Matt Vickers

On 14 May, the Government announced it will be:

• Strengthening its presence in 13 cross Government locations across the UK.

• Ensuring that 50% of UK-based SCS are located outside of London by 2030.

• Strengthening the talent pipeline by launching a new apprenticeship programme, setting an ambition for 50% of Fast Stream roles to be based outside London by 2030, and committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA).

• Reducing the number of Civil Service buildings in London, closing 11 buildings by 2030 to deliver £94m in savings per year.

• Launching two new thematic campuses, an Energy Campus in Aberdeen and a Digital & AI Innovation Campus in Manchester.

In June, the Government announced that PfG’s existing thematic campuses in Darlington, Sheffield and Leeds will be leading a new approach to bring together policy makers with those on the frontline to support mission delivery.

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On 14 May, the Government announced it will be:

• Strengthening its presence in 13 cross Government locations across the UK.

• Ensuring that 50% of UK-based SCS are located outside of London by 2030.

• Strengthening the talent pipeline by launching a new apprenticeship programme, setting an ambition for 50% of Fast Stream roles to be based outside London by 2030, and committing to develop and launch a local government interchange programme in partnership with the Local Government Association (LGA).

• Reducing the number of Civil Service buildings in London, closing 11 buildings by 2030 to deliver £94m in savings per year.

• Launching two new thematic campuses, an Energy Campus in Aberdeen and a Digital & AI Innovation Campus in Manchester.

In June, the Government announced that PfG’s existing thematic campuses in Darlington, Sheffield and Leeds will be leading a new approach to bring together policy makers with those on the frontline to support mission delivery.

The Government has launched a modern Industrial Strategy, removing barriers to investment and improving access to finance to drive nationwide growth.

The expanded Office for Investment (OfI) now offers enhanced commercial expertise and a broader regional presence, working closely with Mayors and Devolved Administrations to connect investors with high-potential opportunities across the UK.

Additionally, UK Export Finance has strengthened its support for international investment through its new ‘Invest-to-Export’ Guarantee, helping overseas firms establish UK-based exporting facilities. These initiatives aim to create a more dynamic, attractive environment for strategic investment and long-term economic development.

We recognise the vital role hospitality businesses play in driving economic growth and strengthening community cohesion across the country.

We also increased the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning 865,000 employers will pay no National Insurance Contributions (NICs) next year. This allows businesses to employ up to four full-time staff on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs and we’re committed to introducing permanently lower business rates for Retail, Hospitality and Leisure businesses with rateable values of less than £500,000.

We have recently launched Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs), which help jobseekers move quickly into hospitality roles through flexible training and support. In addition the Hospitality Fund is backing projects that will include addressing skills gaps in the sector and boosting productivity.

Rural areas offer significant potential for growth and are central to our economy. Addressing the needs of businesses in rural areas is at the heart of our policymaking and we continue to revisit and improve our support offers. The upcoming Business Growth Service will unify existing core services nationally while delivering locally, collaborating with local and devolved governments and Growth Hubs.

All businesses, including rural enterprises, can access Local Growth Hubs for tailored support throughout their development journey. Growth hubs customise their offerings based on specific community needs, whether in towns or rural locations.

The Department for Business and Trade publishes data on participant enrolments and completions on the Help to Grow: Management course among transparency documents on gov.uk linked here. Up to the end of March 2025, the programme has supported 11,850 business people since its launch in June 2021.

The recently-published UK Export Finance (UKEF) Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) for the last financial year show that it provided a record £14.5 billion of support for exports, supported up to 70,000 UK jobs, and contributed up to £5.4 billion to the UK economy. The report is available online, along with those from previous years, at: UK Export Finance annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.

Emissions savings through fuel switching from fossil fuels to low carbon alternatives, improvements in resource and energy efficiency and industrial carbon capture are all needed for the industrial sector to transition to net zero, and government is developing a suite of policies to deliver these savings.

