Nick Smith

I refer the hon. Member to the answers given to PQ138465 and PQ136458 on 20 January. The House will be kept updated.

OneWeb plans to have UK coverage of satellite broadband by the end of 2021, with global coverage planned by the end of 2022.

The UK Government is supporting OneWeb in providing competitive global broadband whilst being mindful of its responsibility to the UK Space Sector.

The commercial operation of OneWeb will be separate from Government’s duties to ensure the transparent and effective operation of markets.

Employee and workforce details are a business matter for the company. OneWeb is fully aware of the UK Government’s ambition to boost domestic capabilities in research and development and bring high-level manufacturing jobs to the UK.

Details of further investment into OneWeb are a commercial matter for the company.

The UK Government’s focus is on securing additional private investment. We are in discussions with a range of potential partners about future funding and bringing in additional shareholders.

The UK will continue to rely on the SKYNET programme for its defence and security global communications requirements.

Details of satellite production and manufacturing are a commercial matter for the company.

OneWeb is fully aware of the UK Government’s ambition to boost domestic capabilities in research and development and bring high-value manufacturing jobs to the UK.

Details of satellite production and future launches are a commercial matter for the company.

OneWeb plans to complete UK coverage and commence commercial services by the end of 2021, with global coverage planned for 2022.

The Government recognises the importance of transparency in relation to its shareholding in OneWeb. Government involvement is outlined in the terms of the company’s articles of association, which are publicly available at Companies House.

The Government and other shareholders are supporting OneWeb in the development of their long-term strategic plan.

OneWeb’s global Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation will provide high speed, low-latency global internet coverage.

OneWeb’s current generation of satellites does not offer any surveillance applications. However, moving forward, OneWeb’s capabilities in potential future-generation satellites, alongside those of the wider sector, will be reviewed in the context of the UK’s evolving Space requirements.

Investing in OneWeb provides the UK with a range of strategic and commercial opportunities, including the potential to create jobs, expand the UK's supply chain and boost the manufacturing sector.

OneWeb will contribute to the UK's ambition to become a world leader in the Space sector.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has safeguarded 9.6m jobs to date and will be reviewed in January. The Government is also supporting the recovery of the economy by focussing on job creation initiatives like Kickstart and Restart. The public health situation continues to evolve and we will continue to take the necessary steps to protect jobs and businesses.

The data used for the publication of the steel procurement pipeline, and the compliance data on the steel procurement guidance, has been shared with UK Steel and the steel producers. These stakeholders have helped to quality assure the information prior to publication, which we intend to publish soon.

Data on steel procurement in the UK, including the origin, as well as information on infrastructure projects with significant steel content, is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/steel-public-procurement.

The next iteration of this data will be published in due course.

We have provided guidance on how to work safely in a number of different working environments, such as offices, factories, and working outdoors – so that employers can use the guidance which is most relevant to them. The safety of all workers is at the forefront of this guidance. Our approach is clinically led, based on the expert advice of the UK’s Chief Medical Officer for England, the NHS and Public Health England. We are led by the evolving science in this work and as the scientific and medical advice changes, the guidance will be updated to reflect this.

Where workers already wear PPE for protection against non-COVID risks, such as dust, they should continue to wear this PPE.

The best way to manage the risk of COVID-19 is to implement robust social distancing measures and other physical controls. Outside of a clinical setting there is very little evidence to support the use of PPE and we would anticipate that an employer’s risk assessment and risk management decisions would reflect that the role of PPE in providing additional protection is extremely limited.

We recommend that PPE is not used in working environments where it would not normally be required. Good hygiene and minimising social contact remain the most effective way of managing the risks of COVID-19. However, if an employers’ risk assessment does show that PPE is required, employers must provide this PPE free of charge to employees.

The Government has published guidance developed with industry experts, unions, business organisations, local Government, and other stakeholders, requiring employers to carry out risk assessments as part of normal health and safety practice in order to get employees back to work safely.

Employers need to develop their risk assessments with input from unions and workers, as they do under normal circumstance. All businesses should share the results of their risk assessment with their employees. We are asking employers to publish the results of these assessments whenever possible.

