Michelle Scrogham

The Government recognises that pubs play a vital role in supporting local economies and communities across the UK.

That is why the Government announced business rates support for pubs. As of April 2026, every pub received a 15% cut to new business rates bills, followed by a two year real-terms freeze.

A new three-year £10m Hospitality Support Scheme will help improve the resilience of hospitality businesses, including helping pubs in rural areas diversify their community offer. Pubs will also be able to extend opening hours for Home Nations matches in the later stages of the Men’s Football World Cup 2026.

The Nuclear Waste Services (NWS) Property Value Protection (PVP) scheme is a discretionary property support scheme designed to assist eligible homeowners who have a compelling need to sell but are unable to do so other than at a substantially reduced price as a result of the GDF siting process in their community. It draws on comparable schemes used for major infrastructure projects.

The scheme is delivered by NWS, and applications are assessed against clear eligibility criteria by an independent panel. There are opportunities to review the scheme as the programme progresses. NWS continues to engage with local communities to raise awareness and support potential applicants, helping to ensure the scheme operates fairly and consistently.

We are closely monitoring the impact of energy prices on businesses caused by the instability in the middle east, and much will depend on the length of the ongoing crisis. We are increasing the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant for properties heated by oil and LPG, taking the total grant to £9,000. This will help SMEs in England and Wales most impacted by rising energy prices to electrify their heating and provide greater certainty over energy bills.

Our £21.7 billion investment in CCUS will help launch an era of clean energy in Britain – boosting energy security, backing industries, and supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs across the country.

In the longer term, it is important that industry and government enable the development of a self-sustaining UK CCUS sector supporting good jobs and reducing emissions, putting the UK at the forefront of global CCUS.

Decisions for continued CCUS deployment will be taken in due course.

Our £21.7 billion investment in CCUS will help launch an era of clean energy in Britain – boosting energy security, backing industries, and supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs across the country.

In the longer term, it is important that industry and government enable the development of a self-sustaining UK CCUS sector supporting good jobs and reducing emissions, putting the UK at the forefront of global CCUS.

Decisions for continued CCUS deployment will be taken in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring at least 99% of premises receive gigabit broadband coverage by 2032. As of January 2026, Ofcom report that 88% of UK premises have access to a gigabit-capable connection.

In the interim, most premises can access superfast fixed wired connections (available to 98% of UK premises), and connectivity via fixed wireless and satellite connections is also available in many areas. We continue to monitor and support the development of the satellite market and further suppliers are expected to enter it this year.

Building Digital UK (BDUK) works with Project Gigabit suppliers to avoid delivery delays wherever possible. Where these do occur, recovery plans or alternative delivery solutions are put in place to bring delivery back on track as quickly as possible and mitigate any impacts that might arise.

The last date for claims under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme is March 2028. There are no plans to extend the scheme beyond this date as low volumes mean that it would not offer value for money.

Enhancing the resilience of our economy to cyber attacks is a priority for the government, and we are taking positive action.

My department published the Government Cyber Action Plan (GCAP) in January, setting out how government will improve the cyber security and resilience of public services. The GCAP is backed by over £210 million of central investment. This funding establishes the Government Cyber Unit in my department and enables investment in scalable services, support, and response capability to accelerate transformation.

The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, which proposes new laws to improve UK cyber defences and protect essential public services, has completed Commons Committee stage and will soon proceed to Commons Report stage.

The Product Security and Telecommunications Act 2022 has improved the security of consumer ‘smart’ devices, with recent testing showing 100% compliance with new requirements for stronger password protections.

My department has recently announced the Cyber Resilience Pledge which will launch in the summer. By signing the pledge, organisations from across the economy commit to take action to improve their cyber resilience by making cyber risk a board-level priority, signing up to the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Early Warning service, and requiring Cyber Essentials across their supply chains.

As part of our consultation on special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group, to hear first-hand from armed forces families about the challenges they face.

The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper set out proposals for a package of professional development on SEND, backed by over £200 million of funding.

This includes a new requirement in the SEND Code of Practice that will ensure all mainstream staff receive high‑quality SEND and inclusion training.

We have reformed the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework to include more content on adaptive teaching. From 2027, teaching staff can sign up to new courses that enhance their knowledge of adaptive teaching styles to meet the special educational needs of a wide range of pupils, which could include those from armed forces’ families.

We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.

The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.

In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.

The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.

The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.

In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.

The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.

The department recognises that Armed Forces life may present particular challenges for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). As part of our consultation on SEND reforms, I attended a roundtable hosted by the Armed Forces Community All-Party Parliamentary Group to hear first-hand from armed forces families about these challenges.

