Olivia Blake

Over the last decade we have seen strong growth in the number of women in full-time work, and we are committed to ensuring that every woman is able to reach her full potential in her working life.

In June to August 2022, 19.2% of people (1.7 million people) were economically inactive as a result of looking after family/home and of working age (16 to 64 years). This is part of a long-term declining trend since comparable data started to be collected June to August 1993 when it was 34.6% (3 million people). We continue to carefully monitor these figures.

The UK has some of the highest quality childcare provision in the world, but we recognise that it is also one of the biggest costs facing working families today. Improving the cost, choice and availability of high-quality childcare and early education remains a key priority for this government.

That is why we have spent over £3.5bn in each of the past three years on our early education entitlements to support families with their childcare costs.

At the Spending Review on 27 October 2021, we announced that we are investing additional funding for the early years entitlements worth £160m in 2022-23, £180m in 2023-24 and £170m in 2024-25, compared to the 2021-22 financial year. This is for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.

On 21 September, the then Business Secretary additionally announced a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme to support eligible schools and businesses large and small, including early years providers, with their energy costs.

Working to ensure that public information on COVID-19 is accessible and reaches all those who need it is a high priority for the Government.

Important health guidance, for example on social distancing and symptoms, has been translated into a range of languages and formats. Key Covid-19 content in alternative formats is available on the Public Health England's Campaign Resource Centre for health bodies, Local Authorities and voluntary sector organisations to access, share and use.

The Government does not hold information on the number of workers who hold valid certification to work in both the offshore oil and gas and wind industries.

The offshore oil and gas sector’s trade body Offshore Energies UK produces an annual Workforce Insight Report that includes estimates of total numbers of offshore oil and gas workers. Their 2022 report can be found here: https://oilandgasuk.cld.bz/Workforce-Insight-2022-OEUK.

No such discussions have taken place. Under the Offshore Wind Sector Deal, the Offshore Wind Industry Council committed to explore passporting of qualifications between different offshore sectors. The sector is developing an Energy Skills Passport to support workers moving between offshore renewables, oil and gas, and maritime contracting.

The Department does not hold this information. Skills and training standards are not a primary responsibility of the Department, and instead this falls to the Department for Education and is a devolved matter in Scotland and Wales.

The Department recognises the role that smart metering and smart metering data can play in improving building energy efficiency. The BEIS-funded Smart Meter Enabled Thermal Efficiency Rating Innovation Competition developed, demonstrated and assessed new methods for measuring the thermal performance of homes using smart meter and other data.

The Department is continuing to work with industry to assess how smart meter metrics can be used to support the delivery of net zero emissions from heating and powering homes.

The Government recognises that community energy groups have a role to play in the Department’s efforts to decarbonise the economy.

Through the introduction of UK-wide growth funding schemes, such as the Towns Fund, the Government is enabling local areas to tackle net zero goals in ways that best suit their needs. The Government encourages community energy groups to work closely with their local authority to support the development of community energy projects within these schemes.

The Government also plans to reintroduce the Community Energy Contact Group to strengthen engagement with the sector.

Lead applicants to the Floating Offshore Wind Demonstration Programme needed to be UK-based registered with Companies House. One of the criteria that applications to this innovation and R&D programme were assessed upon was their ability to deliver new and disruptive UK supply chain content. I am pleased that a Doncaster-based ropes manufacturer are partners in two of the successful projects, which serves of a great example of how Yorkshire is benefiting from this Government's programme creating jobs in their constituency

I am unable to comment on the decisions taken by the former BIS Department, to close the Sheffield office as part of the BIS 2020 programme and relocate policy roles to London, as this was taken by senior officials from a legacy department. Following the EU Exit referendum in 2016, the consequential machinery of government change that brought about the formation of the new BEIS department, also brought an end to the BIS 2020 programme and since then, BEIS policy roles have not been confined to London only.

BEIS’ contribution to the Government’s Places for Growth agenda was agreed in 2019/20 and forms part of the overall 22,000 roles that are being relocated, of which our commitment is 1350 roles outside London by 2025. Support is in place for line managers and members of staff working in these new locations, including managing cross-site teams. As the organisation becomes less London-centric, we will see a cost saving for the Department.

I am unable to comment on the decisions taken by the former BIS Department, to close the Sheffield office as part of the BIS 2020 programme and relocate policy roles to London, as this was taken by senior officials from a legacy department.

A range of representations from the Life Sciences sector on their Spending Review priorities were formally submitted to HM Treasury for consideration.

In addition, the Government has continued to engage with the sector throughout the Spending Review process. There was also broad engagement with the sector in co-developing the Life Sciences Vision, published in July 2021, which sets out the Government’s priorities for the sector and informed work on the 2021 Spending Review.

At the Spending Review yesterday, the Government announced a record £39.8 billion for BEIS R&D for 2022/23 to 2024/25.

The Spending Review secures at least £2.5 billion over the SR for core Innovate UK programmes, a 60% rise in funding between 2021/22 and 2024/25, to ensure it can support business in bringing innovations to market and drive economic growth.

The money will boost private sector investment across the whole of the UK, creating the right conditions for all businesses to innovate and giving them the confidence to do so.

This spending review demonstrates the government’s commitment to delivering the Innovation Strategy, with UKRI playing a central role by unleashing business, investing in talent, strengthening our institutions, and developing cutting-edge technology.

The £5 billion Restart Grant Scheme announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 March 2021 are one-off grants to businesses in the non-essential retail, hospitality, leisure, personal care and accommodation sectors, to support businesses to reopen as Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed.

Strand One of the Restart Grants aims to support non-essential retail with grants of up to £6,000. Strand Two is to support hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses, with grants of up to £18,000.

There are currently no plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Restart Grant scheme.

However, further funding has been made available via the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) to support those businesses that have had their trade adversely affected by the local and national restrictions.

The ARG is a discretionary fund and is also administered by Local Authorities to support businesses in the way they see fit. More than £2 billion of funding has been made available via the ARG, £1.6 billion on Nov 2020 and further £425 million on April 2021.

Businesses should consult their Local Authority to determine whether they might be eligible for ARG support.

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a £6.9m skills competition in September to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding is provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain the required PAS 2030 standards or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation, including possible contribution to certification costs.

A number of training providers have now started training, offering free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures. More information regarding the skills competition can be found here, with a webpage with links to training provider websites here.

The Government is investing in the UK workforce to ensure that people have the right skills and qualifications to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high-value jobs this will create. BEIS and the Department for Education (DfE) are jointly leading work to consider the skills and jobs needed to help deliver net zero, including green retrofit skills. The Green Jobs Taskforce is working with industry, unions and providers to develop solutions and recommendations that will be refined into a shortlist of high impact actions that will make up a final Green Jobs Action Plan (February 2021 to April 2021).

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a £6.9m skills competition in September to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding is provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain the required PAS 2030 standards or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation, including possible contribution to certification costs.

A number of training providers have now started training, offering free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures. More information regarding the skills competition can be found here, with a webpage with links to training provider websites here.

The Government is investing in the UK workforce to ensure that people have the right skills and qualifications to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high-value jobs this will create. BEIS and the Department for Education (DfE) are jointly leading work to consider the skills and jobs needed to help deliver net zero, including green retrofit skills. The Green Jobs Taskforce is working with industry, unions and providers to develop solutions and recommendations that will be refined into a shortlist of high impact actions that will make up a final Green Jobs Action Plan (February 2021 to April 2021).

The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a £6.9m skills competition in September to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding is provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain the required PAS 2030 standards or Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) accreditation, including possible contribution to certification costs.

A number of training providers have now started training, offering free or subsidised courses covering a wide range of skills and certifications across both energy efficiency and clean heat measures. More information regarding the skills competition can be found here, with a webpage with links to training provider websites here.

The Government is investing in the UK workforce to ensure that people have the right skills and qualifications to deliver the low-carbon transition and thrive in the high-value jobs this will create. BEIS and the Department for Education (DfE) are jointly leading work to consider the skills and jobs needed to help deliver net zero, including green retrofit skills. The Green Jobs Taskforce is working with industry, unions and providers to develop solutions and recommendations that will be refined into a shortlist of high impact actions that will make up a final Green Jobs Action Plan (February 2021 to April 2021).

On 22 February, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister published the Government’s ‘COVID-19 Response - Spring 2021’. The roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with education. Across the four steps, the roadmap sets out the sequencing and indicative timing for easing restrictions. This is a cautious and gradual approach.

With regard to the reopening of the hospitality sector, Step 2 will take place no earlier than 12 April, when hospitality venues will be able to open for outdoor service, with no requirement for a substantial meal to be served alongside alcoholic drinks, and no curfew. The requirement to order, eat and drink while seated (‘table service’) will remain.

With increased electrification of heat and transport, the Government and Ofgem, the independent regulator, continue to work to ensure that the systems and markets that will support this remain flexible, secure, competitive and that they meet the needs of consumers.

Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

Since 2013, energy suppliers have been required to take all reasonable steps to install smart meters in homes and small businesses. How they plan for, manage and fund the activity needed to meet this obligation is a matter for individual energy suppliers.

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

It is Ofgem’s legal duty to determine the methodology for calculating the price cap. In setting the cap, Ofgem’s duty is, among other things, to have regard to the need to ensure that suppliers who operate efficiently are able to finance activities authorised by their supply licence, such as smart meter installations.

The Government’s approach to producing this guidance has not been split by specific business types, but by the type of work environment instead. The majority of stakeholders that we engaged with praised and backed this approach and most working environments are covered within the sets of guidance that have been published.

The Government has produced guidance for people who work in and from vehicles, including couriers, mobile workers, lorry drivers, on-site transit and work vehicles, field forces and similar which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/vehicles

We will keep the guidance under review and will consider updating it as circumstances change. We are being led by the science and we will make changes to the guidance when they are needed as determined by the science and as we learn best practices from businesses.

The staff FTE figure in (a) Energy Transformation and Clean Growth Group and (b) Energy Security Group are:

(a) Energy Transformation and Clean Growth Group is 804.5 FTE

(b) Energy Security Group is 619.1 FTE

The FTE for (a) SEO’s and (b) HEO’s in (i) Energy Transformation and Clean Growth Group and (ii) Energy Security Group are:

The number of staff in the directorates in (a) Energy Transformation and Clean Growth Group and (b) Energy Security Group are:

(a) Energy Transformation and Clean Growth Group

(b) Energy Security Group

Active refers to the numbers of BEIS employees. Other(s) refers to non-BEIS employees engaged by the Department: for example secondees in, contractors, temporary agency staff, etc.

Although a rise is expected, numbers of staff for November 2020 is currently subject to ongoing business and resourcing planning so until this exercise is completed, a number is not available.

Primary assessments play a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school. They allow parents and schools to understand pupils’ achievements in relation to the age-related attainment expectations outlined in the National Curriculum.

In 2017, the Department carried out a consultation into primary assessment in England, with the aim of creating a settled policy in this area. The consultation received over 4,000 responses from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms, providing a broad and informed range of views.

The Department remains committed to producing and publishing school-level accountability measures, using full-cohort assessment data, which provide important information to support parents when choosing schools. The Department keeps all school performance measures under review, and welcome feedback on how it can be refined and improved. The Department keeps all school performance measures under review, and welcomes feedback on how it can be refined and improved.

As primary school tests and assessments returned in the 2021/22 academic year for the first time since 2019, without any adaptations, the results were not published in Key Stage 2 performance tables. The usual suite of Key Stage 2 accountability measures has been produced at school level and shared securely with primary schools, academy trusts, Local Authorities and Ofsted to inform school improvement, inspection and to help identify schools most in need of support. This is a transitional arrangement for the first year in which primary assessments returned. The Department intends to publish Key Stage 2 assessment data on the performance measures website again for the 2022/23 academic year.

Primary assessments play a crucial role in supporting pupils to grasp the basics of reading, writing and mathematics and to prepare them for secondary school. They allow parents and schools to understand pupils’ achievements in relation to the age-related attainment expectations outlined in the National Curriculum.

In 2017, the Department carried out a consultation into primary assessment in England, with the aim of creating a settled policy in this area. The consultation received over 4,000 responses from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms, providing a broad and informed range of views.

The Department remains committed to producing and publishing school-level accountability measures, using full-cohort assessment data, which provide important information to support parents when choosing schools. The Department keeps all school performance measures under review, and welcome feedback on how it can be refined and improved. The Department keeps all school performance measures under review, and welcomes feedback on how it can be refined and improved.

As primary school tests and assessments returned in the 2021/22 academic year for the first time since 2019, without any adaptations, the results were not published in Key Stage 2 performance tables. The usual suite of Key Stage 2 accountability measures has been produced at school level and shared securely with primary schools, academy trusts, Local Authorities and Ofsted to inform school improvement, inspection and to help identify schools most in need of support. This is a transitional arrangement for the first year in which primary assessments returned. The Department intends to publish Key Stage 2 assessment data on the performance measures website again for the 2022/23 academic year.

This is a matter for His Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member for Sheffield Hallam directly and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The Department’s defibrillator roll out, to all state funded schools in England without access to a defibrillator, began on 20 January 2023.

The Department’s defibrillator survey asked schools a small number of questions to establish if they needed a defibrillator. This included asking if they had a device that was over four years old. This is because defibrillators typically have a five year warranty and the Department wanted to ensure no school would be left without provision. To support schools, the Department has secured an eight year warranty and support package for the devices it is providing.

The Department’s defibrillator programme is targeted at schools. The Department will ensure defibrillators are available to over nine million pupils, visitors to schools and over 950,000 adults working in the school sector. NHS England, academic experts, and leading charities were all consulted in the development of the specification to ensure the device selected was suitable for both schools and communities. Each school will make the decision on whether to provide public use of their defibrillator. New guidance has been produced to support schools which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1130210/Automated_External_Defibrillators_Guidance_jan_23.pdf.

The Department does not hold records on community provision of defibrillators. Over half of schools responded to the defibrillator survey, with approximately 60% of schools indicating they did not have a defibrillator or that their device was over four years old. The Department’s roll out is expected to be completed by the end of the 2022/23 academic year, ensuring that all state funded schools in England have access to a defibrillator. The latest information can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement laid before both Houses on 20 January 2023, available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-01-20/hcws506.

The Department’s defibrillator roll out, to all state funded schools in England without access to a defibrillator, began on 20 January 2023.

The Department’s defibrillator survey asked schools a small number of questions to establish if they needed a defibrillator. This included asking if they had a device that was over four years old. This is because defibrillators typically have a five year warranty and the Department wanted to ensure no school would be left without provision. To support schools, the Department has secured an eight year warranty and support package for the devices it is providing.

