Mark Sewards

The Department works across the UK, including Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire, to showcase strong commercial investment opportunities to potential investors and support business to grow, and provides extensive support to small businesses through the network of Growth Hubs. This government is developing a modern industrial strategy to deliver the certainty and stability for business to invest and creating the National Wealth Fund to support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s growth industries. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes, including supporting growing businesses across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is an essential regime to cut emissions and drive green investment. By setting a limit - the cap - on emissions and creating a carbon price for power, industry and aviation, the scheme incentivises investment in clean technologies that will power and supply the economy of the future. The UK ETS Authority is currently evaluating responses to recent consultations on expanding the scheme. Further energy audit and reporting policies, including the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme and Streamlining Energy and Carbon Reporting, require disclosure of specified energy and emissions information by large or listed UK businesses.

A 2021 BEIS report estimated the total economic impact of robotics and autonomous systems uptake across a range of selected sectors (logistics, agriculture, food & drink, construction, energy, infrastructure and health; and excluding manufacturing) to be worth £6.4 billion by 2035 on current adoption trends, and £150 billion under full automation. The department has not undertaken a formal assessment of private sector investment estimates by 2030 in autonomous technologies, including delivery robots.

The department recognises that the current special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system is not working and that, for far too long, too many children and families have been failed by it. This government is determined to address the problems and restore parents’ trust that their children will get the support they need. The department has been restructured so that SEND is now treated as part of mainstream schooling, but the government knows that this is only a small step on the road to fixing the system. The department will listen to, and work with, families to fix the foundations and deliver long-term renewal.

The department understands the critical role educational psychologists play in the support available to children and young people, including those with SEND. Whilst it is the responsibility of local authorities, as employers, to recruit to their educational psychology services, the department is taking measures to support these services by investing in building the training pipeline.

​The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from this year. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in a cohort of over 200 trainees who began their training in September 2023.

​Following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. To support local authority services to recruit and retain their educational psychology workforce, this requirement will increase to three years for those trainees beginning their course this year. This will allow local authority services to benefit from the public investment in training, and support their delivery of statutory assessments and wider work.

The Competition and Markets Authority, which is independent from Defra, is currently undertaking a market investigation into veterinary services, which includes the cost of veterinary care. Defra will review any recommendations that are made by the CMA when their process concludes in 2025. Some animal charities support the cost of neutering in certain circumstances.

Defra regularly meets animal welfare stakeholders to understand issues and trends that are affecting the sector, including the impact of the rise in the cost of living on pet keepers and welfare organisations. Defra welcomes the support that the animal sector has provided through pet food banks and financial support with veterinary treatment.

The animal sector offers helpful advice to potential pet owners on the responsibilities that come with pet ownership including free guides on the estimated lifetime costs of owning a pet.

The Department is committed to improving local transport across the Yorkshire and Humber. The Chancellor announced in the Autumn Statement on 30 October a range of funding to support local transport, including funding that will provide for development of West Yorkshire Mass Transit and renewal of the Supertram in Sheffield. This includes an uplift to national City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) funding in 2025-26 by £200m, helping to improve the local transport in our largest city regions and drive growth and productivity across the country. This is in addition to the £570m and £830m already allocated to South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire for CRSTS1.

Additionally, the Chancellor announced over £650m of funding for local transport beyond City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements to ensure that transport connections improve in our towns, villages and rural areas as well as in our major cities. This includes funding to progress transport-related Levelling Up Fund projects through to 2025/26 including schemes such as Connecting West Leeds which will provide multi-modal enhancements to capacity, efficiency, safety and accessibility for all users of the A6120 Leeds Outer Ring Road.

Furthermore, the government has committed to delivering better bus services, and in the Budget confirmed investment of over £1 billion in 2025/26 to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable.

This investment sits alongside the measures we are already undertaking to reform the bus system, including through the introduction of the Buses Bill later in this Parliamentary session, as we seek to ensure local leaders have the powers they need to deliver the better, more reliable services that passengers deserve.

On 9 September 2024, the government laid a Statutory Instrument to open up bus franchising to all local transport authorities (LTAs) in England. It also published a consultation on proposed updates to bus franchising guidance, which closed on 7 October 2024. These measures will speed up and lower the cost of franchising for LTAs. The government’s response will be published in due course.