In our consultation we included proposals for new National Inclusion Standards, setting out support that should be available in every mainstream setting. We also proposed a nationally consistent set of Specialist Provision Packages to provide comprehensive, evidence-based support for children and young people with the most complex needs, underpinning education, health and care (EHC) plans to help end the postcode lottery in support. Additionally, EHC plans and new Individual Support Plans will be digital, which will support service children by facilitating smoother transitions and improved information sharing when they move between schools or local authorities. We will confirm our intentions over reform in the light of consultation responses.

The SEND Code of Practice currently provides guidance on how to best support these children. For example, local authorities should use all relevant evidence when considering provision, including evidence of the support given during the previous posting. We will update the Code of Practice as part of the SEND reforms, including strengthening the material on supporting service children.

All local authorities, including Westmoreland and Furness, completed a Best Start in Life readiness survey in January 2026. In this survey, Westmorland and Furness indicated that they expected four Best Start Family Hubs to be established across the Barrow-in-Furness, South Lakeland, and Eden localities from April 2026, with a possible expansion to 15 hubs by March 2029. We expect the local authority to set out further detail on these planned hubs, including which may become network sites, in the Best Start Family Hub Delivery Plan, due in mid June.

The department works closely with local authorities to monitor implementation and ensure they are meeting programme expectations. Each local authority has a named contact responsible for overseeing delivery, and the department intends to work in close partnership with local authorities to review progress, share effective practice, and ensure areas are appropriately supported to drive improvements for children and families.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is intensifying its efforts to reduce waiting times and improve access to driving tests, including in the Barrow and Furness area.

DVSA is continuing with its recruitment campaigns for new driving examiners. For those test centres serving the Barrow and Furness area, DVSA has recently employed five new driving examiners, who are currently in training, and upon successful completion, will start testing in June. A further examiner is due to start training shortly and, if successful, will start testing in July. A full-time DE can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.

The table below shows the number of tests booked and available at the driving test centres (DTCs) serving the Barrow and Furness constituency as of 11 May 2026.

Between June 2025 – April 2026, at the DTCs above, DVSA conducted 1,056 additional car practical driving tests in overtime, when compared to the equivalent overtime scheme between June 2024 – March 2025. This increase can largely be attributed to the additional test allowance scheme the agency introduced in June 2025.

We will publish an interim update on the Modern Service Framework (MSF) for Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care shortly. The final MSF will be published this autumn.

The MSF will provide a clinically-led, evidence-based framework to support sustained improvement in patient and carer outcomes, including reducing both inequality and unwarranted variation. Areas of action will be identified for those commissioning and delivering services, with associated performance and outcome metrics to support system accountability. The MSF will seek to embed palliative care and end-of-life care within a strategic commissioning model that is centred on population need.

The Government recognises that the experience of losing a baby or pregnancy loss can be a very difficult time for parents and families. We are determined to make sure all bereaved parents, regardless of where they live, have access to specialist psychological support through the National Health Service.

Maternal Mental Health Services (MMHS) provide expert assessment and treatment for women experiencing moderate to severe or complex mental health difficulties due to loss, trauma, or severe fear of childbirth, known as tokophobia, related to their maternity or neonatal experiences. Referrals are typically made through a general practitioner, midwife, or health visitor, although some MMHS accept self-referrals.

The NHS also provides mental health support for bereaved parents through Talking Therapies services and specialist hospital-based bereavements teams. All NHS England trusts have signed up to the National Bereavement Care Pathway, which acts as a set of standard and guidance aimed at ensuring all families, including fathers and partners, receive consistent, individualised, and sensitive care.

Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and will then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.

The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures, long-term respiratory conditions, or short-term respiratory illnesses.

The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.

Through our community diagnostic centres, we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 community diagnostic centres across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.

Modern service frameworks will define an aspirational, long-term outcome goal for a major condition and will then identify the best evidenced interventions and the support for delivery. Early priorities will include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, and the first ever service framework for frailty and dementia.

The Government will consider other long-term conditions for future waves of modern service frameworks, including respiratory conditions. The criteria for determining other conditions for future modern service frameworks will be based on where there is potential for rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity. There has not, therefore, been a specific assessment made in relation to winter pressures, long-term respiratory conditions, or short-term respiratory illnesses.

The Government has committed to delivering three big shifts that our National Health Service needs to be fit for the future: from hospital to community; from analogue to digital; and from sickness to prevention. All of these are relevant to improving respiratory health in all parts of the country.

Through our community diagnostic centres, we are building capacity for respiratory testing and enabling people to get diagnosed closer to home. 101 community diagnostic centres across the country now offer out of hours services, 12 hours a day, seven days a week, meaning patients can access vital diagnostic tests around busy working lives. This is alongside action being taken to expand capacity and improve the quality of pulmonary rehabilitation services to support patients living with respiratory conditions.

On 20 May the Government announced a package worth around £600m, which combines broad support with targeted support for sectors most exposed to and affected by higher fuel prices.

