Preet Kaur Gill

The Government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken action to support families worth over £22 billion in 2022-23 to help.

Whilst three quarters of private renters find no difficulties in keeping up with their rent, we understand that affordability may be an issue for some. Individuals who are unable to afford their rental payments may be eligible for a range of support through the Universal Credit system. In April 2020 we boosted investment in local housing allowance by nearly £1 billion and have maintained local housing allowance rates at their increased level in cash terms in 2021/22 and 2022/23.

For those most in need, Discretionary Housing Payments are available to those entitled to Housing Benefit or the Housing element of Universal Credit who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. From April, the Government is also providing an additional £500 million to help households with the cost of essentials through the Household Support Fund. This brings the total funding for this support to £1 billion.

Since 2017 the Government has doubled free childcare for eligible working parents of 3-4 year olds, from 15 to 30 hours per week, worth over £6,000 per child per year. We have introduced 15 hours of free childcare a week for 2 year olds from disadvantaged families.

We have also introduced tax-free childcare for children aged 0-11, providing working parents up to £2,000 of childcare support a year (or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children aged 0-16).

Eligible Universal Credit claimants can also claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work, compared to 70% in Tax Credits. For families with two children, this could be worth up to £13,000 a year. The Universal Credit childcare element can be used to top up a claimant’s eligible free childcare hours if more hours are worked and childcare required. This offer means that for some claimants’ childcare costs should not present any barriers to entering work.

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and renters and making sure that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst managing agents, protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector.

The Government is considering the recommendations in the report received from the working group on the regulation of property agents chaired by Lord Best. We welcome the work of the independent steering group on codes of practice for property agents, and we will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.

With regard to building safety, the Government is bringing forward fundamental changes to the building regulatory regime through the Building Safety Bill. This includes establishing a new regulator which will have oversight of the whole built environment; and improve building and fire safety, so that people will be, and will feel, safer in their homes.

Buildings that may have missed the original registration deadline for the Building Safety Fund will have a further opportunity to register. Details on how to do this will be provided in due course.

The expert advice, published on 21 June 2021, states that where EWS1 forms and assessments have already been completed for buildings below 18 metres, it is strongly recommended that these assessments are reviewed by competent professionals to make sure that the proposed solution is cost effective and proportionate.

In the small number of cases where there are known to be concerns these should be addressed primarily through risk management and mitigation. In the minority of cases under 18 metres where concerns are identified via an up-to-date statutory fire risk assessment, and risk management and mitigation is not an option, leaseholders will be able to access a financing scheme, where costs will not exceed £50 a month and should not inhibit mortgage decisions.

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No such estimate has been made. Individual housing associations and councils are responsible for making the necessary investments to ensure their buildings are safe. The Government has supported this by committing up to £400 million to fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding systems on buildings over 18 metres that are owned by registered providers of social housing. The Government has also committed to meet the cost of removing other types of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres where the costs would otherwise have been borne by leaseholders or where a registered provider of social housing’s financial viability would otherwise be threatened.

The Government is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and is investing over £12 billion in affordable, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.

No such estimate has been made. Individual housing associations and councils are responsible for making the necessary investments to ensure their buildings are safe. The Government has supported this by committing up to £400 million to fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding systems on buildings over 18 metres that are owned by registered providers of social housing. The Government has also committed to meet the cost of removing other types of unsafe cladding on buildings over 18 metres where the costs would otherwise have been borne by leaseholders or where a registered provider of social housing’s financial viability would otherwise be threatened.

The Government is committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing and is investing over £12 billion in affordable, the largest investment in affordable housing in a decade. This includes the new £11.5 billion Affordable Homes Programme, which will provide up to 180,000 new homes across the country, should economic conditions allow.

An EWS1 form is not a safety certificate or a statutory requirement. Assessments can be reviewed to make sure they are proportionate and building owners or residents may already seek second opinions if they are concerned about the recommendations. The building owner is responsible for commissioning an EWS1 assessment and should therefore clarify which form is to be used in the case of duplicate assessments, including if one is no longer required, referring to the professionals who conducted the assessments as necessary.

Following the July Independent Expert Statement on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the government agrees that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. Where EWS1 forms and assessments have already been completed for buildings below 18 metres and have identified costly remediation work independent experts strongly recommend that these assessments are reviewed to make sure that the proposed solution is cost effective and proportionate.

An EWS1 form is not a safety certificate or a statutory requirement. Assessments can be reviewed to make sure they are proportionate and building owners or residents may already seek second opinions if they are concerned about the recommendations. The building owner is responsible for commissioning an EWS1 assessment and should therefore clarify which form is to be used in the case of duplicate assessments, including if one is no longer required, referring to the professionals who conducted the assessments as necessary.

Following the July Independent Expert Statement on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the government agrees that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. Where EWS1 forms and assessments have already been completed for buildings below 18 metres and have identified costly remediation work independent experts strongly recommend that these assessments are reviewed to make sure that the proposed solution is cost effective and proportionate.

An EWS1 form is not a safety certificate or a statutory requirement. Assessments can be reviewed to make sure they are proportionate and building owners or residents may already seek second opinions if they are concerned about the recommendations. The building owner is responsible for commissioning an EWS1 assessment and should therefore clarify which form is to be used in the case of duplicate assessments, including if one is no longer required, referring to the professionals who conducted the assessments as necessary.

Following the July Independent Expert Statement on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the government agrees that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. Where EWS1 forms and assessments have already been completed for buildings below 18 metres and have identified costly remediation work independent experts strongly recommend that these assessments are reviewed to make sure that the proposed solution is cost effective and proportionate.

Building owners are responsible for commissioning an EWS1 assessment. The Building Owner should address any concerns about the process and outcome of an assessment with the professionals who conducted the assessments, and their professional bodies, as necessary. Assessments should not recommend costly remediation work unless there is evidence of genuine fire safety risks that can not be addressed by risk management or mitigation.

The building owner is responsible for commissioning an EWS1 assessment and should therefore clarify which form is extant in the case of duplicate assessments, including if one is no longer required, referring to the professionals who conducted the assessments as necessary.

The Government is not planning to postpone Census 2021 in England and Wales. I regret that Census 2021 has been postponed in Scotland.

The Prosperity Fund annual reports, produced since the Fund’s inception in 2016, provide an approximation of the ODA spend in each partner country across the lifetime of the Fund. The 2019/20 Annual Report will be published in due course.

The reports are available online:

• 2016/17 Annual Report

• 2017/18 Annual Report

• 2018/2019 Annual Report

The 2019/20 Annual Report will be published in due course.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

I refer the hon Member to my answer to the Rt Hon Member for South West Surrey during my oral statement on 16 June , Official Report Col 680.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

Some G7 Engagement Groups have bid for, and been awarded, outreach funding to help increase the reach of their activity and develop the evidence base for their recommendations. This funding will help Groups raise awareness of the role, purpose and impact of the G7 across the regions and nations of the UK and beyond.

Each of the Engagement Groups has been offered use of a Government-funded virtual platform to host their Summits, which should enable them to reach out and connect to a larger and wider global audience.

The Government has recently appointed a production company, through a detailed tendering process, to support the physical and digital delivery of the G7 Summit. The costs related to this will be published through the usual transparency process in due course.

Some G7 Engagement Groups have bid for, and been awarded, outreach funding to help increase the reach of their activity and develop the evidence base for their recommendations. This funding will help Groups raise awareness of the role, purpose and impact of the G7 across the regions and nations of the UK and beyond.

Each of the Engagement Groups has been offered use of a Government-funded virtual platform to host their Summits, which should enable them to reach out and connect to a larger and wider global audience.

The Government has recently appointed a production company, through a detailed tendering process, to support the physical and digital delivery of the G7 Summit. The costs related to this will be published through the usual transparency process in due course.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have, therefore, asked the Authority to respond.

The Government launched a call for evidence to support the Integrated Review on 13 August 2020, which ran for four weeks. Over 450 submissions were received in response.

The Government intends to publish submissions to the Integrated Review call for evidence on the government website GOV.UK. Publication is expected in spring this year alongside publication of the Integrated Review.

The Government launched a call for evidence to support the Integrated Review on 13 August 2020, which ran for four weeks. Over 450 submissions were received in response.

The Government intends to publish submissions to the Integrated Review call for evidence on the government website GOV.UK. Publication is expected in spring this year alongside publication of the Integrated Review.

We are working closely with partner countries on a range of issues relating to COVID-19 and international travel and we are committed to ensuring an approach that is internationally recognised. At present international travel is illegal, other than in specific circumstances.

The information requested is not centrally held.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

The Government has developed a national cross-government campaign to increase awareness of all COVID-related guidance and to provide information and reassurance to the public. Insight has been used to ensure that the main public information campaign reaches as many priority audiences as possible.

The Cabinet Office has a small team working on machinery of government changes. This would include the merger of the FCO and DfID. As has been the case under successive administrations, further details will not be disclosed as five or fewer individuals are involved.

Published material from the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response.

Further documents will be made available as appropriate in due course.

The Government remains committed to ensuring elections are secure and fit for the modern age. Further detail will be announced in due course.

The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes very seriously.

Further to my answers on 27 February (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 449), this Government is committed to ensuring elections are secure and fit for the modern age. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Government takes the integrity and security of our democratic processes very seriously.

Further to my answers on 27 February (Official Record, Vol.672, Col 449), this Government is committed to ensuring elections are secure and fit for the modern age. Further details will be announced in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all staff are treated with dignity and respect. Ministers are subject to the Ministerial Code which they are asked to familiarise themselves with upon appointment.

Dame Sue Owen’s report ‘Review of Arrangements for Tackling Bullying, Harassment and Misconduct in the Civil Service was published in September 2018 and is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744907/TacklingBullyingHarassmentMisconduct-CivilService.pdf

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. friend, the Member for Louth and Horncastle, to PQ 251302 on 15 May 2019 and to the answer given by my Rt. Hon. friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in response to an urgent question on the 2nd March 2020 (Official Record, Vol. 672 Col.609)

The annual report of the independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests sets out details of investigations undertaken by the adviser into alleged breaches of the Ministerial Code.

The Civil Service takes bullying very seriously and has taken robust steps to ensure behaviours in our workplaces are acceptable for all employees. We will not tolerate bullying in any form, whether it is verbal or non-verbal, and where it is identified, it will be addressed.

The Defending Democracy programme is led by the Cabinet Office, working closely with other departments, to take forward work to:

• Protect and secure UK democratic processes, systems and institutions from interference, including from cyber, personnel and physical threats.

• Strengthen the integrity of UK elections, ensuring that they are fit for the digital age.

• Encourage respect for open, fair and safe democratic participation.

• Promote fact-based and open discourse, including online.

Details of further next steps to ensure electoral integrity will be announced in due course.

The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Annual Report was published on 18 July 2019 and is available on gov.uk. It includes the Government Major Projects Portfolio dataset.

I refer the Hon Member to the response which I gave to question 1394 on 15 January 2020.

The Census Order remains policy in formulation. It will be presented to both Houses in due course.

I refer the Hon Member to the response which I gave to question 1394 on 15 January 2020.

The claim for judicial review in respect of the making of the Census Order without a Sikh ethnicity tick-box, brought by Amrik Singh Gill on behalf of the Sikh Federation UK, was dismissed by the High Court in December. Permission to appeal to the High Court was refused. It would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment any further.

The final topics and questions to be included in the 2021 Census will be set in secondary legislation. The draft Census Order will be presented to both Houses in due course.