The government will also bring forward a Buses Bill later in this parliamentary session which will build on this progress by increasing powers available to local leaders to choose the model that works best in their area, including franchising or local authority ownership.

At present, decisions such as where to run bus services in England outside London are predominantly a matter for the relevant bus operator. In response to this, the government has set out a plan to improve bus services based on giving local leaders the tools they require to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities they serve.

Government intends to bring forward a Buses Bill later in this parliamentary session and government has also committed to increasing accountability by providing safeguards over local networks across the country and empowering local transport authorities through reforms to bus funding.

The Department for Transport is already engaging with local leaders and bus operators, including in West Yorkshire, to provide the tools they need to deliver the services that best meet local needs.

At present, decisions such as where to run bus services in England outside London are predominantly a matter for the relevant bus operator. In response to this, the government has set out a plan to improve bus services based on giving local leaders the tools they require to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities they serve.

Government intends to bring forward a Buses Bill later in this parliamentary session and government has also committed to increasing accountability by providing safeguards over local networks across the country and empowering local transport authorities through reforms to bus funding.

The Department for Transport is already engaging with local leaders and bus operators, including in West Yorkshire, to provide the tools they need to deliver the services that best meet local needs.

Good local bus services are an essential part of prosperous and sustainable communities. As announced in the King’s Speech, the government will introduce a Buses Bill later this parliamentary session, which will put decision-making into the hands of local leaders across England, including in rural areas. This will allow local areas to determine how best to design their bus services so that they have control over routes and schedules.

The government has also committed to increasing accountability by providing safeguards over local networks across the country and empowering local transport authorities through reforms to bus funding.

I’ve been pleased to meet many of our local leaders to discuss how we meet the shared challenge of our 80% employment rate, recognising that local people know best what their communities need.

All National Health Service organisations and publicly funded social care providers in England are required to meet the Accessible Information Standard to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss.

Patients are able to request general practice appointments and manage secondary care appointments through local online tools and the NHS App, which can also be accessed through a web browser. The NHS App is designed to meet international accessibility standards and the services are routinely tested with a range of people with accessibility issues. User reviews and research show the NHS App and website to be highly usable and simple to use. Local online tools must also meet minimum accessibility standards.

Digital healthcare services are part of a multi-channel offering, and patients unable to use digital channels can continue to access services via telephone and through traditional face to face services. Digital services must be designed to alleviate healthcare inequalities rather than exacerbate them. Our goal is to ensure that reducing healthcare inequalities and improving digital inclusion have due focus in wider inclusive user design and delivery for all digital health products and services, including through implementation of the NHS England Digital Inclusion Framework.

While there are no current plans for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to meet with Healthwatch Leeds, he does meet with stakeholders regularly about a range of issues.

NHS England has carefully considered the points raised in Healthwatch Leeds’ paper, in particular its recommendations for how providers and commissioners should communicate change to people and their communities. In 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance on working with people and communities, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/working-in-partnership-with-people-and-communities-statutory-guidance/

This guidance supports integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers to meet their legal duties to involve the public in changes to services, and highlights the importance of communicating effectively with communities. NHS England carries out an annual assessment of ICBs, which includes how they meet their public involvement legal duty.

While there are no current plans for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to meet with Healthwatch Leeds, he does meet with stakeholders regularly about a range of issues.

NHS England has carefully considered the points raised in Healthwatch Leeds’ paper, in particular its recommendations for how providers and commissioners should communicate change to people and their communities. In 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance on working with people and communities, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/working-in-partnership-with-people-and-communities-statutory-guidance/

This guidance supports integrated care boards (ICBs) and providers to meet their legal duties to involve the public in changes to services, and highlights the importance of communicating effectively with communities. NHS England carries out an annual assessment of ICBs, which includes how they meet their public involvement legal duty.

The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, such as Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities collaboratively developed with the rare disease community. These include better coordination of care and improving access to specialist care, treatments, and drugs. We remain committed to delivering under the framework, and will publish an annual England action plan in 2025 which will report on progress.

NHS England commissions some specialist services for patients with EDS, currently delivered by two centres in England, the London North West University Healthcare Trust and the Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. The Complex EDS service provides diagnosis and advice to referrers on the treatment and management of complex cases.

The Government is determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.