The Department’s defibrillator programme is targeted at schools. The Department will ensure defibrillators are available to over nine million pupils, visitors to schools and over 950,000 adults working in the school sector. NHS England, academic experts, and leading charities were all consulted in the development of the specification to ensure the device selected was suitable for both schools and communities. Each school will make the decision on whether to provide public use of their defibrillator. New guidance has been produced to support schools which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1130210/Automated_External_Defibrillators_Guidance_jan_23.pdf.

The Department does not hold records on community provision of defibrillators. Over half of schools responded to the defibrillator survey, with approximately 60% of schools indicating they did not have a defibrillator or that their device was over four years old. The Department’s roll out is expected to be completed by the end of the 2022/23 academic year, ensuring that all state funded schools in England have access to a defibrillator. The latest information can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement laid before both Houses on 20 January 2023, available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-01-20/hcws506.

The Department’s defibrillator roll out, to all state funded schools in England without access to a defibrillator, began on 20 January 2023.

The Department’s defibrillator survey asked schools a small number of questions to establish if they needed a defibrillator. This included asking if they had a device that was over four years old. This is because defibrillators typically have a five year warranty and the Department wanted to ensure no school would be left without provision. To support schools, the Department has secured an eight year warranty and support package for the devices it is providing.

The Department’s defibrillator programme is targeted at schools. The Department will ensure defibrillators are available to over nine million pupils, visitors to schools and over 950,000 adults working in the school sector. NHS England, academic experts, and leading charities were all consulted in the development of the specification to ensure the device selected was suitable for both schools and communities. Each school will make the decision on whether to provide public use of their defibrillator. New guidance has been produced to support schools which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1130210/Automated_External_Defibrillators_Guidance_jan_23.pdf.

The Department does not hold records on community provision of defibrillators. Over half of schools responded to the defibrillator survey, with approximately 60% of schools indicating they did not have a defibrillator or that their device was over four years old. The Department’s roll out is expected to be completed by the end of the 2022/23 academic year, ensuring that all state funded schools in England have access to a defibrillator. The latest information can be found in the Written Ministerial Statement laid before both Houses on 20 January 2023, available here: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2023-01-20/hcws506.

I refer the hon. Member for Sheffield, Hallam to the answer given on 24 October 2022 to Question 63042.

The department does not hold all of the information requested. Available information on specific schools of interest can be found on the get information about schools service, which can be found at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Revenue funding for such specialist facilities is allocated to local authorities through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant. The department does not currently collect information on how much local authorities allocate in respect of the operation of specialist units.

The department does not provide capital funding for individual categories of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need. Rather, alongside the department’s continued investment in new special and alternative provision (AP) free schools, we provide capital grants to local authorities to help support the delivery of new places and improvements to existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. Prior to this, we also invested a total of £300 million HNPCA funding in the 2021/22 financial year and £365 million through the Special Provision Capital Fund from the 2018/19 financial year to the 2020/21 financial year. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities and they can use their grants to work with any school or institution in their area, including those that provide specialist deaf provision.

The department does not hold all of the information requested. Available information on specific schools of interest can be found on the get information about schools service, which can be found at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Revenue funding for such specialist facilities is allocated to local authorities through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant. The department does not currently collect information on how much local authorities allocate in respect of the operation of specialist units.

The department does not provide capital funding for individual categories of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need. Rather, alongside the department’s continued investment in new special and alternative provision (AP) free schools, we provide capital grants to local authorities to help support the delivery of new places and improvements to existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. Prior to this, we also invested a total of £300 million HNPCA funding in the 2021/22 financial year and £365 million through the Special Provision Capital Fund from the 2018/19 financial year to the 2020/21 financial year. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities and they can use their grants to work with any school or institution in their area, including those that provide specialist deaf provision.

The department does not hold all of the information requested. Available information on specific schools of interest can be found on the get information about schools service, which can be found at: https://get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Revenue funding for such specialist facilities is allocated to local authorities through the high needs funding block of their dedicated schools grant. The department does not currently collect information on how much local authorities allocate in respect of the operation of specialist units.

The department does not provide capital funding for individual categories of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need. Rather, alongside the department’s continued investment in new special and alternative provision (AP) free schools, we provide capital grants to local authorities to help support the delivery of new places and improvements to existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.

In March 2022, the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations (HNPCA) amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. Prior to this, we also invested a total of £300 million HNPCA funding in the 2021/22 financial year and £365 million through the Special Provision Capital Fund from the 2018/19 financial year to the 2020/21 financial year. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities and they can use their grants to work with any school or institution in their area, including those that provide specialist deaf provision.

In February 2022, the department announced a further £10 million investment to train over 200 more educational psychologists. Their training will commence in September 2023, and they will graduate in 2026.

In March 2022, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Green Paper, detailing our proposals for an inclusive education system to ensure that all children and young people have timely access to specialist services and support. Consultation on these proposals closed in July, and the department is currently reviewing these responses in preparation for the publication of our SEND implementation plan.

The department will be publishing a detailed and ambitious implementation strategy in due course, which will set out our approach to reforming children’s social care. We thank Barnardo’s for their ongoing engagement on children’s social care reform with officials in the department and welcome the opportunity to meet with the hon. Member for Sheffield Hallam and Barnardo’s later this year, following the publication of the implementation strategy.

The department is continuing to listen to the views of care experienced individuals as part of its response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care. Three individuals with experience of the children’s social care system will sit on the National Implementation Board and provide advice and challenge on the government’s overall plan to reform children’s social care. The department is also committed to hearing from care experienced individuals on specific policy areas including on a new National Framework for Children’s Social Care.

The Department announced in July 2022 that all state funded schools in England would have access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) by the end of the 2022/23 academic year. On 12 September 2022, the Department sent a survey to schools to determine how many AEDs exist across the school estate, and is currently analysing this information to procure AEDs where they are needed and to ensure that there are no gaps in access to these life saving devices. Each school makes a decision on whether to provide public access to AEDs. The Department has published guidance to support schools that wish to provide community access and is working with a number of charities to update this guidance. The Department will provide a written update in due course that will be laid in the libraries of both Houses.

In November 2021 we set out a draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the education sector. Within this we have set out our strategic aim for net zero. We have been engaging with higher education to seek their feedback on the draft ahead of publishing a final strategy in April 2022.

As part of this work, we have supported the Queen’s Jubilee Challenge for the further education (FE) and HE sectors to accelerate a sector-led review, so that by calendar year 2024 all FE and HE settings will be reporting their emissions via a standardised framework.

The department is taking numerous steps to ensure the effective transfer of information for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) between school and college.

The SEND Code of Practice is clear that “SEND support should include planning and preparation for the transitions between phases of education and preparation for adult life. The school should share information with the school, college or other setting the child or young person is moving to. Schools should agree with parents and pupils the information to be shared as part of this planning process”.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to review the education, health and care (EHC) plans that they maintain at least every 12 months. Reviews must focus on the progress of the young person towards achieving the outcomes specified in the EHC plan and must consider whether the outcomes remain appropriate. The results of these reviews are shared with schools and colleges to ensure a continued progression of support.

The department currently funds the Whole School SEND Consortium and the Education and Training Foundation to deliver activities which equip education leaders and the school and further education workforce to effectively support children and young people with SEND. These activities include supporting the smooth transition from the school learning environment to further education and to prepare young people for adulthood through high quality provision.

One of the commitments in the National Disability Strategy is to create an ‘Access to Work Adjustments Passport’ to support disabled people with their transition into employment, including disabled students leaving education. Officials from the department are currently supporting officials from the Department for Work and Pensions on piloting this passport.

Under Section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014, if a registered student at a college has special educational needs, the college has a statutory duty to use their best endeavours to secure that the special educational provision called for by the student’s special educational needs is made. They must fulfil this duty for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), regardless of whether the student has an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

When deciding on the provision to be made for a particular young person with SEND, colleges and local authorities must have regard to the SEND Code of Practice. The Code is clear that professionals working with young people with SEND should involve the parents and the young person at every stage of planning and reviewing support, and take into account their wishes, feelings and perspectives.

The department is committed to providing extra funding for students who need extra help. This includes, in the 2021/22 academic year, almost £532 million to help colleges, schools and other providers to support disadvantaged 16 to 19‐year olds.

This includes a block of funding to support students with additional needs, including moderate learning difficulties and disabilities, with funding to institutions based on the number of students with low prior attainment in maths and/or English. Providers, including colleges, decide exactly how to use this funding.

Learners aged over 19 are funded through the Adult Education Budget. Providers can access learning support funds to enable them to meet the additional needs of learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities to meet the costs of reasonable adjustments, as set out in the Equality Act 2010.

Support can cover a range of needs, including an assessment for dyslexia, funding to pay for specialist equipment or helpers and arranging signers or note takers. If a learner needs significant levels of support to start or continue learning, and has support costs of more than £19,000 in a funding year, there is a mechanism to enable providers to claim exceptional learning support.

The department is determined to improve the outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) with a focus on preparing them for later life and adulthood, including their transition into further education.

The government is working at pace, and extensively with children and young people with SEND, parents and carers, as well as those working in local government, education, health and care services to ensure we get this right, and that proposals from our SEND Review lead to improvements in outcomes for children and young people.

The department is committed to concluding the Review and will publish proposals for full public consultation in the coming months.

The government’s commitment to inclusive education of disabled children and young people and the progressive removal of barriers to learning and participation in mainstream education is at the heart of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. This is a key principle that underpins the government’s approach.

We have had, and continue to have, discussions with a wide range of individuals and organisations to inform work on the review. This includes children and young people with SEND, parents, education establishments, local authorities, representatives from health and care services and a wide range of voluntary and community sector organisations and experts.

The COVID-19 outbreak has unavoidably delayed the pace of the work of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) Review and materially altered the context for reform. This is noted by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, in her most recent report on putting children and young people with SEND at the heart of our recovery plans: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-old-issues-new-issues-next-steps.

We only have one chance to get this right and have, after careful reflection, decided we should take more time to ensure our reform plans can deliver the systemic change needed. We will be using this time to make certain our plans complement the wider work being done on recovery and school reform, and that they have the longevity needed to offer stability to the sector. We will work at pace over the coming months, closely with system leaders, SEND organisations, schools, and parents, so that we are in a strong position to publish bold proposals for public consultation.

At each stage of the Government’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice. The Department has provided regularly updated guidance to support schools, with input from education leaders, unions, and sector bodies and in consultation with Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive.

Schools must do everything possible to minimise contacts and mixing, while delivering a broad and balanced curriculum. The overarching principle to apply is reducing the number of contacts between pupils and staff. This can be achieved through keeping groups separate in ‘bubbles’ and through maintaining distance between individuals. Consistent groups reduce the risk of transmission by limiting the number of pupils and staff in contact with each other to only those within the group. Maintaining distinct groups or ‘bubbles’ that do not mix makes it quicker and easier in the event of a positive case to identify those who may need to self-isolate, and to keep that number as small as possible.

Schools should assess their circumstances and try to implement ‘bubbles’ of an appropriate size to achieve the greatest reduction in contact and mixing. They should make sure this will not affect the quality and breadth of teaching, or impact access for support and specialist staff and therapists.

Whatever the size of the group, they should be kept apart from other groups where possible. Pupils should be encouraged to keep their distance within groups. Schools should try to limit interaction, sharing of rooms, and social spaces between groups as much as possible.

When using larger groups, the other measures from the system of controls are even more important to minimise transmission risks and the numbers of pupils and staff who need to self-isolate. Younger pupils and those with complex needs will not be able to maintain social distancing and it is acceptable for them not to distance within their group. Using small groups can restrict the normal operation of education and present educational and logistical challenges.

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

Whilst we recognise the positive social and economic benefits students bring to the towns and cities they live in whilst at university, the government roadmap is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions, to reduce public health risks and help ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening.

Any return of the remaining students is not considered in isolation but as part of the government’s overall roadmap. All areas included in the roadmap, as well as higher education, are informed by advice from the scientific and medical experts, where data and evidence is considered regularly. This includes the Joint Biosecurity Centre, Public Health England, and the Chief Medical Officers.

It is important that we continue to take a cautious, but irreversible, approach to reopening. Moving too fast, too soon, risks a resurgence in infections, hospitalisations, and deaths. Our careful approach to relaxing restrictions gives time to assess the impact of each step and to reduce the risk of having to reimpose restrictions at a later date.

We have worked extremely closely with scientists and SAGE to understand and model various scenarios to inform our plan that seeks to enable us to re-open the country without putting unsustainable pressure on the NHS. We have also examined economic and social data to get a balanced understanding of the impacts of carefully easing restrictions. The government has also carefully considered data on the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown on ethnic minority communities, the vulnerable, the young, and low income groups.

A wealth of data, papers and evidence is being published at the same time as the roadmap to ensure transparency on the information that the government has made available in reaching its decisions. This includes the following information from Public Health England:

• Information on vaccine effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccination
• A surveillance report with a more detailed summary of the findings so far from Siren and Severe Acute Respiratory Infections (SARI)- Watch
• A technical paper on the SIREN analysis as a pre-print by the Lancet

Papers from SAGE include:

• Minutes from the last four SAGE meetings
• Children and Task force Children’s Task and Finish Group (TFC) paper: COVID-19 in higher education settings, 10 February 2021
• Three papers from the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) with a summary of modelling on scenarios for easing restrictions, together with the supporting papers from modellers at Warwick and Imperial universities
• A collection of papers from SPI-M on “relaxation of NPIs and the re-opening of schools” and the Independent Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (the behavioural experts’ sub-group of SAGE) on return to campus for the spring term and the risk of increased transmission from student migration

From 8 March 2021, attendance is mandatory for all pupils of compulsory school age. Schools affected by the remote education temporary continuity direction are still required to provide remote education for pupils where their attendance would be contrary to Government guidance or legislation around COVID-19. Current remote education guidance, including guidance for pupils with special educational needs and disability (SEND), can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance?utm_source=remote_education#remote-education.

Where it is needed, schools are expected to deliver 3 to 5 hours of remote education. This includes either recorded or live direct teaching alongside time for pupils to work independently to complete assignments that have been set.

For pupils with SEND, and those in alternative provision schools, their teachers are best placed to know how their needs can be most effectively met to ensure they continue to make progress if they are not in face to face education.

Schools should work collaboratively with families so that pupils with SEND can successfully access remote education alongside their peers. If a pupil is disabled, the school must consider its duty to make reasonable adjustments.

All further education (FE) institutions should give particular consideration on how best to support vulnerable and disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs who may not be able to access remote education without support. If a pupil is disabled, a FE college must consider its duty to make reasonable adjustments.

To support schools and FE colleges in delivering remote education, including for pupils with SEND, a comprehensive package of support continues to be available via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education.

