Nadia Whittome

Grant support for Taxi Drivers may be available through the Additional Restrictions Grant, a discretionary scheme administered by Local Authorities. Local Authorities are encouraged to support businesses from all sectors that may have been severely impacted by restrictions but are not eligible for the Restart Grant scheme. Local Authorities can use their local expertise to target businesses to support in their local area.

My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £425m will be made available via the Additional Restrictions Grant meaning that more than £2bn has been made available to Local Authorities since November 2020.

Guidance for the scheme can be found at GOV.UK: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/971482/additional-restrictions-grant-la-guidance.pdf.

The Restart Grant and Local Restrictions Support Grant Schemes provides support for those businesses who have been mandated to close under National Restrictions. Grant support for Taxi Drivers may be available through the Additional Restrictions Grant. Local Authorities have discretion to provide support that suits their local area including to support those businesses not required to close but which have had their trade severely affected by the restrictions.

My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £425m will be made available via the Additional Restrictions Grant meaning that more than £2bn has been made available to Local Authorities since November 2020.

This Government is committed to taking further action to promote the safe and considerate use of fireworks. There is a comprehensive regulatory framework already in place for fireworks that controls who can purchase them, their availability and use, curfews and their safety as a product.

We agree with the conclusion of the Petition Committee’s 2019 inquiry into fireworks, that any further restrictions on fireworks sold to the public by retail outlets could lead to more individuals buying products inappropriately, through online social media sources or from outside the UK. This could drive individuals to source fireworks from illegitimate or unsafe suppliers, where products may not meet the UK’s safety requirements.

We are working with the construction sector to reduce its emission contributions to help meet our net zero target, with a focus on construction processes including transport and the plant and machinery it uses, and in the built environment. We are also working with the sector to reduce embodied carbon and are looking at a range of means for doing so.

The Government introduced an unprecedented and comprehensive package of business support measures to help as many individuals and businesses as possible during this difficult period. This support package included measures such as the small business grants, the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes, the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), the deferral of VAT and income tax payments, and more. These measures were designed to be accessible to businesses in most sectors and across the UK.

Further measures were also announced by the Chancellor that build on the significant support already available as well as set out how current support will evolve and adapt. This includes the extension of the CJRS until the end of April 2021, the extension of the coronavirus loan guarantee schemes until 31 March 2021, and the introduction of Pay As You Grow measures, meaning businesses now have the option to repay their Bounce Back Loans over a period of up to ten years. Businesses who also deferred VAT due from 20 March to 30 June 2020 will now have the option to opt-in to a scheme to allow them to pay in smaller instalments up to the end of March 2022, interest free.

Business premises that are required by law to close during the current period of national restrictions which began on 5 January 2021 can also access grants of up to £4,500 per 6 weeks of closure under the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed). In addition, each closed business will be eligible for a one-off payment of up to £9,000 via the Closed Business Lockdown Payment. Local authorities have also been allocated a further £500 million in discretionary funding via the Additional Restrictions Grant to support businesses that are significantly impacted by the restrictions even though not required to close. This is in addition to £1.1 billion already allocated in November 2020. Local authorities have discretion to use this funding to support businesses in the way they see fit.

Further initiatives include the BEIS-led Small Business Leadership Programme and Peer-to-Peer networks, to help businesses build resilience and grow. In addition, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced £20 million in July 2020 to help small and medium-sized businesses acquire new technology and seek advice on digital adoption in order to continue or diversify their business activities in light of the pandemic. This is provided through grants of between £1000 and £5000 and is fully funded by the Government with no obligation for businesses themselves to contribute financially.

Additionally, businesses are able to access tailored advice through our Freephone Business Support Helpline, online via the Business Support website or through their local Growth Hubs in England. The Government will also continue to work closely with local authorities, businesses, business representative organisations, and the financial services sector to monitor the implementation of current support.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic the Government has worked closely with the hospitality sector to understand the impact of the pandemic on their businesses.

Hospitality and events businesses have been able to benefit from Government support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, Government-backed loans, Local Restrictions Support Grants, additional funding provided to Local Authorities to support businesses and the Cultural Relief Fund.

On 5 January, when the new National Lockdown began, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a one-off top up grant for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the spring.  A £594 million discretionary fund has also been made available to support other impacted businesses.

We are looking to partner with organisations at COP26 with strong climate credentials, particularly those who have set ambitious net zero commitments by 2050 or earlier, with a credible short term action plan to achieve this (e.g. Science Based Targets). We conduct due diligence on all potential sponsors, and will ensure compliance with rigorous government standards.

You can find details about sponsorship on the COP26 website here.

The details of mergers and takeovers are primarily a commercial matter for the parties concerned.

The Employment Relations Act 1999 introduced a statutory recognition procedure that gave independent trade unions the right to apply to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) to be recognised by an employer for collective bargaining over pay, hours and holidays in respect of a group of workers in a particular bargaining unit.

Where an employer decides not to recognise or to derecognise a trade union, the union can use the statutory recognition procedure. The CAC can award recognition where a clear majority of the bargaining unit want it, and this is established in most cases through a ballot of the workforce.

We intend to consult on strengthening the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards in due course, in line with our Clean Growth Strategy aspiration for privately rented properties to reach EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, affordable and cost-effective. Landlords will also be eligible for subsidised energy efficiency measures through the Green Homes Grant scheme this autumn.

The Government has considered the financial impact of COVID-19 on all parts of the economy throughout the pandemic and has provided unprecedented levels of financial support.

The Government will continue to monitor the impact of the restrictions, working closely with business groups including the beauty industry, to ensure it continues to consider the impact on all groups including women.

The Government released an unprecedented package of support, including loan schemes, grant funding and wage packages, to help as many individuals and business as possible during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For commercial confidentiality reasons, the British Business Bank cannot disclose whether companies are or are not in receipt of support without their approval. Any financial support provided (if provided) would be subject to the terms and conditions of the specific scheme.

As of 6 May, in total over £5.5 billion worth of loans have been issued under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) to 33,812 businesses. Lenders have received 62,674 completed applications.

In order to minimise administrative burden and therefore facilitate the issuing of as many loans as possible, the British Business Bank’s system only gathers data from lenders when loans are offered and drawn. Decisions on whether to capture information relating to rejected loans are at the discretion of the lender.

We are working with the British Business Bank, HM Treasury and the lenders on the publication of regular and transparent data going forward.

The two existing business grants schemes have helped supported many thousands of small businesses. However, we are aware that many small businesses which are facing high fixed costs are finding themselves excluded from the existing grants schemes because the way they interact with the current business rates system means they are not eligible for the grants schemes.

To ensure that Local Authorities can help these businesses, on 1 May 2020 the Business Secretary announced that a further up to £617 million is being made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants. This additional Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates reliefs. It is our intention that the following businesses should be considered as a priority for these funds:

• Businesses in a range of shared workspaces;
• Regular market traders who do not have their own business rates assessment;
• B&Bs which pay Council Tax instead of business rates; and
• Charity properties in receipt of charitable business rates relief which would otherwise have been eligible for Small Business Rates Relief or Rural Rate Relief.

Local authorities may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need and subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria.

The Government recognises there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from participating in sport and physical activity, including access to sports grounds and facilities. We want to remain at the forefront of equality and continue to do all that we can to tackle these.

We work closely with our arm’s length bodies, Sport England and UK Sport, and sector partners to encourage sport bodies to make sport and facilities more accessible. Sport England is developing a new plan called ‘Accessible and Inclusive Sports Facilities’ that will be published this year.

The Government expects all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act of 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so that disabled people are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues. With the support of Level Playing Field, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA) developed the Accessible Stadia document and Accessible Stadia Supplementary Guidance as a benchmark of good practice for new and existing sports grounds. It offers practical, clear solutions that will help deliver high-quality grounds with facilities and services that are accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all.

Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was over £12 billion this year. DCMS are currently reviewing the statutory duty and its associated guidance to assess the effectiveness after a call for responses from key youth stakeholders.

The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people. It is this government’s commitment that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This will be supported by a three year £560 million investment in youth services through the National Youth Guarantee.

The National Citizen Service will receive £171 million over the next three years to support the newly announced National Youth Guarantee and provide hundreds of thousands young people from all backgrounds with opportunities to become ‘work-ready and world-ready’.

This represents approximately 30% of this Department’s £560 million investment into youth programmes over the next three years.

I refer to an answer given to a recent parliamentary question 127585.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a universal programme that is available to all 15-17 year olds, and maintains a policy that no young person is prevented from taking part.

NCS is able to engage a diverse group of young people, over-indexing in participation rates compared to the national population for certain priority groups. In 2019, 23% of participants were on free school meals, 16.3% were living in Opportunity Areas, 29% were from BAME communities, and 6.2% had special educational needs or disabilities.

NCS ensures that disadvantaged young people can access the programme through various measures:

• Bursary schemes, which cover 80% of the participant contribution, reducing it to £10 or, in some cases, entirely. In Summer 2021, over 10,000 young people accessed a bursary.

• The NCS Inclusion Fund, which enables NCS’s network of providers to remove barriers to taking part in the programme, supporting young people with transport, food, and kit. In 2021, almost 300 young people benefited from the fund.

• A dedicated community engagement team focused on increasing accessibility by considering differing levels of deprivation and connecting with local youth organisations and Local Authorities.

NCS remains committed to removing these access barriers and continues to develop approaches to overcoming them.

DCMS provides funding for a range of youth programmes benefitting young people in the Midlands and right across England, such as the National Citizen Service (NCS). DCMS recently announced a new National Youth Guarantee, ensuring that by 2025, every young person in England will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer.

The Youth Investment Fund, however, is a geographically targeted fund levelling up access to youth services in those areas that need it most. Ministerial decisions regarding which areas would be eligible to apply were taken on the basis of high quality, robust and publicly available data. The eligible areas and a detailed explanation of the methodology is available on the GOV.UK website here.

19 upper tier local authorities across the East and West Midlands qualify in whole or part for support from YIF, covering over 350,000 young people between the ages of 11-18.

It is not possible to assess the proportion of this investment that will be awarded to these Midlands areas as applications for Phase 1 of the fund are currently being reviewed and Phase 2 of the fund will open later this year.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a universal programme that is available to all 15-17 year olds, and maintains a policy that no young person is prevented from taking part because of cost.

NCS is able to engage a diverse group of young people, over-indexing in participation rates compared to the national population for certain priority groups. In 2019, 23% of participants were on free school meals (compared to 14% nationally) and 16.3% were living in Opportunity Areas (compared to 14.4% nationally).

NCS ensures that young people from low income families can access the programme through various measures:

• Bursary schemes, which cover 80% of the participant contribution, reducing it to £10 or, in some cases, entirely. In Summer 2021, over 10,000 young people accessed a bursary.

• The NCS Inclusion Fund, which enables NCS’s network of providers to remove barriers to taking part in the programme, supporting young people with transport, food, and kit. In 2021, almost 300 young people benefited from the fund.

• A dedicated community engagement team focused on increasing accessibility by considering differing levels of deprivation and connecting with local youth organisations and Local Authorities.

Nonetheless, there is a perceived barrier for some. 2021 survey results from 1,640 young people show that for those not interested in participating in NCS, 7% cited cost as the reason. This is significantly lower than other reasons including wanting to spend time doing other things and concerns about coronavirus. NCS remains committed to removing these perceived barriers and continues to develop approaches to overcoming them.

The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a universal programme that is available to all 15-17 year olds, and maintains a policy that no young person is prevented from taking part because of cost.

NCS is able to engage a diverse group of young people, over-indexing in participation rates compared to the national population for certain priority groups. In 2019, 23% of participants were on free school meals (compared to 14% nationally) and 16.3% were living in Opportunity Areas (compared to 14.4% nationally).

NCS ensures that young people from low income families can access the programme through various measures:

• Bursary schemes, which cover 80% of the participant contribution, reducing it to £10 or, in some cases, entirely. In Summer 2021, over 10,000 young people accessed a bursary.

• The NCS Inclusion Fund, which enables NCS’s network of providers to remove barriers to taking part in the programme, supporting young people with transport, food, and kit. In 2021, almost 300 young people benefited from the fund.

• A dedicated community engagement team focused on increasing accessibility by considering differing levels of deprivation and connecting with local youth organisations and Local Authorities.

Nonetheless, there is a perceived barrier for some. 2021 survey results from 1,640 young people show that for those not interested in participating in NCS, 7% cited cost as the reason. This is significantly lower than other reasons including wanting to spend time doing other things and concerns about coronavirus. NCS remains committed to removing these perceived barriers and continues to develop approaches to overcoming them.

Video-on-demand services like Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ are not regulated in the UK to the same extent as linear TV channels, some services, like Netflix, are not regulated in the UK at all. On-demand services are not subject to Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code which sets out appropriate standards for content including harmful or offensive material, accuracy, fairness and privacy.

The Government launched a consultation in August 2021 to level the playing field between traditional broadcasters and video-on-demand streaming services, to provide a fair competitive framework and ensure UK viewers are better protected from harmful material. We are now considering the response to the consultation and will publish next steps in due course.

The Government’s 10 Tech Priorities include building a tech-savvy nation where no-one is left behind by the digital revolution. For this reason, the government is working to ensure that everyone has digital access to further their training and improve employment prospects.

The pandemic and the ongoing measures, including those implemented under Plan B, continue to highlight the importance of supporting digitally excluded people. Throughout the pandemic, DCMS has supported initiatives that help address digital exclusion. These include the Digital Lifeline fund, which provided tablets, data and free digital support to over 5,000 people with learning disabilities who would otherwise find it difficult to get online.

Additionally, in September 2021, the Inclusive Economy Partnership (IEP), partnered with industry leaders to launch the Digital Inclusion Impact Group focused on tackling digital exclusion. One of the pilot programmes is Dell Donate to Educate, which will support children across England with the right access to technology at school and at home.

The Online Safety Bill will increase people's protection from scams facilitated via dating sites. Dating sites will have to assess the risk of fraud arising from user-generated content on their service and then take steps to mitigate and tackle that risk. This is just one part of the government’s plan, led by the Home Office, to tackle fraud in all its forms.

Victims of fraud must feel they can come forward to report these crimes and receive the support they need. The government is working to improve the victim support system to make sure that everyone receives the advice and care they need to move beyond the impact of this crime.

Theatres have been eligible to access Government COVID-19 support throughout the duration of the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes various government-backed loans, business grants, reduction in VAT and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes. Theatres were also able to access the discretionary Local Restrictions Support Grant and Additional Restrictions Grant which provided Local Authorities with funds to support businesses who met the eligibility criteria. And, earlier this year the Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.

Theatres have also benefited from the Cultural Recovery Fund. To date, over £1.2 billion has been allocated from this fund, reaching over 5000 individual organisations and sites. Of this funding, awards with a value of over £183m were made to applicants whose main artform is ‘theatre’ in Round 1 recovery grant funding, and in Round 2 almost £60 million was awarded to help theatres plan for reopening in every corner of the country from the West End’s Criterion Theatre to the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

In the 2021 Budget, the Chancellor announced an additional £300 million to support theatres, museums and other cultural organisations in England through the Culture Recovery Fund. This extra funding, together with other cultural support such as funding for our national museums, means that our total support package for culture during the pandemic is now approaching £2bn. These are unprecedented sums.

On 22 February the Prime Minister set out the roadmap gradually ending the current lockdown for England.

At step 3 of the roadmap, no earlier than 17 May, the restrictions on social mixing indoors will be eased and individuals will be able to meet socially distanced in a group of 6 or with 1 other household. Non-professional activities, such as private music lessons for adults, will be able to resume from this time.

The timings outlined in the roadmap are indicative, and the Government will be led by data, rather than fixed dates. Before taking each step, the Government will review the latest data and will only ease restrictions further if it is safe to do so. The indicative, ‘no earlier than’ dates in the roadmap are all contingent on the data and subject to change.

The Government acknowledges the significance of the events sector to the UK economy and that it has been significantly affected by the impacts of Covid-19.

We recognise the importance of giving the events sector clarity for when events will be permitted to resume with fuller audiences. However we have always been clear that the activity permitted would be in line with the latest public health context.

No assessment is currently available regarding the potential merits of providing support to the sector to encourage event attendance at this time.

We are committed to continue working with the live events sector to understand the challenges they face and to work towards reopening events with fuller audiences. Furthermore, the business events pilots we carried out in September will help to ensure that the correct advice and guidance is put in place to help larger events reopen when it is safe to do so.

It has been agreed that in regards to public funds, such as the Job Retention Scheme, and the Culture Recovery Fund, organisations may apply for both, although of course organisations should not claim for the same costs through a public funding scheme and the Culture Recovery Fund. Where organisations have questions about this interaction they should speak to their relevant arms length body - Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England or the British Film Institute.

In April, Government launched a £750 million charity funding package. This spearheaded a major effort to tackle loneliness, with over £23 million allocated to this activity. Activity includes a £5 million grant fund to support national organisations working to tackle loneliness and build social connections to help them continue and adapt their critical work. This has given grants of between £500,000 and £810,000 to 9 organisations. In addition, a further £44 million of the £750 million package was given to organisations supporting people with their mental health.

