Martin Rhodes

The Government is committed to tackling misconduct in public procurement. All contracting authorities and suppliers are expected to act, and be seen to act, with integrity.

The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 prohibit the compilation, usage, sale or supply of blacklists. Contracting authorities may exclude suppliers for blacklisting offences under the exclusion regime in the Procurement Act, which came into force in February 2025, for example, on the grounds of professional misconduct. Those suppliers may also be added to a central debarment list by the Cabinet Office. We will not hesitate to make use of those powers where there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The National Procurement Policy Statement sets out that public procurement should support the delivery of the government’s missions, including making Britain a clean energy superpower. It sets out considerations for contracting authorities around our environmental obligatoins. It also underscores the government's commitment to increasing the procurement of food that meets higher environmental standards, supporting local suppliers and upholding ethical sourcing practises across public sector contracts.

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct (RBC) across the economy. The Government expects all UK companies to respect human rights, workers’ rights and the environment throughout their operations and supply chains in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for RBC.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review into the UK’s approach to RBC, focused on tackling human rights and labour abuses, modern slavery, and environmental harms in global supply chains. The FCDO will also be carrying out a National Baseline Assessment (NBA) on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to inform this review.

We have also established the Office for RBC, to replace the UK's National Contact Point. This enhanced office will support industry to integrate responsible business practices and help victims of corporate malpractice through continuing to operate a non-judicial complaints mechanism for alleged violations of the OECD Guidelines.

The UK has a range of measures in place to promote responsible business conduct across the economy. The Government also supports voluntary due diligence approaches taken by UK businesses to identify and prevent human rights abuses and environmental harms across their operations, purchasing practices and supply chains, in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

We will continue to assess and monitor the effectiveness of these existing measures, alongside the impacts of new policy tools, to ensure we can best promote responsible business practices and take action where appropriate.

The Department recognises that stakeholder engagement is vital in developing the Trade Strategy. We have conducted targeted business engagement across the UK, including an open call for views from industry, civil society organisations, and academia. Stakeholders submitted views via a dedicated Trade Strategy mailbox, which closed on 17 January 2025, generating over 200 submissions. We will maintain engagement to ensure stakeholder views are heard as we develop and deliver a Trade Strategy for the whole of the UK.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department regularly engages with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the needs of students with disabilities (including visual impairments) are understood, barriers can be addressed and support put in place.

The department collects data on learner characteristics, participation and achievements. This is regularly published online: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2023-24.

Through the department’s grants and contracts within the further education and research sectors, we receive valuable information on the experiences of students with visual impairments. An example of this is the Accessibility in Further Education 2022 report from the Thomas Pocklington Trust, which can be accessed here: https://asset.nasen.org.uk/accessibility_in_further_education_-_2022_all-able.pdf. The report explores blind and partially sighted student access to information in further education. We also use the information provided from the ‘What Works in SEND’ resources, which is accessible here: https://whatworks-send.org.uk/. These types of research are useful as we are developing policy areas which will ensure that education is accessible for all.

We are modernising our approach to development, focusing on greater impact and delivering the development our partners want - ensuring every pound delivers for the UK taxpayer and the people we support.

We will sharpen our focus on three priorities: humanitarian, health, and climate and nature, underpinned by economic development.

We will prioritise multilaterals in the Official Development Assistance budget, while driving reform of the multilateral system to strengthen its most important parts - humanitarian, health, climate, and the global financial system - to help lower-income countries sustain their progress and become self-sufficient.

We will transform our country development partnerships, reflecting the changing needs of our partners: as an investor rather than just a donor and from service delivery to system support, while drawing on the UK's leading expertise and working through local partners.

Ensuring the inclusion and active participation of marginalised people, and the organisations which represent them, is a core component of the UK's approach to humanitarian and development policy and programming, and we continue to champion inclusion of marginalised people in conflict and crisis settings. This includes people who may face challenges due to their age, gender, disability or other protected characteristics.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office 'Humanitarian Response Funding Guidelines for NGOs' set out specific requirements to ensure needs of affected populations are met, including older people. We have also attached robust indicators to our UN core funding on Sex, Age and Disability (SAD) data disaggregation to inform an inclusive approach.