The Government expects larger organisations – those with over 50 workers – to publish the results of their risk assessments. We think businesses will want to do this to help build the confidence of their workers and their customers. In order to help with this, the Government has provided a new notice which employers can display on their website to show they have followed the guidance on managing the risks of COVID-19.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out a roadmap to get the UK back to work in his speech on 11 May. Hairdressers and other beauty businesses remain closed in this phase because the risk of transmission in these environments is higher due to the indoor environment and closer physical contact. The ambition is to reopen these businesses as part of Step 3 of the roadmap and we will work with the beauty sector ahead of that to ensure that that the guidance supports hairdressers to work safely.

This will add to the guidance already published by the Government which was developed with industry, unions, local government, Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive to support businesses that have been allowed to open during the pandemic.

We continue to work with stakeholders on developing sensible guidance for businesses that will give UK workers the utmost confidence on their return to work.? We will now focus on sectors, such as the personal care sector, that are not currently open to help them plan for when they can open.

The needs of staff in non-health and non-care settings are covered in the United Kingdom-wide Personal Protective Equipment Plan published on 10 April 2020. This provides clear guidance on who needs Personal Protective Equipment and in what circumstances they need to use it, and how sufficient supplies will be secured to manage the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan can be accessed on the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-plan.

This Government is committed to supporting the UK steel industry.

The Department collates information from across Government where large amounts of steel are procured, including information about steel spend and origin, where known. This information is published annually at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/steel-public-procurement

Officials are working with the Trustees on implementing the proposals. This requires changes to the Scheme Rules which are being drafted by the Trustees’ lawyers. Further updates will be provided in due course.

We recognise the crucial role that self-employed individuals play in making our arts and creative industries world-leading. The Secretary of State has announced a major £1.57 billion support package for key cultural organisations to help them through the coronavirus pandemic. This funding will provide targeted support to organisations across a range of cultural and creative sectors. By preserving many arts and cultural institutions, the self-employed and freelance workers will benefit with increased employment opportunities as these organisations resume cultural activities.

To complement the funding for organisations made available by Government, Arts Council England have also announced £95m of additional support for individuals, including freelancers. This involves:

• An additional £75m in project grants. These will be focused on applications that maximise employment opportunities and those from under-represented groups. Freelancers are eligible to apply directly. National Portfolio Organisations can also apply to create new work with bids that create employment opportunities prioritised.

• A further round of the ACE programme ‘Discover Your Creative Practice’ will open in the autumn. This will make approximately £18m available for individuals looking to develop new creative skills that will help them to further develop their career.

• ACE will also be adding £2m into relevant benevolent funds to support those less well supported by the programmes outlined above, including stage managers and technicians.

The government remains committed to supporting our prestigious and internationally renowned arts and cultural sector and is clear on the vital importance the Arts contribute to the well being of the nation at this time. We are committed to continuing to work with these sectors to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

The Pick for Britain website was launched in April as a joint Defra and industry initiative to bring together people who are looking for work on UK farms with recruiters who have roles to fill. As well as the website, we have worked across industry and with commercial partners and others to widely promote the Pick for Britain campaign. At its busiest point 27 businesses, including recruiters who worked for multiple individual horticulture businesses, were listed on the ‘Jobs’ page. The website has had over 1.5 million unique page views since its launch, and several recruiters and growers have now filled their vacancies for the season and have asked to be removed from the website. The campaign’s benefits have been felt beyond the website, and industry have confirmed that many more businesses have benefited from the wider campaign.

We know that there is a lot of interest from domestic workers, but we are not able to share any information about specific vacancies, interviews or people in jobs as that information is commercially sensitive and held by individual companies. Defra has therefore not set a target for the total number of workers the Pick for Britain campaign aims to have directly or indirectly recruited.

We are closely monitoring the situation, and although labour supplies can change quickly industry is indicating that the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met.