Government has also announced a £4 million microgrants fund, in partnership with The National Lottery Community Fund, to provide targeted funding to small grassroots organisations, to build relationships in communities to help reduce loneliness. This funding is due to be available shortly.

Government continues to work closely with the civil society sector to assess both the needs of vulnerable people and the sector itself, and how government can best support the continuation of its vital work.

The government has taken active steps to support the self-employed. We’ve supported the self-employed with over £13 billion in grants and the Chancellor has doubled the generosity of the self-employed grant extension scheme from 20% to 40% of people’s profits. The expanded Jobs Support Scheme, announced by the Chancellor on 22 October, will include more generous and frequent cash grants, and more help for the self-employed.

DCMS continues to engage with HMT to feed into their assessment of the potential impacts of Government support. We will ensure the needs of our sectors are also factored into the developing economic response, and that DCMS sectors, including the live music industry, are supported throughout this time.

The Arts Council England has made £119 million available to individuals (including freelancers and self-employed), with £23.1 million already distributed and £95.9 million currently available to apply for via open funds.

The £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund will benefit freelancers, because it will invest in organisations and help them to reopen, and restart performances.

DCMS is continuing to work closely with the civil society sector to assess the needs of the sector and how the government can best support it to continue its vital work. The Government has committed a £750m targeted funding package to support the Voluntary and Community Sector, which builds on the significant package of support available across sectors, including the Job Retention Scheme. A further £150 million from dormant bank and building society accounts has been unlocked to support urgent work tackling youth unemployment, providing emergency loans for civil society organisations and improving the availability of fair, affordable credit to people in vulnerable circumstances.

Ensuring charities can begin fundraising activities will be a crucial part of the sector’s recovery. On the 24th June, DCMS published a collection of guidance for DCMS sectors relating to COVID-19. This includes practical guidance and resources from the Fundraising Regulator and Chartered Institute of Fundraising supporting charities to safeguard the public, staff and volunteers as they plan to return to fundraising activities in a safe and responsible way. This can be viewed at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidance-for-dcms-sectors-in-relation-to-coronavirus-covid-19

Ministers have regular discussions with their Cabinet Colleagues on a range of issues, including tackling online hate speech. The Home Office are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), civil society partners and social media platforms to encourage victim reporting of online hate crime during the pandemic and to ensure that all police forces are providing reassurance to affected communities. Policy for combating online hate crime remains with the Home Office.

Ensuring the UK is the safest place in the world to go online is a priority for the Government. We are pressing ahead with legislation to establish a new Online Harms regulatory framework which will protect users from harm. The Government’s Online Harms White Paper, published in April 2019, set out our plans for world-leading legislation, by making companies more responsible for their users’ safety online.

Ministers have regular discussions with their Cabinet Colleagues on a range of issues, including tackling online hate speech. The Home Office are working closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), civil society partners and social media platforms to encourage victim reporting of online hate crime during the pandemic and to ensure that all police forces are providing reassurance to affected communities. Policy for combating online hate crime remains with the Home Office.

Ensuring the UK is the safest place in the world to go online is a priority for the Government. We are pressing ahead with legislation to establish a new Online Harms regulatory framework which will protect users from harm. The Government’s Online Harms White Paper, published in April 2019, set out our plans for world-leading legislation, by making companies more responsible for their users’ safety online.

The Government has announced a broad package of support for businesses and charities to ensure that organisations that need support are able to access it. This includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, and the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June 2020.

In addition, on 8 April the Government announced a £750 million funding package to ensure charities providing frontline services to vulnerable people affected by the pandemic can continue their vital work. Of this, £360 million was to be allocated to individual government departments based on evidence of service need. This funding has now been allocated to government departments, who are using a range of approaches to award funding either directly to charities or through bidding processes. As part of this package, the Department for Education will provide £26.4 million to support vulnerable children in England.

£370 million has been allocated to support small and medium sized charities during the pandemic. This includes £60 million funding through the Barnett formula to support charities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Of the £310 million to be spent in England, £200 million has been distributed to the National Lottery Community Fund to award grants through the Coronavirus Community Support Fund. Applications for this fund opened on 22 May and the National Lottery Community Fund is assessing applications in the order in which they are received, in order to award grants as quickly as possible. Child poverty charities working with BAME communities during the Covid-19 outbreak are eligible to apply for this funding.

Decisions on Ministerial remits and duties lie with the Prime Minister. A range of government departments (including DCMS) have policies that affect young people, and that is why the government believes there should be a cross-departmental approach.

This government is committed to supporting young people to have a voice on issues and concerns that matter to them, at both a local and national level. DCMS leads this work, and funds the British Youth Council (BYC) to deliver a youth voice programme including the UK Youth Parliament, the Make Your Mark ballot, the Youth Select Committee, The Government’s Youth Steering Group and the Young Inspectors group.

Officials are working collaboratively across Whitehall, with the youth sector, and young people to ensure that we support our young people during and post Covid-19, and that their voices are heard.

The Department has made over £1 billion available through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) over the four academic years since the programme’s introduction in summer 2021, which has seen the Department deliver nearly 4 million tutoring courses as of May 2023. This has included providing £310 million directly to schools in the 2021/22 academic year and £350 million in the 2022/23 academic year. In the 2023/24 academic year, the Department will provide £150 million directly to schools.

In the 2021/22 academic year, which is the most recent full year for which data is available, 47% of pupils receiving tutoring were eligible for free school meals at some point in the last six years. Final delivery figures for the 2022/23 academic year will be published in December. Figures for the current academic year will be published throughout the year.

The Department has committed that, from the 2023/24 academic year, tutoring will have been embedded across schools in England. The Department expects tutoring to continue to be a staple offer from schools, with schools using their core budget, including pupil premium, to provide targeted support for those children who will benefit.

Funding for the 16-19 tuition fund is currently in place until the end of the 2023/24 academic year. The Department is evaluating the Tuition Fund and considering the most appropriate way to support disadvantaged 16-19 students from the 2024/25 academic year.

The NTP’s Year 2 Implementation and Process Evaluation report examined the implementation of the programme in the 2021/22 academic year. It found that most head teachers were satisfied with the programme and that the programme is perceived as having a positive impact on pupils’ attainment, self confidence and helping them catch up with their peers. It also found that most schools are prioritising pupil premium eligible pupils for tutoring. This report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-tutoring-programme-year-2-implementation-and-process-evaluation. The Department plans to publish in autumn 2023 an external quantitative impact evaluation, which explores the impact of the programme on pupil attainment in the 2021/22 academic year.

For the 2020/21 to 2023/24 academic years, the Department is making available funding of up to £420 million for one to one and small group tuition for 16 to 19 year olds. The 16-19 tuition fund is targeted at students in most need, enabling schools and colleges to deliver up to 700,000 tuition sessions each year.

The 16-19 tuition fund implementation and process evaluation report was published in July 2023 and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/16-to-19-tuition-fund-implementation-and-process-evaluation-report. This reported that over 80% of students were satisfied with the tuition they received and found its content relevant. A full report on the impact of the tuition fund will be completed later this year and published in due course.

The National Curriculum for English aims to ensure that all pupils appreciate our rich and varied literary heritage. It encourages pupils to read a range of books, poems and plays to encourage the development of a life long love of literature. Pupils should be taught to maintain positive attitudes to reading and understanding of what they read by increasing their familiarity with a wide range of books.

The Department has strengthened the Key Stage 4 English programmes of study to ensure all pupils read a wide range of high quality, challenging, classic English literature. There is a renewed focus on the reading of whole texts.

The 2022 Autumn Statement announced that funding for mainstream schools and high needs is £3.5 billion higher in 2023/24, compared to 2022/23. That is on top of the £4 billion, year-on-year increase provided in 2022/23 –;an increase of £7.5 billion, or over 15%, in just two years. This funding is not ringfenced and can include literature and poetry programmes.

The Department also funds Poetry by Heart which helps to develop and support inspiring poetry teaching in schools, and to motivate pupils and teachers to explore our rich literary heritage.

Since 2012, the Department has funded a National Poetry Recitation Competition (NPRC), which helps to develop and support inspiring poetry teaching in primary and secondary schools.

NPRC encourages schools to participate to improve pupils' knowledge and enjoyment of poetry and to improve spoken language through poetry recitation and recall.

The Department continues to monitor the consequences of the rising cost of living and is working with other Government Departments in providing support. The Department will continue to keep free school meal (FSM) eligibility under review, ensuring that these meals are supporting those who most need them. In setting a threshold, the Department believes that the current level, which enables children to benefit from FSM, while remaining affordable and deliverable for schools, is the right one.

Since 2010, the number of pupils receiving FSM has increased by more than two million. This increase in provision is due to the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals and protections put in place as benefit recipients move across to Universal Credit. Over a third of pupils in England now receive FSM, compared with one in six in 2010.

The Secretary of State has not met any lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisations directly to discuss the guidance, but the Department is keen to consider the full range of views and will be undertaking a public consultation on the draft guidance prior to publication.

During the consultation period, the Department plans to engage with a range of interested organisations, including organisations that support the LGBT community.

Social workers make a real, positive difference to the outcomes of children and families every day. It is with thanks to their work that many children go on to thrive. The government is dedicated to ensuring there is an excellent child and family social worker for everyone who needs one.

Local authorities are responsible for the delivery of children’s social care and to determine the appropriate practice model and staffing levels to ensure high quality assessment and support for all children who need them. Ofsted inspect local authorities to ensure that children’s services meet the needs of the local population. The health and safety of social workers is primarily a matter for their employer. For child and family social workers, this is the relevant local authority. It is the responsibility of the local authority to ensure that working practices and processes are safe for their workers.

The standards for employers of social workers in England have been developed by the sector and set out the shared core expectations of employers which will enable social workers in all employment settings to work effectively and safely. The standards can be found at: https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/social-workers/standards-employers-social-workers-england-3.

Over the current spending review period, the department will continue to invest more than £50 million every year on recruiting, training, and developing child and family social workers to ensure the workforce has the capacity, skills, and knowledge to do their job and to support and protect vulnerable children.

In addition, the reforms set out in our children's social care strategy, Stable Homes, Built on Love, will boost social worker supply, provide more support earlier in their careers and help improve working conditions to encourage social workers to stay in practice for longer, and make sure they feel valued.

Supported internships are personalised study programmes, specifically designed to support young people aged 16-24 with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, to prepare for and transition into sustained, paid employment. A variety of placements exist, including with high profile retailers such as Waitrose.

In February 2022, the department announced an investment of up to £18 million over the next three years to build capacity in the Supported Internships programme, aiming to double the number of Supported Internships to give more young people with an EHC plan the skills to secure and sustain paid employment.

The Internships Work consortium are the department’s contracted partner and deliver activities to expand and improve Supported Internships provision across the country. As part of this work, DFN Project Search are engaging and supporting a wide range of employers. By March 2025 they will identify and train 800 new employer champions, to strengthen the links between Supported Internships and employers across all sectors. DFN Project Search have provided local authorities with training on how to engage with Employer Champions and how local authorities can develop their local Supported Internship offer.

Finally, in the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced up to £3 million to pilot extending Supported Internships to young people without EHC plans. Through this pilot the department will seek to establish whether the Supported Internship model is an effective approach for learners with learning difficulties and disabilities without an EHC plan. We will identify the benefits and challenges of using the Supported Internship model to support this cohort and use learning from the pilot to consider if and how the approach could be rolled out more widely.

Gender is a complex and sensitive issue and the Department engages with a wide range of interested organisations in developing policy in this area, including LGBT+ organisations.

The Department is working closely with the Minister for Women and Equalities to develop guidance for schools and colleges on children questioning their gender. In undertaking a public consultation on the draft guidance prior to publication, the Department will consider a wide range of views.

The Department launched the Period Products Scheme to provide pupils with period products when they need them. Since its launch in January 2020, 97% of secondary schools and 92% of post 16 colleges in England now use the scheme to provide free period products to pupils.

All eligible organisations were emailed in September 2022 to remind them of their log in details and to provide them with a link to the guidance. Further contact has been made with all organisations who have not ordered throughout this academic year.

The Department publishes statistics regarding the Scheme’s operation, which are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information.

A parent’s income should not be a barrier to a pupil participating in a school trip.

Schools may not charge for school trips that take place during school hours, or which take place outside school hours but are part of the National Curriculum, part of religious education, or part of the syllabus for a public exam that the pupil is being prepared for at the school. Parents can be asked for contributions towards the cost of a trip, but schools must make clear that contributions are voluntary.

If a trip requires a night away from home, parents can be charged for board and lodging. Parents who receive certain benefits cannot be charged, and schools should be clear on this in their communications.

The published advice, ‘Charging for School Activities’, is clear that no pupil should be excluded from an activity simply because their parents are unwilling or unable to pay. The advice can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706830/Charging_for_school_activities.pdf.

The Government has provided over £2.6 billion of Pupil Premium funding in the 2022/23 financial year to support pupils from lower income families. Rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, taking total pupil premium funding to £2.9 billion. As set out in the menu of approaches, schools are able to use both Pupil Premium and Recovery Premium to fund extracurricular activities, including school trips.

Financial education forms part of the National Curriculum for citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4 but can be taught by all schools at all Key Stages. More information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/national-curriculum. The subject covers the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management, and managing financial risk. At secondary school, pupils are taught income and expenditure, credit and debt, insurance, savings and pensions, financial products and services, and how public money is raised and spent.

The mathematics curriculum includes an emphasis on the essential arithmetic that primary pupils should be taught. A strong grasp of mathematics will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, using percentages. The secondary mathematics curriculum develops pupils’ understanding in relation to more complex personal finance issues, such as calculating loan repayments, interest rates and compound interest.

The Department works closely with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) and HM Treasury to consider the wide range of evidence for financial education and to explore the opportunities to improve availability of high quality financial education. MaPS has a statutory duty to develop and co-ordinate a national strategy to improve people’s financial capabilities and their ten year strategy, published in 2020, set out their national goal that two million more pupils and young people will receive a meaningful financial education by 2030. The strategy is supported by Delivery Plans for each nation of the UK and details can be found here:https://www.maps.org.uk/uk-strategy-for-financial-wellbeing/.

There is a wide range of support available. MaPS published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England to support head teachers and education decision makers to enhance the financial education currently delivered in their schools. This guidance is available at: https://maps.org.uk/2021/11/11/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england/.

The Standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 and are designed to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children receive the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. Schools have flexibility under the Standards to substitute food and regularly update and change menus. They may make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available. There is no legal requirement that meals should be hot, but the Department expects all schools to routinely be offering a varied hot meal option to pupils.

The Department recognises the pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing due to rising costs. The Department is holding regular meetings with other Government Departments and with food industry representatives on a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies.

This issue should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. After the National Funding Formula (NFF) rates were set, the Department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in 2022/2023, in recognition of cost pressures, which has been distributed through a schools supplementary grant.

Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase of £2.41 per pupil in UIFSM funding. Ordinarily, the new funding rates take effect from the start of the academic year. The Department recognises that schools are under cost pressures and some suppliers may have been forced to increase prices and so these increases have been backdated.

The Chancellor set out in his Autumn Statement that schools will receive additional funding in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is £2 billion greater than published in 2021. This £2 billion is new money, over and above what had been previously committed.

The Standards for school food are set out in the Requirements for School Food Regulations 2014 and are designed to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children receive the energy and nutrition they need throughout the school day. Schools have flexibility under the Standards to substitute food and regularly update and change menus. They may make changes if ingredients or meals are not readily available. There is no legal requirement that meals should be hot, but the Department expects all schools to routinely be offering a varied hot meal option to pupils.

The Department recognises the pressures that some schools and suppliers may be facing due to rising costs. The Department is holding regular meetings with other Government Departments and with food industry representatives on a variety of issues, including public sector food supplies.

This issue should be seen in the wider context of funding for schools. After the National Funding Formula (NFF) rates were set, the Department received additional funding from HM Treasury for core schools funding in 2022/2023, in recognition of cost pressures, which has been distributed through a schools supplementary grant.

Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) are funded through a direct grant to schools. In June 2022, the Government announced an increase of £2.41 per pupil in UIFSM funding. Ordinarily, the new funding rates take effect from the start of the academic year. The Department recognises that schools are under cost pressures and some suppliers may have been forced to increase prices and so these increases have been backdated.

The Chancellor set out in his Autumn Statement that schools will receive additional funding in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. This brings the core schools budget to a total of £58.8 billion in 2024/25, which is £2 billion greater than published in 2021. This £2 billion is new money, over and above what had been previously committed.

In the 2021 Spending Review, the department announced additional funding for early years of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24 and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year.

The department has recently announced that we will invest an additional £20 million into early years funding in 2023/24, on top of the additional £180 million for 2023/24 announced in the Spending Review. Taken together, this will help support providers at a national level with the additional National Living Wage costs associated with delivering the free childcare entitlements next year.

With this additional £20 million investment, in 2023/24 local authorities are set to receive average funding increases of 3.4% for the 3- and 4-year-old free childcare entitlements and 4% for the 2- year-old entitlement, compared to their 2022/23 rates.

