Mark Pawsey

Since 2010, there has been a 31% increase in girls’ entries to STEM A levels in England, and there are now one million women working in core STEM occupations. Between 2010 and 2019, the number of women accepted onto full-time STEM undergraduate courses also increased by 34% in the UK.

However, while women remain underrepresented, this Government will continue to tackle occupational segregation by ensuring that more women are equipped to enter STEM careers.

I met with the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP on 24 March to sign the City Deal, and we have now agreed a Growth Deal with Coventry and Warwickshire LEP.

The deal has secured £74m from the Government's Local Growth Fund to support economic growth in the area – with nearly £14m of new funding confirmed for 2015/16. This includes projects such as a new grow-on space for innovative businesses at Ansty Park near Rugby.

The Government strongly supports the development of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board and is committed to developing an endorsement and adoption mechanism to allow for use of the Standards in the UK. The Government will consult on the endorsement and adoption mechanism in due course.

As set out in the Net Zero Strategy, we are exploring options to reduce emissions from Energy from Waste facilities, including whether support for CCUS at Energy from Waste plants could be provided by the Industrial Carbon Capture Business Model. We are still considering this position, given the complexities around the commercial incentives associated with these projects. However, we aim to provide an update on the eligibility of CCUS projects in waste management facilities as soon as possible, in line with the launch of Phase-2 of the CCUS cluster sequencing process.

The Government will launch the Green Gas Levy with a per meter point approach later this year, the design of which was set out in the recent Future Support for Low Carbon Heat & Green Gas Levy Government Response. The impact of a per meter point approach on gas intensive industries is expected to be minimal.

However, the Government recognises the clear benefits of a volumetric levy that aligns policy costs more closely with energy consumption. The Government has been clear that any volumetric levy design must be simple to administer and deliver, minimise costs on consumers, and take consideration of the impact on energy intensive industries and other important UK industries. The Government will ensure it consults fully and works closely with stakeholders on any new proposals in this area.

Further details on the impact of transitioning to a volumetric levy will be set out in the impact assessment that will follow the government response mentioned above in due course.

The Department regularly engages with Ofgem on a range of issues, including the potential role of hydrogen in the GB gas network.

Continued collaboration will be essential in delivering these important programmes.

The UK Government and Devolved Administrations on 1 June 2020 set out plans for a carbon pricing mechanism after we leave the transition period. Full details can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/the-future-of-uk-carbon-pricing.

The Prime Minister announced on Monday 22 February that indoor entertainment venues, which will include Adult Gaming Centres, will open at Step 3 of the roadmap, not before 17 May. The design of the roadmap has been informed by the latest scientific evidence and seeks a balance between our key social and economic priorities, while preserving the health and safety of the country.

At next week’s Budget the Chancellor will set out the next phase in our economic support package to reflect the steps set out in the Prime Minister’s roadmap to easing restrictions, tailoring support for individuals and businesses to reflect the changing public health restrictions.

Further details will be announced in due course.

The government, with advice from SAGE, reviewed the impact of the previous tiering arrangements and decided that unfortunately stricter rules on tier 3 closures would be necessary to have an impact on the rate of transmission in very high alert areas. This led to the decision that all hospitality and indoor entertainment venues in tier 3 areas would have to close, including casinos, bingo halls and adult gaming centres. SAGE advice is independent and published on a regular basis on: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies

The government has continued to engage with the land-based gambling sector throughout the pandemic, including with its trade associations the Betting and Gaming Council, Bacta and the Bingo Association. The Minister for Sports, Heritage and Tourism has had a series of roundtable discussions with the industry to discuss the impact of Covid-19, including representatives from two of Britain’s largest AGC operators. DCMS officials have been in regular contact with the representative trade associations and fed their views into the government decision-making process, and they are continuing to do so.

Government has set out an analysis of the health, economic and social impacts of the tiered approach, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-health-economic-and-social-effects-of-covid-19-and-the-tiered-approach. As on previous occasions, local data packs have also been published.

Epidemiological data and projection models on local restriction tiers, including commentary on individual tier allocation decisions, can also be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/938964/Coronavirus_England_briefing_26_November.pdf.

Demand for specialist school placements has grown in recent years, with over 50,000 more pupils placed in special schools compared to 2017.

We have responded to this by developing new specialist provision. We are investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to deliver new specialist places in mainstream and special schools. Our Free Schools programme has opened 77 special and 50 alternative provision free schools across the country since 2010, with 67 similar projects in the pipeline.

The recent Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan will give families greater confidence that their child will be able to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local setting.

For those children and young people with SEND who do require an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and specialist provision, we will ensure they get prompt access to the support they need, and that parents do not face an adversarial system to secure this.

Parents have a duty under section 7 of the Education Act 1996 to ensure that a child of compulsory school age receives an efficient and full-time education suitable to their age, ability and aptitude, and any special education needs - either by regular attendance at school or otherwise. ‘Otherwise’ includes education at home. Local councils have a duty under section 436A of the 1996 Act to identify so far as possible children who may not be receiving a suitable full-time education. This allows them to make informal enquiries of parents about the education provided. If a local authority is not satisfied that the education is suitable, it can begin a process of formal notice, asking the parents to satisfy them. If the local council remains dissatisfied it can issue a school attendance order which can result in prosecution if the parent does not comply.