As has been the case throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, Ofsted will inspect schools of any grade if it has any significant concerns about a school’s provision, including in relation to the quality of education being provided. Where parents have concerns about the quality of education being provided, including remote education, they should discuss these first with the classroom teacher and if necessary, the head teacher. If, having gone through the school’s complaints process, they remain concerned, they can approach Ofsted.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. The Department is continuing to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, in order to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the effect of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

The Department recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils when moving around outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

From 8 March, the Department recommends that in schools and colleges where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained. The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, they will be under review and guidance will be updated, as necessary.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools and colleges.

Individuals working with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate are exempt from wearing a face covering in settings where they are normally required.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are exploring the use of transparent type IIR masks within clinical settings. As part of this work, a trusted group of stakeholders within the special educational needs and disability sector, with a clinical need for a transparent type IIR masks, will be asked to provide feedback on a selection of products.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. The Department is continuing to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, in order to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the effect of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

The Department recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils when moving around outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

From 8 March, the Department recommends that in schools and colleges where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained. The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, they will be under review and guidance will be updated, as necessary.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools and colleges.

Individuals working with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate are exempt from wearing a face covering in settings where they are normally required.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are exploring the use of transparent type IIR masks within clinical settings. As part of this work, a trusted group of stakeholders within the special educational needs and disability sector, with a clinical need for a transparent type IIR masks, will be asked to provide feedback on a selection of products.

The Department continues to work closely with other Government departments throughout its response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector. The Department is continuing to work to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, in order to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the effect of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

The Department recently published updated guidance for schools to support the return to full attendance from 8 March, which includes updated advice on face coverings. The guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/964351/Schools_coronavirus_operational_guidance.pdf.

As the guidance outlines, where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, the Department recommends that face coverings should be worn by adults and pupils when moving around outside of classrooms, such as in corridors and communal areas where social distancing cannot easily be maintained.

From 8 March, the Department recommends that in schools and colleges where pupils in Year 7 and above are educated, face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained. The Department is recommending these additional precautionary measures for a for a time limited period until Easter. As with all measures, they will be under review and guidance will be updated, as necessary.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This includes people who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate. The same legal exemptions that apply to the wearing of face coverings in shops and on public transport also apply in schools and colleges.

Individuals working with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expressions to communicate are exempt from wearing a face covering in settings where they are normally required.

Transparent face coverings, which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are exploring the use of transparent type IIR masks within clinical settings. As part of this work, a trusted group of stakeholders within the special educational needs and disability sector, with a clinical need for a transparent type IIR masks, will be asked to provide feedback on a selection of products.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned and that students taking GCSE, AS and A levels regulated by Ofqual should be awarded grades based on an assessment by their teachers. This includes pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

Teachers will be able to draw evidence from across the duration of the pupil’s course, to determine a pupil's GCSE, AS or A level grade. Examination boards have a duty, under the Equality Act 2010, to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with disabilities who, because of their disability, would otherwise be at a substantial disadvantage when demonstrating their skills, knowledge and understanding, and will provide guidance to teachers on reasonable adjustments. The guidance will confirm that teachers should make any reasonable adjustments they normally would. Mitigating circumstances and pupils who are entitled to reasonable adjustments should be taken into account by teachers when deciding which evidence to use, with flexibility to substitute or discount evidence. Where a pupil’s performance in assessments is impaired through sickness or any other reason, which would normally be taken into account in exams through the special consideration process, this should be taken into account by teachers. These adjustments are made to remove or reduce disadvantages that such pupils face compared with pupils who are not disabled.

For assessment at primary, the engagement model is the new assessment replacing Performance scales (P scales) 1 to 4 for pupils working below the standard of national curriculum assessments at Key Stages 1 and 2, and not engaged in subject-specific study.

In recognition of COVID-19 restrictions and impacts, the Standards and Testing Agency confirmed that academic year 2020/21 will be a transitionary year. Schools that were ready to use the engagement model may do so, and schools who needed more time to implement this change may continue to assess against P scales 1 to 4 for one final year.

Following further disruptions, primary assessments were cancelled for the 2020/21 academic year, including statutory assessment of pupils working below the standard of national curriculum assessments at Key Stages 1 and 2, and not engaged in subject-specific study. As such, there will be no formal assessment and reporting requirements for these pupils. We know that schools will continue to use assessment, including the P scales or engagement model where appropriate, during the summer term to inform teaching, to enable them to give information to parents on their child’s attainment in their statutory annual report and to support transition to secondary school.

The review into support for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a major priority for the government. We all want to see the vision of the 2014 reforms fully delivered, with better outcomes for children and young people, co-produced with them and their families, which prepare them for adulthood.

The COVID-19 outbreak has been extremely challenging for many families of children with SEND. Supporting them continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

The COVID-19 outbreak has unavoidably delayed completion of the review and altered the context in which it will be implemented. Our ambition is to publish proposals for public consultation in the spring of 2021 and we are working to understand how to structure that so that everyone can fully participate in it.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

The Department and Ofqual launched a two week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives.

The consultation can be accessed here and closed on 29 January 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-how-gcse-as-and-a-level-grades-should-be-awarded-in-summer-2021. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has confirmed he wishes teachers to assess the standard at which pupils are performing and thus the grade they should receive. The consultation proposes that teachers will be supported in doing so through training, guidance, and papers to inform assessments. Guidance materials will be made available after the consultation has closed and the detail of the approach is agreed. The consultation also proposes and seeks views on approaches to assessment which will allow teachers to assess pupils’ performance on content they have had an opportunity to study, despite the disruption, whilst continuing to ensure they have sufficient breadth of knowledge to enable them to successfully progress.

The Department recognises the challenges faced by schools, teachers, and pupils, and knows that disruption has been felt differently across the country and between schools and colleges in the same area, and between pupils within individual institutions. In order to support schools to make up for lost learning, the Government has provided a £1 billion catch-up programme. This includes a £650 million catch-up premium for all schools in recognition of the fact that all pupils will have been impacted by disruption to their education. Additionally, the £350 million National Tutoring Programme is an ambitious scheme that will provide additional, targeted tuition support for disadvantaged pupils who need the most help to catch up.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way that is fair. The Department has therefore announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned. The Department and Ofqual launched a two-week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives.

The Department’s ministers and officials regularly engage with the teacher and headteacher unions, including through holding reference groups and individual meetings, around the topic of alternative arrangements to exams in 2021. Meetings have been held with multiple teacher unions, including, but not limited to, NAHT, NEU, ASCL and NASUWT, during the consultation period. We will ensure that the views of the teacher and headteacher unions, along with the views gathered from teachers as part of the consultation and through reference groups, are considered when finalising plans for alternative arrangements to exams in 2021.

The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders following the consultation period, as will Ofqual.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. The Department has announced that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has asked the interim Chief Regulator at Ofqual to find a clear and accessible route for private candidates, and those not in school this academic year, to be assessed and receive a grade. To ensure our approach is developed with the sector, the Department and Ofqual have now concluded a two week consultation on how to fairly award all pupils a grade that supports them to progress to the next stage of their lives.

We are working at pace to provide further clarity to the sector and will publish the results of the consultation by the end of February 2021.

The Department and Ofqual have strongly encouraged all our stakeholders to respond to the consultation. We will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual.

We are funding schools to get set up on Google or Microsoft digital education platforms. These platforms bring together the school community, pool resources and give pupils the opportunity to work with their peers remotely. As of 5 January 2021, 6900 schools have applied for a digital platform as part of the Get Help With Technology programme.

This is part of over £300 million being invested to support access to remote education and online social care services, which also includes securing over one million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.

Over 560,000 laptops and tablets have already been delivered to schools, trusts and local authorities in 2020. The devices come with standard software packages included, and this allows schools to make their own choice on how best to provide remote education according to their own local needs. This may include acquiring software of their choice.

From Wednesday 6 January a new national lockdown came into effect. Schools should only allow vulnerable children and the children of critical workers to attend face to face education. All other pupils will learn remotely.

Parents will not be penalised for not sending their children to school during this period.

The government recognises the significant challenges that the COVID-19 outbreak has presented for children and young people and their families. Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with autism, continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the outbreak.

As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear in his statement of 31 October 2020, our priority remains keeping all early years settings, schools and colleges open to all children and young people during the lockdown period commencing from 5 November. Schools and colleges should continue to ensure that children and young people with autism receive the education, therapeutic or specialist support and reasonable adjustments required to enable them to successfully engage with school or college.

To support those children who cannot attend school for any reason, we have invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care, delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device. We are also providing support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available in the autumn term to support disadvantaged children that might face disruption to their education. Since September, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools.

To support the hard work of schools in delivering remote education, Oak National Academy was very quickly brought together by over 40 teachers, their schools and other education organisations. The department has made £4.84 million available for Oak National Academy to provide video lessons in a broad range of subjects for reception up to year 11. The department also funds the Autism Education Trust (AET) to deliver training to education professionals and embed good autism practice in schools and colleges across England. AET has developed a hub of guidance and resources for families, teachers and other professionals aimed at supporting children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/?s=covid.

The government recognises the significant challenges that the COVID-19 outbreak has presented for autistic children and young people and their families. Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with autism, continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

The department has been closely monitoring the return to school for children with SEND during the COVID-19 outbreak, through monitoring attendance data and engaging with local authorities where there appear to be issues.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is collecting daily attendance data. This is broken down by whether a child or young person has an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, rather than by individual type of need (including Autism Spectrum Disorder), so that we do not lace additional burdens on schools by asking them to provide information on multiple breakdowns of attendance data. Daily attendance of pupils with an EHC plan attending state-funded schools, in the first 2 weeks of the autumn term, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8d8096c1-c771-47fa-a19e-e25f18fc2e76.

As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear in his statement of 31 October 2020, our priority remains keeping all early years settings, schools and colleges open to all children and young people during the lockdown period commencing from 5 November. Schools and colleges should continue to ensure that autistic children and young people receive the education, therapeutic or specialist support and reasonable adjustments required to enable them to successfully engage with school or college. Published guidance on the full opening of schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Also, published guidance for full opening of special schools and other specialist settings provides a framework, approved by Public Health England, that sets out the high-level actions to be taken by schools and colleges. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings.

The department funds the Autism Education Trust (AET) to deliver training to education professionals and embed good autism practice in schools and colleges across England. The AET has developed a hub of guidance and resources for families, teachers and other professionals that is aimed at supporting children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes guidance for schools on making appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical strategies for managing increased anxiety, changes in routine and environment and transitions to new settings. This guidance is available at: https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/?s=covid.

In addition, the whole school SEND consortium, funded by the department, have run training sessions and developed resources for teachers supporting pupils with SEND. Further information about this is available here: https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/whole-school-send/.

The government recognises the significant challenges that the COVID-19 outbreak has presented for autistic children and young people and their families. Supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with autism, continues to be a priority for this government, and their wellbeing has been central to our response throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.

The department has been closely monitoring the return to school for children with SEND during the COVID-19 outbreak, through monitoring attendance data and engaging with local authorities where there appear to be issues.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the department is collecting daily attendance data. This is broken down by whether a child or young person has an Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, rather than by individual type of need (including Autism Spectrum Disorder), so that we do not lace additional burdens on schools by asking them to provide information on multiple breakdowns of attendance data. Daily attendance of pupils with an EHC plan attending state-funded schools, in the first 2 weeks of the autumn term, is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/8d8096c1-c771-47fa-a19e-e25f18fc2e76.

As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, made clear in his statement of 31 October 2020, our priority remains keeping all early years settings, schools and colleges open to all children and young people during the lockdown period commencing from 5 November. Schools and colleges should continue to ensure that autistic children and young people receive the education, therapeutic or specialist support and reasonable adjustments required to enable them to successfully engage with school or college. Published guidance on the full opening of schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Also, published guidance for full opening of special schools and other specialist settings provides a framework, approved by Public Health England, that sets out the high-level actions to be taken by schools and colleges. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings.

The department funds the Autism Education Trust (AET) to deliver training to education professionals and embed good autism practice in schools and colleges across England. The AET has developed a hub of guidance and resources for families, teachers and other professionals that is aimed at supporting children and young people during the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes guidance for schools on making appropriate reasonable adjustments and practical strategies for managing increased anxiety, changes in routine and environment and transitions to new settings. This guidance is available at: https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/?s=covid.

In addition, the whole school SEND consortium, funded by the department, have run training sessions and developed resources for teachers supporting pupils with SEND. Further information about this is available here: https://www.sendgateway.org.uk/whole-school-send/.

Loans for living costs are not available to students on distance learning courses such as those offered by the Open University, except in cases where a student is undertaking a course by distance learning because they are unable to attend the course in person for a reason relating to their disability.

Loans for living costs were introduced for students attending part-time courses at honours degree or equivalent level from the 2018/19 academic year onwards but not for part-time distance learning courses such as those offered by the Open University.

The government remains committed to tackling the decline in part-time undergraduate higher education. The independent panel’s report on the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding was published in May 2019. We are considering the recommendations of the Augar Report, including those relating to part-time and flexible learning, as part of the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, and plan to respond at the forthcoming Spending Review.

There is sound evidence that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. The evidence indicates that the teaching of phonics is most effective when combined with a language-rich curriculum to develop children’s positive attitudes towards literacy.

The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework was published by the Department in November 2019 and is mandatory from September 2020. It makes clear that, in line with the Teachers’ Standards (2011), it is essential for all teachers of early reading to have a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics.

Ofsted are responsible for inspecting ITT provision and between 27 January and 4 April they held a public consultation on proposals related to their new Initial Teacher Education Inspection Handbook. The new handbook sets out how ITT provision will be inspected and was published on 24 June 2020 alongside Ofsted’s consultation response. For primary and secondary phases, ITT providers must ensure that their curricula provide the minimum entitlement to training as outlined in the ITT Core Content Framework.

England achieved its highest ever score in reading in 2016, moving from joint 10th to joint 8th in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) rankings. This follows a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum, and a particular focus on phonics. These are the first international assessment results from a cohort of pupils who have experienced changes in primary curriculum and assessment introduced since the 2010 election.

The Government has committed over £100 million to help schools and young people continue their education at home and access online social care services. We have committed over £14 million on technical support to give schools access to cloud-based education platforms, nearly £6 million to support a new EdTech demonstrator school network, and over £85 million to provide laptops, tablets and 4G internet devices, including security and e-safety packages and their distribution, and to top up the 16 to 19 Bursary Fund.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G routers.

The Department is providing laptops and tablets to disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and disadvantaged children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we are also providing 4G routers.

Local authorities and academy trusts are best place to identify and prioritise children and young people who need devices. The Department is agreeing the number of devices allocated to each local authority and academy trust based on its estimates of the number of eligible children that do not have access to a device.

We want parents to have access to a range of affordable childcare, giving them increased flexibility in their working hours and helping children thrive in the crucial early years. The government-funded early years entitlements deliver 15 or 30 hours a week of free, high quality and flexible childcare for eligible 2 year olds, 3 year olds and 4 year olds for 38 weeks a year.

