Max Wilkinson

This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade and we are determined to deliver on that ambition.

We will keep all legislation under review as we develop our approach to tackle sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls. We currently have no plans to change the law but will consider licensing regulations to make sure that they are protecting the vulnerable and tackling sexual crime, as well as public nuisance.

We are working with departments on their future workforce and location plans as part of the upcoming Spending Review.

We are working with departments on their future plans as part of the upcoming Spending Review.

The Cabinet Office operates spend control on behalf of HMT on an annual basis. During this process departments and ALBs submit an overview of any spend (including marketing and advertising) planned for the next financial year.

Historical data on advertising spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.

The Cabinet Office operates spend control on behalf of HMT on an annual basis. During this process departments and ALBs submit an overview of any spend (including marketing and advertising) planned for the next financial year.

Historical data on advertising spend is listed by department on the Government efficiency, transparency and accountability page on GOV.uk.

Information provided by employers to HMRC show the number of individuals in receipt of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP). This data provides a broad indication of SPL take-up but does not include anyone taking unpaid Shared Parental Leave.

Table 1: Individuals in receipt of ShPP by gender, 2019/20 to 2023/24 (the latest year for which full year data is available)

1. Data is collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and is subject to revision.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Figures are based on the total number of individuals in a given year, irrespective of when the payment first started. Some individuals will be counted across two years.

We have various schemes already delivering improvements to home energy efficiency through the Energy Company Obligation, the Great British Insulation Scheme, the Home Upgrade Grant, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Decarbonisation, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Customers can also use the tool ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in your Home’ (www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), which provides users with tailored recommendations for home improvements to increase energy efficiency and clean heat.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency.

Domestic solar will play an essential role. Through the Solar Taskforce and the forthcoming Solar Roadmap, we will set out recommendations on how Government and industry can work together to significantly increase rooftop solar capacity.

This Government has been clear that there will be no return to the EU’s Customs Union so we have made no such assessment.

As agreed between the Prime Minister and President of the European Commission in October 2024, we are committed to strengthening the relationship between the UK and EU to find constructive ways to work together and deliver for the British people.

I am proud of the international reputation of our sports and creative industries. Notably, this Government has committed to address issues facing our brilliant musicians, artists and their support staff. We are already working hard with our sectors and engaging with the EU and EU Member States to this end.

Since 2019, 89 Health and Fitness facilities owned by Local Authorities have closed. Over the same period, 83 Health and Fitness facilities have opened.

The breakdown for closures per year is as follows:

2019: 23

2020: 16

2021: 15

2022: 16

2023: 11

2024: 2 (as of end of August 2024)

The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has met with the Deputy Chair of the Local Government Association and a range of Local Government leaders since her appointment.

The department does not hold information on the number of pupils who have been absent from school due to the lack of provision of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services. However, we recognise that rates of absence are generally higher for pupils with SEND and children attending special schools.

We also recognise that barriers to attendance are wide and complex, and this is particularly true for pupils with SEND. Addressing these barriers requires a support-first approach and strong relationships between families, schools, local authorities and other relevant local services.

This is why the department has published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, which became statutory in August 2024. The guidance promotes a support-first approach and provides detail on additional support for pupils with SEND. Where a pupil is not attending due to unmet or additional needs, this guidance sets out clear expectations on how schools, local authorities and wider services work together to access and provide the right support to improve attendance.

The department is working closely with schools and local authorities to ensure that education settings are able to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including announcing £1 billion investment in high needs at the Autumn Budget 2024. This funding will help to ensure all children can access the high quality education that should be their right.

As part of the department’s transparency data, a register of decisions to dispose of school playing field land is published on GOV.UK: www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-land-decisions-about-disposals.

Playing field land is defined as land in the open air which is provided for the purposes of physical education or recreation.

85 applications were given consent to dispose of playing field land between 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2023 (12 in 2019, 21 in 2020, 14 in 2021, 20 in 2022 and 18 in 2023). The majority of those were disposals by way of freehold sale, but the figures also include appropriation of playing field land to another local authority use, such as, social housing or highways, or the grant or surrender of a lease of more than 30 years.

18 applications were given consent to dispose of playing field land between 1 January and 31 October 2024. The department anticipates the cases will be added to the published list on GOV.UK by the end of January 2025.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, including allergies.

The statutory guidance ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ makes clear to schools what is expected of them in taking reasonable steps to fulfil their legal obligations and meet the individual needs of pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed.

The department included a reminder to schools of these duties in its regular schools’ email bulletin in both March and September 2024. In the same communication, the department also alerted schools to the newly created Schools Allergy Code. The Code was developed by the Allergy Team, the Independent Schools’ Bursars Association and the Benedict Blythe Foundation, who are all trusted voices on the matter of allergies. The department has now also added a link to the Code to its online allergy guidance on GOV.UK.

The department will keep the statutory guidance under review as it takes forward its commitment to delivering an inclusive mainstream system.

There are no immediate plans to amend the regulations on electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs). The previous administration consulted on potential changes to regulations, including increasing the maximum power of an EAPC from 250 to 500 Watts, but the Government has decided against this.