The Cabinet Office has provided the Minister for the Constitution with a draft Census Order in advance of it being laid.

The 2021 Census is part of the Government's Major Projects Portfolio. As such the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) provides independent assurance for the project on behalf of the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury.

It would not be appropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case.

As set out in the answer given to the Hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 13th September 2021 to Question 41806, the UK committed approximately £71 million to the self-financing facility of COVAX, which enables high and upper-middle income countries to pool investments in potential vaccine candidates and supported its establishment last year. This gives us the option to buy vaccines for up to 20% of the UK population - approximately 27 million doses. The Government has separately committed £548 million to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, which will distribute 1.2 billion doses of vaccines to developing countries this year.

In addition, I am proud that as part of our commitment to the G7 to donate 100 million doses over the course of the next year, the UK has so far donated over 10 million doses to those countries most in need, of which over 6 million have gone to COVAX. Throughout the COVID-19 vaccination programme, vaccine supply and deliveries have been carefully managed by the Vaccine Taskforce to meet the requirements of the domestic vaccination programme as well as support other countries’ domestic campaigns. The recent sharing of 4 million doses with Australia is a good example of this.

The UK procured approximately 0.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine through COVAX, which were delivered earlier this year. These doses helped the NHS deliver our vaccination programme as quickly as possible. No further doses have been received by the UK from COVAX.

The Government has announced that the UK will donate at least 100 million surplus COVID-19 vaccine doses within the next year, including 5 million by the end of September and a further 25 million by the end of 2021.

The Government has committed that 80% of our surplus vaccines will go to COVAX, the multilateral facility responsible for distributing COVID-19 vaccines to ensure equitable global access. The remainder will be shared bilaterally with countries in need. The Government will set out more detail in due course.

For financial year 2019/20, £40m was allocated to the Global Challenges Research Fund International Research Hubs. For each of financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 they were allocated £41m. Final spend amounts are reported on a Calendar Year basis through the Statistics on International Development reporting process, published by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

The majority of the Department’s Official Development Assistance spend is allocated thematically, rather than geographically. Information on the level of funding for work with China in 2021 will not be available until the completion of the Statistics on International Development (SID) return at the completion of this Financial Year.

BEIS only funds work with China on addressing global development challenges together. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases and a key driver of global growth. Meeting the Paris Agreement and limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C is impossible without action from China.

Official statistics for the Green Homes Grant (Voucher) Scheme were released on 18 March. The data published in this release is for all applications received to the end of February 2021.

From this release, the number of vouchers issued are as follows:

(a) Edgbaston Parliamentary Constituency - 17

(b) Birmingham Local Authority - 923

(c) the West Midlands Region – 3,522

The figures above represent the number of measures approved for installation under the scheme, with a voucher for each measure awarded to the customer.

Further scheme statistics will be published in due course.

Official statistics for the Green Homes Grant (Voucher) Scheme were released on 18 March. The data published in this release is for all applications received to the end of February 2021.

From this release, the number of household applications received are as follows:

(a) Edgbaston Parliamentary Constituency - 82

(b) Birmingham Local Authority - 2,443

(c) the West Midlands Region - 9,106

A ‘household application’ refers to a grant application submitted to request Voucher scheme funding for all measures to be fitted in a single household.

Further scheme statistics will be published in due course.

The Government published its response on the 24^th March. The link to this publication will be available soon.

The 21/22 Official Development Assistance allocation for my Department was confirmed on 27^th January through the settlement letter issued by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary. BEIS communicated proposed 21/22 ODA allocations to our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners – including UKRI – within two weeks of receiving this confirmation. These proposed allocations remain subject to final confirmation, as part of the Departmental allocations process for R&D (ODA and non-ODA). We aim to update our partners on final allocations for 2021/22 as soon as possible.

All Government Departments with responsibility for spending Official Development Assistance took part in a cross-government process, led by my Rt. Hon. Friend the First Secretary of State, to review in detail how ODA is allocated between key priorities - recognising the difficult economic circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers across multiple departments engaged in these discussions as part of the process. BEIS ministers regularly meet with UKRI on allocations and other issues.

All Government Departments with responsibility for spending Official Development Assistance took part in a cross-government process, led by my Rt. Hon. Friend the First Secretary of State, to review in detail how ODA is allocated between key priorities - recognising the difficult economic circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers across multiple departments engaged in these discussions as part of the process. BEIS ministers regularly meet with UKRI on allocations and other issues.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22, and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.

We are working with UKRI and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners to manage next year’s ODA allocation.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting international research partnerships, and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22, and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.

We are working with UKRI and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners to manage next year’s ODA allocation.

The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.

BEIS is working with its ODA Delivery Partners, including UKRI, to manage the implementation of the 21/22 ODA settlement.

The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.

On Tuesday 26th January, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, having concluded the Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations of the Spending Review, issued a statement outlining each Department’s total ODA settlement for financial year 2021/22. BEIS was allocated £706 million, to be split between International Climate Finance (ICF) and Research and Development ODA, which includes the Global Challenges Research Fund.

The UK is taking a strong global leadership role in collaborating with other countries in the development and distribution of a successful vaccine and we are encouraging other high-income countries to do the same. The UK is one of the largest bilateral donors to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC), which will give lower and middle-income countries equitable access to vaccines that are developed. The UK has committed £548 million to the COVAX AMC.

Pricing of COVID-19 vaccines between pharmaceutical companies and other countries is a matter for those parties involved.

The UK Government is now considering the information received from the consultation, and will respond in due course, including details of the number and type of respondent.

For financial year 2019/20, the Department was allocated £1.038bn for Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend. For financial year 2020/21 the Department was allocated £1.406bn, which was revised to £1.281bn following the ODA adjustments necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the 0.7% share of our GNI. For financial year 2021/22, the Department was allocated £706m.

At the UK-Africa Investment Summit in January we announced an end to the Government's support for thermal coal mining and coal power plant overseas, and we continue to keep our approach to other fossil fuel investments and financing overseas under review.

The World Health Organisation declared a coronavirus pandemic on 11 March 2020 and we would expect it to declare a move to a post-pandemic period as it has done previously for the H1N1 pandemic in 2010.

In order to keep the virus under control, it is important that people work safely. In order to help contain the virus, workers who can work effectively from home should do so over the winter. Where an employer, in consultation with their employee, judges an employee can carry out their normal duties from home they should do so. Public sector employees working in essential services, including education settings, should continue to go into work where necessary. Anyone else who cannot work from home should go to their place of work.

The risk of transmission can be substantially reduced if COVID-19 secure guidelines are followed closely. Employers should consult with their employees to determine who needs to come into the workplace safely taking account of a person’s journey, caring responsibilities, protected characteristics, and other individual circumstances. Extra consideration should be given to those people at higher risk.

The Government keeps all policy under review and the outcome of any such reviews are published in a timely fashion.

I appreciate that industry is looking for guidance as soon as possible. Guidance is under development and will be published shortly. However, I can confirm that the UKCA marking will come into existence on 1 January 2021.

The forthcoming guidance will address the question of CE marked goods in the UK after the transition period, however I can say now that under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement goods that were placed on the market before the transition periods ends can continue to circulate between the EU and the UK, including those which are CE marked.

The UK is working closely with international partners to ensure that when a vaccine is available, it will be accessible to everyone who needs it as soon as possible.

The UK has committed alongside other countries to support equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments for example, committing up to £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) for the development of coronavirus vaccines. The UK has already committed £48 million to the COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility (COVAX) Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) which supports low and middle-income countries to access a successful vaccine.

The UK is also working closely with CEPI, GAVI (Vaccine Alliance) and the WHO to shape the emerging proposal for the self-financing arm of COVAX, which can support both domestic access and equitable access to LMICs.

We continue to work with our international partners to ensure that where countries have bilateral deals – including whether we be in the fortunate position where we have excess doses, these could be contributed to the COVAX facility.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was formed in July 2016. The data provided here shows the combined BEIS Official Development Assistance (ODA) cash spend position for both Climate ODA and R&D ODA, on a calendar year basis.

In the above table, ”Other” covers spend that is categorised as regional / global / multi-country or spend that is unable to be categorised by country. Some of this “Other” spend would likely have been disbursed to the country categories listed in a) – d), but it is not possible to quantify the amount.

Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and NHS Test and Trace constantly monitor levels of infection across the country, and will work with local authorities to implement additional measures if needed.

The Government has published advice for workplace areas to factor in local outbreak measures. For example, the ‘Shift patterns and outbreaks’ section can be found at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5eb97e7686650c278d4496ea/working-safely-during-covid-19-offices-contact-centres-110520.pdf. This advises that shift groups, where contact is unavoidable, happens between the same people.

It is, however, for each business to carry out its own risk assessment, in consultation with their workers, to inform the actions they should take to reduce the risks of COVID-19. All companies have the same obligations to protect the health and safety of their workers and other people who may be affected by their business.

I am concerned by data that suggests a recent increase in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and am aware of concerns raised by UK business and consumers on risks to supply chains. Government officials working in London and Brazil routinely monitor deforestation rates and risks.

We have a long-established government partnership with Brazil to tackle deforestation, promote sustainable growth and mitigate climate change, and supported by £200m of UK International Climate Finance. This includes promoting business models that can be scaled up, like a proposed green bond to help Brazilian farmers avoid moving into pristine territory, under our UK Partnerships for Forests programme, and international partnerships to incentivise at scale the protection of standing forests through REDD Early Movers. This complements UK diplomatic and technical dialogue in Brazil, working at the Federal and State levels of Brazilian Government. The HMG-convened UK Roundtable on Sustainable Soy has also been an important forum for UK businesses and consumers to work together to engage Brazilian partners on ensuring resilient, sustainable trade.

The UK stands ready to support Brazil’s current and future efforts to counter increasing deforestation rates, including as new global ambition is considered for a successful UK COP26 Presidency.

The Government has made an unprecedented amount of support available to businesses in response to the Covid-19 crisis including grants, loans, self-employed income support and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). We will carefully monitor need in relation to local lockdown and determine if additional support is required.

Any individual who is a worker under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory annual leave. 1.6 weeks of this annual leave can be carried forward into the next leave year if provided for in a binding written agreement between the worker and their employer.

The Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 provide for the remaining four weeks of annual leave to be carried into the following two leave years if, due to the effects of coronavirus, it is not reasonably practicable for a worker to take this leave in the year to which it relates. This applies to all workers who are unable to take their annual leave due to the coronavirus, including non-medical NHS staff.

It is a matter for individual employers and their workers to consider whether it is possible to facilitate a worker taking annual leave. In these unprecedented times, the Government urges employers to carefully consider the guidance and the welfare of their workforce.

Any individual who is a worker under the Working Time Regulations 1998 is entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory annual leave. 1.6 weeks of this annual leave can be carried forward into the next leave year if provided for in a binding written agreement between the worker and their employer.

The Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 provide for the remaining four weeks of annual leave to be carried into the following two leave years if, due to the effects of coronavirus, it is not reasonably practicable for a worker to take this leave in the year to which it relates. This applies to all workers who are unable to take their annual leave due to the coronavirus, including non-medical NHS staff.

It is a matter for individual employers and their workers to consider whether it is possible to facilitate a worker taking annual leave. In these unprecedented times, the Government urges employers to carefully consider the guidance and the welfare of their workforce.

The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to Departments and is responsible for decisions on changes to these budgets.