We will bring forward a clear plan for industrial decarbonisation. A new Industrial Decarbonisation Strategy will set the strategic direction for our approach to working with industry towards a competitive and low carbon industrial base in the UK, ensuring growth opportunities are captured in tandem with emissions reductions.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network with diverse sources of supply and maintaining the security of electricity supply is a key priority for Government.

We are working with the National Protective Security Authority, the energy industry, regulators and other stakeholders to continually improve and maintain the resilience and security of energy infrastructure. We work to reduce the vulnerability of networks and assets, taking into account a range of threats and future system changes.

The National Energy System Operator can balance the system in a wide range of scenarios, including potential disruptions to offshore infrastructure.

NESO's analysis confirmed delivering clean power by 2030 is deliverable, more secure, and could see a lower cost of electricity, and lower bills.

We are committed to working with industry to grow our clean energy system with once-in-a-generation levels of energy investment – an estimated £40 billion, the vast majority of which will come from the private sector.

The Government is leveraging public finance institutions like the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy to catalyse private investment. By providing early-stage funding, de-risking projects, and supporting the development of critical infrastructure, we aim to attract private capital and accelerate the deployment of clean power technologies.

In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee energy security and protect billpayers is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. That is why government has a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

We have a sustainable, long-term plan to protect all UK billpayers from volatile international gas markets. Backed by £8.3 billion, Great British Energy is part of this plan, driving the deployment of the clean, homegrown energy we need to boost our energy independence. As a publicly owned company, Great British Energy will ensure UK taxpayers, billpayers, and communities reap the benefits of this plan.

The Prime Minister announced on 3 June 2025 that responsibility for government and public sector cyber security moved from the Cabinet Office to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to strengthen the resilience of digital public services by better integrating cyber security responsibilities and expertise into the Government Digital Service.

The government is progressing work on an implementation plan to support the delivery of the Government Cyber Security Strategy and is developing a new, more interventionist operating model to clarify, enable, and enforce cross-government responsibilities for cyber and digital resilience.

Additionally, important steps have been taken to understand and mitigate cyber risk through the launch of the GovAssure cyber assurance regime and the Government Cyber Coordination Centre (GC3).

The Government does not record or monitor data breaches across government departments centrally.

The government is committed to offering a free and universal breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Breakfast clubs support children’s attendance and attainment, enabling them to thrive academically and socially, and supporting working families.

From this summer term, we are funding 750 early adopter schools to test and learn our new free breakfast clubs, ahead of national rollout. Early adopter schools have already received their first payments and will continue to receive termly fixed payments, plus attendance-based payments based on the number of children who attend, over the course of the scheme.

Funding for breakfast clubs beyond the current financial year will be confirmed through the next phase of the spending review. Payment schedules and allocations for the next academic year will be confirmed in due course.

The apprenticeship achievement rate for apprenticeship standards increased by 6 percentage points to 60.5% for the 2023/24 academic year.

There are a range of drivers of non-achievement, and the department worked in partnership with providers, employers and apprentices to understand and directly address these.

The Apprenticeship Accountability Framework has supported and challenged providers to take proactive steps to improve the quality of their provision. Where performance falls short, the framework enables targeted challenge and intervention. As a result, most providers with an Accountability Framework Improvement Plan significantly improved their achievement rates between 2021/22 and 2023/24.

In addition, the support and guidance available to employers and apprentices has been enhanced and the department has worked with the Learning and Work Institute to produce a number of guides to support apprentices’ on-programme experience, including a line manger guide to apprenticeships.

The department has also introduced tools to provide timely feedback on quality and reasons for withdrawal so that we can continue to drive forward progress in the coming years, in partnership with the sector.

I refer the hon. Member for Stockton West to the answer of 12 May 2025 to Question 49739.

Small businesses are a vital part of our economy and apprenticeship system. They provide valuable opportunities in priority sectors for young people and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.

This is why the department will continue to provide an effective levy-funded training offer for learners and employers. Our new growth and skills offer, with apprenticeships at the heart, represents a positive step towards better meeting the skills needs of employers, delivering greater flexibility for learners and employers in England.

