fresh and frozen meat of beef cattle, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry, as well as uncut fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil, wine and some fish products. Buying food locally and supporting their local food economy is important to many consumers and where any label indicates that a food is produced locally, this must not be misleading to a consumer.

A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will publish a response to this consultation in due course.

The Government communicates regularly with chargepoint operators, trade associations and industry to discuss the rollout of fast and reliable chargepoints.

The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.

The THINK! Campaign plays an important role in raising awareness of, and encouraging compliance with, new road safety legislation. This has recently included changes to The Highway Code, which were made on 29 January 2022 and aimed to improve road safety for people walking, cycling and horse riding.

Within the operational fleet of the Government Car Service the cars are:

(a) 16.8% petrol

(b) 1.9% diesel

(c) 47.6% hybrid

(d) 33.6% electric

The government is determined to deliver better bus services, grow passenger numbers and drive opportunity to under-served regions. The government has set out a plan to achieve this, based on giving local leaders the tools they need to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities they serve, including considering how cross-boundary bus routes can improve the experience for bus passengers. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce a Buses Bill to put the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England. We also plan to empower local transport authorities through reforming bus funding. By giving local leaders more control and flexibility over bus funding they can plan ahead to deliver their local transport priorities. The Department will work closely with local leaders and bus operators to deliver on these ambitions.

The £2 fare cap was launched by the Department for Transport (DfT) on 1 January 2023 and is set to remain in place until the end of December 2024.

The DfT published an interim report in September 2023 setting out emerging trends in key outcomes from the first two months of the scheme. It is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-2-bus-fare-cap/2-bus-fare-cap-evaluation-interim-report-february-2023.

Patronage in the East Midlands and Leicestershire appears to be continuing to recover following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The details of the departmental budgets for 24/25 and 25/26 will be agreed through the Spending Review. This will include details of funding to support Pension Credit claims.

Work is ongoing to consider the Ombudsman’s report and the views that have been expressed on all sides including the recommendations made by the Work and Pensions Select Committee and the points raised by representatives from the WASPI Campaign who I met on the 5^th of September.

Once this work has been undertaken, the Government will be in a position to outline its approach.

The most recent information on processing times for Pension Credit was published in the DWP Annual Report and Accounts published on 22^nd July 2024 (link to ARA 23/24). This shows that in 2023/24 DWP cleared 192,000 Pension Credit claims within the planned 50 working day timescale, equating to 77.7%. The department has secured funding for additional staffing to improve processing times.

The Regulations came into force on the 16 September, the first day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week.

A regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this legislation because the effect is on individuals and private households rather than businesses or voluntary sector organisations.

In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the government had regard to an equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements. The equality analysis was published on Friday 13th September, and can be found here: Responses to Freedom of Information requests on Equality Impact Assessments produced for targeting Winter Fuel Payment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain are published annually and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The annual publication reports on the take-up of Pension Credit on a financial year basis, and so it is not possible to do a comparative assessment on a partial year time period. A comparative assessment can be made by financial years, with the next publication covering financial year ending 2023 being released on 10 October 2024.