In the short term, we are agreeing our future work in close cooperation with other Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending Departments, such as Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, to ensure the best value for money and that decisions are taken in the national interest.

In order to tackle climate change and advance our Global Britain objectives, the Department takes evidence-based spending decisions and maintains high standards of programme delivery that are consistent with the Government’s best practice.

Accredited lenders are responsible for providing loans under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). Businesses should approach accredited lenders in the first instance, providing information about the type and amount of finance they need to access. The lender will determine the right type of finance for a business’s needs. A full list of accredited lenders can be found on the British Business Bank website.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) allows business with a turnover of less than £45 million to access working capital (including loans, overdrafts, invoice finance and asset finance) of up to £5 million for up to six years.

The Bounce Back Loan Scheme helps small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and up to 25% of their turnover. The maximum loan available is £50,000.

Full details of both the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) can be found on GOV.UK and the British Business Bank websites.

Decision-making on whether a business is eligible to access the CBILS or the BBLS is fully delegated to the accredited lenders, and individual lending decisions remain at the discretion of these lenders.

The Government continues to work closely with lenders to help SMEs access the finance they need.

We are committed to meeting the administrative costs incurred by local authorities through the delivery of the Small Business Grants Fund, the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund and the Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund. We are working closely with a group of local authorities to understand these costs and to determine a fair and reasonable process for meeting these. We will be in touch with all local authorities with further details of this in due course.

Thanks to the effort of the British public we are now at the stage where we can take the first steps to modifying the restrictions on social distancing including encouraging those who cannot work from home to go back to work. We will be monitoring the situation locally, regionally, and nationally and if there are outbreaks, we will not hesitate to put on the brakes.

We have published guidance for several work environments to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible and have set out practical steps employers can take to enable staff to work safely. We will be keeping the guidance under review as and when we move through the steps my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister set out on 10 May. We continue to work with stakeholders on developing sensible guidance for businesses that will give UK workers the utmost confidence on their return to work.

My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced unprecedented support for business and workers, including a Bounce Back Loans scheme and the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to allow business to plan for the coming months with certainty.

The list of businesses which must remain closed at present are published online and updated when relevant at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close/further-businesses-and-premises-to-close-guidance.

However, in consultation with industry, we have also produced guidance to help ensure workplaces are as safe as possible if they are able to reopen. Our approach has not been split by specific business types or industries, but by the type of work environment instead, such as factories, outdoor work or offices. The guidance reminds employers that they have a duty under UK law to protect the health and safety of their workers and other people who might be affected by their business. This includes considering the risks that COVID-19 represents. The guidance is published online at www.gov.uk/workingsafely.

As part of the plan for Phase 2 of reopening of the economy, the Prime Minister announced the establishment of five taskforces: pubs and restaurants; non-essential retail (including salons); recreation and leisure (including tourism, culture and heritage, libraries, entertainment and sport); places of worship; and international aviation. Officials are now working on the details of how the taskforces will operate.

The advice provided in the response to Question 35028 is still correct.

We have been working closely with business bodies, trade unions, Public Health England, and workplace safety experts to agree clear guidance on how individuals can return to work safely.

On 11 May, we published further guidance on how businesses should introduce reasonably practicable measures, such as risk assessments, to mitigate the risks of Covid-19. This guidance includes details of how to raise concerns.

If a business is not operating in line with the Government’s guidance, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or relevant local authority can take enforcement action. Actions include providing specific advice to employers, through to issuing enforcement notices.

Government is providing a package of support for businesses and workers, in recognition of the disruption caused by Covid-19. This includes £12.3bn for local authorities to deliver to SMEs under the Small Business Grants Fund (SBGF) and the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grants Fund (RHLGF). On 1 May, the Business Secretary announced a further up to £617 million available to local authorities to support small businesses previously outside the scope of the business grant funding. Government is working closely with all local authorities to help them make payments to businesses as quickly and effectively as possible, whilst safeguarding public funds. As part of this we have provided detailed guidance and FAQs, regular briefings and one-to-one support from ministers and officials. Government will also provide additional funding to local authorities to meet the administrative costs of delivering this policy.

The Government has introduced important social distancing measures for all types of businesses to consider in order to minimise the risk of transmission in the workplace. The Government has been clear that it is vital that all employers follow this guidance, which is clinically led and based on expert advice.

The advice on social distancing measures applies to everyone. This includes all staff in a takeaway business, including those working in the kitchen, and in any external public areas where customers may need to queue to collect orders. In order to support?employers, we have provided additional guidance about how these measures might be implemented in different sectors:?https://www.gov.uk/guidance/social-distancing-in-the-workplace-during-coronavirus-covid-19-sector-guidance?

We have produced specific guidance, which applies to any food preparation or food service setting where food is sold directly to the consumer. For example, bars, pubs and restaurants operating as takeaways, cafes, food to go, food delivery and traditional takeaway (fixed and mobile); and contract catering at the point of service to the consumer such as in office or similar environments. It specifically refers to the requirement of businesses in the food industry to maintain social distancing in kitchens and other food preparation areas.

We have outlined a number of measures, which we expect employers to consider in order to reduce contact in kitchens. These include:

• Following government guidance on managing food preparation and food service areas (gov.uk/workingsafely).
• Allowing kitchen access to as few people as possible.
• Minimising interaction between kitchen workers and other workers, including when on breaks.
• Putting teams into shifts to restrict the number of employees interacting with each other.
• Spacing workstations 2 metres apart as much as possible, recognising the difficulty of moving equipment such as sinks, hobs and ovens. Consider cleanable panels to separate workstations in larger kitchens.
• Providing floor marking to signal distances of 2 metres apart.
• Using ‘one way’ traffic flows to minimise contact.
• Minimising access to walk-in pantries, fridges and freezers, for example with only one person being able to access these areas at one point in time.
• Minimising contact at ‘handover’ points with other staff, such as when presenting food to serving staff and delivery drivers.

If a business is not operating in line with the Government guidance, there is a role for the relevant health and safety enforcing authority - the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) or Local Authority. Where the enforcing authority identifies employers who are not taking action to comply with the relevant public health legislation and guidance to control public health risks, for example, employers not taking appropriate action to socially distance, the enforcing authority will consider taking a range of actions to improve control of workplace risks. These actions include the provision of specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices to help secure improvements with the guidance.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not made a formal assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on the recruitment sector specifically. The Government is working to minimise any social and economic disruption as a result of Covid-19. We hold regular meetings with representatives of businesses and workers in the recruitment sector at all levels to understand the challenges they are facing and to help develop the Government’s response.

We would urge employers to take socially responsible decisions and listen to the concerns of their workforce. Employers and employees should come to a pragmatic agreement about these arrangements.

Where a worker has a concern about health and safety which cannot be resolved through speaking with their employer or trade union, they can contact the relevant enforcement agency – either their local authority or the Health and Safety Executive. Where the Health and Safety Executive are made aware of an employer not complying with the relevant Public Health England guidance (including enabling social distancing where it is practical to do so), HSE will consider a range of action, from providing specific advice to employers through to issuing enforcement notices.

Public Health England have issued guidance for employers and businesses to support them in reducing the effects of Covid-19, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/guidance-for-employers-and-businesses-on-coronavirus-covid-19

The Government welcomes efforts by retailers to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through the implementation of this advice.

Given the significant role that Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) play in town centre management and regeneration, they will have a significant role in the recovery phase.

The emergency Coronavirus Act enables BIDs to delay ballots between now and 31 December 2020, extending the BID arrangements until 31 March 2021. This will allow businesses to focus on recovery from economic shock before deciding whether to participate in BID arrangements for the following five-year period.

This will support BIDs approaching their ballot in the next few months, allowing them to reprioritise their work and support the communities during this critical time. It is a proportionate response which balances the need to address the immediate crisis while also ensuring businesses are not denied the right to vote in these ballots for an extended period.

We are exploring ways we can support BIDs directly, and businesses can also benefit from the substantial package of support announced by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer.

The National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) uses a number of tools to balance electricity supply and demand on a minute by minute basis.

The ESO closely monitors electricity demand, looking at a range of different scenarios across domestic, commercial and industry demand. This modelling is refined on a daily basis as further usage data becomes available.

National Grid is confident that it will be able to keep electricity flowing, as the reduction in industry and commercial demands outweighs the increase in residential demand

The ESO is also working with energy partners from across Europe to understand how different measures have impacted demanded in their areas and what patterns can be applied to the GB demand forecast

The Department does not hold the requested data.

While it was a commercial decision by British Gas to increase the minimum pre-payment meter top up from £1 to £5, I welcome the recent announcement that this has been reversed.

There are a range of pre-payment tariff and top up options available from other suppliers and customers should switch to one that best suits their needs. Customers who do not switch are protected by the Government’s price cap on default tariffs and the pre-payment meter price cap.

The Department has not made an estimate of the specific costs relating to construction projects. The hard work of the Government means the cost to taxpayers of Carillion’s collapse has been £62m rather than the originally estimated £148m. We have ensured the continuation of all day-to-day services supplied by Carillion, with more than 15,000 workers transferred to new contractors.

This was a commercial decision for British Gas, but both Ofgem and BEIS officials have been in contact to understand British Gas’s decision and how it is supporting its vulnerable customers in particular.

Customers are protected by the price cap on prepayment meters, and those who shop around can save even more.

This week is national Big Energy Saving Week and the Government is working with the Energy Saving Trust and Citizens Advice to deliver face to face and online sessions to help people save energy and switch to better deals. Prepay customers can switch to one of the many suppliers that have lower minimum top-ups.

The Government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a regular basis in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA.

We have made clear that it expects operators to be aware of the potential for increased risk of gambling harm during lockdown and to ensure that they act responsibly to protect customers. On 12 May the Gambling Commission published data which indicated that, while the majority of people are gambling the same amount or less than they did previously, there was an increase in the number of people playing certain online gambling products, including casino games (13%), when figures for March 2019 were compared to those for March 2020. We can not yet be sure how much of this growth is directly attributable to lockdown or is substitution from land-based gambling products.

Online gambling operators must comply with the existing strict requirements for the protection of children and vulnerable people. These have been further strengthened over the past year, with a ban on credit card gambling online (including via e-wallets) and compulsory integration of online operators to GAMSTOP, the online self exclusion scheme. The Gambling Commission has now issued COVID-19 specific guidance for operators aimed at strengthening protections for vulnerable people even further during the lockdown period. This includes requirements to prevent customers reversing withdrawals from their account, to cease offering bonuses or promotions to customers who are displaying indicators of gambling harms, to interact with customers who have been playing continually for an hour, and to monitor customer activities and compare these to pre-lockdown play to identify those who may be at risk. The Commission will take action against operators who fail to act responsibly and we. will continue to monitor the situation closely.

We are aware that multiple aspects of the events and exhibition industries have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The Tourism Minister has engaged regularly with the sector over the last few months to continuously assess the situation, for example by convening a panel of senior leaders from across the industry and meeting with the Events Industry Board.

We have announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes employee support, business rates relief and grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses, plus £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans. The Chancellor also announced a Bounce Back loan scheme to help small businesses access loans of up to £50,000, with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders.

The Government is committed to helping the events industry through this crisis and beyond. We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the sector during the recovery period.

We are working closely with voluntary sector organisations to identify key partners to lead efforts and mobilise volunteers safely. The government launched the NHS Volunteer Responders programme yesterday, however, this is not intended to replace local groups helping their vulnerable neighbours but is an additional service.