Marginalised groups such as the elderly are disproportionately impacted by long standing conflicts and recent escalations of violence in the Middle East including the war in Gaza. We continue to call for a lift on the aid blockade in Gaza, and for all parties to re-engage in ceasefire negotiations to get the hostages out and to secure a permanent end to the conflict, leading to a two-state solution and a lasting peace.

As service providers, banks and building societies are bound under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments, where necessary, in the way they deliver their services.

In this context, the Government recognises that access to financial products and services ensures everyone can participate fully in the economy and in society.

This is why the Government has committed to publish a Financial Inclusion Strategy later this year. The strategy is being developed alongside a committee of industry and consumer representatives and will aim to tackle barriers to individuals’ and households’ ability to access affordable and appropriate products. As part of this, the committee is considering the cross-cutting theme of accessibility (alongside the themes of economic abuse and mental health) to ensure this informs the strategy’s development.

For people with disabilities who require in-person services, the Government is also working closely with industry to roll out at least 350 banking hubs which will provide communities with critical cash and banking services. Over 230 hubs have been announced so far, and over 170 are already open. Cash Access UK, who oversee banking hub rollout, work to ensure that their physical premises are fully accessible, and their services promote an inclusive environment.

In the recently published Trade Strategy, the Government announced a review of its approach to Responsible Business Conduct policy. The review will consider the effectiveness of the current UK regime and alternative means of supporting responsible business practices, including consideration of mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence laws and import controls on goods made by forced labour. The Department for Business and Trade will engage regularly with stakeholders to develop findings and provide updates.

Under Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, businesses who operate in the UK and who have a turnover of £36 million or more are required to report annually on how they have prevented slavery in their operations and supply chains. Alongside the broader Responsible Business Conduct policy review, we are considering how we can strengthen Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including: the reporting requirements, the turnover threshold, and penalties for non-compliance. We will set out the next steps more broadly in due course. Significant long-term reform will take time, and in the interim the Home Office published updated Section 54 statutory guidance in March. This new guidance is more comprehensive, practical and ambitious – calling on businesses to go further and faster.

The information requested is not available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

We are unable to estimate how many people were affected by the historic policy on LGBT Service personnel and who are therefore eligible for the Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS). This is due to the varying ways in which personnel were impacted, with some being dismissed or discharged, and others choosing to leave due to the culture whilst others continued to serve.

Defence’s LGBT Restorative Action team have mounted communications campaigns to drive awareness of, and encourage, eligible LGBT Veterans to claim under the FRS since the Scheme was announced. We continue to work with local councils, the NHS, LGBT and military charities, and Veterans network to better inform affected Veterans of the FRS and how to apply. Defence has also allocated £90,000 worth of grants to charities, including Fighting With Pride, to support Veterans with their FRS applications.

As of 9 June 2025, the FRS had distributed £2.2 million in payments, prioritising elderly applicants and those with serious health conditions to ensure timely support for those most in need. The first payments were issued within 15 weeks of the scheme going live, and while some complex cases require additional time, the Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring all eligible individuals receive the support they are entitled to.

The Government encourages those affected by the Ban to visit gov.uk for further information, guidance, and support on how to make an application: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/veterans-of-the-lgbt-ban-financial-recognition-scheme

Currently, there are no plans to conduct such assessment. However, the figures for both private and Local Authority second stage appeals services are published on the websites of the Independent Appeals Service (IAS), Parking on Private Land Appeals (POPLA) and the Traffic Penalty Tribunal:

• https://theias.org/ias-annual-report

• https://www.popla.co.uk/reports

• https://www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk/publications-library/

From 2014 to 2022, the Greater Manchester economy grew by almost 50%.

Scotland’s largest city has a huge role to play in delivering growth. Glasgow was selected as one of four UK areas for the National Wealth Funds Strategic Growth Partnerships.

The Glasgow City Region Investment Zone will be backed by £160 million to promote investment opportunities and create new jobs.

And we recently opened the Govan-Patrick bridge, reconnecting my Honourable Friend’s constituency with the Member for Glasgow South West’s.

The Scotland Office also led the way in securing the Commonwealth Games in 2026, helping showcase the city to the world once again.