The Government will make sure the NHS has the staff it needs to be there for all of us when we need it. We have no plans to make tuition free for dental students. From year five of an undergraduate course, and from year two of a graduate-entry course, dental students can access the NHS Bursary. This is non-repayable and comprises payment for tuition fees and, where eligible, further grants and allowances.

The Government will tackle the immediate crisis with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contact, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rate expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review.

At Autumn Budget 24 the government set out the first major steps in our approach to regional growth, through devolution, investment and reform.

The Government is investing in total over £2.5 billion over 30 years in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authorities to support growth and business investment.

In 26/27 we will introduce integrated settlements in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Combined Authorities, giving mayors greater control of their budgets. We are investing in transport by securing delivery of the TransPennine Route Upgrade between York and Manchester, via Leeds and Huddersfield, and have invested £1.3 billion capital through the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements to unlock growth-enhancing transport projects such as the Mass Transit system in West Yorkshire.

The Government also confirmed the designation of the first customs site in the Humber Freeport, enabling the release of seed capital funding to support the Freeport to build upon the £1bn of investment it has attracted so far, with a particular focus on renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes, including supporting growing businesses across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), also sometimes referred to as car tax, is a tax on car ownership from which electric vehicles are currently exempt. As announced by the previous Government at Autumn Statement 2022, from April 2025, electric and hybrid cars, vans and motorcycles will begin to pay VED in the same way as petrol and diesel vehicles.

Revenue from motoring taxes helps ensure we can continue to fund the vital public services and infrastructure that people across the UK expect.

To provide future certainty, Ukrainians who have been provided with sanctuary in the UK under the Ukraine schemes will be able to apply for further permission to remain in the UK through a bespoke Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme due to open in early 2025. The new route will provide an additional 18 months’ permission.

The scheme will provide the same rights and entitlements as the existing Ukraine Schemes, to access work, benefits, healthcare and education. Further details on eligibility and application processes will be available before the scheme opens.

The Building Regulations apply to new building work and are intended to protect people’s safety, health and welfare. They may apply when somebody is putting up a new building, making material changes to a building, extending an existing building or altering building services. They include provisions for electrical and fire safety, including adequate resistance to fire spreading over the roof and from one roof to another.

Part P (Electrical Safety) of the Building Regulations requires work to the fixed electrical systems in homes, including solar panels, to be carried out safely to protect people from fire or injury. It should also be noted that all products placed on the GB market must comply with applicable product safety legislation. Nevertheless, our commitment to building safety and system wide reform of the construction sector means that we continue to push for higher standards.

The Building Safety Act 2022 introduced new competence requirements on anyone carrying out design or building work and also requires the safety and standard of buildings to be kept under review; Building Regulations can then be updated as needed. This mechanism offers Government a source of evidence if Regulations or guidance are in need of amendment or to reflect advances in building safety knowledge and technologies.

This Government is developing a modern industrial strategy to deliver the certainty and stability for business to invest and creating the National Wealth Fund to support its delivery and mobilise billions of pounds of investment in the UK’s growth industries. The Government is investing in total over £2.5 billion over 30 years in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authorities to support growth and business investment. Through the Government owned British Business Bank, we are also investing over £1 billion through their regional Investment Fund programmes, including supporting growing businesses across Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire.

Parliament is responsible for setting the overall legal sentencing framework and the maximum penalty for unlawful act manslaughter is life imprisonment.

However, sentencing is entirely a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose the courts take into account the circumstances of the offence and any aggravating and mitigating factors in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.

As set out in the Victims’ Code, victims and survivors have the right to make a Victim Personal Statement (VPS) to explain in their own words how a crime has affected them. The judge or magistrate will decide whether and what sections of a personal statement should be read aloud at the sentencing hearing. The judge or magistrate will always take the victim’s preference into account when making their decision, unless there is good reason not to do so. The entitlement to make a VPS at the sentencing hearing is enabled by a Criminal Practice Direction; this provides guidance to judges and specifies that the court will take the VPS into account when determining sentence, as well as additional procedure surrounding the VPS.

Where the statement is read out and the offender is at the sentencing hearing they will hear the statement directly. We recognise that for some victims and survivors it may be distressing where the offender is not at the hearing and the Government is committed to legislating to require offenders to attend their sentencing hearings, so that criminals hear first-hand the impacts of their crime and victims, survivors and bereaved family members of deceased victims see criminals face the consequences of their actions. This measure will be included in the Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill, which the Government intends to introduce in the first parliamentary session.