The Online Harms White Paper set out government’s plans to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, enforced by an independent regulator. Companies will be required to take robust action to address harmful content and will be held to account for tackling a comprehensive set of online harms. Non-consensual sharing of private and sexual images, often known as “revenge pornography”, is in scope of these proposals. The regulator will have sufficient powers to take effective action against companies that breach regulatory requirements, including the power to levy substantial fines.

We are also making sure the criminal law is fit for purpose. The Law Commission is conducting a second phase of its review of abusive and offensive online communications. As part of this, the Law Commission will also look at the criminal law around the non-consensual taking and sharing of intimate images, and make recommendations to ensure that the law provides effective protection against the creation and sharing of intimate images without consent.

The Online Harms White Paper set out government’s plans to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, enforced by an independent regulator. Companies will be required to take robust action to address harmful content and will be held to account for tackling a comprehensive set of online harms. Non-consensual sharing of private and sexual images, often known as “revenge pornography”, is in scope of these proposals. The regulator will have sufficient powers to take effective action against companies that breach regulatory requirements, including the power to levy substantial fines.

We are also making sure the criminal law is fit for purpose. The Law Commission is conducting a second phase of its review of abusive and offensive online communications. As part of this, the Law Commission will also look at the criminal law around the non-consensual taking and sharing of intimate images, and make recommendations to ensure that the law provides effective protection against the creation and sharing of intimate images without consent.

The Online Harms White Paper set out government’s plans to establish in law a new duty of care on companies towards their users, enforced by an independent regulator. Companies will be required to take robust action to address harmful content and will be held to account for tackling a comprehensive set of online harms. Non-consensual sharing of private and sexual images, often known as “revenge pornography”, is in scope of these proposals. The regulator will have sufficient powers to take effective action against companies that breach regulatory requirements, including the power to levy substantial fines.

We are also making sure the criminal law is fit for purpose. The Law Commission is conducting a second phase of its review of abusive and offensive online communications. As part of this, the Law Commission will also look at the criminal law around the non-consensual taking and sharing of intimate images, and make recommendations to ensure that the law provides effective protection against the creation and sharing of intimate images without consent.

Exposure to radio waves is not new and health-related research has been conducted on this topic over several decades. Central to Public Health England’s advice are the guidelines published by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The ICNIRP is formally recognised by the World Health Organisation and its guidelines underpin health protection policies at UK and European levels.

Provided the ICNIRP guidelines are followed, there is no convincing evidence that 5G is dangerous. Government continues to be guided by Public Health England’s advice on the matter. This states that while a small increase in overall exposure to radio waves under 5G is possible, such an increase would remain well within guidelines and can be expected to have no consequence on public health.

It is important to note that the ICNIRP guidelines apply up to 300 GHz, well beyond the maximum frequencies under discussion for 5G.

Civil Society is a vital part of our nation and continues to grow in importance - there are 6,000 more registered charities today than there were in 2010 and annual sector income has grown from £54 billion to £77 billion.

Government recognises the importance and value of civil society, which is why the Civil Society Strategy was published in 2018, setting out a long term vision of how the Government can work with and for civil society to benefit our communities.

The Department has noted New Philanthropy Capital’s report and the Minister for Civil Society, who sits in the House of Lords, will meet the report’s author and will discuss its findings.

Civil Society is a vital part of our nation and continues to grow in importance - there are 6,000 more registered charities today than there were in 2010 and annual sector income has grown from £54 billion to £77 billion.

Government recognises the importance and value of civil society, which is why the Civil Society Strategy was published in 2018, setting out a long term vision of how the Government can work with and for civil society to benefit our communities.

The Department has noted New Philanthropy Capital’s report and the Minister for Civil Society, who sits in the House of Lords, will meet the report’s author and will discuss its findings.

I have been clear throughout the COVID-19 outbreak that consumer law continues to apply, and statements by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirm this. Providers need to ensure they have regard to guidance about their consumer protection obligations.

This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure that all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there have been some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality learning.

I welcome the huge amount of resource universities and higher education (HE) providers have given to ensuring blended teaching is of the high-quality expected by the government and the Office for Students (OfS). The government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely.

I wrote to the OfS on 13 January, outlining the government’s expectations of the HE sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to providers’ Accountable Officers, setting out the actions that they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance with existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions. This letter is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/928ddbfc-7d48-4a7b-853e-411c34d6202f/ao-letter-regulation-during-the-current-phase-of-pandemic-14-jan-2021.pdf.

Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint. Due to the individualised nature of student contracts and student circumstances, the process which is in place ensures that institutions have the opportunity to consider student complaints effectively and offers them an opportunity for early resolution of complaints with students. This is particularly important in situations where remedies other than refunds would be more helpful or beneficial to a student.

If there are concerns, the OfS has the powers to act. It is an OfS registration condition that providers must deliver well-designed courses that provide a high-quality academic experience for all students and enable a student’s achievement to be reliably assessed.

The OfS does not get involved in individual student complaints, that is for the relevant HE provider and potentially the OIA. Students can, however, notify the OfS of issues that may be of regulatory interest to it. These are called ‘notifications’. The OfS uses this information as part of its regulatory monitoring activity and keeps HE providers under review to ensure that they comply with the ongoing conditions of registration. The OfS has produced a guide for students to support them in this process. This is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/ofs-and-students/notifications/. The OIA website is available via the following link: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.

The CMA has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/consumer-protection-review-of-higher-education. This includes publishing a restatement on 30 November 2020 on their views on Consumer Protection Law. This is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5fc4bab98fa8f5474e63ab0b/HE_restatement_.pdf.

The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available via the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/coronavirus/provider-guide-to-coronavirus/student-and-consumer-protection/.

The Government, alongside schools and teachers, is committed to supporting children and young people to thrive and reach their potential in a safe and respectful environment. Schools continue to play an important role in preparing children and young people for life in modern Britain, supporting them to understand the society in which they are growing up and teaching about respect for other people and tolerance.

We continue to work with colleagues across Government, as well as those in the school sector and communities to better understand issues around discrimination, hatred, and prejudice on an ongoing basis. For example, the Department has provided funding to anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying, including projects targeting bullying of particular groups, such as those who are victims of hate related bullying. These grants ended in March 2021, and grant holders are currently working to finalise independent evaluations of their programmes, which will be published in due course. The Department has considered next steps for anti-bullying support in schools, working closely with external stakeholders, and will shortly be running a procurement exercise to fund activity in 2021-22.

Having supported the creation and delivery of the Government’s hate crime action plan (2016-2020), officials from the Department continue to work with Home Office officials on the development of the Government’s next strategic response to hate crime. We are also currently considering recommendations from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities on education in detail.

As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.

The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.

I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.

However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.

Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.

As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.

The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.

I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.

However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.

Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.

As autonomous institutions, higher education (HE) providers are responsible for the administration of their own exams and assessments. HE students and providers have faced unique challenges as providers have had to adapt teaching, learning and assessment methods in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Some providers have put in place policies stating that students should not be awarded a degree classification below their level of academic performance prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. A ‘No detriment policy’ is designed by providers as a safety net for students to help ensure they are not unfairly impacted by these challenging circumstances. This approach may not be appropriate for all providers and we recognise that there are a number of ways to assess students which will lead to a wide variety of measures being put in place.

The government continues to work closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, professional bodies and the Office for Students to ensure students continue to leave university with qualifications that have real value, reflect their hard work and allow people to progress. The professional bodies have put alternative requirements in place for graduation to maintain standards, building on similar arrangements which were made for graduation last year.

I am aware that the majority of universities adopted ‘No detriment’ policies last year. We have not made a detailed assessment, or estimate, of the extent of these policies in terms of student numbers, credits not undertaken or the impact on future employment prospects.

However, I have been clear that I expect providers to make all reasonable efforts for student achievement to be reliably assessed and for qualifications to be awarded securely. It is vital that a fair approach to exams and assessment is in place and understood by students. Any policies universities put in place to ensure students are not unfairly affected by the circumstances should continue to maintain standards – and awarding powers must be used responsibly to preserve the world-class reputation of our HE.

Providers should seek to ensure this and last years’ students are not disadvantaged in the labour market by whatever measures are taken and should provide assurances as appropriate to enable employers to have confidence in qualifications awarded.

The department offers universal 15 hours free childcare to all three- and four-year-olds in England for 38 weeks per year, regardless of parental income or employment status. The purpose of this entitlement is to provide free, high-quality early education, helping children to develop social skills and preparing them for school, with 93% of three- and four-year-olds benefitting in January 2020. 15 hours free childcare is also available for disadvantaged two-year-olds, including those from low-income households or those with special education needs or disabilities. In January 2020, approximately 143,000 children benefitted from this entitlement.

As the 15 hours policy was introduced with the primary aim of improving children’s outcomes, no evaluation has been undertaken of the impact of this policy on the ability of unemployed people with children to find work.

The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of three- and four-year-olds, benefitting around 345,700 children in January 2020. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours. To be eligible, parents must earn the equivalent of 16 hours a week at national minimum wage and less than £100,000 per year.

The evaluation of the national rollout of 30 hours free childcare, published in 2018, found that 27% of those using 30 hours at the time reported they were working more hours as a result of the policy. Further detail is available in the report here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/30-hours-free-childcare-final-evaluation-of-the-national-rollout.

The government is tracking the impact of early education on children’s outcomes via the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED). There is mixed evidence from SEED on how the number of childcare hours used by children at ages three to four impacts their educational attainment. There is no clear evidence of an optimal number of hours for child development as the type of setting used, the quality of the setting, the starting age in childcare and the child’s home learning environment are also important factors influencing the child’s educational development.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, the Government considers that exams cannot be held in a way which is fair. We have therefore 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 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, including consulting specifically on four different approaches for private candidates to receive a grade.

We have consulted on the following options:

• For private candidates to complete the papers set by the exam boards for use in schools and colleges.
• For private candidates to work with a school or college willing to assess the standard at which they are performing, using the same type of evidence the school or college is considering for its students.
• For the exam boards to run normal exams for private candidates to take in the summer of 2021.
• For the exam boards to run normal exams for private candidates to take in the autumn of 2021.

​

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, including private candidates and their parents, 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.

The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks to those working and studying in our HE institutions in this unprecedented situation, whilst mitigating the impact on education.

To help bring the new variant under control and while the vaccine programme is rolled out, our aim is to minimise the number of students and staff returning to campuses and accessing university facilities.

In practical terms, this means that students doing medical, clinical and healthcare related subjects, including nursing, social care, dentistry and veterinary studies are being prioritised and can return at the start of the spring term, as planned.

Those on teacher training courses and students who must complete externally-accredited examinations, which cannot be completed remotely, can also return to in-person teaching at the beginning of term.

All other students should access learning online until at least mid-February and remain at their current address in line with national measures. Universities will tell students when to return for the spring term.

On an exceptional basis, universities should support students returning for other reasons (for example, students who do not have access to appropriate accommodation, facilities, studying space or who need to return for health reasons). In these circumstances, students may return to campus, but their courses should not resume face-to-face teaching.

The government is committed to ensuring that students who wish to return home for the winter break, are able to do so. It is essential that measures are put in place to ensure this can happen as safely as possible for students, staff and the communities that they return to.

On 11 November, the department published guidance for providers on plans for the end of the autumn term. This guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term.