The Pick for Britain website was launched in April as a joint Defra and industry initiative to bring together people who are looking for work on UK farms with recruiters who have roles to fill. As well as the website, we have worked across industry and with commercial partners and others to widely promote the Pick for Britain campaign. At its busiest point 27 businesses, including recruiters who worked for multiple individual horticulture businesses, were listed on the ‘Jobs’ page. The website has had over 1.5 million unique page views since its launch, and several recruiters and growers have now filled their vacancies for the season and have asked to be removed from the website. The campaign’s benefits have been felt beyond the website, and industry have confirmed that many more businesses have benefited from the wider campaign.

We know that there is a lot of interest from domestic workers, but we are not able to share any information about specific vacancies, interviews or people in jobs as that information is commercially sensitive and held by individual companies. Defra has therefore not set a target for the total number of workers the Pick for Britain campaign aims to have directly or indirectly recruited.

We are closely monitoring the situation, and although labour supplies can change quickly industry is indicating that the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met.

The Pick for Britain website was launched in April as a joint Defra and industry initiative to bring together people who are looking for work on UK farms with recruiters who have roles to fill.

We are evaluating the impact of the Pick for Britain website on an ongoing basis through engagement with the recruiters and businesses who use it. Industry feedback indicates the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met, but we know this may change in the coming months and we will continue to closely monitor the situation. Although Pick for Britain was launched in direct response to the Covid-19 outbreak we will, as part of our evaluation, consider how positive lessons from the campaign might be applied beyond the end of the Transition Period.

The Pick for Britain website was launched in April as a joint Defra and industry initiative to bring together people who are looking for work on UK farms with recruiters who have roles to fill. As well as the website, we have worked across industry and with commercial partners and others to widely promote the Pick for Britain campaign. At its busiest point 27 businesses, including recruiters who worked for multiple individual horticulture businesses, were listed on the ‘Jobs’ page. The website has had over 1.5 million unique page views since its launch, and several recruiters and growers have now filled their vacancies for the season and have asked to be removed from the website. The campaign’s benefits have been felt beyond the website, and industry have confirmed that many more businesses have benefited from the wider campaign.

We know that there is a lot of interest from domestic workers, but we are not able to share any information about specific vacancies, interviews or people in jobs as that information is commercially sensitive and held by individual companies. Defra has therefore not set a target for the total number of workers the Pick for Britain campaign aims to have directly or indirectly recruited.

We are closely monitoring the situation, and although labour supplies can change quickly industry is indicating that the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met.

Free movement continues until the end of the Transition Period, which is the end of this year. In future, any EU citizen wishing to come to live and work in the UK will need to apply under the UK’s future immigration system. Agricultural businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status. We have guaranteed the rights of all EU citizens and their families already living in the UK. The EU Settlement Scheme, which opened in March 2019, has already received more than 3.5 million applications from EU citizens who are able to stay and work in the UK and there is still over a year until the application deadline of 30 June 2021

The Seasonal Workers Pilot is providing thousands of workers to farms across the UK this year. Travel restrictions due to COVID-19 have delayed the arrival of some Pilot workers. Defra and the Home Office are working closely with the operators of the Pilot to enable workers to reach the UK, including facilitating the re-opening of Visa Application Centres in Ukraine and Belarus on 1 June. This has allowed significant numbers of Pilot workers from those countries to obtain a visa and travel to the UK.

Defra has been working closely with the sector and other Government departments to closely monitor and respond to the agricultural labour market this year. Industry feedback indicates the demand for seasonal workers is currently being met, but we know this may change in the coming months and we are closely monitoring the situation.

The Pick for Britain campaign has been a joint industry-Government initiative with co-investment from partners, which has ensured that the successful campaign has been at little direct cost to the Government. So far £16,500 has been spent by Defra on the Pick for Britain campaign and a small budget for potential future spend to the end of the season is available should this be needed.

In DfT, steel is only purchased directly by Network Rail. Between Jun 2018-19 the value of their UK steel procurements was approximately 93% percent of the total value of their steel contracts. The next report will be on data from Jun 2019-20. Both Highways England and High Speed Two Ltd procure steel through their respective supply chains.

As of 14 February 2022, 5.5 billion items of personal protective equipment (PPE) are being held in container storage. The Department does not store PPE in containers at ports. Storage costs for containers in that week were £249,000 per day.