The department engages with small employers regularly to promote apprenticeships. During National Apprenticeship Week 2025, we held a round table with small and medium employers and other key partners to better understand the challenges they are facing in recruiting apprentices. This insight allows us to better target engagement activities with small businesses.

Moreover, Skills England will play a key role in engagement with businesses and will be establishing effective forums for collaboration, ensuring that employer voices shape the skills agenda and drive meaningful outcomes. It will work with large and small businesses in the delivery of its functions to identify and tackle skills needs.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work.

The Review is being undertaken in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, and other stakeholders such as employers, universities and trade unions. The Review has consulted employers and further education (FE) providers through events and meetings and has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.

FE colleges already prepare people of all ages for the skills they need for work, delivering on wide range of technical education and training. This includes the following:

• T Levels which also include an industry placement to prepare young people for work.
• Apprenticeship training linked to an actual job.
• Skills Bootcamps giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion.
• Free Courses for Jobs giving eligible learners the chance to access high value Level 3 qualifications for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job.
• A wide range of FE provision and qualifications to prepare learners for their chosen career.

The Government’s commitment to farming and food security remains steadfast, which is why the Government is investing £2.7 billion a year into sustainable food production and nature’s recovery, with funding for our Environmental Land Management schemes increasing by 150%.

Towards a Good Food Cycle, the UK Government food strategy for England, published on 15 July, sets out the Government's plans to transform the food system. A UK government food strategy for England - GOV.UK

The food strategy will deliver wide ranging improvements to ensure it is able to feed the nation, realise its potential for economic growth, protect the planet, and nourish individuals. The strategy will build the resilience of national food supply to shocks and chronic risks and will be considering levels of domestic food production as part of this.

We inherited flood defences in their worst state on record – the condition of key flood defences in England was at the lowest it had been since the Financial Year 2009/10. Delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change, we’re investing a record £2.65 billion over two years (2024/25 and 2025/26) to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences.

At the Spending Review on 11 June, the Government announced a further record £4.2 billion investment over three years (2026/27 to 2028/29). This is a 5% increase on the current average. The Government’s Infrastructure Strategy announced £7.9 billion capital commitment into flood defences for the next 10 years, to March 2036.

We launched a consultation on 3 June on proposals to reform the way we fund flood and coastal defences. This will ensure funding for flood defences is distributed more effectively across the country – protecting properties across all communities, including high-risk areas.

We are providing farmers and land managers with the support needed to help restore nature, which is vital to safeguard our long-term food security and build resilience to climate change. There are currently record numbers of farmers taking part in farming schemes such as the Sustainable Farming Incentive. As of April 2025, these schemes supported 885,000 hectares of arable land being farmed without insecticides; 330,000 hectares of low input grassland being managed sustainably; and 85,000 kilometres of hedgerows being protected and restored.

In the recent spending review, we allocated a record £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over this parliament, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.

This means:

• Funding for the Environmental Land Management Schemes paid to farmers will increase by 150% from £800 million in 2023/24 to £2 billion by 2028/29.
• Overall farmers and land managers will benefit from an average of £2.3 billion a year through the Farming and Countryside Programme.
• And up to £400 million from additional nature schemes, including those for tree planting and peatland restoration.

This Government is firmly committed to safeguarding every aspect of our natural environment, including through reducing agricultural pollution. This approach aims to protect all areas, including our most protected areas.

The levels of water pollution are unacceptable. That is why cleaning up our rivers, lakes and seas is a priority for the Government. We are taking action to address agricultural pollution and support farm businesses. We are, as a priority, working with farmers and environmental groups to improve farm pollution regulations to ensure they are simple and effective. We are also doubling funding for Environment Agency farm inspections to work with farmers to raise standards and have issued amended Statutory Guidance on the Farming Rules for Water to set clearer expectations on enforcing the rules. We continue to invest in our farmers through Environmental Land Management schemes.

Additionally, water companies are investing over £11 billion in PR24 (2025-2030), to improve nearly 3000 storm overflows across England and Wales.