The department will increase the Early Years Pupil Premium, which for 2023/24 will provide up to £353 per eligible child per year to support better outcomes for disadvantaged 3- and 4-year- olds, and also the Disability Access Fund, which will be worth at least £828 per eligible 3 – 4-year-old child per year. We will also be investing an additional £10 million into Maintained Nursery School supplementary funding from 2023/24.

The department understands that language skills are crucial to help people integrate into life in England, as well as to break down barriers to work and enable career progression. The department funds English for Speakers of Other Languages provision for eligible adults aged 19 and over through the Adult Education Budget (AEB).

Currently, approximately 60% of the AEB is devolved to nine Mayoral Combined Authorities and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority. These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is responsible for funding eligible learners resident outside of these areas. Most of the AEB that is managed by the ESFA is allocated to grant funded providers including further education colleges, local authorities, higher education institutes, and specialist designated institutions. Where a provider that directly receives AEB or 16 to 19 ESFA/department funding can evidence that it would enhance the quality of the learner offer they may subcontract to another delivery organisation. Directly funded providers are required to undertake thorough due diligence checks when appointing any delivery subcontractor and must comply with the department's subcontracting rules.

The 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review has made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education in 2024/25, compared with 2021/22. This is the biggest increase in funding for a decade.

In support of local authorities’ statutory duty to secure provision in a local area, the department will consider their requests to fill a gap in provision. Where evidenced gaps cannot be filled through negotiation with good existing providers, they are put out to tender through open competition.

The department is investing £2.6 billion between 2022 and 2025 to support local authorities to deliver new places and improve existing provision for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities or who require alternative provision. This represents a significant, transformational investment in new high needs provision. It will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and will also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.

As part of this commitment, in March 2022 the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment, focused on academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities.

The £2.6 billion capital investment in high needs provision announced in October 2021 will also help to deliver up to 60 new special and alternative provision free schools. This is in addition to the 48 special free schools already in the pipeline and 90 special free schools already opened.

Supported internships are personalised study programmes, specifically designed to support young people aged 16-24 with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans, to prepare for and transition into sustained, paid employment.

In February 2022, the department announced that we are investing up to £18 million over the next three years to build capacity in the Supported Internships programme, aiming to double the number of Supported Internships to give more young people with an EHC plan the skills to secure and sustain paid employment.

As part of this investment, the department has a contract with the Internships Work consortium, led by the National Development Team for Inclusion, to deliver activities to expand and improve Supported Internships provision across the country.

For those without an EHC plan, traineeships are a pathway to apprenticeships and other employment for 16 to 24 year olds with minimal work experience and without the skills, experience, and confidence to start an apprenticeship or job.

The department is reforming technical education to ensure that all post-16 students have access to high quality technical options that support progression and meet employer needs, including the introduction of T Levels. Streamlining the system will mean that it is simpler and more straight forward, and therefore more accessible, for students to make choices about the qualifications they choose and their future progression routes. These reforms will ensure that all remaining level 3 qualifications in scope of the review, including those which don’t overlap with T Levels, are high-quality, necessary, have a clear purpose and support progression to positive

T Levels are substantial, rigorous, and focused on high-quality learning, and include a substantial industry placement element of around 9 weeks. They will provide the knowledge and experience needed for skilled employment, further study (including higher education) or a higher apprenticeship. T Level content has been designed with employers to ensure that the qualifications meet the needs of industry and to give students a head-start in their chosen career.

We are also delivering supply and demand side reforms to reverse the decline in uptake of high-quality higher technical education.

Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs). These are current, and new, level 4-5 qualifications, approved and quality marked by the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE) as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.

HTQ rollout is on track. They began teaching from this September, starting with Digital HTQs, and all 15 occupational routes are due to be rolled out by 2025, where relevant occupational standards are available. To date 106 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across Digital, Construction, and Health & Science routes, for teaching this year or next. There are over 70 providers able to deliver HTQs from September 2022, with the majority being Further Education Colleges.

To support HTQs and make them more widely available and accessible we’ve announced circa £70m to date in funding to prime higher technical provision in Further Education & Higher Education Institutions across the country. We’ve also introduced an HTQ brand, are taking steps to improve communications, advice, and guidance, and are putting the student finance offer for HTQs on a par with degrees from academic year 2023/24, including access to maintenance loans for those studying part-time.

The department is not currently planning to extend the existing entitlement hours. Improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare for working families is important for the department, and we are committed to encouraging families to use the government-funded support that they are entitled to.

The department recognises that childcare can be a significant portion of a family budget, and so we are promoting the financial support that is available to help parents with childcare costs through the Childcare Choices campaign. Childcare Choices aims to raise parents' awareness of the schemes that exist to support them and encourage providers to become eligible to offer them. The Childcare Choices website brings together all the government support available to offset the costs of childcare, and can be found here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

In addition to the universal 15 hours of free early education entitlement available to all three and four-year-olds, the department also offers working parents of three and four-year-olds an additional 15 hours of free childcare (also known as 30 hours free childcare) if they earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum/living wage, and under £100,000 per year.

The department also offers support outside of the entitlements. Tax-Free Childcare is available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities, and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.

Additionally, working parents on Universal Credit may also be eligible for help with up to 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit Childcare. This is subject to a monthly limit of £646 for one child or £1,108 for two or more children aged 0-16.

The Department has introduced a rigorous mathematics curriculum, providing young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make important financial decisions. In the primary mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the essential arithmetic knowledge that pupils should be taught. This knowledge is vital, as a strong grasp of numeracy and numbers will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, for example, using percentages. There is also some specific content about financial education, such as calculations with money.

Primary schools can choose to teach additional financial education content through external organisations but the Department does not monitor this. The Department trusts schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their school, drawing on the expertise and support of subject associations and other organisations that produce and quality assure resources.

There is a wide range of support available. For instance, the Money and Pension Service published financial education guidance for primary and secondary schools in England, to support head teachers and decision makers to enhance the financial education currently delivered in their schools. In addition, the Department, together with the Money and Pensions Service, will deliver a series of joint financial education webinars between January and March 2023, aimed at improving teacher confidence, skills and knowledge. This will provide a launchpad for further engagement with training and resources to support continuous improvement.

The department recognises the significant and wide-ranging benefits that access to nature can bring.

As announced at COP26 in November 2022, as part of the sustainability and climate change strategy for the education and children’s services systems, the department is launching the National Education Nature Park in autumn 2022. This will provide teachers, children and young people with access to activities and learning resources to further their knowledge of climate change and develop their scientific and digital skills whilst working in the natural environment.

For those schools in more urban areas with limited access to the natural environment, the Park’s website will signpost opportunities in the local community to engage with nature, be that through local community groups, parks or allotments. There are many community groups that are keen to engage with schools and by mapping what is available in one portal, it will make it easier for teachers to source the venues and advice they need to ensure that all pupils have access to nature. As the Park matures, we also envisage that grants will be made available to enable those in more disadvantaged areas to participate in the Park’s activities.

The Park will be accessed through a website which will showcase engaging activities and resources related to sustainability and climate change that could be undertaken by all education settings. These activities will be applicable to even the most limited sites, such as building ‘bug hotels’ or installing raised planting beds to increase biodiversity. Changes in biodiversity will be captured via a geospatial mapping tool which will enable staff, children and young people to identify, measure, report and monitor the progress of their own education setting over time. The department has been working closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to learn lessons from their Access to Nature programme, which will also be fed into the design of the Park.

The department is in the process of appointing a world class provider with outstanding expertise on these issues to deliver the Park and linked Climate Leaders Award, which will launch in autumn 2022.

I refer the hon. Member for Nottingham East to the answer I gave on 23 May 2022 to Question 3802.

The department is committed to a sustainable funding model that supports high-quality provision, meets the skills needs of the country and maintains the world-class reputation of UK higher education (HE). It is crucial that the student finance system is just and sustainable, provides value for money for society and represents a sound investment for students.

Holders of temporary leave to remain who are in need of international protection, such as those awarded refugee status or humanitarian protection, are eligible for automatic home fee status, as are those with pre-settled status who are covered by the Withdrawal Agreements. Discretionary leave to remain is a type of temporary leave granted for a limited period only outside the immigration rules. The department has no plans to extend eligibility to those with discretionary leave to remain.

However, where a student is not automatically eligible for home fee status, HE providers can waive or reduce fees where they consider it appropriate to do so. The onus would be on individual applicants to provide a compelling and persuasive case to their individual university which would warrant the exercise of this discretion in their favour, as to do so would mean a loss of income for the provider. Additionally, most HE providers, as independent and autonomous organisations, provide support direct to their students through scholarships and bursaries.

Pupil mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the government. We prioritised reopening schools above all else because it is so vital for children and young people’s wellbeing, as well as their education. The support schools are providing to their pupils following the return to face-to-face education should include time devoted to supporting wellbeing, which will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing recovery. The expectations for schools in this regard are set out in the main departmental guidance to schools. This guidance also signposts further support and is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Although schools should encourage pupils to work hard and achieve well, the department does not recommend that they devote excessive preparation time to assessment, and certainly not at the expense of pupils’ mental health and wellbeing. We trust schools to administer assessments in the appropriate way.

Supporting the wellbeing and mental health of staff is a crucial element of our commitment to help create a supportive culture in schools and colleges. This is why the department have worked in partnership with the education sector and mental health experts to inform and deliver commitments to protect and promote staff mental health and wellbeing.

All employers have a duty of care to their employees, and this extends to their mental health. The department published the education staff wellbeing charter, which we are encouraging schools and colleges to sign up to. The charter is a set of commitments from the government, Ofsted, and schools and colleges to protect and promote the wellbeing of staff. It can be used to inform a whole school or college approach to wellbeing or develop a staff wellbeing strategy. Further information on the charter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter.

As primary assessments will be returning for the first time since 2019, without any adaptations, the results will not be published in key stage 2 (KS2) performance tables in the academic year 2021 to 2022. The department will still produce the normal suite of KS2 accountability measures at school level. These will be shared securely with primary schools, academy trusts, local authorities to inform school improvement discussions. The department will also share the data with Ofsted to inform, but not determine, inspection outcomes.

It is important to recognise that a school’s performance in the 2021/22 academic year may be affected by the uneven impact of COVID-19 on pupils and schools. That is why the department will ensure that clear messages are placed alongside any data shared, to advise caution in its interpretation, and will work with Ofsted to highlight these messages in inspector training.

The number of teachers remains high, with over 461,000 working in state-funded schools in England, 20,000 more than in 2010. The department is improving the process of becoming a teacher, from stimulating initial interest through world-class marketing, through to improving the application to initial teacher training (ITT). In October 2021, our new digital service, ‘apply for teacher training’, was rolled out. This is a key milestone in the delivery of a more streamlined, user-friendly application route.

We are transforming the training and support we provide to teachers and school leaders, to not only attract more people into teaching, but encourage them to stay and thrive in the profession.

We have created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support, and professional development for all new teachers, across ITT and into induction, to bring teaching into line with other prestigious professions, such as law, accountancy, and medicine. Underpinning this is the refreshed ITT core content framework and the early career framework. We have also launched a refreshed suite of fully funded National Professional Qualifications for teachers and school leaders at all levels, from those who want to develop expertise in high-quality teaching practice to those leading multiple schools across trusts.

To support recruitment of specialist secondary teachers in subjects that are harder to recruit for, we have put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £24,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £26,000 tax-free. This will encourage talented trainees for key subjects such as chemistry, computing, mathematics, and physics. Additionally, we have announced a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for teachers in these subjects in years 1 to 5 of their careers. We also remain committed to increasing teacher starting salaries to £30,000 to make teaching an attractive graduate option.

Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality, and we are taking action to support teachers to stay and thrive in the profession. The department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, including by launching the education staff wellbeing charter, and by driving down unnecessary burdens and reducing teacher workload though the use of our workload reduction toolkit. Further information on the staff wellbeing charter and workload reduction toolkit are available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter and here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-workload-reduction-toolkit.

Children’s wellbeing and safety in school is of the highest priority for the department. All schools, including free schools, are required by law to follow the statutory guidance about safeguarding. ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. In addition, academy trusts (every free school comes under an academy trust) must comply with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, available to view here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/schedule/made#:~:text=The%20Education%20%28Independent%20School%20Standards%29%20Regulations%202014%201,Quality%20of%20leadership%20in%20and%20management%20of%20schools. Part 3 sets out the required standards for ensuring the welfare, health and safety of pupils, and that such arrangements must have regard to any guidance issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.

Local authorities are responsible for investigating individual safeguarding concerns. Their responsibilities are summarised here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922910/schools_causing_concern1.pdf. The primary safeguarding role of the department, through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), is to consider whether an academy’s (and free school’s) safeguarding, child protection policies and complaints policies are compliant with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Where concerns are raised about approach to and compliance with safeguarding requirements in an academy or free school, the ESFA will work closely with the trust to ensure they take action to address issues and meet the statutory requirements. In 2021, the ESFA received correspondence about safeguarding compliance in 81 free schools, of which only one case was assessed as an immediate risk. This case was referred to the Director of Children Services at the relevant local authority to take immediate action to ensure the wellbeing of that child.

Children’s wellbeing and safety in school is of the highest priority for the department. All schools, including free schools, are required by law to follow the statutory guidance about safeguarding. ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2. In addition, academy trusts (every free school comes under an academy trust) must comply with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014, available to view here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/3283/schedule/made#:~:text=The%20Education%20%28Independent%20School%20Standards%29%20Regulations%202014%201,Quality%20of%20leadership%20in%20and%20management%20of%20schools. Part 3 sets out the required standards for ensuring the welfare, health and safety of pupils, and that such arrangements must have regard to any guidance issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education.

Local authorities are responsible for investigating individual safeguarding concerns. Their responsibilities are summarised here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/922910/schools_causing_concern1.pdf. The primary safeguarding role of the department, through the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), is to consider whether an academy’s (and free school’s) safeguarding, child protection policies and complaints policies are compliant with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Where concerns are raised about approach to and compliance with safeguarding requirements in an academy or free school, the ESFA will work closely with the trust to ensure they take action to address issues and meet the statutory requirements. In 2021, the ESFA received correspondence about safeguarding compliance in 81 free schools, of which only one case was assessed as an immediate risk. This case was referred to the Director of Children Services at the relevant local authority to take immediate action to ensure the wellbeing of that child.

The decision on whether to admit a child with symptoms lies with the school. In the schools COVID-19 operational guidance and in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) COVID-19 operational guidance it says: ‘‘In most cases, parents and carers will agree that a pupil with symptoms should not attend the school, given the potential risk to others. If a parent or carer insists on a pupil attending your school, you can take the decision to refuse the pupil if, in your reasonable judgment, it is necessary to protect other pupils and staff from possible infection with COVID-19. Your decision would need to be carefully considered in light of all the circumstances and current public health advice.’’

Where a pupil or student is unable to attend their education provider because they are complying with clinical or public health advice, we expect their education provider to be able to offer them access to high quality remote education. It is important that systems are put in place to keep in contact with them and regularly check if they are accessing remote education. If they have a social worker, they should also agree the best way to maintain contact and offer support.

Teachers are best placed to know how to most effectively meet pupil and student needs, ensuring they continue to make progress if they are not in face to face education because they are following public health advice. We recognise that some pupils and students with SEND may not be able to access remote education without adult support, and expect schools and colleges to work collaboratively with families and implement reasonable adjustments so that pupils with SEND can successfully access remote education appropriate for their level of need.

Where children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are not attending their education provision because they are following public health advice, multi-agency professionals should collaborate to agree how to meet their duties to deliver the provision set out in the EHCP. This may include face to face visits to the home, or virtual support by means of video or telephone calls, or via email.

The new subject of health education became compulsory in all state-funded schools from September 2020, alongside relationships education in primary schools and relationships and sex education in secondary schools.

The statutory guidance provides a clear description of what pupils should be taught about in health education. This includes mental wellbeing, internet safety and harms, physical health and fitness, healthy eating, drugs, alcohol and tobacco, health, and prevention, basic first aid and the changing adolescent body.

The topic of health and prevention includes content that is particularly relevant to the COVID-19 outbreak, such as how bacteria and viruses are spread and treated and the importance of hygiene, including handwashing. The subject also covers the facts and science relating to immunisation and vaccination.

To support schools to deliver this content, the Department has produced teacher training modules which are available on GOV.UK. The Department’s guidance for schools during the COVID-19 outbreak includes detailed advice on public health duties, and is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

The government is committed to ensuring that students that have been living away from home are able to return home at the end of term, if they choose to do so. Higher education (HE) providers should ensure they have plans for how they support students to return home safely. As part of these plans, HE providers should plan to have moved all teaching online by 9 December, at the very latest, for a short period until the end of the autumn term. We expect providers to stagger the end of face to face provision between 3 to 9 December, both between faculties and universities in the same city (and region if possible).

Anyone who remains at university after 9 December will run the risk of having to undertake a period of isolation of up to 14 days at university, if they contracted COVID-19, or were identified as a contact of someone who had, and would therefore be at risk of not being able to travel home for the end of term break.

The government plays no direct role in the provision of accommodation, whether university or privately owned.