There are currently no plans to extend the 30 hours entitlement to the parents of older children. Vulnerable children and the children of critical workers are able to attend school at the moment.

There is support available for parents with childcare costs outside of the free early education entitlements. Tax-Free Childcare can save parents up to £2,000 per child on their annual childcare bill for children aged under 12 (or for children up to 17 for children with special educational needs or disabilities). Eligible families can also receive help with 85% of their childcare costs through Universal Credit, subject to a monthly limit. For further information, please visit https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Early years and childcare settings are open for children whose parents are critical workers, and they are encouraged to attend.

We want to make sure that every single critical worker has access to childcare that gives them peace of mind whilst they are carrying out their important work.

Where critical workers are unable to access the childcare they need, they should contact their local authority. The local authority will help them make suitable arrangements. We are working with local authorities to support them to do this.

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

During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children and we encourage this approach where it is possible.

However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why, on 31 March, we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.

Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. As of 28 April, our supplier Edenred reported that over 16,500 schools had placed orders for the scheme. As of Monday 4 May, Edenred has reported that over £47 million worth of voucher codes has been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme.

Schools are able to order a single voucher to the value of £15 each week for every child eligible for benefits-related free school meals who is not attending school. This is more generous than the weekly amount provided to schools for provision of free school meals, recognising that families will not buy in bulk and will therefore not be able to achieve the same economies of scale.

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

During this period, we are asking schools to support pupils eligible for benefits-related free school meals by providing meals or food parcels through their existing food providers wherever possible. We know that many schools are successfully delivering food parcels or arranging food collections for eligible children and we encourage this approach where it is possible.

However, we recognise that providing meals and food parcels is not a practicable option for all schools. That is why, on 31 March, we launched a national voucher scheme as an alternative option, with costs covered by the Department for Education.

Voucher codes are being processed and many thousands of families are redeeming them. As of 28 April, our supplier Edenred reported that over 16,500 schools had placed orders for the scheme. As of Monday 4 May, Edenred has reported that over £47 million worth of voucher codes has been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by schools and families through the scheme.

Schools are able to order a single voucher to the value of £15 each week for every child eligible for benefits-related free school meals who is not attending school. This is more generous than the weekly amount provided to schools for provision of free school meals, recognising that families will not buy in bulk and will therefore not be able to achieve the same economies of scale.

The department has made clear the practice of off-rolling, whereby children are removed from school rolls without formal exclusion in ways that are in the interests of the school rather than the pupil, is unacceptable. Informal or unofficial exclusions are unlawful and we have previously written to schools to remind them of the rules on exclusions.

A pupil’s name can only be deleted from the admission register on the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended.

All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in Regulation 8, as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register. The information requested the reason pupils are removed from the school register is not held centrally.

We are continuing to work with Ofsted to tackle the practice of off-rolling. Since September 2019, Ofsted’s new education inspection framework details that where inspectors find off-rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.

Local authorities are required to provide mainstream schools with sufficient funds to enable them to meet the additional cost of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, up to the value of £6,000. This funding comes from the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant.

When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, the local authority should also allocate additional top-up funding to cover the excess costs. This top-up funding, and all funding for special schools comes from the local authority’s high needs budget. We recently announced £780 million additional high needs funding for the next financial year, and every local authority will see an increase in high needs funding, of at least 8% per head of population aged 2 to 18. Sheffield is receiving £66.7 million next year. The schools and high needs allocations for Sheffield since 2013-14 are as follows:

For Yorkshire and the Humber:

For England:

*In 2017-18, funding was reallocated between schools and high needs, to better reflect individual local authorities’ spending patterns. This led to an increase in school funding, and a decrease in high needs funding, for Sheffield, which had been spending more of its overall funding on schools, and less on high needs, compared to previous years’ funding allocations.

Our ambition is for every local authority and Clinical Commissioning Group to deliver a high quality service for every child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) conduct inspections of SEND services in local areas. Their inspection of Sheffield, published in 2019, required a Written Statement of Action (WSoA) to improve a number of areas of significant concern. Some of these concerns directly relate to SEND provision in schools and weaknesses in commissioning arrangements. Where we have concerns with performance, as there are in Sheffield, the department works with partners, including National Health Service (NHS) England, to support and challenge local areas to improve. This includes regular advice and monitoring from the department and NHS England advisers, as well as access to funded training opportunities and resources. A revisit from Ofsted and CQC then follows, usually around 18 months after publication of a WSoA.

We recently announced £780 million additional high needs funding, for the next financial year, and every local authority will see an increase in high needs funding, of at least 8% per head of population aged 2 to 18. Sheffield will be receiving £66.7 million next year.

We have also invested a total of £365 million through the Special Provision Capital Fund to help local authorities to create new places and improve facilities for pupils with SEND. Sheffield has been allocated a total of £2.5 million from 2018-19 to 2020-21 through this fund.

In September 2019, we announced a cross-Government SEND Review to improve how children and young people with SEND are supported in a way which is consistent, high quality, and integrated across education, health and care.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Department for Education does not collect information on the proportion of school budgets which are spent on tackling mental health problems in England. Education policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved administrations.

The government is making a significant investment to increase mental health support for everyone including young people. The National Health Service (NHS) Long Term Plan set out that funding for mental health services will grow faster than the overall NHS budget, creating a new ringfenced local investment fund worth at least £2.3 billion a year by 2023-24. This includes a commitment that by 2023-24 at least an additional 345,000 children and young people aged 0-25 will be able to access support via NHS England’s funded mental health services, including through new mental health support teams (MHSTs) that will work with a fifth to a quarter of schools and colleges in England by 2023.

The first MHST trailblazer sites were announced in December 2018. Two MHST sites in Yorkshire will deliver six teams in the first wave of implementation, starting this year. Last year, a further five MHST sites, one of which is an existing 18-19 trailblazer, were announced in Yorkshire to deliver a total of 10 further teams between them. Each team is expected to support up to 20 schools and colleges, or a population of around 8,000 children and young people.

Universities are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on employment contracts and pay and pension provision. We expect universities, like all employers, to give due consideration to their obligations under the Equality Act (2010) and the way their employment practices affect different sections of their communities and staff at different stages of their careers.

While respecting the independence of the sector, it is important that universities consider the impact of short-term and casual contracts on staff, students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country. We also expect universities to follow best employment practices to ensure all staff, regardless of race and gender, have the opportunity to progress in their careers. Where there are disparities in pay that may be based on race or gender they must be addressed. We encourage universities to make use of tools such as the Race Equality and Athena Swan Charters to help identify and address institutional and cultural barriers that affect ethnic minority staff and students.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education met the General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) in September 2019. This meeting addressed a range of issues affecting both further and higher education, including both the pay and pensions disputes. However, as government has no direct role in the management of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension or agreeing the employment terms and conditions of staff, we have not been involved in the substance of the negotiations in either dispute.

The quality of higher education and the learning and opportunities it offers for students are priorities for this government. The department welcomes the on-going talks that are taking place between UCU and employers on pay, working conditions and equalities as well as those looking at the long-term stability and affordability of the USS pension. We encourage all sides to redouble their efforts to find solutions that will result in a positive outcome for universities, staff and students.

Universities are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on employment contracts and pay and pension provision. We expect universities, like all employers, to give due consideration to their obligations under the Equality Act (2010) and the way their employment practices affect different sections of their communities and staff at different stages of their careers.

While respecting the independence of the sector, it is important that universities consider the impact of short-term and casual contracts on staff, students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country. We also expect universities to follow best employment practices to ensure all staff, regardless of race and gender, have the opportunity to progress in their careers. Where there are disparities in pay that may be based on race or gender they must be addressed. We encourage universities to make use of tools such as the Race Equality and Athena Swan Charters to help identify and address institutional and cultural barriers that affect ethnic minority staff and students.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education met the General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) in September 2019. This meeting addressed a range of issues affecting both further and higher education, including both the pay and pensions disputes. However, as government has no direct role in the management of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension or agreeing the employment terms and conditions of staff, we have not been involved in the substance of the negotiations in either dispute.

The quality of higher education and the learning and opportunities it offers for students are priorities for this government. The department welcomes the on-going talks that are taking place between UCU and employers on pay, working conditions and equalities as well as those looking at the long-term stability and affordability of the USS pension. We encourage all sides to redouble their efforts to find solutions that will result in a positive outcome for universities, staff and students.

Universities are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on employment contracts and pay and pension provision. We expect universities, like all employers, to give due consideration to their obligations under the Equality Act (2010) and the way their employment practices affect different sections of their communities and staff at different stages of their careers.

While respecting the independence of the sector, it is important that universities consider the impact of short-term and casual contracts on staff, students and the overall sustainability of teaching and research in this country. We also expect universities to follow best employment practices to ensure all staff, regardless of race and gender, have the opportunity to progress in their careers. Where there are disparities in pay that may be based on race or gender they must be addressed. We encourage universities to make use of tools such as the Race Equality and Athena Swan Charters to help identify and address institutional and cultural barriers that affect ethnic minority staff and students.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education met the General Secretary of the University and College Union (UCU) in September 2019. This meeting addressed a range of issues affecting both further and higher education, including both the pay and pensions disputes. However, as government has no direct role in the management of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension or agreeing the employment terms and conditions of staff, we have not been involved in the substance of the negotiations in either dispute.

The quality of higher education and the learning and opportunities it offers for students are priorities for this government. The department welcomes the on-going talks that are taking place between UCU and employers on pay, working conditions and equalities as well as those looking at the long-term stability and affordability of the USS pension. We encourage all sides to redouble their efforts to find solutions that will result in a positive outcome for universities, staff and students.

Universities are independent institutions and are responsible for their own decisions on employment contracts and pay and pension provision. The government has no direct role in relation to the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension, beyond regulation as applied to all work-based pension schemes by The Pensions Regulator. As government has no direct role in the management of the USS pension, we have not been involved in the substance of the negotiations in the dispute.

The department welcomes the establishment of the Joint Expert Panel and the contribution they have made in seeking to secure a long term and sustainable resolution to the USS dispute. The issues involved with the valuation of USS are complex and central to the ongoing dispute. We are unable to comment on the actuarial detail of the first report of the Joint Expert Panel (JEP 1), which made an alternative valuation to the USS pension using a different set of assumptions to the previously contested USS valuation. However, we note that after sustained negotiation the recommendations of this report were not adopted in full and that the Pensions Regulator supported this decision.

The Joint Expert Panel published a second report (JEP 2) in December 2019. JEP 2 does not offer a new scheme valuation. JEP 2 makes a series of linked recommendations covering USS governance, the valuation methodology and the way forward. This includes the establishment of a new, jointly agreed purpose statement and shared valuation principles and agreement to a more appropriate valuation methodology.

The department understands that the Pensions Regulator has indicated support for the high-level recommendations of the JEP 2 report. Universities UK, USS and the UCU have all expressed support for the recommendations of the JEP 2 report and the opportunity it presents to resolve the ongoing dispute.

The RSPB 2021 Birdcrime report, was published on 15th November so, as yet, we have not fully assessed the findings of the report.

The Government takes wildlife crime seriously. Raptor persecution is a national wildlife crime priority and there are strong penalties in place for offences committed against birds of prey and other wildlife. Most wildlife crimes carry up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence.

Defra supports the work of Bird of Prey Crime Priority Delivery Group, which brings together police, government and stakeholders from conservation and country sports organisations to tackle raptor persecution. This year Defra has more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) from £165,000 per year to over £1.2 million over the next three years to target wildlife crime priorities, in particular crimes against birds of prey. In addition, we are providing funding to Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA) to develop DNA forensic analysis for the police and other organisations investigating crimes against peregrine falcons.

Following our exit from the Common Agricultural Policy, environmentally sustainable farming will be fundamental to our approach to England’s agricultural system. The development of our new environmental land management schemes will continue to recognise the role and fund the management of hedgerows. For example, a Hedgerow Standard has been included within the initial phase of piloting of the Sustainable Farming Incentive scheme. Capital grants to support the planting and reinstatement of hedgerows are currently available via the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

We are working with Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot participants to gather learning from the pilot version of the Standard and are incorporating this feedback into the development of the live version of the Hedgerow Standard and its supporting capital items, which are due to be rolled out into the scheme in 2023.

Hedgerows and field boundaries are the very essence of our British countryside. They provide vital resources for mammals, birds, and insect species. Many are also important historical and cultural landscape features. Our new environmental land management schemes will fund the management of hedgerows, in recognition of their historical, cultural and environmental value to our countryside. Capital grants to support the planting and reinstatement of hedgerows are currently available via the Countryside Stewardship scheme.

HM Government is currently undertaking a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review and decision on implementation will be reported in Autumn 2022.

HM Government is currently undertaking a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review and decision on implementation will be reported in Autumn 2022.

In spring 2021, Defra asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a UK REACH restriction dossier for lead ammunition. The HSE and the EA are considering the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition on human health and the environment and, therefore, the case for introducing a UK REACH restriction on lead in ammunition. We expect HSE to launch a public consultation on their dossier in Spring 2022 and to publish their final opinions in Spring 2023. After which, the Secretary of State, with the consent of the Scottish and Welsh Ministers, will make a decision on the basis of this review.

The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021 came into force on 1 May 2021, affording additional protections to approximately 142,000 hectares of England’s upland deep peat from further damage by managed burning.

At the end of the current burning season, we will assess how the new regime has worked in practice.

The Quinquennial Review of Schedules 5 and 8 to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA) is an independent process undertaken by the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (Natural England, Natural Resources Wales and NatureScot), working jointly through the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The JNCC has now launched its stakeholder consultation on its recommendations for the addition or removal of species listed under Schedule 5 & 8 of the WCA. It will then make final recommendations early next year to Defra, the Scottish Government, and the Welsh Government. Changes to species protection have not yet been recommended, nor have any decisions been made.

This Government has committed to leave the environment in a better state than we inherited it, which is underpinned by our target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030. Species protections are an important part of that work.

Improving water quality is a Government priority and we are taking significant action in this area for people and nature. The Environment Act sets a duty on the Government to publish a storm overflow discharge reduction plan by September 2022. This plan will address reducing the adverse impacts on public health of sewage discharges from storm overflows.

Where rivers are designated as Bathing Waters, the Environment Agency monitors water quality and classifies bathing waters in line with the health protective standards of the Bathing Water Regulations (2013) and publishes an annual classification of Poor, Sufficient, Good or Excellent. It must also exercise its pollution control powers to achieve at least Sufficient status. Currently there is one river with designated Bathing Water Status, the River Wharfe at Ilkley. This was monitored for the first time during the 2021 Bathing Water Season (15th May - 30th September). The classification result will be published in January 2022.

The Environment Agency publishes a profile for each designated Bathing Water on its Swimfo website (https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/), which provides water quality testing results, the annual classification and information on pollution sources affecting each Bathing Water.