As outlined in the guidance, published on 11 November, many healthcare students who are on placements are considered essential workers and such placements can continue until the end of term. We will shortly be issuing further detailed guidance on how the end of term guidance applies to all students on placements, including courses where placements may continue.

The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of higher education in England, also issued a FAQ for students on going home for the end of term, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/coronavirus-end-of-term. This will also be updated shortly, to address questions students may have about their placements.

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

The Government has provided guidance on Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) for all employers, which includes specific information on when an employee is off work because of COVID-19. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/employers-sick-pay.

Employers must pay an employee SSP if they are self-isolating and off work for at least 4 days and any of the following apply:

• They, or someone they live with, has coronavirus symptoms:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance

• They’ve been notified by the NHS, or public health authorities, that they’ve been in contact with someone with coronavirus:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works

• Someone in their ‘support bubble’ (or ‘extended household’ if they live in Scotland or Wales) has symptoms:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/meeting-people-from-outside-your-household-from-4-july

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-phase-2-staying-safe-and-protecting-others/pages/meeting-others/

https://gov.wales/guidance-extended-households-coronavirus.

Early years providers have been able to open to all children from 1 June. Since 20 July, settings have been able to return to their normal group sizes, paving the way for more children to transition back to their early education and supporting parents to be able to work.

Holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings have been able to open since 4 July, helping parents to meet their childcare needs during the school summer holidays.

We have published guidance to support holiday clubs and out-of-school settings to operate as safely as possible over the summer holiday, alongside guidance for parents. This is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Parents can contact their local Family Information Service for details of childcare provision available in their area during the summer holidays.

Early years providers have been able to open to all children from 1 June. Since 20 July, settings have been able to return to their normal group sizes, paving the way for more children to transition back to their early education and supporting parents to be able to work.

Holiday clubs and other out-of-school settings have been able to open since 4 July, helping parents to meet their childcare needs during the school summer holidays.

We have published guidance to support holiday clubs and out-of-school settings to operate as safely as possible over the summer holiday, alongside guidance for parents. This is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-of-children-attending-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Parents can contact their local Family Information Service for details of childcare provision available in their area during the summer holidays.

The department has not made an estimate of the amount of spending on official development assistance (ODA) in 2020 or future years. Our ODA spending primarily relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. As such, the level of spending in future years will be dependent on the number of asylum seeker children that arrive in the country. It is our policy that asylum seeker children who attend a school or early years setting attract funding in the same way as all other children. This is allocated through the schools national funding formula and other grants like the pupil premium and teachers’ pay grant.

The department’s estimated spending on ODA in each year from 2015 to 2019 are given below:

It is the department’s policy that asylum seeker children who attend a school or early years setting attract funding in the same way as all other children. This is allocated through the schools national funding formula and other grants like the pupil premium and teachers’ pay grant. The department’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) contribution is an estimate of how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. Our ODA spending in future years will be primarily dependent on the number of asylum seeker children arriving in the country.

The Department’s spending on official development assistance (ODA) primarily relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. The ODA contribution is an estimate of how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. As such, our ODA spending in future years will be primarily dependent on the number of asylum seeker children arriving in the country.

The Department’s spending on official development assistance (ODA) primarily relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. The ODA contribution is an estimate of how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. As such, our ODA spending in future years will be primarily dependent on the number of asylum seeker children arriving in the country.

The Department’s spending on official development assistance (ODA) primarily relates to the provision of education to child and unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the 12 months after they make an asylum claim in the UK. The ODA contribution is an estimate of how much of the wider core schools funding for England is allocated due to having these children on schools’ rolls. As such, our ODA spending in future years will be primarily dependent on the number of asylum seeker children arriving in the country.

The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (2019) sets out a core minimum entitlement that every trainee must receive. To ensure all trainees receive this entitlement, the new ITT Core Content Framework is mandatory (through the ITT Criteria) so all providers will need to ensure their ITT programmes encompass the entitlement in full.

The framework does not set out the full curriculum for trainee teachers and it leaves room for providers to integrate additional analysis and critique of theory, research and expert practice as they deem appropriate., In designing their curricula, providers should carefully craft the experiences and activities detailed in the ITT Core Content Framework into a coherent sequence that supports trainees to succeed in the classroom. It is important to stress that the ITT Core Content Framework does not replace the Teachers' Standards (2011), which remain as the bar that all teachers need to meet in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status. Providers are therefore obliged to ensure their courses will ensure their trainees are able to demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics.

The department contracted Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to provide an independent review of all the peer reviewed evidence on what makes good teaching. This includes the latest evidence and research on approaches to literacy. There is sound evidence that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading.

In 2016, England achieved its highest ever score in reading, moving from joint 10^th to joint 8^th in the progress in International Reading Literacy Study ranking. This follows a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum, and a particular focus on phonics. In 2019, 82% of pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard in the phonics screening check, compared to just 58% when the check was introduced in 2012. In 2018 we launched a £26.3m English Hubs Programme. The English Hubs programme is supporting nearly 3000 schools across England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure.

The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (2019) sets out a core minimum entitlement that every trainee must receive. To ensure all trainees receive this entitlement, the new ITT Core Content Framework is mandatory (through the ITT Criteria) so all providers will need to ensure their ITT programmes encompass the entitlement in full.

The framework does not set out the full curriculum for trainee teachers and it leaves room for providers to integrate additional analysis and critique of theory, research and expert practice as they deem appropriate., In designing their curricula, providers should carefully craft the experiences and activities detailed in the ITT Core Content Framework into a coherent sequence that supports trainees to succeed in the classroom. It is important to stress that the ITT Core Content Framework does not replace the Teachers' Standards (2011), which remain as the bar that all teachers need to meet in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status. Providers are therefore obliged to ensure their courses will ensure their trainees are able to demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics.

The department contracted Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to provide an independent review of all the peer reviewed evidence on what makes good teaching. This includes the latest evidence and research on approaches to literacy. There is sound evidence that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading.

In 2016, England achieved its highest ever score in reading, moving from joint 10^th to joint 8^th in the progress in International Reading Literacy Study ranking. This follows a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum, and a particular focus on phonics. In 2019, 82% of pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard in the phonics screening check, compared to just 58% when the check was introduced in 2012. In 2018 we launched a £26.3m English Hubs Programme. The English Hubs programme is supporting nearly 3000 schools across England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure.

All trainee teachers must meet the Teachers' Standards (2011) in order to achieve Qualified Teacher Status, including for those training to teach early reading to demonstrate a clear understanding of systematic synthetic phonics.

The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (2019) sets out a core minimum entitlement that every trainee must receive. To ensure that all trainees receive this entitlement, the new ITT Core Content Framework is mandatory (through the ITT Criteria) so all providers will need to ensure their ITT programmes encompass the entitlement in full.

The framework specifies that trainees must learn that systematic synthetic phonics is the most effective approach for teaching pupils to decode. The framework does not set out the full curriculum for trainee teachers, ITT providers may wish to integrate additional analysis and critique of theory, research and expert practice as they deem appropriate.

The Department contracted the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to provide an independent review of all the peer-reviewed evidence on what constitutes good teaching. This includes the latest evidence and research on approaches to literacy. There is sound evidence that systematic synthetic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. The Department is clear that in future we will review the ITT Core Content Framework and the ECF together in light of the best evidence, as it emerges.

In 2016, England achieved its highest ever score in reading, moving from joint 10^th place to joint 8^th place in the International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) ranking. This follows a greater focus on reading in the primary curriculum and a particular focus on phonics. In 2019, 82% of pupils in Year 1 met the expected standard in the phonics screening check, compared to just 58% when the check was introduced in 2012.

In 2018 the Department launched the English Hubs Programme, which supports nearly 3,000 schools across England to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure.

The Government Equalities Office are reviewing the current legislative framework to see where and how the harmful and unacceptable practices referred to as conversion therapy may already be captured by existing laws and offences.

As my honourable friend will know, there are certain abhorrent and violent practices which may be classed as conversion therapy such as ‘corrective’ rape, or other forms of physical abuse, which are already covered by existing criminal offences. Where such practices are already unlawful, we will ensure the law is clear, well understood and enforced.

Where dangerous conversion therapy practices are not already unlawful, we are examining the best ways to prevent them being conducted, without sending such practices underground.

We will outline plans to end Conversion Therapy practice in due course.

The Department is currently working closely with the sector to determine the best way for schools to open for more pupils, in line with the five key tests set out by the Government. There continues to be extensive engagement with teaching unions, including the National Education Union (NEU), and other school stakeholder organisations at both an official and ministerial level, including a weekly meeting involving my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and NEU officials.

The Department has worked closely with the sector, including unions such as the National Educational Union (NEU), and will continue to do so over the coming weeks to support the wider opening of schools, colleges and childcare settings. Throughout this process, the Department has hugely valued the dialogue we are having with unions and school leaders to inform our decisions, and we need to maintain this dialogue.

Details of engagement with NEU:

• Weekly meetings with senior policy officials and key stakeholders including main teaching unions, governance, social care, school trusts and local government;
• A weekly meeting with wider stakeholders including support staff, further education and school business organisations;
• A weekly meeting between my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and the main teaching unions and stakeholder groups; and
• Ad hoc additional stakeholder meetings to address key issues as and when they arise.

On 11 May 2020, we published new guidance on implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings#shielded-and-clinically-vulnerable-children-and-young-people

As the guidance sets out, wearing a face covering or face mask in schools or other education settings is not recommended. Face coverings may be beneficial for short periods indoors where there is a risk of close social contact with people you do not usually meet and where social distancing and other measures cannot be maintained, for example on public transport or in some shops. This does not apply to schools or other education settings. Schools and other education or childcare settings should therefore not require staff or children to wear face coverings. Changing habits, cleaning and hygiene are effective measures in controlling the spread of the virus.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is only needed in a very small number of cases, which are set out in the published guidance. In these very specific circumstances, education providers should use their local supply chains to obtain PPE.

These are rapidly developing circumstances; we continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

Schools and childcare providers have remained open for children of critical workers and vulnerable children, and parents are strongly encouraged to take up those places.

From Wednesday 13 May, all workers who cannot work from home should travel to work if their workplace is open. Employers should be as flexible as possible to support their employees with childcare responsibilities.

We want to get children back into education and childcare as soon as possible because it is the best place for them to learn. From 1 June we have asked primary schools to prepare to reopen to children in Nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6. Secondary schools have been asked to offer support year 10 and 12 students. We have also asked early years providers (including childminders) to open to children of all ages. This will also support more families to be able return to work.

Throughout the coronavirus outbreak, childminders have been asked to continue caring for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. To align with the government’s position on nannies, we have confirmed that paid childcare can be provided to the children of one household from Wednesday 13 May 2020. This includes childminders, who may choose to look after the children of one household if they are not already looking after vulnerable children or those of critical workers. From 1 June 2020, childminders can look after children of all ages, in line with their current Ofsted registration, and within usual limits on the number of children they can care for.

We have not set a date for schools reopening. Schools will only reopen when the scientific advice indicates that it is the right time to do so, based on five key tests.

The Department is working in close consultation with the sector as we consider how to reopen schools when the time is right and will ensure everyone has sufficient notice to plan and prepare. The safety of staff, students and their families is our upmost priority.

The Government has published guidance on protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19#staying-at-home-and-shielding.

We have also published guidance on social distancing within schools, which includes guidance for staff and pupils who are in a vulnerable health group or live within someone who is:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

On 19 April 2020, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that devices will be provided for the most disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for exams (in Year 10), or receive support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Local authorities, trusts and other relevant organisations overseeing schools have been given guidance on how to place online orders for government-funded and allocated devices for eligible children and young people.

Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we will also provide the capability for them to access the internet.

Additionally, the country’s major telecommunication companies will make it easier for families to access selected educational resources by temporarily exempting these sites from data charges.

For those in rural areas or without a connection, schools will be able to draw on support from the BBC which is broadcasting lessons on television; as well as their existing resources and the many resources offers which have been made by publishers across the country.

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.

Higher education (HE) providers take their responsibilities seriously and are best placed to identify the needs of their student body as well as how to develop the services needed to support it. When making changes to the delivery of their courses, HE providers need to consider how they support all students, particularly the most vulnerable, to achieve successful academic and professional outcomes. Where students do not have access to the Internet, a computer at home, or cannot afford to purchase it, the expectation is that HE providers will provide support through their own hardship funds

We have worked closely with the Office for Students to enable providers to draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers will be able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April and May, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of IT equipment, and mental health support, as well as to support providers’ access and participation plans

As independent and autonomous organisations, higher education providers (HEPs) have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 in relation to the protected characteristics of their staff and students. These include in relation to religion and belief. We expect them to discharge their responsibilities fully and have robust policies and procedures in place to comply with the law.

HEPs are also responsible for meeting their legal obligations relating to free speech, and this includes expressing religious views. HEPs have a duty to take reasonably practicable steps to secure freedom of speech within the law for members, students and employees of the establishment and for visiting speakers.

The Student Loans Company (SLC) will continue to make scheduled tuition and maintenance payments to both students and providers. Both tuition and maintenance payments will continue irrespective of whether learning has moved online. This has been communicated via the SLC website. We are continuing to monitor the position.

The Department recognises that many schools are already using online resources to enable children’s education to continue. We are working with the BBC and others to provide advice and support directly to schools and parents. As part of this, we will ensure appropriate consideration is given to how accessibility and inclusion arrangements can be supported.

The Department also recognises the steps that universities are taking to meet the needs of their students, in line with Office for Students’ expectations and Quality Assurance Agency’s guidance around considering the needs of students with disabilities.

The department is working with NHS England and Public Health England who are providing guidance on seeking mental health support, including guidance for parents and carers of children and young people on addressing mental health and wellbeing concerns during the COVID-19 outbreak. Where in place, mental health support teams are also actively considering how they continue to deliver a service to support children and young people.

We are working closely with colleagues across government to ensure that all appropriate arrangements and support are in place for all the department’s sectors, from the early years and childcare to schools and children’s social care, and for vulnerable groups including children with special educational needs.

We understand that parents will be worried about continued provision for their children with special educational needs while schools are closed. Local authorities, schools and colleges, together with parents, should assess the risks to children and young people with Education, Health and Care plans (EHC plans) to judge whether they can be safely cared for at home or whether it is safer for them to remain at school or college. Local authorities and education settings have discretion to do a similar risk assessment for any individual children and young people who do not have an EHC plan but who have complex needs that could mean it is safer for them to be at school or college than at home. Guidance to help parents understand the changes, including information on vulnerable children can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers.

Supporting vulnerable children is a priority at this time. That is why, on Wednesday 18 March, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education announced that schools will remain open for vulnerable children alongside the children of critical workers. Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker and those with education, health and care plans. Guidance for schools, childcare providers, colleges and local authorities in England on maintaining provision for vulnerable children can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.

We recognise that local authorities and other safeguarding partners are under increased pressure during this period. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are considering all options to ensure that they are able to continue to keep children safe throughout this period. This includes HM Treasury creating an emergency response fund, initially set at £5 billion, to fund pressures in the NHS, support local authorities to manage pressures on social care and support vulnerable people, and help deal with pressures on other public services.

Special and special residential schools and colleges should be supported to remain open, wherever that is possible, to provide vital services and support to children with complex needs and their families.

Supporting vulnerable children is a priority at this time. On Wednesday 18 March, my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Education announced that schools will remain open for vulnerable children, alongside the children of critical workers. Vulnerable children include those who have a social worker and those with education, health and care plans. We want vulnerable children to continue to attend education settings so their pastoral needs can continue to be met.

In circumstances where a parent does not want to bring their child to an education setting, and their child is considered vulnerable, the social worker and education setting should explore the reasons for this, directly with the parent.

Social workers will remain in contact with vulnerable children and families throughout this challenging time, including remotely if needed.

The latest guidance for on support for vulnerable children and young people can be found using the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-vulnerable-children-and-young-people.

The department will work with schools, childcare settings and local authorities to ensure that adequate supplies of personal and domestic cleaning products are available and are working cross government to achieve this. We will issue further detailed guidance regarding the supply of Personal Protective Equipment to settings that require it.

The department does not collect robust data on the prior attainment of learners on apprenticeship programmes and whether they hold undergraduate or masters degrees.

We are committed to ensuring all apprenticeship standards deliver value for money, meet the skills needs of employers and help individuals acquire the skills they need to get ahead.

The apprenticeship funding rules require training providers to undertake an assessment of prior learning. This is to determine whether an individual needs to do an apprenticeship that lasts a minimum of 12 months and requires at least 20 per cent off-the-job training, and to ensure that every apprenticeship leads to the acquisition of new skills, knowledge and behaviours.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute) is responsible for working with employer trailblazer groups to design and approve apprenticeships standards; this includes deciding which qualifications may be included in standards, and whether those qualifications should be funded by government as part of the apprenticeship.

To ensure that high-quality apprenticeships are available to learners, the Institute reviews standards on an ongoing basis. It is currently reviewing the Level 7 Senior Leader standard, which may include a MBA qualification, to ensure that it meets the current policy intent and provides value for money.

The School Admissions Code requires admission authorities of all schools to prioritise looked-after children and previously looked-after children in their admissions criteria. Academies, trusts and local authorities work together at a local level to prioritise the admission of looked-after children. As a last resort, a local authority can request a direction for the academy to admit a looked after child from my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

ESFA has collected and recorded data on such directions since March 2017. Since then, no such directions have been issued to an academy in the Edgbaston constituency. In the West Midlands as a whole, two such directions have been issued, one of which was in Birmingham.

Published guidance on academy admissions can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academy-admissions.

Since 2014, we have invested £200 million in the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme to give local authorities and children’s social care organisations the permission, funding and support to test ways of doing things differently and to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.

We are committed to supporting innovation and want to make sure we use funding available in 2020-21 to learn from the current projects showing most promise. We are looking at how we can best spread learning to other areas, including considering the evaluations of projects which report in the coming months. We are in discussions with projects and hope to announce next steps shortly.

Through the children’s social care Innovation Programme, the Department for Education is funding the London Borough of Hackney up to £2 million to test “contextual safeguarding theory”. This approach creates a system in which practitioners can appropriately assess and intervene when risk of harm comes from beyond an adolescent’s family. The project is being externally evaluated and we expect the final report in March 2020.

I refer the hon. Member for Birmingham Edgbaston to the answer I gave on 8 January 2020 to Question 179.

The Department has put in place a range of measures to support middle leaders, including those that address the recommendations of the National Association of Head Teachers report.

Improvements to National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), including the NPQ for middle leadership, for aspiring and serving middle leaders, have been well received by the profession. NPQ scholarships target funding towards the professional development of primary and secondary middle leaders in the country’s most challenging schools. The Department is also currently developing new specialist NPQs to support and promote career pathways beyond traditional leadership routes that can enable teachers and leaders to progress and excel in specialist areas. The Department is working closely with the sector on the design of these new qualifications and will release further details in due course.

The Department wants to continue to strengthen support for those already in middle-leadership roles through collaboration with the profession. For example, the High Potential Middle Leaders programme (branded Expert Middle Leaders) targets funding towards accelerating the professional development of primary and secondary middle leaders in the country’s most challenging schools, to enable them to raise attainment within their schools and develop their potential for senior leadership.

The Department has put in place a range of measures to support middle leaders, and which address the findings raised in the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) report. Ministers and officials regularly engage with NAHT on issues relating to school leadership.

Improvements to National Professional Qualifications (NPQs), including for middle leaders, have been well received by the profession. NPQ scholarships and our High-Potential Middle Leaders Programme target funding towards the professional development of primary and secondary middle leaders in the country’s most challenging schools. The Department is currently developing new specialist NPQs to support and promote career pathways beyond traditional leadership routes that can enable teachers and leaders to progress and excel in specialist areas. The Department is working closely with the sector on the design of these new qualifications and will release further details in due course.

The Teacher Workload Survey 2019 indicated there has been a reduction in the reported working hours for teachers and middle and senior leaders of five hours per week over the past three years, largely in the areas targeted through our recently updated workload-reduction toolkit. The Teacher Workload Survey 2019 is available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/842053/teacher_workload_survey_2019_report.pdf.

We are committed, as set out in a joint letter with the sector published in November 2018, to support school leaders to identify and reduce unnecessary workload in their schools, and to undertake further work ourselves to reduce the pressures on schools and so enable teachers and leaders at all levels to improve their work–life balance and focus on their development. The Department published the 2019 Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy last year, which was developed with teachers, education unions and leading professional bodies, to focus reform and investment on helping school leaders establish more supportive school cultures and on promoting flexible working.

To tackle the triple challenge of climate change, biodiversity and poverty alleviation, Defra ensures it takes evidence-based spending decisions and maintains high standards of programme delivery. Defra will remain focused on these three priorities in the event of an Official Development Assistance budget reduction.

The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Since this commitment is linked to the size of the economy, the level of ODA spend is likely to decrease this year. HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to departments and will agree any changes to these.

The Government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a regular basis in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA. In the short term, we have paused some new decisions while we agree our future work in close cooperation with other aid spending Departments.

To tackle the triple challenge of climate change, biodiversity and poverty alleviation, Defra ensures it takes evidence-based spending decisions and maintains high standards of programme delivery. Defra will remain focused on these three priorities in the event of an Official Development Assistance budget reduction.

The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). Since this commitment is linked to the size of the economy, the level of ODA spend is likely to decrease this year. HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to departments and will agree any changes to these.

The Government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a regular basis in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA. In the short term, we have paused some new decisions while we agree our future work in close cooperation with other aid spending Departments.

The Environment Agency (EA) has carried out approximately 20,000 post-incident inspections following the flooding events in November 2019 and February 2020. These inspections are now complete and the results have been used to plan projects for the EA’s recovery programme that will deliver asset repairs. The EA is finalising submissions but expects to have approximately 600 projects across England. To date, 51 projects have been completed and the EA is commissioning its supply chain and planning the delivery of the rest of the programme. It is expected that all assets will be restored by the end of October 2020, or the EA will have sufficient temporary measures in place to mitigate risks to communities while works complete over winter.

The Environment Agency consulted on the draft National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England in May 2019. It has now reviewed the draft strategy following that consultation and in accordance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010, and has submitted the strategy to the Secretary of State for consideration. Once the Secretary of State has approved the strategy, it will be laid in Parliament for 40 days.

The Government has been working closely with local authorities, retailers, food businesses and charities to ensure that blind and partially sighted people have access to the food and essential goods that they need.

We have published guidance online that explains what steps people can take if they are unable to access food. This guidance has been shared with local authorities, retailers and charities to help them respond to enquiries from those seeking help. The guidance can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-accessing-food-and-essential-supplies.

Various sight loss charities are working directly with some of the major supermarkets to take forward some practical initiatives to help people with sight loss to access supermarkets.