Officials speak regularly with representatives of private and university owned accommodation, as well as sector bodies. The government worked closely with universities to ensure they were well prepared for the return of students, and we have published guidance to help them keep students and staff as safe as possible. Protecting students’ education and wellbeing is vital, so we are supporting universities to continue delivering a blend of online and face-to-face learning where possible in a COVID-secure way. More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.

Libraries and study spaces on campus should remain open to students and staff, for educational purposes, and must continue to maintain COVID-secure measures. This is important to ensure that student learning can continue as planned while the national restrictions are in place.

Students who have an accommodation contract and, because of COVID-19, think it may no longer fit their requirements, should talk directly to their housing provider.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.

Students may be entitled to refunds from accommodation providers depending on the terms of their contract and their particular circumstances. If students need help, organisations such as Citizens Advice offer a free service, providing information and support.

If a student thinks that their accommodation provider is treating them unfairly, they can raise a complaint under the accommodation codes of practice, as long as their provider is a code member. The codes can be found at: https://www.thesac.org.uk/; https://www.unipol.org.uk/the-code/how-to-complain and https://www.rla.org.uk/about/nrla-code-of-practice.shtml.

The department provides two documents to assist schools in managing any report of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Both provide detailed information on schools’ legal responsibilities, advice on managing reports of abuse, victim support and provide links to specialist advice and support.

The statutory guidance, which schools must give regard to, for keeping children safe in education is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

Advice on sexual violence and sexual harassment between children in schools and colleges is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sexual-violence-and-sexual-harassment-between-children-in-schools-and-colleges.

Adopters are legally entitled to an assessment of their needs and their adoptive child’s needs, including assessment of need for financial support, therapeutic services, advice and guidance.

Sexual abuse can have both short-term and long-term effects and children and young people may experience a range of issues including: anxiety and depression; post-traumatic stress; feelings of shame and guilt; and relationship problems with family and friends. Therapeutic support can help children recover from their experiences and the Adoption Support Fund (ASF) is available for children who have left care through adoption and special guardianship to access this kind of support. The types of therapeutic support available through the ASF include play therapy, psychotherapy, family therapy and extensive life story work.

The government has invested significantly in the ASF, which has provided more than £177 million for therapeutic support to over 62,000 families since it launched in 2015. Local authorities and regional adoption agencies also fund other types of support to adoptive families. The government continues to review the support provided to all adoptive children and this issue will be discussed as part of the forthcoming spending review. We have also tasked the Adoption and Special Guardianship Leadership Board with improving support to adoptive families.

Although no full assessment has been made regarding the effect that school closures have had on the attainment of disadvantaged pupils, the Department has commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to provide a baseline assessment of catch up needs for pupils in schools in England. They will then monitor progress over the course of the year, based on existing assessments, to help us target support across the system. This research will make use of existing assessments that schools already choose to use and are typically taken by over one million children each year. This will allow the Department to assess how a range of groups are performing this year, including the most disadvantaged and those with historically poor outcomes.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has made it clear that no child should fall behind as a result of COVID-19. Now children are back in school, teachers are assessing what support their pupils need to get back on track, and head teachers have the flexibility to spend their allocation from our £1 billion COVID-19 catch up fund in the way they think is best for their pupils, using approaches that are known to have the most impact. The Department also continues to provide pupil premium funding, worth £2.4 billion in the current financial year, which aims to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will provide additional, targeted tutoring support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who need the most help to catch up. It is important that decisions about what support pupils receive are made locally by those who understand their needs. Schools are encouraged to direct NTP support to pupil premium pupils who have been hardest hit by the disruption to their education. Schools are also able to exercise their professional judgement to include other disadvantaged and vulnerable children who are most in need of support.

As well as the NTP, the Department is also providing £650 million for a catch-up premium for all schools to help make up for lost teaching time. Schools can prioritise support based on individual needs, including pupils from deprived backgrounds and pupils facing other challenges, such as young carers, those working with a social worker, and those with mental health needs. Schools are free to use this funding to meet the needs of their pupils, including, for example, intervention programmes, extra teaching capacity or access to technology.

All pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. On 2 July we published guidance to help schools prepare for this. The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools are advised to maximise the use of their site and any associated available space, such as rooms in an associated place of worship for schools with a religious character, if feasible. We do not, however, consider it necessary for schools to make significant adaptations to their site to enable them to welcome all children back to school. We also do not think schools will need to deliver any of their education on other sites (such as community centres and village halls) because class sizes can return to normal and spaces used by more than one class or group can be cleaned between use.

As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources when making arrangements to welcome all children back for the autumn. There are no plans at present to reimburse additional costs incurred as part of that process.

Schools have been able to claim additional funding for exceptional costs incurred due to COVID-19 between March and July 2020, such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases and increased premises costs to keep schools open for priority groups during the Easter and summer half term holidays. Schools have also continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6bn in 2020-21, £4.8bn in 2021-22 and £7.1bn in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20.

All pupils, in all year groups, will return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. On 2 July we published guidance to help schools prepare for this. The guidance can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools are advised to maximise the use of their site and any associated available space, such as rooms in an associated place of worship for schools with a religious character, if feasible. We do not, however, consider it necessary for schools to make significant adaptations to their site to enable them to welcome all children back to school. We also do not think schools will need to deliver any of their education on other sites (such as community centres and village halls) because class sizes can return to normal and spaces used by more than one class or group can be cleaned between use.

As stated in our guidance, schools should use their existing resources when making arrangements to welcome all children back for the autumn. There are no plans at present to reimburse additional costs incurred as part of that process.

Schools have been able to claim additional funding for exceptional costs incurred due to COVID-19 between March and July 2020, such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases and increased premises costs to keep schools open for priority groups during the Easter and summer half term holidays. Schools have also continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6bn in 2020-21, £4.8bn in 2021-22 and £7.1bn in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20.

Racial harassment is unacceptable, and we cannot tolerate staff and students being victims of it at our world-leading universities. There is no place in our society - including within higher education – for any form of harassment, discrimination or racism. Universities have clear responsibilities in this regard.

As independent and autonomous institutions, higher education providers are responsible for the contracts and conditions of employment that they offer to their staff. We expect universities to follow fair recruitment and employment practices in accordance with the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) to ensure that all job applicants and existing staff, regardless of race, have the opportunity to progress in their careers.

This government will continue to work closely with key partners, and the Office for Students, to drive progress on matters of racial harassment and inequality in higher education.

Racial harassment is unacceptable, and we cannot tolerate staff and students being victims of it at our world-leading universities. There is no place in our society - including within higher education – for any form of harassment, discrimination or racism. Universities have clear responsibilities in this regard.

As independent and autonomous institutions, higher education providers are responsible for the contracts and conditions of employment that they offer to their staff. We expect universities to follow fair recruitment and employment practices in accordance with the requirements of the Equality Act (2010) to ensure that all job applicants and existing staff, regardless of race, have the opportunity to progress in their careers.

This government will continue to work closely with key partners, and the Office for Students, to drive progress on matters of racial harassment and inequality in higher education.

As of 4 July, providers offering out-of-school activities to children, such as sports clubs, including those not based on school premises, have been able to open for both indoor and outdoor provision with safety measures in place.

Out-of-school provision will continue to be permitted to operate during the autumn. The Department has updated the guidance for providers of holiday and after-school clubs and other out-of-school settings during the COVID-19 outbreak to outline the protective measures that settings should put in place to minimise the risk of infection and transmission of the virus, and to operate as safely as possible when all children return to school. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Racism in all its forms is abhorrent and has no place in our society. Schools play a crucial role in helping young people understand the world around them and their place within it. All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying and they have the freedom to develop their own anti-bulling strategies and monitoring approaches to best suit their environment.

Our guidance on preventing and tackling bullying (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying) sets out that schools should develop a consistent approach to monitoring bullying incidents and evaluating the effectiveness of their approaches. It also directs schools to organisations who can provide support with tackling bullying related to race, religion and nationality.

The department asks teachers about the prevalence of different types of bullying in its regular school snapshot surveys. The latest survey is from July 2019: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-snapshot-survey-summer-2019. This survey suggests that, over the previous 12 months, 56% of school leaders and teachers had ‘never’ or ‘rarely’ seen any of the types of bullying mentioned. 18% reported seeing bullying linked to race and ethnicity ‘sometimes’ or more often.

On 7 June, we announced more than £750,000 for the Diana Award, the Anti-Bullying Alliance and the Anne Frank Trust in order to help hundreds of schools and colleges build relationships between pupils and to increase their resilience as well as to continue to tackle bullying both in person and online (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/extra-mental-health-support-for-pupils-and-teachers). The department has also made resources available through the website Educate Against Hate (https://educateagainsthate.com/). This website provides teachers, school leaders and parents with the information, guidance and support that they need to challenge radical views, including racist and discriminatory beliefs.

The department publishes an analysis of pupil performance at the key stage 2 and key stage 4 assessment points each year.

These analyses show that attainment at the end of key stage 2 varies between different ethnic groups. Consistent with previous years, Chinese pupils were the highest achieving group in 2019, with 80% of Chinese pupils reaching the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths, which is 15 percentage points above the national average. The pattern of attainment across the ethnic major groups has remained largely the same compared to the previous years. Chinese pupils were the highest attaining ethnic group, while black pupils and white pupils were the lowest attaining ethnic groups.

At the end of key stage 4, as in 2018, Chinese, mixed and Asian pupils had Attainment 8 scores above the national average (46.7 in 2019). Average Attainment 8 scores for white pupils and black pupils both remained below the national average.

The latest key stage 2 analysis is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-curriculum-assessments-key-stage-2-2019-revised.

The latest key stage 4 analysis is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/key-stage-4-performance-2019-revised.

The government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures, including within children’s social care. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months.

The government is providing free IT devices and equipment for children who do not currently have access to these, including children living with foster carers. We have also provided a national scheme to offer supermarket vouchers, worth £15 a week, to families of children who receive benefits-related free school meals. This is to cover the cost of meals for children who are currently unable to attend school.

We are continuing to work with fostering services and sector organisations to better understand the specific challenges that foster carers are facing in order to ensure the right level of support is put in place. This includes working closely with Fosterline, an independent advice and support line funded by the Department for Education, to consider what additional support can be offered to foster families struggling at this time.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, we are temporarily extending free school meal eligibility to include some children of groups who have no recourse to public funds. These groups are children of Zambrano carers, children of families with a right to remain in the UK under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, children of families receiving support under Section 17 of the Children Act 1989 and children of a subset of failed asylum seekers supported under Section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. These groups are a subject to a maximum income threshold of £16,190 per annum.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the current, 2019/20, academic year.

Students with a part-time employment contract should speak to their employer about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has been set up to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment. This can be accessed from here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses.

We have also asked that HE providers pay particular attention to the additional financial hardships that are being faced by student staff who have been reliant on income from campus-based jobs at this time.

Students who are tenants with individual private landlords are entitled to support if they are impacted by COVID-19, such as repayable rent reductions or postponements and assurances that eviction proceedings cannot begin against them for 3 months.

The government encourages universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies have waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.

It is also important to stress that accommodation providers should not have instructed any student to leave. If any accommodation provider did formally instruct a student to leave the property then it would be unacceptable to continue to charge student rents.

The UK is committed to leading efforts to protect our marine environment, including fighting plastic pollution.

At the UN Ocean Conference in June, the OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic, which the UK is party to, launched the second Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter that sets out the action countries will take to prevent and reduce marine litter.

The UK is proud to have supported the proposal by Rwanda and Peru that led to the landmark resolution to start negotiating a legally binding treaty to end plastic pollution. To continue to drive progress, the UK became a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution through which we will strive for an ambitious treaty that will end plastic pollution by 2040.

The UK's Environment Act enables us to change how we manage our waste and take forward proposals from our Resources and Waste Strategy, including tackling plastic pollution.

To tackle pollution from frequently littered items we have restricted the supply of plastic straws, cotton buds and banned drinks stirrers, and with the introduction of carrier bag charges, the use of single-use carrier bags in England has reduced in the main supermarkets by over 97%.

Additionally, our ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products has prevented billions of these tiny plastic beads from entering the ocean each year. Furthermore, we have consulted on proposals to ban the supply of single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and balloon sticks, and expanded and extruded polystyrene food and beverage containers, including cups. The consultation response will be published in due course.

Plastic packaging contributes to 55% to 70% of the UK's plastic waste. The introduction of extended producer responsibility for packaging and a plastic packaging tax this April, will incentivise businesses to produce more sustainable packaging and help address this problem, as will the plastic packaging tax on plastic packaging with insufficient recycled content.

Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000 and since 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are restrictions on some skin and fur products which may never be legally imported into the UK. These include fur and products from cats and dogs, and seal skins and products from commercial hunts. We have established controls on fur from endangered species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and we do not allow imports of fur from wild animals caught using methods which are non-compliant with international humane trapping standards.

We have some of the highest welfare standards in the world, and that is both a source of pride and a clear reflection of UK attitudes towards animals. The Government is considering any further steps it could take in relation to the import of animal fur, and other similarly produced animal products, which are farmed and slaughtered in conditions which do not meet the UKs animal welfare standards.

We have some of the highest welfare standards in the world, and that is both a source of pride and a clear reflection of UK attitudes towards animals.

The Government has made clear that the production of foie gras from ducks or geese who have been force fed raises serious welfare concerns. The production of foie gras by force feeding is already banned in the UK, as it is incompatible with our domestic welfare standards.

Fur farming has been banned in England and Wales since 2000 and since 2002 in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are restrictions on some skin and fur products which may never be legally imported into the UK. These include fur and products from cats and dogs, and seal skins and products from commercial hunts.

The Government is considering any further steps it could take in relation to foie gras, fur, and other such products now that the Transition Period has ended.

Preparations for the UK Presidency of COP26 are coordinated across Government by the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit, with departments including Defra, BEIS and FCDO and the devolved administrations leading on their areas of policy responsibility. The departments work closely together at ministerial and official levels, to ensure delivery of the best possible outcomes at COP26.

As a Defra Arm's Length Body, Defra holds the relationship with Natural England. Defra also leads on key aspects of the Government's COP26 preparations, including on the Nature Campaign. Defra has therefore led discussions with Natural England on COP26.

BEIS has not met Natural England on preparations for COP26.

Defra has regular meetings with Natural England on COP26, including holding Senior Board level meetings on these issues to ensure Natural England’s input into preparations. These discussions, including Natural England's role in COP26 preparations, will continue in the lead up to COP26.

Preparations for the UK Presidency of COP26 are coordinated across Government by the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit, with departments including Defra, BEIS and FCDO and the devolved administrations leading on their areas of policy responsibility. The departments work closely together at ministerial and official levels, to ensure delivery of the best possible outcomes at COP26.

As a Defra Arm's Length Body, Defra holds the relationship with Natural England. Defra also leads on key aspects of the Government's COP26 preparations, including on the Nature Campaign. Defra has therefore led discussions with Natural England on COP26.

BEIS has not met Natural England on preparations for COP26.

Defra has regular meetings with Natural England on COP26, including holding Senior Board level meetings on these issues to ensure Natural England’s input into preparations. These discussions, including Natural England's role in COP26 preparations, will continue in the lead up to COP26.

Nature-based solutions can play a key role in tackling climate change and managing its impacts. Over the last 5 years government has introduced new funding that specifically invests in nature-based solutions in England where climate change mitigation and adaptation is the primary purpose. Details of these specific funding streams are given below.

• £10 million Peatland Capital grants scheme 2018-21 to restore peatland.
• £19.5 million Woodland Carbon Fund announced in 2018 to support large scale woodland creation.
• £50 million Woodland Carbon Guarantee announced in 2018 to accelerate woodland planting rates and develop the domestic market for woodland carbon, to be spent over 35 years.
• £640 million Nature for Climate Fund will provide significant funding for the creation, restoration and management of woodland and peatland habitats in England 2020-2025.
• £15 million Natural Flood Management programme 2017-21, which supports 25 large catchment scale projects and 33 smaller community projects to further develop the evidence base on working with natural processes to reduce flood risk.

The UK Government also has a range of existing and funding streams such as Countryside Stewardship and the Green Recovery Challenge Fund that support the restoration of nature in England, and provide multiple benefits for wildlife, climate and people: we have not specifically assessed what proportion of these funding streams has provided nature-based solutions to climate change.

The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out rotational burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats, and we are looking at how legislation could achieve this. Real progress is being made in promoting sustainable alternatives. We have urged landowners to adopt these and continue to work with them constructively.

[questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2020-09-07/86122]

Defra has no plans to carry out a value for money assessment of out-of-hours veterinary care.

The Department has not made a value for money assessment of out-of-hours veterinary care.

Ecuador was removed from the red list on Monday 1 November. There are no countries or territories currently on the UK’s red list. However, the data for all countries and territories will be kept under regular review and the red list will continue to operate as the UK’s first defence to prevent incoming variants of concern from entering the UK from international travel.

The COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) has no pre-agreed end date. The Department will work with operators and authorities to ensure the transition away from CBSSG emergency funding is timed appropriately.

Recipients of CBSSG funding will be given eight weeks’ notice before funding ceases.