The Environment Agency and the UK Health Security Agency (formerly Public Health England) have published Swim Healthy guidance on Gov.UK

(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swim-healthy-leaflet).

The Environment Agency (EA) does not have access to the Surfers Against Sewage notification dataset and therefore cannot comment on the accuracy of spill notifications made by Water and Sewerage Companies (WaSCs) to third party organisations. We expect that, as this data is provided in near real time to Surfers Against Sewage, there will have been limited opportunity for WaSCs to quality assure the raw data to confirm that all the alerts have resulted in spills.

The number of Event Duration Monitors has increased substantially over the last few years to cover over 80% of overflows, and will provide complete coverage by 2023. For that reason, the number of spill notifications has gone up. However, the Government has been clear that the number of spills is unacceptable and has made tackling this a priority. We are therefore the first Government to take concerted action to tackle this historic infrastructure issue, including through the Environment Act.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport on 18 October 2021, PQ UIN 57322.

Note: NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) is the midpoint of CB5.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ludlow on 18 October 2021, PQ UIN 56291.

Note: NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) is the midpoint of CB5.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ludlow on 18 October 2021, PQ UIN 56296.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport on 18 October 2021, PQ UIN 57324.

Note: NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) is the midpoint of CB5.

In August 2021 the Government announced a review of the case for implementing Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which started this autumn. This review will look at the benefits and impacts of implementation as well as alternative methods for ensuring that sustainable drainage systems, or SuDS, are incorporated in future developments and maintained after construction.

Between 2015 and 2021, government funding enabled the completion of over 700 projects to better protect 300,000 homes from flooding. Of these, 130 projects included nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk.

The Environment Agency allocate money based on where there is the greatest need for a scheme to help manage flood risk to communities. A variety of solutions from hard defences to more natural measures are assessed once funding has been allocated. Information on the number of ‘applications’ for nature-based defence projects is therefore not available.

Property level resilience measures can play a key role in reducing flood risk and helping people get back into their homes quicker following a flood. We welcome the initiative shown by Lincolnshire County Council in developing a local Property Flood Resilience (PFR) scheme and are keen to hear about the lessons learned.

On 1 February 2021, the Government published a call for evidence on local factors in managing flood and coastal erosion risk. Part 2 sought evidence about the key PFR enablers to help inform policy development and the action required to drive the uptake of PFR. It looked at a range of enablers including the role of funding and incentives. The Government will publish a roadmap by the end of 2022 setting out how we can further accelerate take-up of property flood resilience measures. This will ensure all relevant bodies are playing their part and that consumers can have assurance about the quality of products and their installation.

The Government invested £2.9 million from the 2018 budget to support regional PFR pathfinder projects in Yorkshire, the South West and Oxford-Cambridge Arc. These projects developed interventions to promote use and understanding of PFR. This scheme has just concluded and is being evaluated.

Our 2015-21 floods capital investment programme provided grant in aid to reduce flood risk to 3,000 homes through PFR measures. The current six-year FCERM programme looks to double the number of homes better protected by PFR.

We are also making changes to the Flood Re scheme, including changes to promote the uptake of PFR by permitting Flood Re to offer additional money above the cost of a claim so properties can be repaired in a more resilient way. The Government aims for the changes to take effect in April 2022, subject to Parliamentary time and final preparations by the industry.

The UK fisheries administrations will include legally binding policies, which will contribute to the achievement of the climate change objective in the Fisheries Act 2020, in the Joint Fisheries Statement available for public consultation this winter.

Between 2015 and 2021 the Government funded around 130 projects which included nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk.

We have received no applications and therefore granted no licences to burn specified vegetation in accordance with The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021.

Where the Secretary of State considers it necessary to issue such a licence, we will add relevant details to a public register which will be available online. Once a year we will publish a summary of all the applications we have received, including the number of applications that were unsuccessful.

We have received no applications and therefore granted no licences to burn specified vegetation in accordance with The Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021.

Where the Secretary of State considers it necessary to issue such a licence, we will add relevant details to a public register which will be available online. Once a year we will publish a summary of all the applications we have received, including the number of applications that were unsuccessful.

A definition for irreplaceable habitat is provided in the National Planning Policy Framework - see link: Annex 2: Glossary - National Planning Policy Framework - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

As part of the implementation of biodiversity net gain through the Environment Bill, Defra and Natural England will be preparing guidance on this.

Between 2015 and 2021 Defra funded around 130 projects which included nature-based solutions to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk. In addition to Government financial support, many of the projects benefitted from financial and in-kind contributions from project partners and stakeholders.

We will be undertaking an assessment of the benefits of the 2015-21 Capital Investment Programme linked to its intended social, economic and environmental impacts. This will help us understand what was achieved and will provide evidence to improve future programmes and policies. There will be a report in 2021.

We are aiming to publish the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative later this year. This will describe actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catch of sensitive marine species. The actions will include improving our understanding of where and how much bycatch occurs and implementing effective mitigation measures to reduce bycatch.

This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.

The UK Government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch.

This programme reports annually on estimated rates of sensitive species bycatch in fisheries around the UK. The requirement to report annually will continue and will contribute to our assessment of bycatch reduction across a range of species.

Within the UK Marine Strategy, there are a wide range of targets, including on cetaceans, seals and seabirds, that contribute to our statutory obligation of achieving Good Environmental Status in our seas. These include targets relating to bycatch mortality, specifically on ensuring that the long-term viability of these populations is not threatened by bycatch. These targets remain valid and we remain committed to achieving them.

The UK Marine Strategy is updated on a 6-yearly cycle including assessing and updating targets, our monitoring programmes and a programme of measures to achieve our targets. We will continue to report on and publish public documents showing our progress.

In addition, part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective is to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species. We will set out policies that will help to achieve this objective in the Joint Fisheries Statement which will be published in November 2022. In support of this, we are also developing a UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative which we are aiming to publish later this year.

Defra ran a call for evidence on the use of REM in English fisheries last autumn and published the responses on 7 May. The call for evidence indicated that there are differing views on the use of REM. Defra will engage with stakeholders further to consider how to take forward a future policy.

The Government has been clear that we see the benefits of expanding the use of remote electronic monitoring (REM), but we must develop the right policy for our industry and the marine environment.

Decisions on timing and coverage will be taken as part of wider policy development, on which we will consult in due course.

Enforcement and scientific monitoring are devolved matters and remote electronic monitoring is therefore a devolved competence. This information relates to England only.

Defra’s £100m Biodiverse Landscapes Fund, announced by the Prime Minister at the UN General Assembly in September 2019, is an ambitious programme that will deliver poverty reduction, conservation and climate outcomes across six biologically diverse, transboundary landscapes worldwide. This financial year the level of spend is small as this is a preparatory stage with work continuing on the design and mobilisation of the Fund, including through a programme scoping exercise and the procurement of key contractors to support the management of the Fund. Allocation in the following financial years will be largely determined by the programme scoping exercise and the selection process for funding applications. Bids will be invited from prospective delivery partners through an open, competitive process, which will commence early in 2022.

We have awarded funding for a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex. The scheme, which will see vaccination deployed by the farming community, will help refine future delivery models for deploying large scale farmer-led vaccination schemes.

This year we also intend to undertake government-funded badger vaccination in an area where four-year intensive badger culling has ended, with ongoing surveillance of the disease in badgers in the area. We will continue to bolster our capability to deploy even more badger vaccination in post-cull areas from 2022.

By 2025 it is our aim to have significantly expanded badger vaccination across land where four-year intensive badger culling has ended. Through this we will gain a better understanding of the practicalities of deployment in a reduced badger population, as well as the effect of badger vaccination on reducing disease spread to cattle.

The Government has developed a 'Train the Trainer' course to enable experienced cage-trappers and lay vaccinators to qualify as trainers. This scheme is designed to increase the number of certified trainers who can then train new lay-vaccinators and trappers in localised training hubs. This alleviates pressure on the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), who to date have been the sole training provider, enabling more lay people to qualify as badger vaccinators than ever before.

Our world-leading cattle vaccination trials are set to begin this summer in England and Wales, marking the latest milestone in our aim to achieve officially TB free (OTF) status for England by 2038. This has been made possible by a significant scientific breakthrough by APHA in developing a new skin test that can detect infected among vaccinated cattle (a DIVA test) and is a major step forwards in our battle against bovine TB. As wider preventive measures like cattle vaccines are introduced, we will also accelerate other elements of our strategy and start to phase out badger culling in England, as no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely.

From 12 July the policy for mandatory interferon gamma (IFN-γ) blood testing of cattle in the High Risk Area and parts of the Edge Area of England will be changing, to focus our efforts on those herds that suffer a new TB breakdown within 18 months of the end of a previous incident. By the end of this year, APHA will also be opening a new IFN-γ testing laboratory in Thirsk to better cope with the projected increasing demand for this supplementary cattle TB test.

Also from July, most cattle herds in the counties of the High Risk Area of the West of England will undergo routine surveillance for TB using the tuberculin skin test every six months instead of annually.

Further information about these two forthcoming cattle TB testing policy changes can be found on the TB Hub:

https://tbhub.co.uk/tb-policy/england/refinements-to-the-interferon-gamma-testing-policy-in-the-high-risk-and-edge-area-of-england/

https://tbhub.co.uk/tb-policy/england/six-monthly-surveillance-testing-of-cattle-herds-in-the-high-risk-area/

We have awarded funding for a five-year badger vaccination programme in East Sussex. The scheme, which will see vaccination deployed by the farming community, will help refine future delivery models for deploying large scale farmer-led vaccination schemes.

This year we also intend to undertake government-funded badger vaccination in an area where four-year intensive badger culling has ended, with ongoing surveillance of the disease in badgers in the area. We will continue to bolster our capability to deploy even more badger vaccination in post-cull areas from 2022.

By 2025 it is our aim to have significantly expanded badger vaccination across land where four-year intensive badger culling has ended. Through this we will gain a better understanding of the practicalities of deployment in a reduced badger population, as well as the effect of badger vaccination on reducing disease spread to cattle.

The Government has developed a 'Train the Trainer' course to enable experienced cage-trappers and lay vaccinators to qualify as trainers. This scheme is designed to increase the number of certified trainers who can then train new lay-vaccinators and trappers in localised training hubs. This alleviates pressure on the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), who to date have been the sole training provider, enabling more lay people to qualify as badger vaccinators than ever before.

Our world-leading cattle vaccination trials are set to begin this summer in England and Wales, marking the latest milestone in our aim to achieve officially TB free (OTF) status for England by 2038. This has been made possible by a significant scientific breakthrough by APHA in developing a new skin test that can detect infected among vaccinated cattle (a DIVA test) and is a major step forwards in our battle against bovine TB. As wider preventive measures like cattle vaccines are introduced, we will also accelerate other elements of our strategy and start to phase out badger culling in England, as no one wants to continue the cull of a protected species indefinitely.

From 12 July the policy for mandatory interferon gamma (IFN-γ) blood testing of cattle in the High Risk Area and parts of the Edge Area of England will be changing, to focus our efforts on those herds that suffer a new TB breakdown within 18 months of the end of a previous incident. By the end of this year, APHA will also be opening a new IFN-γ testing laboratory in Thirsk to better cope with the projected increasing demand for this supplementary cattle TB test.

Also from July, most cattle herds in the counties of the High Risk Area of the West of England will undergo routine surveillance for TB using the tuberculin skin test every six months instead of annually.

Further information about these two forthcoming cattle TB testing policy changes can be found on the TB Hub:

https://tbhub.co.uk/tb-policy/england/refinements-to-the-interferon-gamma-testing-policy-in-the-high-risk-and-edge-area-of-england/

https://tbhub.co.uk/tb-policy/england/six-monthly-surveillance-testing-of-cattle-herds-in-the-high-risk-area/

Our bTB eradication strategy is founded in science. The cornerstone of our strategy is a policy of regular testing and removal of infected cattle from herds. We have incrementally introduced tougher restrictions on cattle movements from herds at risk of infection and more sensitive tests. We have introduced measures to encourage greater risk management and more information for cattle keepers, deployed wildlife controls in areas where the disease is rife and new biosecurity measures to try to break the cycle of infection between cattle and badgers.

Intensive badger culls were only ever envisaged as a phase of the strategy. Following Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s review, we have set out our intended next steps. The next phase of the strategy focuses on developing a deployable cattle vaccine, wider rollout of badger vaccination and improvements to TB testing. The Government will retain the ability to introduce new cull zones where local epidemiological evidence points to an ongoing role of badgers in the disease.

The main scientific evidence basis for the badger cull is the Randomised Badger Culling Trial (RBCT) carried out from 1997 to 2005. Using data from the start of the RBCT, it has been estimated through mathematical modelling that infected badgers contributed to some 50% of cattle herd TB breakdowns in high incidence areas, either directly or indirectly.

More recent analysis published by the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) estimates that between 5,000 and 14,000 farms are exposed to infected wildlife and 36% of new TB breakdowns are directly due to wildlife. This study can be found here https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12917-018-1595-9.pdf

In October 2019 a study by the APHA demonstrated that the cull has resulted in significant reductions in the spread of the disease to cattle, showing reductions of 66% and 37% in the two areas who had culled for four years, compared to matched comparison areas where culling did not take place. The study can be found at: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-49957-6.

The APHA published raw data in October 2020 which shows encouraging trends of reduced incidence and prevalence across the first 32 cull areas compared with the years before culling began. Compared with the average of the four years before culling started, OTFW incidence has dropped by an average of 27% after 2 years, 51% after 4 years and 53% after 6 years in the first twenty-one, three and two areas respectively. The data can be found on gov.uk here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-incidence-of-tb-in-cattle-in-licenced-badger-control-areas-in-2013-to-2019

Figures for the number of permissions granted are not available because of the different ways that consents may be granted. Natural England may permit burning of vegetation in response to Notices of proposal to carry out the activity on Sites of Special Scientific Interest made by land managers under s28e of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. Natural England may also have issued consent for burning vegetation as part of the prescriptions of an agreement made under the Environmental Stewardship or Countryside Stewardship schemes administered by the Rural Payments Agency. Consents may not provide detail of the vegetation to be burned and permissions attached to agreements may not detail the individual elements of management. To collect this information Natural England would need to investigate each relevant case where burning has been or may have been permitted to determine whether it allows burning of heather.

The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2007 set out the rules for heather burning. The Regulations allow most burning to be carried out without a licence but in certain specified situations a licence is required from Natural England. In the period 2016 -2020 Natural England issued 27 licences under the Regulations, none of which covered the burning of heathland or heather.

People wishing to burn heather on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) need a consent from Natural England under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. We do not have a systematic process for collecting information on the habitats that we have consented operations on. We cannot therefore provide figures for the numbers of consents that we have issued for the burning of heathland or heather. We are currently investing to improve our records of consents.