There were 1,010 children looked after by Warwickshire local authority during the year ending 31 March 2014, and 995 during the year ending 31 March 2015. This information is published in table LAB1 of the statistical release, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2014-to-2015. Information on the numbers of children looked after on the 31 March of each year is published in table LAA1 of the same release. There were 695 children looked after in Warwickshire on 31 March 2014 and 690 on 31 March 2015. Figures for the year ending 31 March 2016 will be published on 29 September 2016.

Numbers of looked after children are not available at a constituency level.

Responsibility for providing a suitable full-time education for children of compulsory school age who are educated at home rests with the parents. Although local authorities do not have a power to monitor such provision on a routine basis, they are under a duty to identify children who are not receiving a suitable full-time education. As part of that process, they will take appropriate steps to ensure that if a child is not being properly educated at home to serve a school attendance order. The department publishes guidance to local authorities on this matter, which is available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/288135/guidelines_for_las_on_elective_home_educationsecondrevisev2_0.pdf

This data is not collected centrally. Although some local authorities operate voluntary registration schemes, there is no legal obligation for the registration of home educated children.

We undertook a joint review of the GB F gas Regulation and published our assessment report in December 2022 (available online). We are now in the process of developing policy proposals for reform and intend to consult on these in due course.

There have been no meetings held between the Defra ministers and Scottish Ministers, so far. However, there are plans to hold discussions on this area in the near future.

Whilst some parts of industry are exploring the potential of a Digital DRS, a scalable technical solution does not currently exist for this type of model, and will not for a number of years. Therefore, we are currently delivering a Deposit Return Scheme that follows the ‘return to retail’ model as used internationally in other DRS’s. We do recognise the benefits of a digital model and remain encouraged and interested in seeing the continued testing of the feasibility for introducing a digital scheme in the future. Should other opportunities for innovation emerge, we believe that the scheme will be able to evolve and adapt in line with the lifespan of the original infrastructure.

We welcome industry initiatives to help reduce waste through packaging solutions although there is no specific work in this area.

In recent years, we have bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle litter and fly-tipping. We have increased and introduced new penalties for littering and fly-tipping and given councils the power to stop and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. We also continue to campaign to raise awareness of the impacts of littering to support behaviour change and we are providing funding of just under a million pounds to help 44 local authorities purchase new litter bins.

DFID is working with other government departments to tackle the problem of plastic pollution. DFID’s assistance focuses on helping poorer countries find practical ways to improve waste management and on identifying ways in which manufacturing processes can reduce plastic pollution.

Disability inclusion is a top priority for DFID, and we continue to build our programming in this area. In July the UK will host a Global Disability Summit to deliver lasting change for people with disabilities, focusing on inclusive education, economic empowerment, tackling stigma and discrimination, and technology and innovation.

As an independent trading nation, we are building strong trading relationships across the world and removing market access barriers for British businesses. We have secured trade agreements with 66 non-EU countries, worth £217bn in 2019. We have formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement which removes tariffs on 95% of goods between members and will deepen UK access to key markets around the world, from Mexico to Malaysia.

The Government will confirm any next steps in due course.

In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government-commissioned action plan, “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles”, to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government has also made up to £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero-emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK that could lead to thousands of new jobs and the Government continues to work with investors through our Automotive Transformation Fund to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK.

The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was open to written responses from 14 July to 21 September 2022. The Department is in the process of analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course which will consider impacts to industry.

In February 2022, the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership published a government-commissioned action plan, “Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles”, to support the transition to zero emission L-category vehicles. The Government has also made up to £350,000 of funding available to grow the zero-emission motorcycle supply chain in the UK that could lead to thousands of new jobs and the Government continues to work with investors through our Automotive Transformation Fund to build a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK.

The consultation on when to end the sale of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles was open to written responses from 14 July to 21 September 2022. The Department is in the process of analysing the responses and will bring forward the Government’s response in due course which will consider impacts to industry.

The Government recognises that hydrogen fuel cell technology has an important part to play in the transition towards a decarbonised transport network.

Based on current market developments, fuel cells fall outside the scope of the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, which will focus on the electricity system and the potential impact of plug-in electric vehicles on both the distribution and transmission systems. However, the Government will keep this point under review as the market develops over time.

This Government has committed to spend more than £600 million in this Parliament to support the uptake and manufacturing of electric vehicles in the UK. 61 Local Authorities have already benefitted from £12.8m of funding to deploy chargepoints across the UK. This included 253 rapid chargepoints and 587 fast chargepoints in train stations and public sector workplaces. The UK now has over 11,000 public chargepoints.

In January Bristol, London, Milton Keynes and Nottingham were awarded funding of £35 million to promote green vehicles, as winners of the Go Ultra Low city scheme. A further £5m was awarded to the North East Combined Authority, Dundee, York and Oxford. We estimate that this scheme will deliver around 750 new publically accessible charge points. Our Local Authority-led schemes for low emission buses and taxis will also contribute towards the cost of new charging infrastructure, and we will shortly announce details of further support for the UK’s growing charging network.

In addition to public infrastructure provision, grants of £500 are available towards the cost of installing a domestic chargepoint, with over 18,000 now installed.