We have secured a number of supermarket delivery slots for the dedicated use of vulnerable people who are having difficulties in securing access to food and who have no other options available to them. We are working closely with local authorities and charities to help make sure these delivery slots are made available to those who need them most. We have built a bespoke digital service to enable local authorities and a number of charities to directly refer individuals for access to the prioritised slots.

In addition, over 600,000 people are now registered as NHS Volunteer Responders. Verified volunteer responders can receive tasks to help those in their communities, including through shopping for vulnerable people for food and essential supplies. Health and care professionals and approved charities (including Citizens Advice and Age UK) are now able to refer vulnerable individuals into the system to receive support from volunteers.

It is now possible for individuals to self-refer for assistance from the NHS Volunteer Responders if they consider themselves to be vulnerable and in need of support.

Supermarkets have been working at pace to expand the total number of delivery and click and collect slots and we are working with major retailers to ensure that they prioritise delivery slots for those who are most vulnerable and at risk. This means that we have shared with supermarkets the details of those who have registered as clinically vulnerable and needing to shield, and who need help accessing food. These details are then processed by supermarkets, who match these names against their own customer databases. They then offer people the option of priority access to online delivery.

We have also been working quickly to support vulnerable people who do not fall into the shielded definition. This includes all people who are unable to access food and other essential supplies due to a Covid-19 related change in physical and / or financial circumstance. Most supermarkets are offering prioritised delivery or click and collect slots to those they have identified as vulnerable from their customer database (for example by age, shopping habits, previous use of vulnerable customer helplines etc.). We are working closely with retailers and local authorities to stand up a service to allow local authorities to refer vulnerable people to supermarkets for a priority delivery or click and collect slot.

We are also working with a range of suppliers to make available an increased range of food packages that can be ordered online or over the phone.

The Government is working to ensure that approximately 1.8 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus have access to the food they need. The Government continues to contact this cohort of shielded individuals and ask them to register via the online Government webportal or via the phone if they need help accessing food.

In partnership with industry, the Government started to deliver shielding packages in late March, to those that are clinically extremely vulnerable and have requested this support. These packages consist of essential supplies and food. Supermarkets are also prioritising online delivery slots for those that are most in need and have expanded their capacity for home deliveries.

Just over 800,000 have registered online via the online webportal. Of this group, just over 250,000 have indicated that they need support to access food. Supermarkets are reporting good rates of matches to their customer bases and high numbers of orders. We are asking those who need to shield to also make sure that they are registered online directly with supermarkets, so that they can be matched and offered delivery.

We are also working quickly to support people who do not fall into the category of being clinically extremely vulnerable, but still need help getting essential food supplies. This includes those who are elderly, disabled or have health conditions that make it difficult for them to get the food they need. We are speaking to food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help prioritise those individuals to access essential food. Wherever possible, people should continue to rely on friends, family and wider community support.

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers have highly resilient supply chains and have adapted quickly to these changes in demand to ensure people have the food and products they need. While we have had, and continue to have significant discussions with retailers over this period these issues have not arisen specifically. Deliveries both to stores and to people’s homes play an important role, and retailers and suppliers are best placed to make decisions about logistics and distribution.

We have been supporting the industry in their response to this unprecedented situation by introducing measures to help businesses to keep food supply flowing. These include temporary relaxation of competition laws to allow supermarkets to work together, extending delivery hours to supermarkets and flexing rules on drivers’ hours to allow a higher frequency of deliveries to stores.

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers have highly resilient supply chains and have adapted quickly to these changes in demand to ensure people have the food and products they need. While we have had, and continue to have significant discussions with retailers over this period these issues have not arisen specifically. Deliveries both to stores and to people’s homes play an important role, and retailers and suppliers are best placed to make decisions about logistics and distribution.

We have been supporting the industry in their response to this unprecedented situation by introducing measures to help businesses to keep food supply flowing. These include temporary relaxation of competition laws to allow supermarkets to work together, extending delivery hours to supermarkets and flexing rules on drivers’ hours to allow a higher frequency of deliveries to stores.

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers already have highly resilient supply chains and they are working around the clock to ensure people have the food and products they need. Industry is adapting quickly to these changes in demands, and we welcome the actions they are taking to support demand for online deliveries, including hiring more staff and prioritising delivery slots for those that need them most.

To help industry respond to this unprecedented demand we have introduced new measures to support online deliveries. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up more quickly, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours. We are also temporarily relaxing certain elements of competition law to ensure retailers are able to collaborate effectively in the national interest, for example by sharing distribution depots and delivery vans.

The Government is working to ensure that up to 1.5 million people in England identified by the NHS as being at higher risk of severe illness if they contract Coronavirus will have access to the food they need. A new Local Support System has been put in place to make sure those individuals self-isolating at home and who are without a support network of friends and family receive basic food and essential supplies. 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 are being delivered to those who need it.

Joining the Global Ocean Alliance indicates that countries will support a new global target of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030 at the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties (COP15) in Kunming, China in October 2020 (30by30). This target would replace the current 10% target agreed in Aichi in 2010.

The UK-led Global Ocean Alliance is currently made up of Belgium, Belize, Costa Rica, Finland, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Palau, Portugal, Seychelles, Sweden and Vanuatu. Many other countries have also expressed their support for the 30by30 target.

English waters have 177 MPAs covering 40% of English seas. The UK has 357 MPAs protecting 25% of UK waters spanning almost 220,000 km². Furthermore, the Overseas Territories Blue Belt Programme is on track to deliver 4 million km² marine protection around the UK Overseas Territories by 2020.

Globally, the World Database on MPAs, a joint project of the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Nature Conservation, shows the percentage of the ocean covered by protected areas at 7.91%.

To increase the proportion of the global ocean that is in MPAs, the Government is working with supportive countries and NGOs to encourage other countries to join the Global Ocean Alliance and thereby increase the possibility that the 30by30 target will be adopted later this year in Kunming.

Joining the Global Ocean Alliance indicates that countries will support a new global target of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030 at the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties (COP15) in Kunming, China in October 2020 (30by30). This target would replace the current 10% target agreed in Aichi in 2010.

The UK-led Global Ocean Alliance is currently made up of Belgium, Belize, Costa Rica, Finland, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Palau, Portugal, Seychelles, Sweden and Vanuatu. Many other countries have also expressed their support for the 30by30 target.

English waters have 177 MPAs covering 40% of English seas. The UK has 357 MPAs protecting 25% of UK waters spanning almost 220,000 km². Furthermore, the Overseas Territories Blue Belt Programme is on track to deliver 4 million km² marine protection around the UK Overseas Territories by 2020.

Globally, the World Database on MPAs, a joint project of the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Nature Conservation, shows the percentage of the ocean covered by protected areas at 7.91%.

To increase the proportion of the global ocean that is in MPAs, the Government is working with supportive countries and NGOs to encourage other countries to join the Global Ocean Alliance and thereby increase the possibility that the 30by30 target will be adopted later this year in Kunming.

Joining the Global Ocean Alliance indicates that countries will support a new global target of protecting at least 30% of the global ocean within Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) by 2030 at the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of Parties (COP15) in Kunming, China in October 2020 (30by30). This target would replace the current 10% target agreed in Aichi in 2010.

The UK-led Global Ocean Alliance is currently made up of Belgium, Belize, Costa Rica, Finland, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Palau, Portugal, Seychelles, Sweden and Vanuatu. Many other countries have also expressed their support for the 30by30 target.

English waters have 177 MPAs covering 40% of English seas. The UK has 357 MPAs protecting 25% of UK waters spanning almost 220,000 km². Furthermore, the Overseas Territories Blue Belt Programme is on track to deliver 4 million km² marine protection around the UK Overseas Territories by 2020.

Globally, the World Database on MPAs, a joint project of the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Nature Conservation, shows the percentage of the ocean covered by protected areas at 7.91%.

To increase the proportion of the global ocean that is in MPAs, the Government is working with supportive countries and NGOs to encourage other countries to join the Global Ocean Alliance and thereby increase the possibility that the 30by30 target will be adopted later this year in Kunming.

National statistics on emissions of air pollutants in the UK are published annually at the following URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants.

An interactive map of emissions of PM2.5 and other pollutants is available to the public at a 1 km² resolution and is updated annually. The map for 2017 can be found at the following URL: https://naei.beis.gov.uk/emissionsapp/. It is possible to summarise the emissions map by local authority using the functions on the map webpage.

National statistics on emissions of air pollutants and trends in the UK, including nitrogen oxides, are published annually at the following URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/emissions-of-air-pollutants.

The Government is making great strides in tackling marine plastic pollution, and we have made some good progress. In 2018, our ban on microbeads in rinse-off personal care products helped to stop billions of tiny pieces of plastic entering the ocean. Our charge for single-use carrier bags has also led to a 90% reduction in plastic bag usage and a reduction of plastic bags surveyed on the seabed.

Our 25 Year Environment Plan establishes our target of reducing all forms of marine plastic pollution where possible, and our Resources and Waste Strategy sets out how we will achieve this. We have committed to introducing a deposit return scheme to encourage the reuse of items prevalent in marine litter, and we will explore the use of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes to incentivise innovation for items such as plastic packaging and fishing gear.

We collaborate closely with our neighbouring countries through the OSPAR Convention to reduce the flow of waste into the North-east Atlantic. We are delivering on our commitments in the Marine Litter Regional Action Plan and leading on efforts to tackle the issue of abandoned, lost and otherwise discarded fishing gear.

The Agriculture Bill will allow us to replace the restrictive EU Common Agricultural Policy with an ambitious new Environmental Land Management scheme. This scheme is based on the principle of ‘public money for public goods’ and will deliver financial support for farmers who protect our environment and deliver high animal welfare and food quality standards in a sustainable way. As such, this scheme will significantly contribute to the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan and others such as net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Defra has commissioned its lead Non-Executive Director, Henry Dimbleby, to lead an Independent Review to develop a series of recommendations that will help shape a National Food Strategy, considering the entire food system from field to fork. The terms of reference of the review include seeking to ensure that our food system restores and enhances the natural environment for the next generation in this country, and is built upon a resilient, sustainable and humane agriculture sector. The Independent Review, launched on 25 June 2019, will publish its interim report in spring 2020 and its final report the following winter. The Government has committed to publishing a White Paper in response within six months of the review being published.

Defra mandates certain food and catering standards to encourage the provision of higher quality and nutritious foods, accounting for dietary advice from Public Health England (PHE). Defra continues to support other departments and institutions, such as NHS trusts and schools, in their efforts to provide the relevant information and mechanisms to inform appropriate arrangements regarding dietary choices.

Whilst Defra offer advice on food procurement standards, we do not stipulate the content of public sector organisation menus; we believe that food procurers and caterers are best placed to make decisions about their menus.

The Government continues to ensure that some of the best minds in the UK and beyond are feeding into the Review's conclusions.

We have started targeted engagement with academic stakeholders and will engage more widely still in the coming weeks; including with Parliament, Devolved Administrations, civil society, and our allies and partners. The Government has also now issued a Call for Evidence to help inform the Integrated Review. This will facilitate contributions from the public and our stakeholders with an interest and role in our nation's security and prosperity, and in tackling the global challenges the UK will face over the coming years.

The UK's 0.7 per cent Gross National Income target is directly linked to the performance of the UK economy. Like all other Government Departments, we need to make some tough prioritisation choices which will likely include the renegotiation of some of our contracts in light of the expected drop in GNI. In doing so, we will ensure that renegotiated contracts continue to deliver value for money for UK taxpayers and maximum impact for beneficiaries.