This Government remains committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species. We continue to consider how we might best do this for mountain hare and the role of protection of the species in law, where there is evidence that this will provide genuine benefits.

We are committed to restoring and sustainably managing England’s peatlands. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in March that as part of the Nature for Climate Fund, 35,000ha of peatland restoration would be achieved over the next five years. This represents a significant step forward in our restoration efforts and will require us to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders.

The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England’s peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England’s landscapes and nature-based solutions.

Peat over 40cm depth most likely encompasses most of the blanket bog habitat in the uplands where the greatest volumes of peat are found. The legislation we are bringing forward focuses on the protection of that blanket bog habitat. However, the government recognises that all peat is important and is working with stakeholders to promote sustainable management practices on all peat habitats so that all our peatlands are in good condition, under restoration management or more sustainably managed.

The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England’s peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England’s landscapes and nature-based solutions.

We are committed to restoring and sustainably managing England’s peatlands. The Chancellor announced in March that as part of the Nature for Climate Fund, 35,000ha of peatland restoration would be achieved over the next five years. This represents a significant step forward in our restoration efforts and will require us to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders.

The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England’s peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England’s landscapes and nature-based solutions.

We are committed to restoring and sustainably managing England’s peatlands. The Chancellor announced in March that as part of the Nature for Climate Fund, 35,000ha of peatland restoration would be achieved over the next five years. This represents a significant step forward in our restoration efforts and will require us to work closely with a wide range of stakeholders.

The Government will be setting out further measures to restore, protect and manage England’s peatlands this year as part of a package of measures to protect England’s landscapes and nature-based solutions.

The Government does not hold sufficient data on the amount of peat that is less than 40cm in depth and is therefore unable to provide an estimation of the CO₂ emitted from such activities.

The proposed legislation, which applies to areas of deep peat in a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that are also a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and/or a Special Protection Area (SPA), will provide for an exemption to the need to apply for a licence where that land has steep slopes or in circumstances where more than half of the area is covered by exposed rock and scree.

Deep peat by its very nature is unlikely to have formed on steep slopes. Current data suggests that the majority of protected deep peat is sited on slopes that will not be considered steep under the proposed regulations and would therefore not qualify for such an exemption. Similarly, we consider only a very small amount of protected blanket bog habitat will contain exposed rock or scree. In such cases, any burns will be limited to an area of 0.5 ha, in any single burning season.

In either case, should a landowner seek to use such an exemption, they would still be required to hold an appropriate consent to burn and comply with the requirements of the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

The Government has always been clear of the need to phase out rotational burning of protected blanket bog to conserve these vulnerable habitats. There is an established scientific consensus that burning of vegetation on such sites is damaging. That is why we are taking action to prevent further damage by bringing forward legislation that will limit burning of vegetation.

The proposed legislation will not apply on land that has steep slopes or in circumstances where more than half of the area is covered by exposed rock and scree. Where these exemptions do not apply landowners will be able to apply to the Secretary of State for a licence to undertake managed burning in strictly limited circumstances. Such as for purposes of wildfire prevention where it is necessary and expedient and there is no practicable alternative, and for the purposes of peatland restoration as part of a cohesive management plan that aims to return that land to a natural wet state and the land is inaccessible to cutting or mowing machinery.

The proposed regulations will be laid before parliament as soon as parliamentary time allows with accompanying guidance being published later this year.

The proposed regulation announced on 29 January 2021 will protect an estimated 62% of the blanket bog habitat in England representing all blanket bog that is the subject of statutory protection. There are extensive areas of peatland in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and, taken across the UK, the area of peatland protected is estimated at 5%.

Defra is continuing to hold regular conversations with each of the seven supermarkets participating in the priority access to online deliveries offer: Asda, Iceland, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. The department uses these meetings as an opportunity to convey any concerns raised by charities or local authorities around topics such as delivery charges and minimum spends. Although Defra cannot legally dictate the delivery costs and minimum spends applied by supermarkets, our regular conversations ensure that supermarkets understand the impact that delivery charges and minimum spends can have in preventing a clinically extremely vulnerable person from being able to access food.

Alongside encouraging supermarkets to seriously consider the impact delivery charges and minimum spends can have on clinically extremely vulnerable people, the department also monitors delivery charges and minimum spends and circulates this information to local authorities to allow them to advise their residents accordingly.

Products containing active substances such as acetamiprid, cypermethrin and glyphosate are regulated as pesticides. This means that they may only be used if the active substances are approved and the products are authorised. Approval is only given if scientific assessment shows that at least one potential use of the substance will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment (including birds and mammals). Authorisation applies the same process to the proposed uses of the product. Conditions may be attached to authorisations to ensure that these safety standards are met (for example, the use of protective equipment by those using the pesticide).

The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) requirements for the control of forestry pests in certified operations include Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to avoid the use of pesticides. Where pesticides are needed as a last resort, the FSC has further measures in place to determine the lowest risk option. The Government is committed, under the 25 Year Environment Plan, to developing and promoting IPM across agriculture and other sectors where pesticides are currently used. This is being taken forward through the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. The draft National Action Plan is currently out to pubic consultation and outlines steps to limit the use of pesticides and reduce their impacts.

Products containing active substances such as acetamiprid, cypermethrin and glyphosate are regulated as pesticides. This means that they may only be used if the active substances are approved and the products are authorised. Approval is only given if scientific assessment shows that at least one potential use of the substance will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment (including birds and mammals). Authorisation applies the same process to the proposed uses of the product. Conditions may be attached to authorisations to ensure that these safety standards are met (for example, the use of protective equipment by those using the pesticide).

The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) requirements for the control of forestry pests in certified operations include Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to avoid the use of pesticides. Where pesticides are needed as a last resort, the FSC has further measures in place to determine the lowest risk option. The Government is committed, under the 25 Year Environment Plan, to developing and promoting IPM across agriculture and other sectors where pesticides are currently used. This is being taken forward through the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. The draft National Action Plan is currently out to pubic consultation and outlines steps to limit the use of pesticides and reduce their impacts.

Products containing active substances such as acetamiprid, cypermethrin and glyphosate are regulated as pesticides. This means that they may only be used if the active substances are approved and the products are authorised. Approval is only given if scientific assessment shows that at least one potential use of the substance will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment (including birds and mammals). Authorisation applies the same process to the proposed uses of the product. Conditions may be attached to authorisations to ensure that these safety standards are met (for example, the use of protective equipment by those using the pesticide).

The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) requirements for the control of forestry pests in certified operations include Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to avoid the use of pesticides. Where pesticides are needed as a last resort, the FSC has further measures in place to determine the lowest risk option. The Government is committed, under the 25 Year Environment Plan, to developing and promoting IPM across agriculture and other sectors where pesticides are currently used. This is being taken forward through the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. The draft National Action Plan is currently out to pubic consultation and outlines steps to limit the use of pesticides and reduce their impacts.

Products containing active substances such as acetamiprid, cypermethrin and glyphosate are regulated as pesticides. This means that they may only be used if the active substances are approved and the products are authorised. Approval is only given if scientific assessment shows that at least one potential use of the substance will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment (including birds and mammals). Authorisation applies the same process to the proposed uses of the product. Conditions may be attached to authorisations to ensure that these safety standards are met (for example, the use of protective equipment by those using the pesticide).

The Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) requirements for the control of forestry pests in certified operations include Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to avoid the use of pesticides. Where pesticides are needed as a last resort, the FSC has further measures in place to determine the lowest risk option. The Government is committed, under the 25 Year Environment Plan, to developing and promoting IPM across agriculture and other sectors where pesticides are currently used. This is being taken forward through the National Action Plan for the sustainable use of pesticides. The draft National Action Plan is currently out to pubic consultation and outlines steps to limit the use of pesticides and reduce their impacts.

As indicated in the Clean Air Strategy, new emission standards for solid fuel appliances will be introduced from 2022, ensuring only the cleanest new stoves are available for sale. On 7 October 2020, legislation was made that will restrict the sale of the most polluting fuels: bituminous coal, wet wood and high sulphur manufactured solid fuels, from 1 May 2021.

At this time, we have not announced any new measures restricting outdoor burning or to ban bonfires.

We continually work to improve our evidence base and incorporate new & emerging evidence as it becomes available and will consider this as we develop our policy approach moving forward to control emissions of harmful pollutants.

The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. The full details of the Hunting Act 2004 exemptions are available online at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/37/schedule/1.

Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law.

This Government will not amend the Hunting Act.

In the 25 Year Environment Plan, we committed to publishing an England Peat Strategy to create and deliver a new ambitious framework for peat restoration in England. We intend to publish the strategy later this year.

Defra and its arm’s length bodies hold a range of data which provides information on the condition of moorland.

Information from site specific surveys and monitoring of agri-environment agreements is available on the Government data website[1], or the Defra science site.[2]

Over half of the moorland in England is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its biological or geological value. Information on the condition of these SSSIs, which cover a range of habitat types, is held and published by Natural England and can be accessed at the link below.

https://designatedsites.naturalengland.org.uk/NEInterimReports/ConditionByHabitat.aspx

[1] https://data.gov.uk/

[2] http://randd.defra.gov.uk/

In the 25 Year Environment Plan, we committed to publishing an England Peat Strategy to create and deliver a new ambitious framework for peat restoration in England. We intend to publish the strategy later this year.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Reports of visits are held by Natural England in Site of Special Scientific Interest files. Most visits to assess sites are to carry out routine site condition assessments and not specifically related to moorland burning. Therefore, to obtain the requested data would require extensive records analysis and this would incur disproportionate costs.

Moorland burning is a legitimate land management practice where it is carried out in accordance with the Heather and Grass Burning (England) Regulations (2007) and in accordance with any requirement for consent from Natural England where the land is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Natural England monitors the condition of SSSIs, which may be affected by burning, through its programme of SSSI condition monitoring. This includes site visits where it is necessary and appropriate.

Reports of burning made to Natural England are followed up to ensure that the activity is being carried out with the appropriate SSSI consent where that is required.

The ban on commercial third-party sales of puppies and kittens in England, also known as Lucy’s Law, came into force in April 2020. My department has not been informed of any cases of action being taken against third party sellers breaking the law since its introduction. However, we would expect reports of any such cases to be reported to the relevant local authorities, as enforcers of the legislation.

Defra recognises that raising awareness of deceitful sellers is another integral step towards tackling low-welfare and illegal supply of puppies. That is why we launched the communications campaign “Petfished” in March 2020 to raise the public’s awareness of the consequences of buying from a low-welfare seller and challenging the assumption that it is easy to spot bad practice. The campaign also signposts to resources available to help them make a good decision and source from responsible breeders or rehoming centres in the UK. We have increased and tailored campaign activity over recent months to further encourage responsible buying during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Clause 81 is a narrow power which will enable updates to the list of priority substances and their environmental quality standards for surface and ground waters after the end of the transition period. This will ensure that the list of substances used to assess the chemical status of water bodies does not become “frozen” when section 2(2) European Communities Act 1972 powers are no longer available.

Updates to the list of priority substances will be informed by the latest scientific and technical knowledge. Any proposed changes will be subject to statutory consultation requirements which include the Environment Agency and any persons or bodies likely to be affected by the regulations, as well as parliamentary and public scrutiny during the secondary legislation process.

Special areas of conservation (SACs), along with special protection areas (SPAs), are protected under the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017. These sites are included within the definition of ‘national conservation sites’ as set out in the Environment Bill. National conservation sites are to be included within ‘habitat maps’, which will be part of local nature recovery strategies.

More generally, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), established under the Environment Bill, will have a broad environmental remit. It includes environmental law which is defined as including all domestic legislation (other than devolved provisions, or those concerned with a specifically excluded matter), to the extent that they are concerned with one or more of a set of environmental protections.

All pesticides are subject to strict regulation and are only authorised for use if a scientific assessment finds that this will not harm people or have unacceptable impacts on the environment. In our 25 Year Environment Plan, the Government has outlined its approach to reducing further the impacts of pesticide use while protecting crops. At the centre of this will be encouraging the development and uptake of Integrated Pest Management, which is about designing farming systems to minimise the need for pesticides and to make use of alternative approaches wherever possible. We will expand on these ideas when we publish for consultation the updated National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides later this year.

The Government has committed to ensuring that the costs of any additional burdens that local authorities face as a result of new statutory duties for them to collect a core set of materials for recycling, will be funded. This is in keeping with the New Burdens Doctrine which requires new burdens on local authorities to be properly assessed by the relevant department

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

The Government has made no recent assessment of the potential merits of strengthening protections for special areas of conservation in England. The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 and The Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 provide legal protection for special areas of conservation in England and the offshore marine area respectively.

The 25 Year Environment Plan and Abstraction Plan 2017 set out the Government’s commitment and actions to protect our water environment. In the Abstraction Plan we set a target to address unsustainable abstraction and move 90% of surface water bodies and 77% of groundwater bodies to the required standards by 2021. Latest data indicates that about 84% of surface water bodies and 72% of groundwater bodies now support the required flow standards.

The Government believes farmers are best placed to determine the best method of farming for their land and specific circumstances. While this is a private business decision, we encourage environmentally friendly farming through numerous routes which includes organics.

Our Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme is the cornerstone of our new agricultural policy. Founded on the principle of "public money for public goods", ELM is intended to provide a powerful vehicle for achieving the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, while supporting our rural economy. The ELM scheme is being designed collaboratively with stakeholders. We are considering how more environmentally sustainable farming approaches, including organic farming, may fit within ELM where these contribute towards the delivery of environmental public goods.

We will offer financial assistance to enable farmers, foresters, and growers to invest in the equipment, technology, and infrastructure that they need to improve their productivity, manage the environment sustainably, and deliver other public goods.

Until 2024, farmers may apply for Countryside Stewardship grants to support them whilst converting to organic production. The Defra Organics Farming Statistics United Kingdom 2019 stated that nearly half a million hectares were farmed organically in the UK. This is an increase of 2.4% since 2018.

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/organic-farming-statistics-2019

In 2019, the Government published its consultation ‘Consistency in Household and Business Recycling Collection in England’ and associated impact assessment. These included assessments of the additional costs arising from measures for greater consistency in recycling collections including the collection of a core set of materials of plastic, glass, paper and card, metal, food and garden waste from households.

The Government will be publishing a second consultation in 2021 which will seek views on further details of consistency in recycling. A further impact assessment will be published alongside it and will include updated assessments of costs for these measures.

In line with guidance on new burdens, the Government has committed to covering the costs of any additional burdens that local authorities face as a result of new statutory duties that require them to implement consistency and will apply that guidance in assessing these costs.