The National Bus Strategy, which will be launched in the coming weeks, will focus on how national and local government, and the private sector will come together to deliver better bus services and meet the needs of local communities. The Strategy is the first step in longer process; there will be much detail to develop in collaboration with stakeholders after publication.

The Government is currently providing up to £27.3m per week of emergency funding to the bus sector through the COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) scheme. This is allowing bus operators to maintain services for essential travel.

During the current national lockdown, the Department has asked operators and local authorities to work together to prioritise services and routes based on local need, while reducing overall service levels to reflect reduced demand. The Government will work with operators and local authorities to help them prepare for an increase in demand as national restrictions begin to lift and ensure that service levels and route provision can meet this increase.

The Government remains committed to supporting the bus sector’s long-term recovery from COVID-19. Further details on how we plan to support bus services will be included in the National Bus Strategy, which we expect to publish in the coming weeks.

The Government is currently providing up to £27.3m per week of emergency funding to the bus sector through the COVID-19 Bus Services Support Grant (CBSSG) scheme, ensuring that essential services continue to be provided. We will provide CBSSG until the funding is no longer needed.

On the 9^th May the Government announced a £2 billion package of funding for cycling and walking over the next five years. The Government will say more in the summer about its plans to boost cycling and improve cycle safety.

The Government has issued new statutory guidance to local authorities encouraging them to take measures to reallocate road space to people walking and cycling. It has also introduced a £225 million Emergency Active Travel Fund, available to local authorities this financial year for immediate measures to improve cycle safety including new cycle lanes.

The Government is committed to supporting claimants with learning difficulties in Nottingham, and across the country, move closer to the labour market or into work.

Learning disabled and autistic young people on their transition to employment can benefit from supported internships, which are aimed at young people with a learning disability or autism who have an Education, Health, and Care (EHC) plan. Supported internships usually last for 12 months and provide support from a specialist job coach. Whilst the Department for Education lead on this in England, the Department for Work and Pensions provides support through Access to Work where needed.

Additional Work Coach support for health journey claimants is a new Work Coach led support offer, which aims to help more disabled people and claimants with a health condition into, and towards, work. Our Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) deliver direct support to claimants who require additional work-related support and advice above our core Work Coach offer. DEAs continue to support all Work Coaches to deliver tailored, personalised support to all claimants with a disability or health condition.

People in particular disadvantaged groups can continue to benefit from support through the increased Flexible Support Fund and early priority access to the Work and Health Programme. In addition, the Intensive Personalised Employment Support provision provides highly personalised packages of employment support for disabled people who want to work, but have complex needs or barriers and require specialist support to achieve sustained employment. Many disabled people can benefit from Access to Work, which is a demand-led discretionary grant scheme that provides funding for the extra disability-related costs people have when starting work, or maintaining employment. It can also support disabled people on an apprenticeship, traineeship, or Supported Internship.

We are working with employers to encourage them to become Disability Confident. The Disability Confident scheme encourages employers to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face and improve their ability to recruit and retain disabled people.

Within Nottingham, our DEA’s can also refer claimants who require additional support to local initiatives, such as the Nottingham City Council’s Ways into Work Supported Employment Service, and the Well for Work programme, which helps people who are unemployed and facing health, language, or financial barriers to improve their wellbeing and find work.

Following an unsuccessful Mandatory Reconsideration, a claimant may appeal to the first-tier tribunal.

The Department for Work and Pensions and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) have been working together to reduce delays in appeals being processed and heard.

For its part, the DWP has: (i) recruited additional appeals staff; and (ii) reviewed its approach to drafting appeal responses, which has improved productivity. We recognise the importance of getting appeals processed and back to HMCTS without delay. At the same time, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling faster processing of appeals and thereby offering a better service to appellants.

The Secretary of State reviews Local Housing Allowance rates annually.

In April 2020 Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21 than they would otherwise have received.

LHA rates have been maintained at their increased levels since then, so that everyone who benefitted from the increase will continue to do so.

For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs.

Training and guidance is provided for all staff working with different vulnerable groups. This includes developing the skills they need to support and communicate with a diverse range of customers to provide a tailored service that recognises those with complex needs.

Jobcentre staff have access to information on services and support available in their local area for vulnerable claimants and will signpost claimants to national and local organisations who provide specialist support. This has included Trauma Informed Approach training that many staff have now completed. Nationally DWP works with J9, a domestic abuse awareness national initiative.

Work Coaches will tailor conditionality, setting requirements based on what is reasonable for the individual’s circumstances. A claimant’s work search and availability requirements can be switched off for an agreed period of time, and other work-related requirements can be lifted where appropriate. This includes where the claimant has suffered domestic violence and abuse, or periods where a child in their care is suffering distress due to experiencing or witnessing violence or abuse.

To assist identification and claimant support, each Jobcentre Plus site has a complex needs toolkit in place. These are maintained and reviewed locally and contain a named single point of contact for areas such as Homelessness, Care leavers and Prison leavers. Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs) are also on site to support when needed.

Prisoners are not entitled to Universal Credit because they are already housed and fed by the prison estate. An exception to this is where single persons expected to serve short term sentences of 6 months or less, or who are on remand, may retain entitlement to the housing costs element of Universal Credit for up to 6 months, to safeguard tenancies and prevent homelessness on release.

DWP has around 200 Prison Work Coaches based in prisons across Great Britain who provide employment support during sentence in preparation for release, and support in preparing to make a Universal Credit claim on release. We also provide a dedicated National Universal Credit phone line, which gives quick access to the benefit system for those unable to claim online. Claimants then have access to financial support from the day they claim through Universal Credit advance payments – paid up to 100% of their expected monthly entitlement.

DWP continues to contribute to cross-government work to improve support for female offenders through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) led Female Offender strategy and the Female Concordat. We provide a range of support to help ex-offenders re-establish themselves back in the community and into work. DWP’s offer is gender neutral, covering both male and female offenders, tailored to their specific individual needs. We are therefore unable to provide the number of work coaches who specialise in working with women prison leavers.

Around 200 Work Coaches are based in prisons across Great Britain, provide benefit advice before release, including booking an appointment at the local jobcentre on or soon after the day of release for those who intend to make a Universal Credit claim. There is also a dedicated National Prison Leaver telephone claim line for those who are unable to claim online.

As part of our commitment in the recently published Prisons White Paper, this year DWP and MoJ will work together to test different approaches to preparing Universal Credit claims and claimant commitments before release in 15 prisons, including female prisons, with a view to rolling out across the prison estate by 2024.

DWP continues to contribute to cross-government work to improve support for female offenders through the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) led Female Offender strategy and the Female Concordat. We provide a range of support to help ex-offenders re-establish themselves back in the community and into work. DWP’s offer is gender neutral, covering both male and female offenders, tailored to their specific individual needs. We are therefore unable to provide the number of work coaches who specialise in working with women prison leavers.

Around 200 Work Coaches are based in prisons across Great Britain, provide benefit advice before release, including booking an appointment at the local jobcentre on or soon after the day of release for those who intend to make a Universal Credit claim. There is also a dedicated National Prison Leaver telephone claim line for those who are unable to claim online.

As part of our commitment in the recently published Prisons White Paper, this year DWP and MoJ will work together to test different approaches to preparing Universal Credit claims and claimant commitments before release in 15 prisons, including female prisons, with a view to rolling out across the prison estate by 2024.

When claimants are paid Universal Credit is determined by the date of entitlement.

Where there is an immediate need for financial support, Universal Credit advances can be paid on the same day the claim is made, up to 100% of the estimated Universal Credit award during their first assessment period. This advance can then be repaid over a period of 24 months.

Advances are paid quickly, and prison leavers can apply for them online or by using the dedicated National Universal Credit phone line which gives quick access to the benefit system for those unable to claim online.

The Government has no plans to extend adoption pay to self-employed adopters. Local Authorities can make discretionary payments to self-employed adopters who do not qualify for adoption pay.

Wait times for customers needing to make a new claim to PIP remain low with customers, on average, waiting 4 mins and 59 seconds.

Call traffic to the PIP Telephony Enquiry Line fluctuates across the day; the average speed of answer, based on the previous three months, is 23 mins and 30 seconds.

Customers calling to register a PIP Mandatory Reconsideration can expect to wait an average of 3 minutes and 2 seconds.

Telephone calls remain the primary contact method for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) customers. Call traffic has increased significantly on the PIP enquiry line and during particularly busy periods there have been longer wait times than we would like.

We have deployed additional resources onto the enquiry line, including recruitment of more staff. Additionally, we have introduced new technology that will improve information for customers when they first call, and simplified the identity and verification process. These enhancements will increase call handling efficiency and improve the customer experience.

We are also developing new and better SMS messages to keep customers up to date and better informed. This will reduce the need for customers to contact the PIP enquiry line.

The Government has no plans to introduce an Adoption Allowance for self-employed people. Local Authorities can make discretionary payments to self-employed adopters who do not qualify for adoption pay.

A range of DWP initiatives are supporting disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work. These include the Work and Health Programme, one-to-one support and training through the Intensive Personalised Employment Support programme, Access to Work, Disability Confident and support in partnership with the health system, including Employment Advice in NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we provided specialist employment support remotely and made programmes easier to access.

Every autistic person experiences autism differently, and many have complex needs or other conditions, such as a learning disability or mental health condition. We therefore design our programmes to tailor support to meet the needs of individual participants, while recognising that some approaches, such as the “place and train” model have been successful with autistic participants who have more complex needs. The IPES programme provides support that is highly personalised to meet the needs of disabled participants who are further from employment and have more complex barriers to work- this includes people with autism.

We are working with the National Autistic Society to test how we can make Jobcentre Plus services more accessible to and supportive of autistic customers, including accrediting individual offices. This test will run to the end of March 2022 and will inform future decisions about JCP provision.

New claimants do not have to wait for their first regular Universal Credit payment if they need up front support. All new UC claimants are able to request a new claim advance during the first assessment period of up to 100% of their estimated monthly award. Advances can be repaid over the following year, allowing new claimants to receive 13 payments during the year instead of 12. We are extending the maximum repayment period to two years from October 2021 to reduce the impact of taking an advance even further, and the reduction of the deductions cap from 30% to 25%.

For Universal Credit claims due a payment during August 2020, 41% (1,847,000 claims) had a deduction (excluding sanctions and fraud penalties).

• 26% had only advance repayments,
• 10% had advance repayments and deductions for other debts (e.g. third party deductions),
• 5% had only deductions for other debts.

For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.

Notes

• Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.
• Figures rounded to nearest 1,000.
• Deductions for benefit overpayments were temporarily suspended for three months from the beginning of April due to Covid.
• Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

For UC claims with payments due during August 2020, around 5% (216,000 claims) had deductions for benefit overpayments. The deductions from UC for benefit overpayments include overpayments for tax credits, housing benefit and any DWP overpayments (including legacy benefits), not just UC overpayments.

The latest available data for legacy benefits shows, claims with payments due during May 2020, around 1% (213,000 claims) had deductions for benefit overpayments.

UC collects overpayments from the full range of benefits, including tax credits. As more people have moved on to UC this has resulted in a greater proportion of these overpayments being collected through UC.

Notes

• Claims figures rounded to the nearest 1,000.
• During the Covid period, deductions for benefit overpayments were suspended for three months. These began to be reinstated from July 2020, taking a phased approach, however as of August they have not been fully reinstated and some new debts may not yet have been transferred to DWP.
• Deductions for benefit overpayments include DWP, HMRC and LA fraud and non-fraud overpayments.
• Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

If a new claim advance is taken, this means that a claimant can receive 13 payments over the course of a year instead of 12. As of October 2021, the period over which claimants can repay an advance also doubles from 12 months to 24 months

For Universal Credit claims due a payment during August 2020 41% had a deduction:

• 26% had only advance repayments,
• 10% had advance repayments and deductions for other debts
• 5% had only deductions for other debts.

Notes

• Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.
• Figures rounded to nearest 1,000.
• Deductions for benefit overpayments were temporarily suspended for three months from the beginning of April due to Covid. These began to be reinstated from July 2020, taking a phased approach. However, as of August they have not been fully reinstated and some debts associated to new Universal Credit claimants have not yet been transferred to DWP.
• Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available.

UC collects overpayments from the full range of benefits, including tax credits. As more people have moved on to Universal Credit (UC) this has resulted in a greater proportion of these overpayments being collected through UC.

For UC claims with payments due during February 2020, around 23% (579,000 claims) had deductions for benefit overpayments. The deductions from UC for benefit overpayments include overpayments for tax credits, housing benefit and any DWP overpayments (including legacy benefits), not just UC overpayments.

For Legacy benefit claims with payments due during February 2020, around 1% (237,000 claims) had deductions for benefit overpayments.

The Department has an obligation to ensure that public funds are administered responsibly and to abide by the principles set out in Her Majesty’s Treasury’s guidance on Managing Public Money.

We understand the impact that debt can have on the wellbeing of claimants and we endeavour to ensure that the recovery of any overpayment is managed in a way that takes account of the claimant’s individual circumstances. Where a person says they cannot afford the proposed rate of recovery, a reduction in their rate of repayment may be agreed. Debts can be waived if recovery is causing substantial medical and/or financial hardship to a claimant or their immediate family

Our Work Coaches are trained to gauge claimants’ financial needs from their first contact and can refer them to more specialist support for personal budgeting, money guidance and debt advice if required, including through the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).

Notes:

1. Claims figures rounded to the nearest 1,000.

2. Deductions for benefit overpayments include DWP, HMRC and Local Authority, fraud and non-fraud overpayments.

3. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available

For Universal Credit claims due a payment during May 2020, 40% (1,627,000 claims) had a deduction.

Notes

1. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

2. Figure rounded to the nearest 1,000.

3. Third party deductions were suspended due to covid-19 from 10th April to 10th May and ‘other deductions’ (excluding advance repayments) were suspended for three months from the beginning of April, therefore these figures may not be representative of the full cohort of claims which would otherwise be having deductions.

4. Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

For Universal Credit claims due a payment during May 2020, 40% had a deduction:

• 34% were having only advance repayments,
• 4% were having advance repayments and deductions for other debts (e.g. third party deductions)
• 2% were having only deductions for other debts.

New claimants do not have to wait for their first regular Universal Credit payment if they need up front support. All new UC claimants are able to request a new claim advance during the first assessment period of up to 100% of their estimated monthly award. Advances can be repaid over the following year, allowing new claimants to receive 13 payments during the year instead of 12. We are extending the maximum repayment period to two years from October 2021 to reduce the impact of taking an advance even further, and the reduction of the deductions cap from 30% to 25%.

For those who find themselves in unexpected hardship, advance repayments can be deferred for up to three months in certain cases.

Notes

1. Deductions include advance repayments, third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

2. Figure rounded to the nearest 1,000.

3. Third party deductions were suspended due to covid-19 from 10th April to 10th May and ‘other deductions’ (excluding advance repayments) were suspended for three months from the beginning of April, therefore these figures may not be representative of the full cohort of claims which would otherwise be having deductions.

4. Other debts include Universal Credit third party deductions and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.

The Government has been clear with its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include:

• making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who may have coronavirus, are self-isolating, or caring for a child (or qualifying young person) who falls into either of those categories, or individuals who have been advised to ’shield’ because they are at high risk of severe illness, will be entitled from day 1 of their claim – as opposed to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessments. Both Universal Credit (UC) and ESA can now be claimed online or by phone;
• increasing the standard allowance of UC by up to £1,040 this year;
• temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed claimants affected by COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate;
• making Statutory Sick Pay available from day 1 – as opposed to day 4 - where an eligible individual is sick or self-isolating; and
• increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest 30% of local market rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.

These steps form part of a wider package of measures which represent an investment of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system following the outbreak of COVID-19. These measures, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.

We know that circumstances can change rapidly, and that was particularly true at the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, which is why the Government will continue to keep the adequacy of its welfare response under review.

The Government has been clear with its commitment to support those affected in these difficult times and we have made a number of changes to the welfare system to ensure people are receiving the support they need. These changes include:

• making it easier to access benefits. Those applying for Contributory Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who may have coronavirus, are self-isolating, or caring for a child (or qualifying young person) who falls into either of those categories, or individuals who have been advised to ’shield’ because they are at high risk of severe illness, will be entitled from day 1 of their claim – as opposed to day 8 - and we have removed the need for face-to-face assessments. Both Universal Credit (UC) and ESA can now be claimed online or by phone;
• increasing the standard allowance of UC by up to £1,040 this year;
• temporarily relaxing the application of the Minimum Income Floor for all self-employed claimants affected by COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate;
• making Statutory Sick Pay available from day 1 – as opposed to day 4 - where an eligible individual is sick or self-isolating; and
• increasing the Local Housing Allowance rates for UC and Housing Benefit claimants so that it covers the cheapest 30% of local market rents – which is on average £600 in people’s pockets.

These steps form part of a wider package of measures which represent an investment of over £6.5 billion into the welfare system following the outbreak of COVID-19. These measures, along with the other job and business support programmes announced by the Chancellor, represent one of the most comprehensive packages of support by an advanced economy.

We know that circumstances can change rapidly, and that was particularly true at the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, which is why the Government will continue to keep the adequacy of its welfare response under review.

