Miriam Cates

The Church of England is waiting to hear from the Government when its parent and toddler groups will be able to recommence in person, it is hoped that this will be from the 12th of April.

Many churches have tried new ways to continue their support for young families and children throughout the pandemic. At different stages of the pandemic, families needed different levels of support. The Church has seen some successful examples: using social media and Facebook live to hold parent support groups, using Zoom to hold a community storytime and craft group, and hosting socially distanced family picnics.

For older children and parents, the Church launched 'Faith at Home' to focus on inspirational experiences, using age-appropriate resources to grow together in faith. It has been an effective way to use schools, church leaders and chaplains to support young peoples development.

We are determined to secure the future for our energy intensive industries (EIIs) to protect UK jobs. To strengthen our existing support that has already provided over £2billion since 2013, the Government has announced the British Industry Supercharger to support those most exposed to the costs of electricity. The measures will bring the energy costs of the UK’s energy intensive industries in line with those across the world’s major economies. This is crucial to help these businesses remain internationally competitive and will enhance the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for international investment.

The Government is committed to undertaking the comprehensive review of pornography regulation, legislation, and enforcement in a timely fashion.

The details of the independent Lead Reviewer’s appointment and the review’s Terms of Reference will be announced in due course.

The Government is committed to undertaking the comprehensive review of pornography regulation, legislation, and enforcement in a timely fashion.

The details of the independent Lead Reviewer’s appointment and the review’s Terms of Reference will be announced in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone receives the coverage and connectivity they need and recognises the need to balance this with environmental considerations.

Broadband providers need to comply with the relevant planning requirements and legislation in conservation areas and protected landscapes.

This is supported by best practice guidance with Natural England and a joint accord with National Parks England on delivery of broadband within the 10 National Parks in England.

Penistone and Stocksbridge constituency is also set to benefit from our innovative Fibre in Water project, which will trial the use of water mains to deploy digital infrastructure.

Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of online safety stakeholders on a variety of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on the Gov.uk website every quarter.

The Department has provided funding to the charity Gendered Intelligence through exchequer funding as follows:

• £600.00 on 02 August 2021 for a training course

• £134,430.00 on 06 March 2019 for Sport England Trans Inclusion Project

• £117,318.00 on 03 April 2020 for Sport England Trans Inclusion Project

• £11,214.323 on 01 October 2020 as part of the Big Night In campaign, administered by Children in Need on behalf of DCMS as part of the financial support for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to respond to coronavirus (COVID-19).

The National Lottery Community Fund funding to Gendered Intelligence is through lottery funds rather than from the Department.

DCMS has records of grant funding provided to the charity Gendered Intelligence from September 2017, either directly by the Department or through Arm’s Length Bodies or other delivery partners.

Gendered Intelligence has received funds directly from DCMS as a supplier of training on one occasion.

The National Lottery Community Fund has funded Gendered Intelligence to support young transgender people and their families through peer support sessions, mental health support and to reduce isolation.

Funding from Sport England enabled Gendered Intelligence to deliver capacity building training to national governing bodies; this was delivered through the Sport England’s Trans Inclusion Project.

Funding as part of the Big Night In campaign was administered by Children in Need on behalf of DCMS as part of the financial support for voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations to respond to coronavirus (COVID-19).

The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.

The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.

In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.

The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.

The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.

In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.

The reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’ has findings on parents’ views on ideal working arrangements. The results of this survey are available at: https://www.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2021, including table 8.12. In 2021, 39% of working mothers of 0-14 year olds stated they would give up work to look after their children, and 58% would work fewer hours, if they could afford it.

The department recognises the valuable role that informal and family childcare arrangements play in supporting working parents, giving them additional flexibilities. The department is determined to support as many families as possible with access to high-quality, affordable childcare, which is why the Spring Budget 2023 announced the single largest investment in childcare ever. There are no current plans to look at the potential merits of introducing an individual childcare budget to support parents with informal childcare arrangements.

In 2021 children under one spent a median of 17.4 hours per week (note very small sample sizes) and one-year-olds a median of 18 hours per week in formal childcare. This data is not published broken down by household income. Table 1.7, also taken from reporting year 2021 ‘Childcare and early years survey of parents’, contains further information. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are no figures available for 2020. Data for 2022 is due to be published on 27 July 2023.

In the Government’s Spring Budget on 15 March 2023, the Chancellor announced transformative reforms to childcare for parents, children, the economy and women. By 2027/28, the department will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education, helping working families with their childcare costs. This represents the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever.

From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year) from the term after their 2nd birthday, benefitting parents of up to 285,000 children. This will be extended to eligible working parents of children aged 9 months and over from September 2024, benefitting up to 640,000 children in total. From September 2025, this will be extended to 30 hours of free childcare per week.

Childcare is a vital enabler for parents to work. The new offer for working parents will tackle this barrier by closing the gap between parental leave ending and the government’s current entitlement offers so that more parents, and especially women, are supported to enter work.

The department monitors the average hours of childcare used by children of different ages via the Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents.

In January 2023, 88.5% of disadvantaged 2-year-olds registered for the 15-hour entitlement were taking up between 12.51 and 15 hours of funded childcare per week.

The department does not publish the data required to answer this question. A range of related data is available in the 2022 childcare and early years survey of parents in England. This is a long-standing, nationally representative survey of 6,000 parents of children aged 0-14, with the latest data published on 27 July 2023. The survey can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents-2022.