Water quality is a devolved matter. In England, urban waste water standards are set by the Urban Waste Water Treatment (England and Wales) Regulations 1994. These regulations set standards for the collection, treatment and discharge of waste water and impose duties on water and sewerage companies to meet these standards. Compliance with the standards is regulated by the Environment Agency and any non-compliance is subject to enforcement action. The environmental programme that the water companies will be implementing over the next five years includes around £800 million of investment specifically in relation to urban waste water, as part of a wider package of £4 billion of investment to reduce pollution from waste water.

In 2019, the Environment Agency sampled 420 bathing waters in England and seven were classified as “Poor”. 98.3% of bathing waters met the minimum standard of “Sufficient” set by the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 (“the Regulations”) and 71.4% met the highest “Excellent” standard.

Hundreds of projects have been completed to address poor bathing water quality and successfully drive up standards. Water companies have invested £2.5 billion to reduce pollution, councils and charities have run campaigns to keep beaches clean and advice has been provided to farmers on how to reduce pollution into rivers.

The remaining “Poor” bathing waters all have complex problems that require partnership working with stakeholders to rectify issues. Sources of pollution identified include sewer misconnections, sea birds, dogs, run-off from urban and agricultural land, as well as sewage from combined sewer overflows and septic tanks. The Environment Agency is working with partners to look for solutions to these problems.

Pollution risk forecasting provides advice against bathing when conditions such as rain or tide or wind increase the risk of reduced water quality.

The Environment Bill establishes a legally binding duty to set a target for PM_2.5, in addition to a long-term air quality target. As part of that work we have explored progress that will be made towards WHO PM_2.5 guidelines on a national level under a range of scenarios, and a report on this was published in July 2019. We are committed to setting challenging targets and following an evidence-based process, seeking advice from a range of experts, in addition to giving consideration to the World Health Organization’s air quality guidelines.

The targets will be set in secondary legislation at the end of this process. It would not be an effective approach to policy making to commit in primary legislation to achieving a target, without giving due consideration to its achievability and the measures required to meet that target. Stakeholders, Parliament and the public will have the opportunity to comment on, and input into, the process of developing this target.

Local Nature Recovery Strategies are a new system of spatial strategies for nature introduced by the Environment Bill. All public authorities will be required to have regard to relevant strategies, as part of a stronger duty on public authorities to conserve and enhance biodiversity also included in the Bill.

Recognising the difficulties experienced by some countries in managing imports of plastic waste, the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019 included a commitment to ban the export of plastic waste to countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Environment Bill includes a power which will enable us to deliver on this commitment and we will consult on the date by when the ban should be in place. The Bill also includes a power to introduce electronic tracking of waste to help tackle waste crime here in the UK and prevent illegal waste from being shipped abroad.

The export of UK waste for disposal is generally prohibited. The Government has no plans to ban the export of other wastes. We are keen to promote UK-based recycling and export less waste to be processed abroad. Where the UK cannot currently recycle materials economically, exports can help ensure those materials are recycled in recipient countries. While there is a legitimate global market for secondary materials, it must be and is subject to strict regulatory requirements.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only.

There are no plans to increase the number of special areas of conservation in England.

Operators proposing to explore for shale gas using hydraulic fracturing in England require environmental permits from the Environment Agency. The permits, which are subject to a detailed site-specific assessment, set legally binding conditions on how activities are carried out so that the local environment is protected. Groundwater must be monitored before, during and after operations and the results submitted regularly to the Environment Agency. On 4 November 2019 the Government confirmed in a written Ministerial statement that, based on the current scientific evidence, it will take a presumption against issuing any further Hydraulic Fracturing Consents in England, which are required before hydraulic fracturing operations can take place. This position, in effect a moratorium, will be maintained unless compelling new evidence is provided which addresses the concerns around the prediction and management of induced seismicity. The full statement can be found at:

www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2019-11-04/HCWS68.

In 2018, onshore oil and gas licensing powers in Scotland and Wales were devolved to Scottish and Welsh Ministers respectively. The Devolved Administrations in Scotland and Wales have adopted policy positions opposed to shale gas exploration. Further, the licensing and regulation of shale gas development is fully devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive. Any decision on whether shale developments can occur in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Government has no current plans to amend regulations and environmental protections in order to stimulate economic activity.

However, as we rebuild our economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, we are working to deliver a fairer, greener and more resilient future. We will ramp up our world-leading work on our ambitious legislative agenda through our landmark Environment and Agricultural Bills. These bills will work hand in hand to protect and recover our precious natural environment and diverse ecosystems in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan to leave the environment in a better place than we have inherited it.

The 25 Year Environment Plan will be adopted as the first statutory Environmental Improvement Plan under the Bill. The Environment Bill also creates a power to set long-term, legally-binding environmental targets. It requires Government to set, and achieve, at least one long-term target in four priority areas: air quality, biodiversity, water, and resource efficiency and waste reduction. We want them to be ambitious, credible, and supported by society. As a first step we expect to publish a Target Policy Paper over the coming months which will include further details about the target-setting process that we will be implementing.

The net zero challenge remains and we need to transform our economy over the next three decades to end our contribution to climate change. In the UK we’ve already shown how to grow the economy while cutting emissions and we will continue to lead the world as we respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19 and develop our net zero strategy in advance of COP26.

The Government has no current plans to change environmental regulations and protections in order to stimulate economic activity.

However, as we rebuild our economy in response to the coronavirus pandemic, we are working to deliver a fairer, greener and more resilient future. We will ramp up our world-leading work on our ambitious legislative agenda through our landmark Environment and Agricultural Bills. These bills will work hand in hand to protect and recover our precious natural environment and diverse ecosystems in line with our 25 Year Environment Plan to leave the environment in a better place than we have inherited it.

The net zero challenge remains and we need to transform our economy over the next three decades to end our contribution to climate change. In the UK we have already shown how to grow the economy while cutting emissions and we will continue to lead the world as we respond to the economic impacts of COVID-19 and develop our net zero strategy in advance of COP26.

The shielding programme was put in place to protect clinically extremely vulnerable people – those who have been advised by the NHS not to leave their homes, because they are at a high risk of developing complications from coronavirus (COVID-19) infection. Anyone who believes they meet the criteria of extremely clinically vulnerable but who has not received a letter from the NHS should contact their GP.

We have now delivered over 1 million parcels to those in this group who advised that they were unable to access food and continue to support these people. We have also shared the details of individuals who register to receive food parcels with supermarkets so that they can be prioritised for home delivery slots.

The Government is working with a partnership of the food industry, local government, local resilience forums and emergency partners, and voluntary groups, to ensure that essential items can be delivered as quickly as possible to those who need it. For example, just under 600,000 people are now registered as verified NHS Volunteer Responders to help support people who are struggling to access food

Defra is working closely with charities to estimate the supply of food to charities and demand for food from users of those charities. On 3 April Defra launched a £3.25 million grant opportunity to help surplus food redistributors with infrastructure and associated support to help get more food to charities working on the front line in supporting vulnerable people in need. Additionally, the Government has announced up to £16 million to provide millions of meals over the next 12 weeks. These will be delivered through charities including FareShare and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme).

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is to be operational from 1 January 2021. Subject to the passage of the Environment Bill, the OEP will therefore take on its full statutory functions from this date, including being able to receive and investigate complaints, take enforcement action, and provide scrutiny and advice including in relation to the 25 Year Environment Plan.

Our Clean Air Strategy (CAS) was published in 2019 following a thorough consultation exercise and included new and ambitious goals, legislation, investment and policies to clean up our air faster and more effectively. The Environment Bill delivers key parts of this CAS including outlining how new air quality targets will be set through an open and transparent, evidence-based process, which will include seeking independent expert advice and holding a public consultation. The targets and associated technical detail will be set in a statutory instrument via the affirmative procedure, and both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise and debate the details and ambition of the targets before they are finalised.

The Department has ongoing discussions with these organisations on a range of matters, including Driver Only Operation and Driver Controlled Operation.

Trains have operated safely in the UK for many years as driver only, or driver controlled. The Office of Rail and Road as the independent safety regulator has scrutinised this approach.

Officials meet generally at least weekly with senior representatives from industry including from Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to discuss industrial relations.

The Secretary of State has also met representatives of RDG since taking up office.

The Ticketing and Settlement Agreement (TSA) sets out the process which train operating companies must follow to commence proposals for changes to the opening hours of ticket offices, including public and industry engagement.

There are no requirements in any of the Department’s National Rail Contracts for train operating companies to close or repurpose ticket offices.

There are no requirements in any of the Department’s National Rail Contracts for train operating companies to close or repurpose ticket offices.

I understand that Northern has responded directly to the Honourable Member on this matter.

International arrivals from countries, territories or regions not on the Travel Corridor list (“non-exempt” places) are required to self-isolate in the UK for 10 days after leaving the non-exempt place. The Government implemented the “Test to Release for International Travel” (TTR) scheme on 15 December. Arrivals from non-exempt places can book, pay for, and take a privately provided test on the fifth day after leaving the non-exempt place, and if the result is negative, cease self-isolating.

TTR provides much stronger public health protection than a test upon arrival at a port or airport, as the long incubation period of COVID-19 would mean many cases would be missed if travellers were tested earlier than 5 days after leaving the non-exempt place.

Figures on public sector expenditure at national and regional levels are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. These provide statistical allocations of public spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued. Unfortunately, spend at city specific level is not available.

The CRA statistics include spend on transport by all public sector organisations including the Department for Transport, Local Authorities, Public Corporations (in the case of transport, this is mainly spend by London Underground) and other government departments including devolved administrations.

Table 1: Public expenditure on the railway in the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber, by all public sector bodies (£ million)

These expenditure values are in nominal terms and have not been adjusted for inflation. In 2014, Network Rail was classified as a Central Government Body and thus spending on the railways before and after Network Rail’s reclassification are not comparable.

Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/country-and-regional-analysis-2020

The Spending Review confirmed that the Government will continue to support the railway, investing in ambitious improvements to modernise our railway, committing over £40bn. This includes over £2 billion of funding confirmed in 2021-22 for rail services, building on the estimated £12.8 billion of support for transport services that the government has already committed to provide in 2020-21.

We continue to deliver ambitious enhancements to the rail network, investing in key priorities including the Transpennine Route Upgrade, restoring lines and stations closed during the Beeching cuts and in HS2, with an unrelenting focus on levelling up our country and ensuring all communities have the connections they need to support growth and prosperity.

Highways England is developing a nationally-targeted campaign to increase road user confidence on All Lane Running (ALR) motorways, including what to do in the event of a breakdown in a live lane. The campaign concept has been tested on a number of audiences. Stakeholders in the recovery and insurance industries have been engaged throughout the process and have helped to shape the campaign.

Highways England is now in the production phase of the campaign, which will launch in January 2021. The campaign will be seen widely across the country including on TV, social media and national radio to ensure maximum reach amongst the target audience.

Contact tracing is already happening across all modes of public transport through the Bluetooth functionality of the NHS Contact Tracing app, which alerts the user if they have had exposure to someone who later tests positive. Checking in via QR codes is more complex to achieve on transport where passengers and vehicles are constantly on the move. ?However, we are working with operators to encourage people to download the app in transport hubs and working closely with the NHS Contact Tracing app team to understand how a check-in feature could be implemented in transport settings whilst avoiding disruption.

The Department is committed to making rapid progress in establishing Active Travel England, and also to ensuring that proper consideration is given to these and other important matters. It is essential, for example, that the correct processes are followed in line with Cabinet Office Guidance on the creation of new Arm’s-Length Bodies.

The Government’s Cycling and Walking Plan, published in July, sets out some of the roles and functions that the new body is likely to have. These include holding the budget for, as well as approving and inspecting, cycling and walking schemes; disseminating training and good practice; and reviewing major planning applications to help improve the provision of cycling and walking facilities.

Further details on the role of, and appointment process for, the new National Cycling and Walking Commissioner will be made available in due course.

Emissions from these sectors are a global problem requiring a global solution, and it is vital that we find an answer that reduces emissions globally - rather than simply displacing emissions elsewhere across the world.

The UK will continue to lead the way to secure a solution that reflects the truly international nature of these sectors, and we are minded to include the targets in legislation subject to future progress in the International Maritime Organization and International Civil Aviation Organization.

Last year, the UK became the first major economy to pass laws to require the UK to bring its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

The Government remains committed to delivering the aims and ambitions set out in the existing Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, which was published in April 2017. On the 9^th May the Government announced a £2bn package of funding for cycling and walking over the next five years. The Government will say more later this year about plans to update the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy to build on the new opportunities that this funding provides.

The first part of the £2 billion to be released will be a £225 million Emergency Active Travel Fund in the current financial year. The first tranche of this will be released as soon as possible provided local authorities submit suitably ambitious plans to the Department, and the second tranche will be released later in the summer. Indicative allocations to local authorities have been published on gov.uk. Sheffield City Region Combined Authority has been indicatively allocated £1,437,000 for tranche one and £5,749,000 for tranche two: its final allocations will depend on the quality of the plans it submits to the Department. Decisions on the remainder of the £2 billion will be a matter for the next Spending Review.

This Government has been clear that our ambition is to level up local economies across the country, improving access to jobs and education and boosting the wider region. Improving connections across the rail network is obviously an integral part of that.

The Secretary of State wrote to all England and Wales MPs outlining the process and inviting them to contact him by 28 February if they wished to bid for the first round of study funding for schemes in their constituencies. Outline proposals needed to be submitted by 16 March for initial assessment.

For those bids already put forward as part of the Beeching Ideas Fund – such as for the Derby to Manchester line – these are currently under consideration by the Panel of ministerial, local authority and rail industry representatives. We have adapted the process so it is consistent with the Government advice on COVID-19 and a virtual panel chaired by the Minister of State is examining bids on paper in the first instance. We are keeping applicants up-to-date on the timetable.

For those who have not yet applied to the Ideas Fund there will be another round in June and another in the autumn. We published a progress update on gov.uk on 27 April and my department has written to all MPs about future rounds.

For proposals for reopening or new stations that are sufficiently advanced the third round of the New Station Fund closes to applications on the 5 June.

Eligibility for the Blue Badge scheme is not condition-based so people with a disability or a condition who meet the eligibility criteria will still be issued a badge. The Department has issued clear non-statutory guidance to local authorities in England on how to administer the scheme.

The Department is currently working on its blue badge business continuity plan to ensure our digital and badge production services are resilient enough to continue to produce badges throughout this unprecedented period. Local authorities are responsible for the day to day administration of the scheme and will therefore be making their own arrangements for business continuity to ensure those in need of a badge can still be issued one. This may include pragmatic measures such as assessing applicants over the telephone, rather than face to face.

Network Rail are part way through a procurement process to appoint a supplier to carry out detailed designs and deliver the scheme. They are working with the train operators to assess the best way to deliver the works during Control Period 6 (2019-2024) with the least disruption to customers. I am expecting Network Rail’s Final Business Case for the scheme over the course of the summer after which I will be able to say more about specific delivery dates of the scheme’s components in the Autumn.