This Government provides a strong welfare safety net, and continues to spend over £95 billion a year on working age welfare benefits for those who need them.

We do not assess adequacy of benefits on the grounds of race.

Our plan for dentistry, to be published shortly, will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value. Our plan will include addressing how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients; and how we make National Health Service work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.

It is now a legal requirement for dentists to update their information on the NHS website to improve information available to patients. The regulations came into effect in November 2022. Patients who are struggling to find a local dentist can contact NHS England’s Customer Contact Centre for assistance or contact NHS 111 if seeking urgent care.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. These include a 40% increase to dentistry undergraduate training places by 2031/32. To support this ambition, we will expand places by 24% by 2028/29, taking the overall number that year to 1,000 places.

Suppliers of fruit and vegetables to the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme are required to adhere to all elements of law in the United Kingdom. They are required to supply produce which meets Government fresh fruit and vegetable marketing standards, and the standards set for the Red Tractor food assurance scheme for UK-sourced foods, or Globalgap, the international equivalent for fruit and vegetables sourced from outside the UK. Schools are encouraged to use the scheme as an opportunity to educate children about fruit and vegetables and to encourage the consumption of a healthy, balanced diet.

The standards for school food are set out in the requirement for School Food Regulations 2014 and are to ensure that schools provide children with healthy food and drink options, and to make sure that children get the energy and nutrition they need across the school day. The Government encourages all schools to promote healthy eating and provide healthy, tasty, and nutritious food and drink. Compliance with the School Food Standards is mandatory for all maintained schools, academies, and free schools.

The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at both lunchtime and at other times of the school day, including, for example, breakfast clubs, tuck shops, mid-morning break, vending and after school clubs.

There are no plans to review the effectiveness and timeliness of the funding system accessed by general practices (GPs) for fitting intrauterine systems.

Integrated care boards may commission GPs to offer long-acting reversible contraception as an enhanced service to their local population, in addition to the contraception service provided through the GP contract.

It is for integrated care boards to decide on commissioning arrangements for their area based on an assessment of local need.

The Government provides funding for contraception, both as an essential service which general practices (GPs) must either provide or arrange for the provision of to their patients through the GP Contract, and through the public health grant to local authorities.

Local authorities in England are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, open access sexual and reproductive health services, including the provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC), to meet local demand. Integrated care boards may also commission GPs to offer LARC as an enhanced service to their local population, in addition to the service provided through the GP contract.

It is for Nottingham City Council and Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board to decide on commissioning arrangements in Nottingham based on an assessment of local need.

Overseas pharmacy professionals must meet the same standards as United Kingdom pharmacy professionals. Pharmacists that do not hold eligible qualifications, or who are non-EEA pharmacists, must complete the Overseas Pharmacists’ Assessment Programme (OSPAP), which is regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), before they can register and practise in the UK.

The OSPAP is currently oversubscribed, and the GPhC has written to accredited educational providers to highlight the demand for places. Ultimately, this is a decision for providers and a limited number of additional places have been created.

NHS England has recently published a national framework and Operational Guidance to deliver improved outcomes in all-age autism assessment pathways. The guidance aims to support integrated care systems to make the best of their resources by setting out how pathways can best be delivered and is supplementary to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on autism. This guidance provides information on facilitating appropriate pre-assessment support while people are waiting for an assessment, including specific factors which may be relevant for children. This will help improve the experience of people, including children, who are awaiting an autism assessment.

This year, 2023/2024, £4.2 million of funding is available to improve services for autistic children and young people, including autism assessment services and pre- and post-diagnostic support, and the continuation of the ‘Autism in Schools’ programme.

The ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years’ is clear that meeting the needs of a child with Special Educational Needs does not require a diagnostic label or test. The Department for Education has invested £600,000 in a pilot in schools which looked to improve early identification of autism and other neurodiverse conditions. This has led to the development of an electronic neurodiversity profiling tool which helps schools identify children with autism and other neurodiverse conditions early, so that they can put proven support mechanisms in place. This tool is now being used in the Bradford area.

We expect integrated care boards (ICBs), including Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB, to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on autism when commissioning services for children and young people requiring an autism assessment. On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. These documents will help the National Health Service to improve their autism assessment services and improve the experience for children who are referred to an autism assessment service.

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB has been working closely with commissioned providers to increase their capacity and reduce the waiting times for assessments, whilst it reviews the wider children and young people neurodevelopmental pathway. This will identify areas of improvement and the necessary actions required to ensure Nottinghamshire has the right provision, with the right levels of commissioned capacity in place, that best meets the needs of its children and young people in a timely manner.

Relevant work has included reviews of pre-assessment services to reduce inherited waiting lists and the length of waiting times, with a focus on the referrals process, triage assessment and parenting support, additional non-recurrent funding to increase capacity to reduce backlogs, appointing additional Specialist Practitioners, and to increase the capacity of Community Paediatric teams and recurrent funding for additional Consultant Psychologists.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance for the use of melatonin in the United Kingdom which is available at the following link:

https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/insomnia/prescribing-information/melatonin/

Currently, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has made no specific assessment of licensing melatonin for over 18s in the UK who are diagnosed with autism and related sleep disorders. Clinicians make prescribing decisions for patients, taking into account best prescribing practice, appropriate guidance and the local commissioning decisions of integrated care boards. The clinician works with the patient to decide on the course of treatment, with the provision of the most clinically appropriate care being the primary consideration.

The Department closely monitors the market to ensure people in England have good access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services. Despite the increase in pharmacy closures seen in recent years, there are a similar number of pharmacies to ten years ago and 80% of the population live within 20 minutes’ walking distance of a pharmacy. There are relatively more pharmacies in areas of higher deprivation than in areas with lower levels of deprivation within Nottingham East constituency according to the latest, December 2022, data.

The number of trainee pharmacists is uncapped and driven by market forces. Since 2017, trainee numbers have averaged 2,500 a year. This has resulted in a year-on-year growth in the number of pharmacists on the professional register, which, as of March 2023, stands at 52,780 pharmacists in England across all settings. Health Education England is also working with Higher Education institutions to implement reforms to pharmacists’ initial education and training, so they can play a greater role in providing clinical care to patients and the public, including prescribing medicines. The Department has also added pharmacy students to the list of professionals eligible for the Education and Training tariff to fund clinical placements from 1 September 2022. It is a matter for hospitals to ensure that they have the necessary pharmacy provision.

Reasons for delayed discharge are various and include hospital process delays and patients awaiting the start of home-based care, residential, nursing home or intermediate care placements. Enabling people to be discharged from hospital more quickly with the right care and support in place contributes to speedier recovery and better outcomes for patients. The Government is providing £1.6 billion of funding over the next two years to enable the National Health Service and local authorities to improve hospital discharge.

Following discharge, the Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) enables hospitals to refer discharged patients to community pharmacy with information about medication changes made in hospital, community pharmacy can support patients to improve outcomes and prevent harm. Pharmacy delivery services are not usually commissioned or funded by the NHS. Decisions on how to dispense and supply medicines to patients who have specific needs should be made locally with due consideration of the individual’s needs, in collaboration with the local primary care team.

For children and young people, we have set up the first standard to improve access to eating disorder services for children and young people. This states that 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases. Prior to the pandemic, significant progress had been made towards achieving the 95% access target.

Since the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in demand and more children and young people with an eating disorder are accessing support than ever before. The number of children and young people entering urgent treatment for an eating disorder has increased by 11% to 2,632 in 2021/2022 compared to 2020/2021. The year before this it increased by 73% from 1,373 to 2,372 children and young people.

This increase in demand has affected performance against the waiting timing standard and the latest figures show that this is not currently being met. We remain committed to delivering this waiting time standard. NHS England continues to work with system leaders and regions and to ask that areas prioritise service delivery and investment to meet the needs of these vulnerable young people.

Since 2016, extra funding is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, with £53 million per year from 2021/2022, rising to £54 million in 2023/2024. This extra funding will enhance the capacity of the 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country.

We acknowledge that more support is still needed, which is why we are also rolling out mental health support teams as fast as we can, ahead of plan, as well as establishing 24/7 crisis lines.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) last reviewed the evidence to screen for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women in 2019 and recommended that a population screening programme should not be introduced. The review identified that there were key areas of uncertainty around the test and treatment and that further research was needed.

The UK NSC is due to review its recommendation as per its regular review cycle and Ministers will consider this before making a decision. In the meantime, there is guidance on the assessment, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence and the National Osteoporosis Guideline Group.

Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) are commissioned by integrated care boards (ICBs) who are best placed to make decisions according to local need. ICBs are responsible for developing a forward plan that sets out how the ICB intends to arrange health services within its area, including secondary fracture prevention services such as FLS.

NHS England is working at the national and regional level with ICBs to support the mobilisation and implementation of FLS in each area and establish a greater number of clinics, as part of elective recovery plans. NHS England is also developing regional bone health clinical networks to support clinicians working in FLS.

There is no statutory notice period for care home operators to inform local authorities of their intention to close. It is for local authorities to decide whether to include any notice period in contracts for services with providers.

As palliative and end of life care, including hospice care, is commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs) in response to the needs of their local population, any assessment of further financial support should be made at a local level.

At a national level, NHS England have released £1.5 billion additional funding to ICBs to provide support for inflation, with ICBs deciding how best to distribute this funding according to local need. This is in addition to the support provided by Government through the Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme.

The closure of the current contract with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust will happen as quickly as possible in 2023, but crucially at a pace appropriate for the complexity of the change, while minimising disruption and any additional anxiety for patients.

The waiting list for children and young people’s Gender Dysphoria Services remains open. New referrals are being directed to NHS Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit, who will hold these referrals on behalf of the new service providers. These referrals will be transferred to the new service providers once they have commenced operation.

The establishment of the new services and closure of the current contract with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust will happen as quickly as possible this year, but crucially at a pace appropriate to the complexity of the change, while minimising disruption and any additional anxiety for patients.

A national transformation programme has been established to oversee the transition of patients from the Tavistock and Portman NHS foundation trust Gender and Identity Development Service into the new Phase 1 services.

New referrals are being directed to NHS Arden and GEM Commissioning Support Unit, who will hold these referrals on behalf of the new service providers in the interim. NHS Arden and GEM will transfer patients on the waiting list to the new providers once they have commenced operation.

The new services will need to build multi-disciplinary teams. These will include expertise in Gender Dysphoria alongside other clinical disciplines. The transformation programme aims to ensure relevant expertise is transferred to the new teams. The new providers and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust are working together to establish a process that is consistent with employment law and with National Health Service human resources best practice.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) may lawfully share information, including personal data, with Home Office Immigration Enforcement where doing so is necessary for the exercise of the functions of either organisation and is in the overall public interest. Decisions on such disclosures are made on a case-by-case basis and the CQC’s primary consideration in making any disclosure is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people who use the health and social care services it regulates.

In considering a request to disclose personal data, the CQC will take into account provisions under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, section 79, which sets out cases where the CQC may disclose information, data protection legislation, the Human Rights Act 1998 and the CQC’s Code of Practice on confidential personal information published in accordance with section 80 of the 2008 Act.

The CQC will not share personal data of people who use the services it regulates for immigration enforcement purposes other than in exceptional circumstances. Disclosure of personal data of people who use regulated services without the most significant justification is likely to be disproportionate and to damage trust in the confidentiality of health and social care service and in the CQC as a regulator. The CQC may share information and intelligence, including personal data of registered persons and their employees, where it has concerns that a care provider is employing people not legally entitled to work in the United Kingdom.

‘Our plan for patients,’ published on 22 September 2022, aims to improve access general practice, assist patients make informed choices on the appropriate general practitioner (GP) practice for their needs practice and benefit from the care options available. This includes patients with chronic health issues and we expect that patients who require an appointment within two weeks should receive one and that patients with urgent needs should be seen on the same day.

Under the new medicines service, community pharmacies can offer people who have been newly prescribed certain medicines with additional support and reduce pressure on GPs and hospitals. The majority of services for those with long term chronic conditions are commissioned locally by integrated care boards, with NHS England directly commissioning some specialised services.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is reviewing the use of MAGnetic Expansion Control rods and additional actions as advised by its independent Expert Advisory Group. The MHRA aims to ensure risks are reduced before considering whether the suspension can be lifted.

We are investing at least £1.5 billion to create an additional 50 million general practice appointments by 2024, by increasing and diversifying the workforce.

General practitioner practices are responsible for managing appointment booking systems to meet the needs of patients. In the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care System area, in August 2022, 43% of appointments took place on the same day they were booked and 79.2% within two weeks, excluding COVID-19 vaccinations. Practices in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire are offering pre-booked appointments as well as same day appointments.

In September, we announced ‘Our plan for patients’, which outlines how we will meet oral health needs and increase access to dental care, including in Nottingham East.

The plan includes improvements to ensure dentists are renumerated fairly for more complex work, allowing greater flexibility to reallocate resources and to utilise dentists with greater capacity to deliver National Health Service treatment, whilst enabling full use of the dental team. The plan also includes streamlining processes for overseas dentists and holding the local NHS to account for dentistry provision. In addition, Health Education England is also reforming dental education to improve the recruitment and retention of dental professionals.

There are no current plans to review or extend the National Health Service prescription charge medical exemptions to include people who have received an organ transplant. For those ineligible for an exemption on medical grounds, arrangements are in place to assist with the affordability of prescriptions, including exemptions for which people with a long-term medical condition may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge.

There are no current plans to review or extend the National Health Service prescription charge medical exemptions to include people who have received an organ transplant. For those ineligible for an exemption on medical grounds, arrangements are in place to assist with the affordability of prescriptions, including exemptions for which people with a long-term medical condition may already qualify. Approximately 89% of NHS prescription items are dispensed in the community free of charge.

Following the transfer of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme’s administrative function to the NHS Business Services Authority in November 2021, the NHS Business Services Authority has increased the size of team processing these claims. The NHS Business Services Authority has procured a new medical assessment contract, awarded on 21 March 2022. The supplier is establishing its systems and staff to commence assessments as soon as possible. Medical assessments for each claim will be undertaken once the NHS Business Services Authority receives full medical records from a claimant’s general practitioner, medical providers, local authorities and other relevant healthcare providers. The NHS Business Services Authority is now digitising and modernising the claimants’ process, including an online application.

Health Education England (HEE) provides a range of technology enhanced programmes on osteoporosis which are available to all healthcare staff. The paramedics e-learning programme also includes specific training on osteoporosis.

HEE will be making funding available in 2022/23 to support National Health Service trusts to provide advanced and enhanced-level training to all allied health professionals, including diagnostic radiographers, to support bone density scan training. It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to invest in post-registration training to increase the number of staff trained to undertake DEXA scans.

Health Education England (HEE) provides a range of technology enhanced programmes on osteoporosis which are available to all healthcare staff. The paramedics e-learning programme also includes specific training on osteoporosis.

HEE will be making funding available in 2022/23 to support National Health Service trusts to provide advanced and enhanced-level training to all allied health professionals, including diagnostic radiographers, to support bone density scan training. It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to invest in post-registration training to increase the number of staff trained to undertake DEXA scans.

Health Education England (HEE) provides a range of technology enhanced programmes on osteoporosis which are available to all healthcare staff. The paramedics e-learning programme also includes specific training on osteoporosis.

HEE will be making funding available in 2022/23 to support National Health Service trusts to provide advanced and enhanced-level training to all allied health professionals, including diagnostic radiographers, to support bone density scan training. It is the responsibility of individual NHS trusts to invest in post-registration training to increase the number of staff trained to undertake DEXA scans.

Perinatal mental health services around England are being expanded to include new mental health hubs for new, expectant or bereaved mothers. These hubs will offer physical health checks and psychological therapy in one location.

We have funded Sands, the stillbirth and neonatal death charity to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to develop a National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) to reduce the variation in the quality of bereavement care provided by the National Health Service for those who have experienced baby loss. The NBCP project provides the national framework, guidance and tools to support the implementation of high-quality bereavement care. Over 70% of NHS trusts in England are implementing the pathway, with the remaining trust having expressed an interest in joining the programme.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has explored tests where saliva is collected through spitting into a receptacle or with a ‘lollypop’ absorbing swab, rather than from nose or throat swabbing, through a usability study in special educational needs settings. However, these types of tests were not accurate enough for our symptomatic testing requirements. The UKHSA continues to review and evaluate the usability of emerging technologies for those in vulnerable settings and populations.

The UK Health Security Agency trialled the use of direct loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), the most mature saliva test that is validated and available to deploy, for individuals with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in a small number of restricted pilots. It was also considered for other appropriate settings.

Results of the trials showed that this was not appropriate for national use in SEND settings. We continue to work with select SEND settings to provide LAMP testing where appropriate

Those who cannot access the digital NHS COVID Pass can display a text message or email, which can also be printed, to provide proof of COVID-19 status. Free rapid lateral flow tests are available through NHS.UK, 119 and at most pharmacies. The 119 service can also support those who require assistance with ordering, accessing and using test kits, registering their test result and for language support if English is not their first language. Once the result is registered, the person will receive a confirmation via email or by text. The confirmation will include:

- their name;

- their age or date of birth;

- the date the test sample was collected or received by the test provider;

- confirmation that the test was either a polymerase chain reaction test or a rapid lateral flow device test; and

- confirmation that the test result was negative.