The quality assurance of personal protective equipment (PPE) is ongoing. As of 28 February 2022, the latest available information shows that 34.5 billion items have been received and 18 billion items have been distributed to the frontline. The following table shows categorisation of PPE items by quantity and proportion as of 28 February.

Regulation 24 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 requires contracting authorities to take appropriate measures to effectively prevent, identify and remedy conflicts of interest arising in the conduct of procurement procedures. The Department has robust rules and processes in place to ensure that conflicts of interest do not occur, including declaration from suppliers, publication of Ministerial interests and Departmental guidance. All potential conflicts of interest must be declared by suppliers upon registering as a new supplier with the Department.

Officials have regular discussions with NHS England and NHS Improvement on a range of issues, including whether the cost of two hormone products can be combined into one prescription charge. Work is currently focused on reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy for all patients.

The Department paid £603 million to Unispace Global Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020. Unispace Global Ltd partially met its contractual obligations, supplying the National Health Service with £484 million items of PPE from April 2020 till December 2021. We are working with the company on a commercial resolution for the remainder of the contract. Issues concerning the accuracy of filed financial accounts are a matter for Companies House.

The Department paid £603 million to Unispace Global Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020. Unispace Global Ltd partially met its contractual obligations, supplying the National Health Service with £484 million items of PPE from April 2020 till December 2021. We are working with the company on a commercial resolution for the remainder of the contract. Issues concerning the accuracy of filed financial accounts are a matter for Companies House.

The Department paid £603 million to Unispace Global Ltd for the purchase of personal protective equipment (PPE) in 2020. Unispace Global Ltd partially met its contractual obligations, supplying the National Health Service with £484 million items of PPE from April 2020 till December 2021. We are working with the company on a commercial resolution for the remainder of the contract. Issues concerning the accuracy of filed financial accounts are a matter for Companies House.

The information requested is not held as the Department is not storing personal protective equipment at ports.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

We are unable to provide the information requested as it is commercially sensitive.

There is no national shortage of the flu vaccine. There is sufficient vaccine for up to 30 million people to be vaccinated in England this winter.

General practitioners, pharmacists, and trusts are directly responsible for ordering flu vaccine from suppliers which are used to deliver the national flu programme to adults, with deliveries phased through the season. In addition, the Department has procured additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available from November. Guidance for GPs, pharmacists and trusts on accessing the additional stock will be issued shortly.

There is no national shortage of the flu vaccine. There is sufficient vaccine for up to 30 million people to be vaccinated in England this winter.

General practitioners, pharmacists, and trusts are directly responsible for ordering flu vaccine from suppliers which are used to deliver the national flu programme to adults, with deliveries phased through the season. In addition, the Department has procured additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available from November. Guidance for GPs, pharmacists and trusts on accessing the additional stock will be issued shortly.

The recall applied to all unused Randox kits in circulation at the time the recall notice was announced; up to 750,000 kits. This figure may be significantly less due to wastage and the majority have now been returned to Randox. We continue to work across the testing channels to remove any remaining kits from circulation. The specific data is not held in the requested format.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reviewed the regulatory documents relating to Randox home sampling kits and revealed that documents for the swabs did not meet the regulatory requirements to support CE marking of the swab within the kit.

On 15 July the decision was made by the Department to pause the use of Randox kits pending further investigation.

Following confirmation from the Department that despite instruction to quarantine these kits, there were still cases of the kits being used. On 6 August 2020, the MHRA contacted Randox and asked them to conduct without delay a recall of those affected sampling kits which had been distributed to the United Kingdom in order to ensure that the kits are not used.

Randox communicated this action by means of a Field Safety Notice. The Department as a customer/recipient of the Field Safety Notice instructed their users to take the actions detailed in the Field Safety Notice.

Randox issued the Field Safety Notice on 7 August 2020.

The recall applied to all unused Randox kits in circulation at the time the recall notice was announced; up to 750,000 kits. This figure may be significantly less due to wastage and the majority have now been returned to Randox. We continue to work across the testing channels to remove any remaining kits from circulation. The specific data is not held in the requested format.