The Government is committed to investing in infrastructure and levelling up across the country and has developed the £2.5 billion Transforming Cities Fund to improve public transport with a focus on trains, trams and buses. The Sheffield City Region Combined Authority has submitted a bid for a share of the £1.22 billion in the second round of the competitive element of the fund. The Department has supported the Combined Authority in developing their plans to ensure they have maximum benefit.

In addition, £4.2bn of funding is planned for improving transport infrastructure in major city regions. More detail on future funding levels for these areas will be announced later this year.

The number and proportion of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) assessments carried out (a) face to face (b) remotely (this includes telephone and video) and (c) paper based can be found in the tables below.

For the months from September 2022 to May 2023 (the latest month figures are available) the number of assessments per channel are:

The channel proportion is:

Please note:

• All volumes have been rounded to the nearest 10;
• Percentages may not always total 100% due to rounding;
• All of the above data is derived from management information produced by the assessment providers; and

• The above data is derived from unpublished management information which is collected for internal departmental use only and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics Publication standards.

Individual data is not captured on average suspension periods and would be disproportionate in cost to identify this information.

The Risk Review Team (RRT) complete a review of eligibility and entitlement ; we engage with customers to request evidence to determine entitlement. The length of time it takes to review the case to allow the claim to be reinstated will depend on the cooperation from the claimant engaging with RRT and providing accurate documentation.

We have a process in place, where we make three attempts via telephone to engage with the customer, giving 48 hours’ notice between calls, these calls are booked in advance via the customers Universal Credit account . If there is no engagement from the customer, a claim can be closed after 30 plus 1 day from RRT starting their review.

Both the Oil & Gas and Wind Sectors require mandatory training for directly and self-employed personnel working in these sectors. This training comprises of BOSIET (Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training) and GWO (Global Wind Organisation) courses where completion information is recorded in a national industry database which provides a record of an individual’s training status.

HSE retain oversight of non-mandatory training associated with an individual’s competence to undertake their role via inspection activities across both sectors.

In determining eligibility for 2022/23 Cost of Living Payments, the qualifying periods have been chosen to reflect the nature of the passporting benefits and have remained simple to ensure these payments can be made to those who qualify and at scale to support millions of people on low incomes. We have no plans to consider making backdated payments for those who have fluctuating earnings and did not qualify for payments due to unusually high income in the original qualifying period.

Qualifying periods related to the 23/24 cost of living payments will be announced in due course.

Yes.

The online State Pension new claims service, Get your State Pension (GySP) is an accessible service so citizens have the option to manually enlarge the text on screen if required. The invitation letter sent to all citizens to invite a new claim to State Pension (SP) has the opening paragraph: If you would like Braille, British Sign Language, a hearing loop, translations, large print, audio or something else, please phone 0800 731 0469 or textphone 0800 731 7339. Additionally, during the claims process, the citizen is also asked if they have any alternative format requirements, such as Large Print. If the citizen selects ‘yes’, this triggers the central computer system to be updated to show they want letters in large print and the letters they receive will automatically be in large print.

A paper claim form, for State Pension (BR1) including large print and Braille versions, is readily available upon request. The form has recently been adapted to meet a RNIB request for accessibility. By contacting telephone 0800 731 0469 or textphone 0800 731 7339 the citizen will be asked if an alternative format [such as Large print] is required. Again, the computer system is updated to show they want letters in large print and the letters they receive will automatically be in large print.

The BR1 claim form is also available for printing on GOV.UK . This is for old rules citizens (men born before 6 April 1951 and women born before 6 April 1953). When printing the BR1 form, the citizen can choose to change the paper size - to print the BR1 form on A3 size paper if required. The new State Pension BR1 form was removed from GOV.UK in 2021 as part of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) review. This was due to the availability of an accessible on-line claiming service.

The Pension Service continually tries to improve its services to customers and ensures processes are kept under review as necessary.

The Financial Investigation Unit is allocated 2% of Child Maintenance Service funding.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) take rigorous action to collect unpaid maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of enforcement powers. This approach is driven by the Payment Compliance Strategy increasing CMG compliance influencing activities with paying parents to tackle non-paying cases and challenge non-compliant behaviours.

CMS have worked in partnership with Courts and Enforcement Agents following the restrictions on enforcement activity during the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020 to quickly return to normal operating practice.

There has been a consistent downward trend in the proportion of unpaid maintenance as a proportion of maintenance arranged since 2017, falling from 12.5% in 2017 to 8.5% in September 2021 (Source – National Tables - table six ‘ how much maintenance CMS has arranged March 2015 to September 2021).

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has robust procedures in place to support parents who have experienced domestic abuse.

The £20 application fee is waived for survivors of abuse and a programme of domestic abuse training is delivered to all CMS caseworkers.

Safeguards are built into the system such as non-traceable payment methods to keep parents’ locations hidden and the CMS ensures there is no unwanted contact between parents. The Service can also signpost customers to external organisations such as charities and support groups.

The Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) are a component part of the Child Maintenance Service (CMS). The CMS has clear guidance around the criteria for raising FIU referrals which forms part of caseworker training and instructions.

In addition, the department undertakes regular upskilling and awareness sessions to ensure that all caseworkers are aware of how to spot potential fraud and when to make referrals to FIU.

The Child Maintenance Group (CMG) was made up of The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and the Child Support Agency (CSA) up until the CSA closed in 2019, therefore the staffing levels used are from 2019 to show CMS only.

There have been no recent assessments made on atypical Child Maintenance cases.

The Department has made no such assessment.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has responsibility for the regulation of health and safety law for forestry work in Great Britain (GB). HSE achieves this through a blend of activities, including work with stakeholders, targeted communications, specific guidance and, where appropriate, site visits to maximise impact.

Key to HSE’s influence with forestry stakeholders is work with and support for the Forest Industry Safety Accord (FISA). FISA is an organisation comprised of leading organisations within the forestry industry who have made a commitment to raise the standard of health safety and welfare in the forestry workplace[1]. Forestry England are a member of FISA. The work by FISA and HSE covers the provision and use of the correct equipment for workers, including PPE.

Throughout 2020, HSE continued to work with stakeholders within the forestry industry to ensure health and safety standards were met on site.

HSE is not aware of any assessments about introducing statutory Forestry England visits to forestry worksites to monitor conditions for workers. Forestry England do not have a statutory role to monitor compliance but will visit sites in their control as part of their normal site management arrangements.

[1] https://ukfisa.com

The purpose of the campaign was to support Pension Credit take-up and test impact.

There was a 20% increase in telephone calls to the Pension Credit claim line (during the course of the campaign the weekly average was 2,493 phone calls compared to a weekly average in 2019 of 2,079 phone calls).

There was also significant engagement with social media and a spike of activity on viewing the Pension Credit website pages with more than 5,000 sessions on the launch day, 10 February (compared to 1,000 on 3 February).

However, it should be stressed that other factors may affect these numbers, including the BBC TV licensing decision and the effect of the Pandemic.

Due to the Pandemic, all pensions campaigns are currently on hold.

The Government recognises and appreciates the vital role played by unpaid carers now more than ever. In November 2019 there were around 510 carers in the Sheffield Hallam constituency that were receiving Carer’s Allowance (CA) and in 2018/19 we spent approximately £1.7 million on CA there.

During the current emergency, we have focussed on ensuring carers do not inadvertently stop receiving CA because of changes to patterns of care. This includes allowing emotional support to count towards the 35 hours of care being provided by the carer as well as relaxing the rules around breaks in care. These changes aim to support carers whose role has, in many cases, become harder due to the need to self-isolate or shield the person they care for.

The rate of CA was also increased in early April as part of the annual uprating process. Since 2010, the rate of Carer’s Allowance has increased from £53.90 to £67.25 a week, meaning nearly an additional £700 a year for carers. We continue to support those carers in most need through additional amounts (premiums) in means-tested benefits and have also announced increases to the standard allowance in Universal Credit. Meaning claimants will be up to £1040 better off this financial year, which some carers receiving Universal Credit will benefit from.

The impact and pressure that moving existing legacy benefit claimants to Universal Credit (UC) will put on the Department is often overstated. Our Move to UC pilot will help to understand any additional support and resources required to migrate claimants to UC, so that we can tailor support for those who need it.

Our current Move to Universal Credit (UC) pilot allows work coaches to support claimants and ensures they have the correct evidence to verify their claim in order to ensure they are paid in full and on time.

The initial approach is based on using existing relationships that the Department or our partners have with legacy benefit claimants. We are initially identifying claimants for the pilot from those that currently attend the Jobcentre for meetings, in order for Work Coaches to build on existing relationships to prepare claimants to move and to support them through the process. We will establish whether someone is ready to move and explore how we can move them effectively across to Universal Credit (UC).

Since the introduction of UC, claimants have been supported by a more flexible approach regarding contact, with much greater use of digital and telephone channels. This enables claimants to continue to engage with the Department, receive appropriate support and satisfy the conditions of their personalised Claimant Commitment without having to always attend an appointment in person. This approach provides the ability to change or adapt our plans to make sure it is working, and to support vulnerable claimants and those in unusual circumstances.

We will introduce, as part of the Department of Health’s emergency Bill, provisions for Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) to be made from day 1 in relation to Covid-19.

We will set out full details when the emergency legislation is published.

Employers have been urged to make sure they use their discretion and respect the medical need to self-isolate in making decisions about sick pay.

SSP is a legal minimum and we encourage all employers to make these day-1 payments immediately.

We will work with employers and workers to ensure they’re supported to do the right thing, look after their staff and each other, and use their discretion to make the right decisions to protect public health.

NHS England are expecting to publish annual data reports for the periods of 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 in January 2023. The reasons for the delay are due to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition of Public Health England to the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England.

The last data report for the newborn hearing programme was for 2017/18 and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/newborn-hearing-screening-standards-data-report-april-2017-to-march-2018

The NHS Long Term Plan stated the aim of increasing the mental health workforce in England by an additional 27,000 professionals by 2023/24. NHS England and Health Education England are working with local integrated care systems to confirm plans for service models, supply, retention and recruitment until 2024.

NHS England continues to support local systems to develop tailored health and wellbeing offers to meet the needs of the local mental health workforce. This includes mental health hubs in each integrated care system and occupational health services which are being supported through the Growing Occupational Health and Wellbeing national programme.

The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention.

No specific estimate has been made, as the number of assessments is collected locally by integrated care boards.

As there are over 200 subtypes of dementia, NHS England does not provide pathway guidance by subtype for dementia and has no plans to extract data in this format.

We will consider the Lancet Series’ recommendations on miscarriage during the development of the Women’s Health Strategy. Fertility, pregnancy, pregnancy loss and post-natal support will be included in the forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy for England, which will be published later this year.

The Pregnancy Loss Review was commissioned to consider the registration and certification of pregnancy loss occurring before 24 weeks gestation and on the quality of National Health Service care. The Review will make recommendations on improving the care and support women and families receive when experiencing a pre-24 week gestation baby loss. The Review’s terms of reference are available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/693820/Pregnancy_Loss_Review_ToR_gov.uk.pdf

The Pregnancy Loss Review will be published in due course. The forthcoming Women’s Health Strategy will also consider pregnancy loss.

The most recent data available from Philips shows that as of 23 May 2022, 7% of the Philips continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea registered as being in use by National Health Service patients have been replaced with new devices as part of the Philips ongoing remediation programme, with 93% of affected devices still in use. The Philips remediation programme aims to replace or repair all affected Philips CPAP machines affected by the field safety notice and registered as being in use within the next 12 months, with the proportions projected to be 50% replacement and 50% repair.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s clinical respiratory networks will assist with the coordination of the repair and replace programme at regional level with Philips and local providers. The decision to apply filters is subject to clinical review with each patient. Data on the number of filters provided for use with affected Philips CPAP devices is not collected centrally. New Philips CPAP machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea will be unavailable for purchase in the United Kingdom until Philips has completed the remediation programme. CPAP machines from alternative suppliers have been procured and are being supplied to NHS sleep services.

The most recent data available from Philips shows that as of 23 May 2022, 7% of the Philips continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea registered as being in use by National Health Service patients have been replaced with new devices as part of the Philips ongoing remediation programme, with 93% of affected devices still in use. The Philips remediation programme aims to replace or repair all affected Philips CPAP machines affected by the field safety notice and registered as being in use within the next 12 months, with the proportions projected to be 50% replacement and 50% repair.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s clinical respiratory networks will assist with the coordination of the repair and replace programme at regional level with Philips and local providers. The decision to apply filters is subject to clinical review with each patient. Data on the number of filters provided for use with affected Philips CPAP devices is not collected centrally. New Philips CPAP machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea will be unavailable for purchase in the United Kingdom until Philips has completed the remediation programme. CPAP machines from alternative suppliers have been procured and are being supplied to NHS sleep services.

The most recent data available from Philips shows that as of 23 May 2022, 7% of the Philips continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea registered as being in use by National Health Service patients have been replaced with new devices as part of the Philips ongoing remediation programme, with 93% of affected devices still in use. The Philips remediation programme aims to replace or repair all affected Philips CPAP machines affected by the field safety notice and registered as being in use within the next 12 months, with the proportions projected to be 50% replacement and 50% repair.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s clinical respiratory networks will assist with the coordination of the repair and replace programme at regional level with Philips and local providers. The decision to apply filters is subject to clinical review with each patient. Data on the number of filters provided for use with affected Philips CPAP devices is not collected centrally. New Philips CPAP machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea will be unavailable for purchase in the United Kingdom until Philips has completed the remediation programme. CPAP machines from alternative suppliers have been procured and are being supplied to NHS sleep services.

The most recent data available from Philips shows that as of 23 May 2022, 7% of the Philips continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea registered as being in use by National Health Service patients have been replaced with new devices as part of the Philips ongoing remediation programme, with 93% of affected devices still in use. The Philips remediation programme aims to replace or repair all affected Philips CPAP machines affected by the field safety notice and registered as being in use within the next 12 months, with the proportions projected to be 50% replacement and 50% repair.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s clinical respiratory networks will assist with the coordination of the repair and replace programme at regional level with Philips and local providers. The decision to apply filters is subject to clinical review with each patient. Data on the number of filters provided for use with affected Philips CPAP devices is not collected centrally. New Philips CPAP machines for the home treatment of sleep apnoea will be unavailable for purchase in the United Kingdom until Philips has completed the remediation programme. CPAP machines from alternative suppliers have been procured and are being supplied to NHS sleep services.

Following the publication of ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’ on 21 February 2022, the Government will continue to monitor the virus through maintaining surveillance studies such as the Office for National Statistics’ COVID-19 Infection Survey and other sources, including genomic sequencing.  Moving forward we will therefore no longer be funding a number of studies, including the Zoe Study.