This constitutes proof of COVID-19 status for accessing domestic venues and events where certification applies. It can be displayed either by showing the text or presenting a printed copy of the email. In addition, a non-digital NHS COVID Pass letter is also available demonstrating that an individual has completed a full primary course of an approved United Kingdom vaccine. However, the COVID Pass letter does not include test status.

Evidence on the symptomatology of COVID-19 is regularly reviewed and monitored. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the symptoms of COVID-19 are significantly different in a vaccinated or unvaccinated person once they become infected.

Vaccinated individuals who contract the virus can be asymptomatic or present with the same range of symptoms as those who have not received the vaccine but are less likely to be hospitalised or die.

We have regular discussions with other Government departments on a range of issues related to controlling the spread of the virus. The current targeted and temporary measures will slow the entry and spread of the Omicron variant of concern and will be reviewed. This will protect the National Health Service from being overwhelmed. More economic and social restrictions would only be considered as a last resort, which includes restrictions on the hospitality sector.

Individuals notified by NHS Test and Trace or a public health official that they are a close contact of someone confirmed or suspected to have the COVID-19 Omicron variant are legally required to self-isolate, regardless of their age, or vaccination status or negative test result. This change came into force on 30 November 2021.

Laboratories in the network have target turnaround times from kit registration to communicated result of 80% within 24 hours for physical test sites and 60% within 48 hours for satellite sites. Performance metrics are tracked daily and any issues are investigated to restore performance to minimum target levels as quickly as possible. To minimise waiting times, we have designed a dynamic COVID-19 laboratory network to ensure samples can be processed as effectively as possible, minimising sample waiting time through a regional allocation model to factor in travel times, laboratory capacity and testing rates.

The Department has no such current plans. Since September 2020, the Department has made available a new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year for eligible nursing and paramedicine students through the NHS Learning Support Fund (NHS LSF). In addition, the NHS LSF provides for an additional parental support allowance of £2,000 per academic year to help eligible students with childcare costs. NHS LSF funding is a supplementary source of financial support for eligible students in addition to maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company.

We have no plans to do so. Those who receive a positive polymerase chain reaction or assisted lateral flow device (LFD) test result or who self-report a positive LFD test receive specific advice on their self-isolation requirements.

We are considering all evidence submitted to the Government’s public consultation on whether to make permanent the temporary measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion. We will publish our response in due course.

The ‘COVID-19 Response: Autumn and Winter Plan 2021’ sets out that if the data suggests the National Health Service is likely to come under unsustainable pressure, the Government will implement its prepared ‘Plan B’ for England. This would introduce measures to control transmission of the virus, such as requiring people to wear face coverings in some settings. The exact settings will be announced if and when Plan B is implemented.

Specialist clinical nursing workforce working in chemotherapy and palliative care are post-registration qualifications. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that they have the staff available to provide clinical services. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing a programme in 2022 to assess the palliative workforce, training, and support requirements of health care systems in England.

The Spending Review in 2020 provided £260 million to continue to support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, of which £52 million was provided to Health Education England (HEE) to invest in the cancer and diagnostics workforce. In 2021/22 HEE has provided 105 training grants to National Health Service trusts in England for existing and aspiring chemotherapy nurses to enable them to undertake further training and education.

Over the next three years, £36 billion will be invested in the health and care system to ensure it has the appropriate long term resources. Allocations and profiles will be confirmed as part of the up-coming Spending Review, which will set out the Government’s spending plans including investment in the NHS workforce.

Specialist clinical nursing workforce working in chemotherapy and palliative care are post-registration qualifications. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that they have the staff available to provide clinical services. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing a programme in 2022 to assess the palliative workforce, training, and support requirements of health care systems in England.

The Spending Review in 2020 provided £260 million to continue to support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, of which £52 million was provided to Health Education England (HEE) to invest in the cancer and diagnostics workforce. In 2021/22 HEE has provided 105 training grants to National Health Service trusts in England for existing and aspiring chemotherapy nurses to enable them to undertake further training and education.

Over the next three years, £36 billion will be invested in the health and care system to ensure it has the appropriate long term resources. Allocations and profiles will be confirmed as part of the up-coming Spending Review, which will set out the Government’s spending plans including investment in the NHS workforce.

Specialist clinical nursing workforce working in chemotherapy and palliative care are post-registration qualifications. It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that they have the staff available to provide clinical services. NHS England and NHS Improvement are developing a programme in 2022 to assess the palliative workforce, training, and support requirements of health care systems in England.

The Spending Review in 2020 provided £260 million to continue to support commitments made in the NHS Long Term Plan, of which £52 million was provided to Health Education England (HEE) to invest in the cancer and diagnostics workforce. In 2021/22 HEE has provided 105 training grants to National Health Service trusts in England for existing and aspiring chemotherapy nurses to enable them to undertake further training and education.

Over the next three years, £36 billion will be invested in the health and care system to ensure it has the appropriate long term resources. Allocations and profiles will be confirmed as part of the up-coming Spending Review, which will set out the Government’s spending plans including investment in the NHS workforce.

The Government has zero tolerance for abuse or violence directed at National Health Service staff. As announced in ‘Our plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice’ on 14 October 2021, the Government and NHS England will work with the trades unions and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges to launch a zero-tolerance campaign. In addition, NHS England will immediately establish a £5 million fund to facilitate upgrades to practice security measures.

Ambulance performance is measured against six response time standards across four call categories. The category of call reflects the severity of the incident as follows: Category 1: life threatening; Category 2: emergency; Category 3: urgent; Category 4: less urgent.

The following table shows ambulance performance data in September 2021 by category.

Trusts are being supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve response times. This includes continuous monitoring and support through the National Ambulance Coordination Centre and the investment of an extra £55 million for ambulance trusts to increase staff numbers ahead of the winter.

General practice has remained open throughout the pandemic, offering face to face appointments in addition to telephone and online consultations.

On 14 October we announced a plan for improving access for patients and supporting general practice. NHS England and NHS Improvement will work with professional bodies and patient groups to develop communications tools to help patients understand how they can access the care they need in general practice.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to assess the eligible social care needs of the local population and arrange respite care where necessary, including for people with terminal illnesses. We have supported councils to maintain services with access to over £1 billion of additional funding for social care in 2021-22, including for respite care for people with a terminal illness where required. Since the start of the pandemic we have also an additional £6 billion directly to councils to support them with the impacts of COVID-19 related spending pressures, including on social care services such as respite care.

We have invested £270 million since November 2020 to expand capacity in general practice, in addition to £1.5 billion until 2023/24 and £250 million via the Winter Access Fund. The non-recurring revenue funding through the Winter Access Fund is ringfenced to protect and expand capacity in general practice, until March 2022.

We have committed increasing and diversifying the workforce and through our general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention schemes, alongside recruiting an additional 26,000 primary care staff by embedding multidisciplinary teams.

More than 3,793 doctors accepted a place on GP training in 2020 against a target of 3,500 and we remain committed to increasing the number of training places to 4,000 in 2021/22.

We have invested £270 million since November 2020 to expand capacity in general practice, in addition to £1.5 billion until 2023/24 and £250 million via the Winter Access Fund. The non-recurring revenue funding through the Winter Access Fund is ringfenced to protect and expand capacity in general practice, until March 2022.

We have committed increasing and diversifying the workforce and through our general practitioner (GP) recruitment and retention schemes, alongside recruiting an additional 26,000 primary care staff by embedding multidisciplinary teams.

More than 3,793 doctors accepted a place on GP training in 2020 against a target of 3,500 and we remain committed to increasing the number of training places to 4,000 in 2021/22.

In May 2018 we announced £40 million over five years for brain tumour research to improve outcomes for cancer patients as part of the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission through the National Institute for Health Research. Since this announcement, 10 applications for research have been funded and seven are under consideration.

The NHS Long Term Plan set out a series of commitments that focus primarily on fast and early diagnosis for all cancers including raising greater awareness of symptoms of cancer, lowering the threshold for referral by general practitioners and accelerating access to diagnosis investing in rapid diagnostic centres. These measures, aimed at improving cancer outcomes for all cancers, will benefit brain tumour patients.

The Department agrees further brain tumour research is vital for improving the treatment and outcome for these patients. In 2018, we announced £40 million over five years for the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission via the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). To encourage applications for this research, the NIHR is supporting the research community in submitting fundable proposals. The NIHR also continues to encourage brain tumour research applications. We therefore have no plans for a dedicated fund.

Ambulance performance is measured against six response time standards across four call categories. The category of call reflects the severity of the incident as follows: Category 1: life threatening; Category 2: emergency; Category 3: urgent; Category 4: less urgent.

The following table shows ambulance performance data in September 2021 by category.

Trusts are being supported by NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve response times. This includes continuous monitoring and support through the National Ambulance Coordination Centre and the investment of an extra £55 million for ambulance trusts to increase staff numbers ahead of the winter.

A United Kingdom national travelling from this country should have appropriate travel insurance in place in the event that they become ill overseas and wish to be medically repatriated home to continue treatment. Once home, a patient would be treated as any other who is ordinarily resident in the UK and will be able to continue their treatment as appropriate.

All National Health Service providers are required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in the Equality Act 2010 and the Accessible Information Standard to ensure that deaf people who wish to communicate using British Sign Language (BSL) to access NHS services can do so.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have extended access to BSL interpretation of their 111 service via Interpreter Now. NHS England and NHS Improvement have also commissioned a rapid review into access to BSL interpretation in NHS services which is near completion. The review will set out clear steps to support NHS providers to meet their responsibilities to deliver access to BSL interpretation.

Local authorities must safeguard people with care and support needs who are at risk, in cooperation with the police and the National Health Service. Specific offences can be used to prosecute perpetrators. These duties have remained throughout the pandemic and we have supported the sector with guidance, training and increased funding for local authorities.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provides protection and support for all victims who are abused or controlled by a relative. We have also committed to review the protections and support in place for adults abused at home by someone caring for them. The Law Commission is running a consultation on its programme of reform. Government officials are also engaged with this work.

Three new clinics were established in 2020 in London, Manchester and Liverpool. A further pilot clinic being implemented in the East of England in summer 2021.

At meeting 29 on 28 April 2020, Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies considered a paper on environmental influences on transmission of COVID-19 including the contamination risks of jet hand dryers in public bathrooms. The paper noted that hand hygiene methods may have a significant effect on hand contamination and subsequent surface contamination. The paper is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environmental-influence-on-transmission-of-covid-19-28-april-2020

The Government’s policy, based on recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the four United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers, is that second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine should be administered within 12 weeks of the first dose. This is the case for all people receiving a vaccination, including people with chronic and terminal illnesses.

People with chronic and terminal illnesses are receiving the second dose within 12 weeks of their first dose and there are currently no delays.

We work closely with our international partners to exchange best practice and work on digital solutions including exploring ways to support citizens when international travel resumes.

We do not collect this information. COVID-19 vaccinations are offered to every adult living in the United Kingdom free of charge, regardless of immigration status and no immigration checks will be carried out.

There is no data on the efficacy of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine 12 weeks after the first dose. Given the high effectiveness and durability of responses to the first dose seen in United Kingdom data, it is not expected that protection will reduce rapidly after 12 weeks.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has concluded that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, as age is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisations and the speed of delivery is crucial as we provide more people with protection from COVID-19.

In line with the JCVI’s advice, special school staff will not be prioritised for a COVID-19 vaccination based on their occupation. Staff in schools for children with learning disabilities, will therefore be prioritised for vaccination according to their age and clinical risk along with the rest of the population, rather than on the basis of occupation.

It is against the law for anyone, including children under 12 years old, to meet socially with friends outside unless they are part of their household or support bubble. However, there is an exemption from the stay at home rule for exercise which means that children can take part in physical activity outdoors with their own household. Playgrounds are permitted to open but children should not mix with other households.

It is against the law for anyone, including children under 12 years old, to meet socially with friends outside unless they are part of their household or support bubble. However, there is an exemption from the stay at home rule for exercise which means that children can take part in physical activity outdoors with their own household. Playgrounds are permitted to open but children should not mix with other households.

We have been clear that learning disability should never be a reason for a Do Not Attempt Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decision and that blanket DNACPR decisions are completely inappropriate. NHS England and NHS Improvement have issued a number of joint statements to health and care providers reiterating this.

We have asked the Care Quality Commission to undertake a review of DNACPR decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is underway and will report on later this year. The 2020/21 General Medical Services Contract Quality and Outcomes Framework now includes a requirement for all DNACPR decisions for people with a learning disability to be reviewed. We continue to monitor the situation and have asked representative organisations to inform us where cases of inappropriate DNACPR practice are identified.

Since March 2020, the Government has given over £10.2 million to mental health charities, including bereavement support charities, to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing due to the impact of COVID-19. This includes funding for bereavement support helplines, counselling and signposting services to ensure that grieving families and individuals who have lost loved ones have access to the bereavement support they need, when they need it. We continue to take a cross-Government approach to assess what is needed to provide support to bereaved families and individuals.

Although autism is not technically considered a learning disability, many autistic people also have a learning disability. On 24 February, the Joint Commission on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published a clarification of their advice on vaccinating people with a learning disability. The JCVI confirmed that while their clinical view remains that those at greatest risk are people with severe and profound learning disabilities, they support the practical operational approach of inviting everyone on the General Practice Learning Disability Register to be vaccinated as part of cohort six in phase one.

The Health Technical Memoranda (HTM) 03-01 provides guidance on the design and management of heating and specialised ventilation in health sector buildings, including guidance regarding the adequate ventilation of healthcare facilities to ensure staff safety. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-specialised-ventilation-for-healthcare-premises-parts-a-and-b

The HTM gives comprehensive advice and guidance on the legal requirements, design implications, maintenance and operation of specialised ventilation in all types of healthcare premises. It applies to new installations and major refurbishments of existing installations. Under the HTM all hospital trusts are required to have an Authorising Engineer (Ventilation) who provides independent auditing and advice on ventilation systems and who reviews and witnesses documentation on validation. The Care Quality Commission is responsible for compliance with the HTM under the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (revised), and the Department has no current plans to change this approach

All indoor entertainment venues, including theatres, had to close in areas under tier 3 restrictions. However, on 4 January, the Prime Minister announced a national lockdown, meaning theatres are now closed across England, although they are still be able to open for training, rehearsals and for filming. While we understand and appreciate the efforts businesses have taken to limit the risk of transmission in their premises, Scientists have confirmed that the new variant is between 50 and 70% more transmissible and can be spread by people with no symptoms. It is right, therefore, that theatres and other entertainment venues must close in order to manage the spread of the virus.

Until 3 December, tiers requirements will not apply because of the new national restrictions. As part of the national restrictions, however, we continue to recognise providing informal social care to relatives and vulnerable people is of the highest importance.

People may meet with a maximum of one person from another household outdoors for the purposes of exercise and recreation. Children under school age, as well as those dependent on round-the-clock care, such as those with severe disabilities, who are with their parents will not count toward the limit on meeting two people outside. People can continue to exercise outdoors as a household or support bubble.

Ministers and officials across government have regular discussions about social distancing, including the rule of six, and keep the legislation and guidance under review.

We remain committed to investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year into mental health services by 2023-24 through the NHS Long Term Plan.

Under this plan, new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care will give 370,000 adults and older adults with serious mental illnesses, including psychosis and personality disorder where disassociation is a symptom, greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities by 2023/24.

This will include access to psychological therapies, improved physical health care, employment support, personalised and trauma-informed care, medicines management and support for self-harm and coexisting substance use. Local areas will be supported to redesign and reorganise core community mental health teams to move towards a new place-based, multidisciplinary service across health and social care aligned with primary care networks.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, an additional 345,000 children and young people in England will have access to support via National Health Service-funded mental health services and school-or college-based mental health support teams by 2023/24. The first 59 mental health support teams are becoming operational and 123 teams will be in place by early 2021 with the programme rolling out to at least 20-25% of the country by 2023.

We are also piloting a new four week waiting time for children and young people’s mental health services in 12 areas and incentivising every school or college to identify and train a senior lead for mental health.

No estimate has been made of the proportion of dental practices taking on new National Health Service patients.

If an appointment is required, patients with a regular dentist should call their regular dental practice in the first instance. Those unable to contact their own dentist or not currently registered with a dental practice should contact NHS 111, who will be able to help them contact an urgent dental service or arrange treatment if needed.

No estimate has been made of the proportion of dental practices taking on new National Health Service patients.

If an appointment is required, patients with a regular dentist should call their regular dental practice in the first instance. Those unable to contact their own dentist or not currently registered with a dental practice should contact NHS 111, who will be able to help them contact an urgent dental service or arrange treatment if needed.

Dissociative Identity Disorder is an uncommon diagnosis, partly because some psychiatrists are unsure it is a mental health condition in and of itself at all, and partly because dissociation is a symptom present in a number of conditions, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, severe mental health problems such as psychosis, and ‘personality disorder’, where trauma has played a significant role.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care will give 370,000 adults and older adults with serious mental illnesses, including psychosis and ‘personality disorder’ where disassociation is a symptom, greater choice and control over their care and support them to live well in their communities by 2023/24.