The recall applied to all unused Randox kits in circulation at the time the recall notice was announced; up to 750,000 kits. This figure may be significantly less due to wastage and the majority have now been returned to Randox. We continue to work across the testing channels to remove any remaining kits from circulation. The specific data is not held in the requested format.

We published ‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ on 27 July. The strategy demonstrates an overarching campaign to reduce obesity, takes forward actions from previous chapters of the childhood obesity plan and sets our measures to get the nation fit and healthy, protect against COVID-19 and protect the National Health Service.

We are also delivering the Childhood Obesity Trailblazer Programme working with five local authorities to reduce child obesity locally through ground-breaking schemes. A key part of the programme is to share this learning with others to encourage and empower wider local action across the country.

‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ is available at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-obesity-government-strategy/tackling-obesity-empowering-adults-and-children-to-live-healthier-lives

This is our decade of change to drive forward this important work.

To achieve our bold ambition of halving childhood obesity by 2030, we are delivering a wide range of measures through the three chapters of ‘Childhood obesity: a plan for action’.

We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations due to a range of issues including manufacturing issues, regulatory issues and problems accessing the raw pharmaceutical ingredient as well as commercial decisions made by some companies to divest these products. Although some HRT products are affected by supply issues, supplies of other alternative HRT products remain available.

We regularly update the National Health Service on the supply situation and availability of HRT products and are continuing to engage with organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and the British Menopausal Society. As part of this engagement, in November 2019 the British Menopausal Society with the support of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published clinical guidance to aid prescribing during this time.

The Department is aware of supply issues affecting a limited number of contraceptives due to manufacturing issues. Most contraceptive medicines and products remain available, including alternatives to those experiencing supply issues.

We have been working closely with affected suppliers of contraceptive medicines to maintain overall access to patients and have provided regular updates about these issues and management advice to the National Health Service.

We understand the importance of maintaining access to contraceptives medicines to people in this country and will continue to work with all relevant stakeholders to resolve the supply issues as quickly as possible.

We are aware of ongoing supply issues with some hormone replacement therapy (HRT) preparations due to a range of issues including manufacturing issues, regulatory issues and problems accessing the raw pharmaceutical ingredient as well as commercial decisions made by some companies to divest these products. Although some HRT products are affected by supply issues, supplies of other alternative HRT products remain available.

We regularly update the National Health Service on the supply situation and availability of HRT products and are continuing to engage with organisations such as the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare and the British Menopausal Society. As part of this engagement, in November 2019 the British Menopausal Society with the support of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists published clinical guidance to aid prescribing during this time.

HMRC’s spending on EU Exit and Transition in 2017/18 was £46.8m, and in 2018/19 was £261.7m.

HMRC’s spending in 2019/20 will be confirmed with the publication of their annual accounts in October.

Funding for the systems to meet the requirements of the end of the transition period is included within HMRC’s EU transition budget allocation.

Previous year figures include the Border and Protocol Delivery Group (BPDG), which was located with HMRC.

HMRC funding for 2020/21, excluding BPDG who have now moved to the Cabinet Office, consists of the £357m at Main Estimate with the addition of £50m for intermediaries support, £69m agreed by HMT, and £185m announced by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, for border readiness. HMRC remain in regular contact with HMT to ensure that HMRC are resourced sufficiently to carry out requirements.

Future costs will be subject to the forthcoming comprehensive spending review.

HMRC are making changes to ensure that border systems have the capacity and functionality to process anticipated volumes of declarations by the end of the Transition Period. HMRC’s delivery for December 2020 requires the scaling of key IT systems, integration with other Government department systems, and trader and border industry readiness to comply with new requirements. HMRC also need to develop new functionality and processes to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol and get traders, and the wider border industry, ready to use them. HMRC’s plans are on track to meet the requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol at the end of December 2020 and the staging in of customs controls by July 2021.