There will be a process for owners to apply to have their Certificate of Exemption withdrawn if the owner considers that the dog is not within scope of the ban. We will announce details of how the process will work in due course.

We will continue to work in partnership with industry to develop the Pathway offer, including looking at the potential to extend the Pathway’s reach to other species.

The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway rollout will initially focus on the most commonly farmed species: dairy cows, beef cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.

It is for local National Health Service organisations to choose which products and services they commission. We would expect local organisations to commission services which they deem to be effective and value for money.

A local Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) assessment is required as part of the procurement process. It is expected that Kooth would only have been commissioned if the local NHS organisation had ensured it met baseline DTAC standards across technical assurance, data protection, clinical safety, interoperability, usability, and accessibility.

NHS England are reviewing the concerns raised by Members of Parliament and campaigners relating to Kooth.

• We are carrying out ambitious reforms for the care workforce to increase the supply and quality of social care.

• We will shortly be publishing the Care Workforce Pathway setting out a career path for care workers, together with launching a new care qualification and funding thousands of training places.

This information is not held centrally. However, no new first assessment appointments have been offered by the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust since the end of March 2023.

The NHS.UK vaccination schedule sets out which vaccinations individuals are eligible to receive through the National Health Service, including COVID-19. However, the schedule does not specify which specific COVID-19 vaccine will be used. The Government continues to be guided by the expert independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines.

While the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s one-off advice for a non-urgent offer of the Pfizer vaccine in this age group was publicised on NHS.UK to raise awareness, it does not reflect a change in policy.

COVID-19 vaccination is not included in the UK Health Security Agency’s routine childhood immunisation schedule, which provides immunisation information for health professionals and immunisation practitioners.

We are aware of these comments. NATO is a defensive alliance and adheres to international law and to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. NATO's enduring purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its Allies. Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine has gravely undermined our security environment. The Alliance shares our unwavering support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. We fully support Ukraine's inherent right to self-defence and to choose its own security arrangements.

The UK is committed to working with Arab and Israeli partners to help deliver shared prosperity and regional security. The Foreign Secretary made clear her commitment to the Abraham Accords at both the UK-Israel Strategic Dialogue on 29 November 2021, and subsequently at the Gulf Cooperation Council-United Kingdom Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 20 December 2021. The UK is working with regional partners to ensure the Abraham Accords are an enduring success, and continue to encourage other countries who have not yet normalised to do so. I discussed this point with Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Roll during my visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in June 2022.

We note the US and Israel adopted the Jerusalem Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration in July 2022. The UK's long-standing objective is that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

There has been a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments, and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

HM Treasury does not prepare forecasts for the UK labour market, including assessments of the impact of the Budget, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

The OBR judged that the overall impact of the policy package announced at Spring Budget 2023 is to increase the level of employment by around 0.3 per cent in 2027-28, this is equivalent to 110,000 individuals. This is the largest upward revision made to potential output as a result of government fiscal policy decisions in any of the OBR’s forecasts since 2010.

Further details can be found in the OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published in March 2023: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2023/

The government is committed to supporting the early years sector and, at Spring Budget, announced an extra £4.4 billion of investment by 27-28 for the free hours offers in England. Through this package, the government will be more than doubling its spend on free childcare hours.

Local authorities are required by legislation to deliver free early education entitlements places through providers registered on the Ofsted Early Years Register. This can include nurseries, childminders (including those registered with a childminder agency) and schools which take children aged two and over and which are therefore exempt from registration with Ofsted as early years providers.

The government recognises that relatives do an incredibly important job in a child’s upbringing and can also help families meet their childcare needs. However, to ensure quality early education, free childcare entitlements cannot be used to pay family members to look after children.

The Government has announced that the VAT Retail Export Scheme (RES) will not be extended to EU visitors, and will be withdrawn for all non-EU visitors, following the end of the transition period. However, retailers will continue to be able to offer VAT-free shopping to non-EU visitors who purchase items in store and have them sent direct to their overseas addresses and this will be available to EU visitors following the end of the transition period.

In 2019 HMRC estimate that VAT RES refunds cost around £0.5billion in VAT for around 1.2million non-EU visitors. HMRC also estimate that fewer than one in ten non-EU visitors use the VAT RES.

In 2019 the ONS estimate there were substantially more EU visitors (24.8 million) than non-EU passengers (16.0 million) to the UK. This implies an extension to EU residents would significantly increase the cost by up to an estimated £0.9billion. This would result in a large amount of deadweight loss by subsidising spending from EU visitors which already happens without a refund mechanism in place, potentially taking the total cost up to around £1.4billion per annum.

The final costing will be subject to scrutiny by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and will be set out at the next forecast.

The government has published a plan for simplifying the funding landscape for local authorities. This publication follows the commitment within the landmark Levelling Up White Paper, to deliver a more transparent, simple, and accountable approach to funding

The funding simplification pathfinder pilot will test the streamlined delivery of some DLUHC capital funding. All ten local authorities currently in receipt of funding from all three of the following DLUHC-administered capital programmes are eligible to participate in the pilot:

• Future High Streets Fund
• Town Deal funding
• Regeneration funding from round one of the Levelling Up Fund

We will shortly be publishing further information about the Simplification Pathfinder Pilot, including the authorities that have confirmed their participation in the pilot.