The NHS Long Term Plan’s Mental Health Implementation Plan sets out our plans to invest £57 million in suicide prevention. This will see investment in all areas of the country by 2023/24 to support local suicide prevention plans and establish suicide bereavement support services. We have worked with NHS England to ensure that local areas use this funding to test approaches to reaching and engaging men.

We recognise that there is the potential for an increase in demand for mental health services amongst students as a result of COVID-19. We are working with the Department for Education, the National Health Service, Public Health England and others to gather evidence and assess the potential longer-term mental health impacts of COVID-19, including on students.

Mental health services are still open and working to support people with mental health issues through the coronavirus pandemic and beyond. Our community, adult talking therapies and children and young people’s services have deployed innovative digital tools to connect with people and provide ongoing support.

There has are currently no plans to undertake a review of whether there has been an improvement in diagnosis and management of endometriosis in women since the publication of the 2018 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standards.

The Government has recently received the Inquiry Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis, the report raised a number of important issues concerning the treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis which will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work in women’s health.

There are currently no plans to undertake a review of the adequacy of treatment provision for people diagnosed with endometriosis.

The Government has recently received the Inquiry Report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis, the report raised a number of important issues concerning the treatment and diagnosis of endometriosis which will be carefully considered as part of our ongoing work in women’s health.

NHS England and NHS Improvement published a service specification for adult gender dysphoria services in July 2019 that describes the psychological and psychotherapeutic therapies that must be available for individuals with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria. This includes a specialist multi-disciplinary team of professionals, with a mix of skills, experience and expertise including in mental health care needs that are specific to individuals with gender dysphoria. The service specification is available at the following link:

www.england.nhs.uk/publication/service-specification-gender-identity-services-for-adults-non-surgical-interventions/

In September 2020, the Government announced the establishment of three new gender dysphoria clinics in England, each of which will work to the national service specification.

The NHS Mental Health Implementation Plan 2019/20 – 2023/24 sets out the National Health Service priorities for improving mental health care and widening access to mental health services by 2023/24.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, the Government is investing at least £2.3 billion of extra funding a year in mental health services by 2023/24 to support adults and children, including autistic people. Through the pandemic, we have provided £9.2 million of additional funding for mental health charities to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing during this time. We have also provided a further £6 million to support various charities, including those working with people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs.

We are revisiting the work to refresh the autism strategy, working closely with the Department for Education and other Government departments. As part of this work and as a key priority, we will consider what further action can be taken to support people to maintain good mental health.

We recognise how difficult it has been for people to be cut off from their friends and family throughout the past few months. Support bubbles are to assist the loneliest and most isolated in society. They were introduced to provide extra support to some of those most impacted by the difficult effects of the social restrictions, while ensuring we continue to keep the rate of transmission low. The policy has been targeted at single-adult households for that reason.

We recognise concerns people with eating disorders may have on measures to reduce obesity and are committed to striking a careful balance between enabling people to make healthier food and drink choices whilst not negatively impacting on those with or recovering from an eating disorder.

Obesity represents a huge cost to the health and wellbeing of the individual, the National Health Service and the wider economy. With over six in 10 adults and more than one in three children aged 10 to 11 years old overweight or obese, it is right we take action.

In response to feedback to our consultation on out-of-home calorie labelling, we will introduce legislation to require large out-of-home sector businesses, that is businesses with 250 or more employees, to calorie label the food they sell.

An equalities assessment and impact assessment were published alongside the consultation response and can be viewed at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/calorie-labelling-for-food-and-drink-served-outside-of-the-home

Data from the National Child Measurement Programme shows obesity prevalence is highest amongst the most deprived groups in society. Children in the most deprived parts of the country are more than twice as likely to be obese as their peers living in the richest areas.

No assessment has been made as, to date, it has not been necessary to commence Schedule 8 Section 3 of the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Everyone can make their own face covering at home, using readily available textiles that can be washed, and reused after every use.

We have published guidance online which provides a step-by-step breakdown of how to make these face coverings and what materials can be used.

We are doing everything we can to ensure the social care sector has the support it needs during this unprecedented global outbreak. To date, we have released over 172 million items of personal protective equipment (PPE) to designated wholesalers for onward sale to social care providers. As a result, the majority of PPE continues to be sourced by care providers themselves from wholesalers, as it was prior to COVID-19.

The Department is aware of the complexities of interpreting for remote medical consultations, including the need for interpreter services to adapt their processes to align with this new type of video consultation. We are developing our support offer to help trusts engage with the widest possible audience of patients, through initiatives like sound-only access to the call for interpreters. We will continue to support and share innovative practices in interpreter services as part of this effort.

The Government does not have direct responsibility for pay awards in adult social care in the same way as for other areas of the public sector, and for this reason adult social care was not included in the pay award announcement on 21 July 2020. Adult social care providers continue to set the rate of pay for their workers.

The Government nonetheless maintains oversight of the social care system and we are committed to raising the profile of the social care sector. Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges that we face as a society.

We understand how challenging this period has been for people who rely on ventilation and we are doing everything we can to support patients, led by clinical advice.

COVID-19 has caused a significant increase in demand for clinical consumables and has disrupted international supply chains, making it more difficult to source products, including a small number of products for ventilators.

The Department, working closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, has put in place a range of measures to address these challenges, including making it easier for clinicians to report shortages and identifying opportunities to open up new supply options and using additional brands.

We have received assurances from the key supplier of filters for ventilators that supply chains are now restored and they have resumed processing orders and working through the backlog. Currently none of the National Health Service trusts who supply patients in the community with these consumables are reporting critically low stock levels. However, we will of course keep this under very close review and, if necessary, work with suppliers to prioritise deliveries to areas with the greatest clinical need.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are also working closely with clinicians, trusts and suppliers to prepare for winter and ensure there are sufficient stocks of these consumables to meet the need of all patients who require home ventilation as well as for any future spike in COVID-19 cases going forward.

The Department has been working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Implementation Working Group to look at how the current NICE guidance and quality standard on ADHD are being implemented and to identify and disseminate examples of best practice in respect of care and support for people with ADHD.

NHS Digital continue to work with the Department and NHS England on how the collection of ADHD data, including data on diagnosis waiting times can be improved. Consideration is being given as to how collection of data on ADHD can be improved on a national level, including improving consistency and comparability of any data currently collected.

The Department has been working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Implementation Working Group to look at how the current NICE guidance and quality standard on ADHD are being implemented and to identify and disseminate examples of best practice in respect of care and support for people with ADHD.

NHS Digital continue to work with the Department and NHS England on how the collection of ADHD data, including data on diagnosis waiting times can be improved. Consideration is being given as to how collection of data on ADHD can be improved on a national level, including improving consistency and comparability of any data currently collected.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd on 14 May 2020 to Question 43087.

Since the start of this outbreak we have been working closely with the sector and public health experts to put in place guidance and support for adult social care to respond to the pandemic.

On 12 March 2020 the Government announced that we were moving our COVID-19 response from the ‘contain’ to ‘delay’ phase. The following day, Public Health England published new guidance for care homes. This included action to be taken in the event of a staff member or resident displaying COVID-19 symptoms, and guidance on infection control within the home.

This guidance was updated on 2 April with the Government’s ‘Admissions to Care Homes guidance’. This set out further advice on infection control procedures, as well as isolation, decontamination, cleaning and protective measures for staff.

The Adult Social Care Action Plan published on 15 April set out further measures to support care homes in reducing transmission of the virus. On 15 May, we published our care home support package which recommended further measures care homes could take to minimise the risks of the virus and was backed by a £600 million Infection Control Fund.

We have made £1.3 billion funding available to the National Health Service to help patients who no longer need urgent treatment to get home from hospital safely and quickly. We have also made £3.2 billion available to local authorities so they can address pressures on local services caused by the pandemic, including in adult social care.

Only clinically extremely vulnerable people are included on the shielded patient list. Following the update to shielding guidance on 31 May 2020, the National Health Service has written to general practitioners (GPs), NHS trusts and commissioners asking them to continue to maintain the shielded patient list, using the existing criteria and processes.

GPs or specialists are able to add individual patients to the list where they consider them to be clinically extremely vulnerable. They may also remove people from the list where they believe someone has been identified in error through the national process, or if they no longer think someone is clinically extremely vulnerable. This should only ever be done in consultation with the patient and other clinicians where appropriate.

Anyone who is concerned about whether or not they should be shielding, should contact their doctor to discuss.

The Department is offering a test to every staff member and resident in every care home in England, whether symptomatic or not. By 6 June, every care home for the over 65s will have been offered testing for residents and staff.

The expanded provision for care homes is being met through increased satellite testing and the deployment of Mobile Test Units. Through these means we are now providing 30,000 tests per day. We have also launched an online portal that makes it easy for care homes to request deliveries of COVID-19 test kits.

On 2 April 2020, the Government, NHS England, Public Health England and the Care Quality Commission co-published guidance for the care sector, entitled ‘Admission and Care of Residents during COVID-19 Incident in a Care Home’.

This contains advice on assessing the appropriateness of hospitalising, infection prevention and control for patient transport, and informing the receiving healthcare facility that the incoming patient has COVID-19 symptoms.

Building on this, the Government published the ‘COVID-19: Our Action Plan for Adult Social Care’ on 15 April 2020. This confirms that, where a care home resident is suffering from more severe COVID-19 symptoms, the individual may need to be admitted to hospital. Decisions should always be made in line with clinical need.

On 1 May 2020, NHS England and NHS Improvement published a letter: ‘COVID-19 response: Primary care and community health support care home residents.’ The letter advises that secondary care providers should accept referrals and admissions from care home residents where clinically appropriate.

In this unprecedented global pandemic, we are constantly reviewing our guidance in line with the best scientific advice.

In England, information is not collected specifically relating to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the Department has been working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and their ADHD Implementation Working Group to look at how the current NICE guidance and quality standard on ADHD are being implemented and to inform discussions about how data can be improved.

NHS Digital continue to work with the Department and NHS England on the development of access and waiting times reporting for mental health care pathways. Consideration is being given as to how collection of data on ADHD can be improved on a national level, including improving consistency and comparability of any data currently collected.

Information on tests and diagnoses for Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the devolved administrations.

NHS England has advised that every COVID-19 patient needing hospital care, including ventilation, has been able to receive it.

Guidance on the case definition for COVID-19 and whether the inpatient definition is met (admittance to hospital) can be found online. This advice is purely based on clinical presentation.

A letter was sent out to National Health Service organisations and general practitioner practices on 7 April from NHS England and NHS Improvement reminding people of the principles of the NHS Constitution and stressing that even in a time of emergency each person is an individual whose needs and preferences must be taken account of individually. By contrast blanket policies are inappropriate whether due to medical condition, disability, or age.

Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 125,000 workers in care settings and over 118,000 care home residents have been tested through DHSC and PHE testing routes.

On 11 May we launched the ‘whole care home’ portal. We have the capacity to deliver up to 30,000 tests a day to residents and staff in care homes, making sure that all residents and asymptomatic staff can all be tested.

Data on the number of tests requested is not currently available or published in the format requested. This information is for England only and supplements the local systems already in place for testing residents.

The Care Quality Commission referred over 34,000 care workers for testing between 10 April and 26 April. Care home workers with symptoms should be self-isolating and can access testing through the self-referral or employer referral portals. Data on the number of tests completed is not currently available or published in the format requested.

We have no plans to authorise research into the security control of viruses under investigation at the Wuhan State Institute of Virology.

We are concentrating on the stages that we have set out in paragraph 3.9 of the COVID-19 action plan. These stages are: contain, delay, research and mitigate.

We strongly condemn all forms of violence and incitement to violence. Israel must abide by its obligations under international humanitarian law, including the principles of proportionality, distinction and necessity. The British Embassy in Tel Aviv regularly raises the importance of regularised access to healthcare with the Israeli authorities. Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty to ensure and maintain public health to the fullest extent possible. During his call on 4 July with the Israeli chargé d'affaires in London, the Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, urged Israel to safeguard access to healthcare and take proactive steps to guarantee the safety of civilians during Israeli operations in the West Bank. The Foreign Secretary also emphasised the importance of the proactive protection of civilians during his call with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen on 5 July. The wounded and ill in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be able to access the urgent medical care they need.

The FCDO continues to monitor the human rights situation in Afghanistan closely, including the situation of the LGBT+ community. On 7 October 2022, we co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution to extend the UN Special Rapporteur's mandate to monitor human rights in Afghanistan. As the UN Special Rapporteur Richard Bennett has since reported, LGBT+ people face discrimination, threats and violence in Afghanistan. FCDO officials continue to call on the Taliban to protect all minority communities.

The UK is committed to pressing the case for improvements in the human rights situation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and we consistently raise our issues about restrictions on freedom of expression, in particular the conviction and sentencing of journalists and political activists. During his visit to the KRI in March the Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised concerns over restrictions on media freedom with senior figures in the Kurdistan Regional Government. Our Ambassador in Baghdad, and our Consul General in Erbil, also raise these issues regularly with senior figures in the Kurdistan Regional Government, including the Prime Minister and President, and meet Kurdish journalists and members of civil society to discuss their concerns.

The UK Government supports a democratic Kurdistan Region within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. Parliamentary elections in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) were due in October 2022, and we continue to press the Kurdistan Regional Government to reschedule these elections to take place as soon as possible. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon visited Iraq, including the KRI, in March and emphasised to senior figures in the Kurdistan Regional Government the importance the UK places on democracy in the KRI. Our Ambassador in Baghdad and Consul General in Erbil continue to raise this issue in public and private, most recently in meetings with the leaders of political parties, the President, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister in May.

As the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have said, the UK has a close and longstanding relationship with Pakistan. We support peaceful democratic processes and adherence to the rule of law and we are continuing to monitor the situation in Pakistan. Lord [Tariq] Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia, has spoken to the High Commissioner for Pakistan to the UK and to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar.

The proceeds from the sale of Chelsea FC are frozen in a UK bank account. They cannot be moved or used without a licence from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Humanitarian experts outside of Government are responsible for the highly complex process to establish a foundation to manage and distribute the proceeds for humanitarian purposes in Ukraine. Setting up an organisation of this scale rightly takes time.

I have expressed the UK's deep disappointment with the decision of the Parliament of Uganda on 21 March 2023 to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The UK is alarmed by the increasing criminalization of LGBT+ people in Uganda. This Bill threatens minority rights and risks persecution and discrimination of all people across Uganda. Amendments to the Bill, including introduction of the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality', are very worrying. The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country.

The UK is working with the Government of Pakistan to support refugees in Pakistan, and to encourage their inclusion into the wider population. The UK has provided £6.5 million to support refugee preparedness in Pakistan.

The UK's position on settlements is clear. They are illegal under international law, present an obstacle to peace, and threaten the physical viability of a two-state solution. We want to see a contiguous West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as part of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state, based on pre-1967 lines. We urge Israel to halt its settlement expansion. The Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, reinforced this message in his meetings with Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen, Palestinian Prime Minister Shtayyeh and Palestinian Foreign Minister Malki, during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 10-13 January.

The UK is a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court and we respect the independence of the Court. We do not consider that the ICC has jurisdiction in this instance as the UK does not currently recognise Palestinian statehood.

The UK-Iran bilateral relationship is an important part of our policy and a key enabling tool in achieving our wider goals. Maintaining diplomatic ties allows the UK to address important issues of human rights, UK security, our consular cases and Iran's role in the region. We do not agree on everything, but it is right that Britain and Iran should maintain dialogue. The Foreign Secretary summoned the Iranian Chargé d'affaires on 3 October and on 11 November, to make our dissatisfaction with Iran's actions clear. We also reiterated to the Chargé on 26 October the need for Iran to adhere to internationally recognised human rights. The UK also engages the Iranian authorities on a full range of issues through His Majesty's Ambassador and the British Embassy in Tehran.

The UK is committed to working with international partners to hold Iran to account for its persistent violations of human rights and violent repression of legitimate protests. This includes through the full range of multilateral fora, including the UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, G7 and the UN General Assembly Third Committee. We continue to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Human Rights and have co-sponsored his mandate each year.

We support the call for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council. The UK will respond to human rights violations taking place in Iran, and work to defend the rights of women, girls and all people of Iran. We support a strong UN mandate to help achieve that.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regularly works with the Government of India (GoI) to consider how to remove barriers in the way of greater co-operation between our two countries and will continue to raise issues such as improving visa services for British Citizens; we will continue to update FCDO Travel Advice on GOV.UK with the latest information. We respect the GoI's right to set its visa policies, just as we would expect the Indian authorities to respect the UK's immigration and visa procedures.

The UK raises human rights on diplomatic channels at all appropriate opportunities, both directly with the Iranian government and alongside the international community at multilateral fora. The UK also maintains a robust sanctions regime targeting individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations in Iran. On 10 October, the UK designated the so-called Morality Police, two of its leaders and five others for serious human rights violations under the Iran Human Rights sanctions regime. This brings the total to 85 individuals and two entities sanctioned under that regime. A full list is available through Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/uk-sanctions-on-iran-relating-to-human-rights.