More broadly, the Government’s White Paper on English Devolution, published in December 2024, included proposals for greater powers for Local Transport Authorities to manage EAPC rental schemes and to tackle the scourge of badly parked cycles and e-cycles.

In addition, the Government will be bringing forward new legislation to enable the police to take vehicles, including EAPCs, off the road more quickly where they are being ridden in an anti-social manner, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing them.

Finally, the Department published updated information for the public in December 2024 on the legal use of EAPCs, which is available on gov.uk. It is for the police to take enforcement action where these rules are not followed.

This Government takes the condition of local roads very seriously and is committed to enabling local highway authorities to maintain and renew the local highway network.

As well as providing highway maintenance capital funding allocations to local highway authorities in England, it also funds the Transport Research Innovation Grant (T-TRIG) programme, run jointly with the Connected Places Catapult, and is funding the £30 million “Live Labs” Decarbonising Roads programme, which enables local authorities to trial innovative low-carbon ways of maintaining their highway networks.

In addition to the funding that the Department provides to local highway authorities, it endorses guidance such as the UK Roads Leadership Group’s Code of Practice on Well Managed Highway Infrastructure. This recommends that local highway authorities take an integrated, risk-based approach to managing their highway infrastructure, and offers advice on all aspects of highway maintenance, including the frequency of inspections recommended for various types of structures. The Department has committed to updating this guidance and has begun scoping changes with the UKRLG.

Old Oak Common is essential to support the Government’s growth mission. We recognise the potential economic impact that disruption could have, and my department continues to work with Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies to align works and minimise disruption to passengers on the Great Western Main Line during the construction of the new station. We are also using standard industry precedents to manage enhancements on the network including compensating industry bodies.

The department continues to work closely with HS2, Network Rail, GWR, TfL and Heathrow Express to mitigate the impacts of Old Oak Common construction. This aims to minimise disruption to passengers on the Great Western Main Line during the construction of the new station and during its operation, including through investing £30m to ensure that passenger services can continue to operate.

“The Plan for Drivers” was published by the previous government. The Department is considering the measures within it in the light of this Government’s priorities.

We are working to develop proposals for health and disability reform in the months ahead and will set them out in a Green Paper ahead of the Spring Statement later this year. This will launch a public consultation on the proposals. 

This Government is committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of all that we do, so we will consult on these proposals, with disabled people and representative organisations.

Ahead of the formal consultation for the Green Paper, we have already started to explore ways of engaging with disabled people and their representatives, including through stakeholder roundtables and public visits. We look forward to progressing these initiatives over the coming months.

People in receipt of Housing Benefit are always better off in work than someone wholly reliant on benefits. In addition to any financial advantage, there are important non-financial benefits of working. These benefits include learning new skills, improved confidence and independence as well as a positive effect on an individual's mental and physical health.

The Department acknowledges the challenge presented by the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit for those residing in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation and will consider the issue carefully in partnership with stakeholders.

Information on local plans is not collected centrally by the Department. National Health Service organisations are responsible for their own recruitment, and for developing their own workforce plans based on local service needs. At a national level, we are committed to training the staff the NHS needs, and will work closely with partners in education to do this.

NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure that the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. This includes a strong focus on improving organisational culture, supporting staff health and wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities. It is continually reviewing the effectiveness of these and their impact on the workforce.

Local winter resilience plans and resourcing are operational matters for the National Health Service. The national approach on priorities for winter planning was issued by NHS England on 16 September, setting out the key steps to be taken to support the delivery of high-quality care for patients this winter.

The NHS is managing extra demand over the winter period, by strengthening same day emergency care, offering more fall services for older people, and with upgraded 24-hour live data centres. I also made a statement on winter preparedness in the House of Commons on 18 December 2024.

The Government is committed to tackling the retention and recruitment challenges that face the National Health Service. NHS England is leading a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure that the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits. This includes building a compassionate and inclusive culture, supporting staff wellbeing, and promoting flexible working opportunities.

Targeted retention work for midwives is being undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This includes a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, strengthened advice and support on pensions and flexible retirement options, and the publication of menopause policies and guidance. NHS England has also invested in unit-based retention leads who focus on retention and provide pastoral support to midwives. This initiative, alongside investment in workforce capacity, has seen a reduction in vacancy, leavers, and turnover rates.

Dental Statistics - England 2023/24, published by the NHS Business Services Authority on 22 August 2024, is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/statistical-collections/dental-england/dental-statistics-england-202324

The data for the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, which includes the Cheltenham constituency, shows that 29% of adults were seen by a National Health Service dentist in the previous 24 months, compared to 40% in England, and 51% of children were seen by an NHS dentist in the previous 12 months, compared to 56% in England.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access NHS dental care 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 and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care 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 contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Cheltenham constituency, this is the NHS Gloucestershire ICB.

No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.

No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.

No. The Government is working with the EU to identify areas where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit, such as the economy, energy, security and resilience. But we have been clear that there will be no return to the customs union.

The off-payroll working reforms have proved effective in reducing non-compliance. As well as preventing tax non-compliance, keeping the reforms in place also protects around £1.5 billion a year of government revenue, which supports strong public finances and helps fund our vital public services.

The Government has no plans to propose legislation requiring insurance companies to set industry-wide definitions for claims classifications.