Concerning the broad support, the temporary 5p per litre fuel duty cut will be extended until the end of the year, providing certainty to motorists and other road users. Taken together, fuel duty freezes since 2025 will save the average HGV over £2,000, or 11p per litre. Further information on the impacts of the amended fuel duty rates is available on GOV.UK.

The 12-month holiday from Vehicle Excise Duty for the majority of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) will save a typical HGV £600 on top of savings from the fuel duty freeze. This targeted support recognises the key role the sector plays in transporting goods across the UK and their exposure to pump prices.

The Government keeps all taxes under review and will continue to monitor the situation and make the necessary decisions to help protect the haulage sector from price increases stemming from the conflict in the Middle East.

Rural Rate Relief (RRR) provides 100 per cent business rates relief for certain properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.

At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. This includes the Supporting Small Business scheme, which supports ratepayers who have lost eligibility for certain reliefs, including RRR. This means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15% or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. The Government has also introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at the Budget. For the following two years, their bills will be frozen in real terms.

Around a third of properties pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional 85,000 benefitting from reduced bills as this relief tapers. At the Budget, the Government introduced an additional two years of SBRR for businesses expanding into a second property to support small businesses to grow and expand.

Rural Rate Relief (RRR) provides 100 per cent business rates relief for certain properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.

At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. This includes the Supporting Small Business scheme, which supports ratepayers who have lost eligibility for certain reliefs, including RRR. This means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15% or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. The Government has also introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at the Budget. For the following two years, their bills will be frozen in real terms.

Around a third of properties pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional 85,000 benefitting from reduced bills as this relief tapers. At the Budget, the Government introduced an additional two years of SBRR for businesses expanding into a second property to support small businesses to grow and expand.

Rural Rate Relief (RRR) provides 100 per cent business rates relief for certain properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.

At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. This includes the Supporting Small Business scheme, which supports ratepayers who have lost eligibility for certain reliefs, including RRR. This means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15% or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. The Government has also introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at the Budget. For the following two years, their bills will be frozen in real terms.

Around a third of properties pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional 85,000 benefitting from reduced bills as this relief tapers. At the Budget, the Government introduced an additional two years of SBRR for businesses expanding into a second property to support small businesses to grow and expand.

Rural Rate Relief (RRR) provides 100 per cent business rates relief for certain properties that are based in eligible rural areas with populations below 3,000.

At the Budget, the Valuation Office announced updated property values from the 2026 revaluation. This revaluation is the first since pandemic, which has led to significant increases in rateable values for some properties.

In recognition of the impact of the revaluation on bills, the Government has introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion to protect against ratepayers seeing large overnight increases in bills. This includes the Supporting Small Business scheme, which supports ratepayers who have lost eligibility for certain reliefs, including RRR. This means most properties seeing increases have them capped at 15% or less in 2026/27, or £800 for the smallest.

More broadly, the Government has introduced new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure properties. The Government has also introduced a 1-year 15 per cent relief for all pubs and live music venues in 2026/27, on top of the existing support package announced at the Budget. For the following two years, their bills will be frozen in real terms.

Around a third of properties pay no business rates as they receive 100 per cent Small Business Rate Relief (SBRR), with an additional 85,000 benefitting from reduced bills as this relief tapers. At the Budget, the Government introduced an additional two years of SBRR for businesses expanding into a second property to support small businesses to grow and expand.

I have engaged with Department for Education (DfE) Ministers, including my hon. Friend, the Minister for Early Years Education (Olivia Bailey). We have discussed SEND support for children from Armed Forces Families and how the launch of the DfE’s Best Start Family Hub (BSFH) programme has specific reference to Armed Forces families. One of the key areas of delivery provided by the BSFH will be early intervention support for families with children (0-five years old) with SEND and offer SEND support for children and young people up to the age of 25.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials have collaborated with the DfE leading up to the launch of the Best Start Family Hub (BSFH) programme, resulting in the BSFH guidance for local authorities including specific reference to supporting Armed Forces Families. The MOD have also been working with the Local Government Association, who have been commissioned to deliver the BSFH toolkits for the local authorities to base their delivery around.

The Valuation Office will assess the council tax bands of all domestic properties in England based on their capital value in 1991. Information on how the Valuation Office assesses the banding of individual properties is available here. They continue to carry out their work independently of central government.

Where residents believe banding may be inaccurate there is a process to challenge these bandings. The government has committed to consult further on improving the process for challenging bands.

The Valuation Office has been integrated into HMRC from 1 April 2026 and therefore no longer exist as an executive agency.

We provide a range of rehabilitative interventions for prisoners, including education, employment and substance misuse support.

In 93 prisons, we have established dedicated in-prison roles to strengthen educational opportunities and prepare prisoners for work on release.

We have Incentivised Substance Free Living units in 85 prisons, supporting engagement with treatment in custody.