HMRC have clear plans to develop delivery plans with carriers and operators, accommodating technical build and testing activity in line with their individual plans to December. Technical discussions with carriers and operators to supplement this testing are in progress and will continue through to 31 December 2020. HMRC are also working with Community System Providers (CSPs), Software Developers (SWDs) and the wider border industry to ensure they are aware of and can prepare for border arrangements. HMRC are also undertaking calls with stakeholder groups following the publication of the Border Operating Model on 12 July.

HMRC are making changes to ensure that border systems have the capacity and functionality to process anticipated volumes of declarations by the end of the Transition Period. HMRC’s delivery for December 2020 requires the scaling of key IT systems, integration with other Government department systems, and trader and border industry readiness to comply with new requirements. HMRC also need to develop new functionality and processes to implement the Northern Ireland Protocol and get traders, and the wider border industry, ready to use them. HMRC’s plans are on track to meet the requirements of the Northern Ireland Protocol at the end of December 2020 and the staging in of customs controls by July 2021.

HMRC have clear plans to develop delivery plans with carriers and operators, accommodating technical build and testing activity in line with their individual plans to December. Technical discussions with carriers and operators to supplement this testing are in progress and will continue through to 31 December 2020. HMRC are also working with Community System Providers (CSPs), Software Developers (SWDs) and the wider border industry to ensure they are aware of and can prepare for border arrangements. HMRC are also undertaking calls with stakeholder groups following the publication of the Border Operating Model on 12 July.

The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced a call for evidence will be published on pensions tax relief administration, in line with our manifesto commitment to comprehensively review this issue. In the light of COVID-19, the Government is considering the publication of this and other Government documents on a case by case basis, taking into account the impact of COVID-19 on stakeholders, and will provide more information on the timeframe for publication of this call for evidence in due course.

The Government has sought to support low earners through a range of measures, including increasing the personal allowance to £12,500 and committing to a new ambitious target for the National Living Wage.

The requirement for Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) to hold adequate Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) cover is an important element in protecting consumers who receive financial advice. The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) handbook sets out the various requirements around the PII cover that IFAs are required to hold.

There is no intention to raise the minimum PII cover levels for IFAs at present. The minimum limit of indemnity of PII is specified by FCA rules and European legislation such as the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD), depending upon the type of IFA. The UK is no longer a Member State of the European Union. However, both the UK and the EU are committed to a period of transition – lasting until the end of 2020 – where common rules for businesses and consumers will remain in place, including the IDD.

Many IFAs are in scope of the IDD, because they undertake life assurance type transactions. IDD limits are reviewed every five years via regulatory technical standards and were last reviewed in November 2019 and the revised limits, which have increased slightly, will apply to IFAs that are IDD firms from 12 June 2020.

The FCA are continuing work to examine consumer harms, and potential claims that may arise from certain business activities carried out by IFAs; and these findings may prompt a further examination of the minimum levels of indemnity in the future.

The Government works closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the independent financial services regulator, to ensure that the market for pensions advice works fairly.

The FCA already has considerable powers to take enforcement action where consumers are harmed by poor financial advice and where an FCA authorised firm has breached FCA rules. The FCA has the power to impose a range of sanctions, including fines on firms or individuals, requirements to carry out redress exercises, and bans on firms or individuals. There are currently no plans to introduce further penalties in respect of negligent pensions transfer advice.

If the FCA suspects that criminal fraud has been committed, the FCA will refer the case to the relevant authorities for further action to be taken. The FCA can also take action through the courts against firms or individuals who carry out regulated activity without authorisation.

The FCA have recently consulted on a number of interventions in the Defined Benefit (DB) pensions transfer market to reduce the number of consumers transferring their pensions when it is not in their best interests. The FCA are in the process of considering the feedback they have received and plan to publish a Policy Statement on the outcome in the first quarter of 2020.

In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions are introducing legislation, through the Pension Schemes 2019-20 Bill, to allow regulations to be made to stipulate the destinations and circumstances under which a pension scheme member will have a right to transfer their pension savings to another pension scheme. This will further protect members from pension scams by helping trustees of occupational pension schemes ensure transfers are made to safe and not fraudulent schemes.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2020 to Question 4322 to the hon. Member for Newport East (Ms Morden).