DFID provides a myriad of commercial support services and guidance, which is available to programme teams across the business. This includes, but is not limited to, Smart Guide rules and a newly launched Aid Learning Platform (ALP).

The ALP e-manual facility encompasses a range of modules to develop Officials’ commercial acumen relevant to contract management, including negotiation skills, risk management and programme design. This guidance is constantly updated to reflect ongoing training needs across the organisation. This training applies to all officials across our network and not just the global south.

All government departments are working through how their plans will need to change in light of the risk of a significant recession this year. DFID is no exception. The Government’s 0.7% GNI target is directly linked to the performance of the UK economy. No decision has been taken, but we are considering the full range of our work. In the short term, we have paused new financial arrangements while we agree our future work in close cooperation with other aid spending Departments.

The Department for International Development’s Rapid Response Facility (RRF) launched a call for proposals on 7 April 2020 to help support the preparedness, mitigation and response to COVID-19. DFID received 73 eligible applications of which 7 projects were selected for funding. Other applicants were informed that their proposals were not selected for funding in this round but, as with our broader COVID-19 humanitarian funding, further RRF support would remain under review.

The Rapid Response Facility is only one of the mechanisms through which the UK government is directly funding NGOs to respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19. For example, a round of UK Aid Direct funding was opened for applications relating to COVID-19 and we have announced that the UK will aid match the first £5 million of donations from the British public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) new COVID-19 Appeal. Furthermore, NGOs are delivery partners for a very large proportion of DFID's activity.

DFID and FCO senior officials informed their respective Trade Union representatives as soon the creation of the new Department was announced. Consultations will continue throughout the process. Within DFID we have regular weekly engagement with our trade unions (FDA and PCS). These discussions have not yet involved the Secretary of State directly. We will formally consult as required on any specific areas of HR policy as work progresses.

The Government has taken steps to improve transparency in the remittance sector, not just in the UK but globally. We co-lead with the Swiss Government with the support of multilateral organisations on the Global Call to Action to keep remittances flowing and to improve transparency in the sector.

The department is working closely HM Treasury to improve transparency in the sector. In the UK, we have worked cross Government to develop communication lines to encourage the diaspora community to use digital channels and to review the different options available before sending funding.

We are working with industry associations and leading remittance service providers on how best to improve transparency in the sector and are reviewing the key lessons from other development agencies who have sought to improve transparency in remittances in their countries.

We understand the need for remitters to be well informed (especially about the cost of sending money abroad) and are working towards solutions that are sustainable, effective and represent good value for money.

The UK is playing a leading role in the international response to the Covid-19 pandemic, pledging up to £774 million of UK aid to help developing countries (the 'global south') address the immediate and longer-term impacts of the crisis. Of the £774 million, £220 million has gone to UN agencies in the UN's Global Humanitarian Response Plan (GHRP), such as the World Food Programme and UN Refugee Agency, as well as humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross and international NGOs. DFID is also adapting its programmes across its country network to respond to COVID-19 and address the needs of the most vulnerable, as outlined in the GHRP. This funding will help address urgent needs in vulnerable countries, accelerate progress towards a vaccine, reinforce infection control and help the poorest countries address the economic impact of the crisis.

On 4 June, the UK hosted the Global Vaccine Summit, where world leaders, foundations, corporations and organisations pledged $8.8 billion for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The UK remains Gavi's largest donor, having pledged £1.65bn for 2021-25 to help strengthen health systems in the global fight against COVID-19 and immunise a further 300 million children in the world's poorest countries against other deadly diseases. We are a leading donor and shareholder to the multilateral development banks, which have announced financial packages totalling more than £200bn. Given the unprecedented high demand for rapid finance, the UK has doubled its pledge from £2.2bn to £4.4 billion to IMF loan resources for concessional lending to low-income and vulnerable developing countries, and pledged up to £150m to the IMF Catastrophe Containment Relief Trust for the poorest countries to receive debt relief on IMF repayments.

We will continue to work closely with our multilateral partners and fora such as the G7 and G20 to galvanise the global fight against Covid-19 and shape the multilateral response to ensure it addresses the needs of the world's poorest and most vulnerable.

CDCs invests through Private Equity Funds to provide growth capital to companies in Africa and South Asia to create jobs and transform economies, focussing on the small and mid-size companies that face the biggest financing gap.

CDC's backing for Fund managers helps promote the adoption of higher Environmental, Social and Governance standards and support the development of self-sustaining local finance markets.

In the last five years CDC made new investment commitments to private equity funds of:

• 2015 - £238m
• 2016 - £289m
• 2017 - £273m
• 2018 - £311m
• 2019 - £284m.

The UK Government speaks regularly with international financial services firms about a range of issues. It is for individual companies to make their own judgements. We have made our own position very clear on China's proposal to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong.

CDC has a successful partnership with Standard Chartered focused on delivering development impact at scale in Africa and South Asia. For example, during the Ebola crisis CDC’s partnership with Standard Chartered helped provide vital working capital to businesses struggling to pay wages and meet operating expenses when the economy was seizing up.

Now, during the COVID-19 crisis CDC’s trade and supply chain finance partnerships with Standard Chartered are providing much needed liquidity to businesses in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Being a counter-cyclical investor supporting local businesses during the crisis forms a central element of CDC’s COVID-19 response.

Wherever possible, CDC invests directly into the country in which an investee company is located. If CDC invests through an intermediate country, it does so only if the country is compliant with international tax transparency standards as monitored by the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Tax information. CDC publishes the overall tax contribution of its portfolio; the principal countries in which each investee company pays taxes; the place of incorporation; and the legal domicile of each business or collective investment vehicles in which they invest.

The total initial investment value of these investments was approximately $190 million.

Until a just solution for Palestinian refugees is found, the UK continues to be a firm supporter of UNRWA and is committed to helping ensure the Agency’s sustainability and effectiveness. DFID undertakes an annual review of UNRWA’s programme performance. The most recent publication is available online (https://devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/projects/GB-1-204546/documents).

In 2019, the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) concluded an independent assessment of UNRWA, describing the Agency as competent and resilient, delivering services despite a challenging, resource-constrained environment. The assessment is public and accessed online.

Responding to the needs of older people is essential in our efforts to tackle extreme poverty. This is being highlighted right now as we see the vulnerability of older people to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are paying attention to their needs in our response our COVID-19 and are engaging internationally to push for others to do the same.

DFID published our Inclusive Data Charter Action Plan in 2019, setting out our ambitions to increase the collection and use of disaggregated data, and to improve disaggregation at a global level. This includes our £45 million investment in the World Bank Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building fund, which strengthens the capacity of statistical systems in developing countries, including on age disaggregated data.

We are a key stakeholder in the Titchfield City Group on Ageing, an international group set up to improve data on ageing and age disaggregation.

This Government is committed to supporting a long-term movement for change on the neglected global issue of disability inclusion. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to this agenda.

The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy is expected to conclude later in the year, which will define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and its outcomes will shape the objectives of the FCDO. Both the review and the merger are evidence of the Prime Minister’s commitment to a unified British foreign and development policy that will maximise our influence around the world, including on disability inclusion.

The UK will continue reporting the disability policy marker in the official development assistance OECD-DAC annual data return after September 2020.

The UK Government is committed to playing its part in Global efforts to achieve the SDGs and leave no one behind. Through both our COVID-19 response and in our future plans, we will continue to pay particular attention to the needs of the most vulnerable. We are working hard to ensure the needs and priorities of women and girls, people with disabilities, and vulnerable and at-risk groups in the crisis are met in the global response to the pandemic.

The UK is committed to ending the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030. Between April 2018 and March 2019 alone, DFID reached at least 23.5 million total women and girls with modern methods of family planning, saving 8,300 women’s lives and preventing the trauma of 89,900 stillbirths and 52,900 new-born deaths.

This is more important than ever given the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working to ensure essential health services continue despite the challenges. Our approach covers sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal and new-born health, nutrition, and water, sanitation and hygiene services, all of which can help prevent mothers, new-borns and children dying unnecessarily.

A core focus of our ending preventable deaths work is to partner with governments and international health actors to strengthen health systems in the poorest countries. We are also leading internationally: the UK hosted the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June and raised $8.8 billion for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance’s, next five years (2021-2025) of work, which includes the UK’s pledge of £1.65 billion. Using these vital funds, GAVI will immunise a further 300 million children and save up to 8 million lives against vaccine preventable diseases.

The UK is committed to ending the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children by 2030. By aligning our efforts, the merger will maximise UK influence and expertise so that we are in the best position to deliver this commitment.

The Prime Minister, in his statement to the House of Commons, highlighted that the UK will need to work in partnership to help vulnerable countries to improve their health systems. This is essential to ending preventable deaths, as are the UK government’s recent reassurances that we remain committed to preventing and treating malnutrition, as well as advancing and defending comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights.

The UK is at the forefront of the global response and has publicly committed up to £764 million of UK aid in addition to flexing existing programmes to respond to COVID-19. Following agreements and disbursement schedules DFID has disbursed £314 million to date.

Yemen remains a key priority for the UK Government.

I announced that the UK will commit £160 million of new aid for the current financial year (2020/21) at the 2020 Yemen Humanitarian Pledging Conference on 2 June. This was the third highest pledge at the conference and brings the total UK commitment to nearly £1 billion since the conflict began in 2015.

This funding will be provided through humanitarian and development agencies and will provide support to at least 300,000 vulnerable people each month to help them buy food and household essentials, treat 40,000 children for malnutrition and provide 1 million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation.

ICAI’s reviews cover thematic policy areas rather than individual projects and programmes. It is not possible to extract the cumulative financial value of projects and programmes covered by all reviews based on the methodology used.

ICAI’s reviews cover thematic policy areas rather than individual projects and programmes. It is not possible to extract the cumulative financial value of projects and programmes covered by all reviews based on the methodology used.

ICAI’s reviews cover thematic policy areas rather than individual projects and programmes. It is not possible to extract the cumulative financial value of projects and programmes covered by all reviews based on the methodology used.

The UK’s £160 million commitment to Yemen for this financial year (2020/21) will help tackle the spread of COVID-19 by providing over 700,000 medical consultations, training 12,000 healthcare workers to work in a safe environment and providing a much-needed boost to nearly 4,000 health centres, to continue providing existing health services.

This funding will also respond to existing humanitarian needs in Yemen by providing support to at least 300,000 vulnerable people each month to help them buy food and household essentials, treat 40,000 children for malnutrition and provide 1 million people with improved water supply and basic sanitation.

We have already disbursed 32% of our £160 million funding to Yemen this year and expect to have disbursed over 50% by the end of July.

I am in regular contact with the Prime Minister and other ministers about how the UK allocates and spends ODA. Decisions on Machinery of Government changes are made by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both the Foreign Secretary and me ahead of his announcement in the House.

Civil society organisations and our development partners play invaluable role in our fight against poverty. We continue to engage extensively with them as we shape the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

The Department for International Development (DFID) does not spend Official Development Aid (ODA) bilaterally in China, nor has it done in any of the last five years. China does, however, receive ODA through multilateral institutions that DFID provides core funding to. The Statistics on International Development (SID) provides data on this at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878406/Table-A10-7April2020.ods

The Department for International Development (DFID) invests in and partners with India to promote prosperity, reduce poverty and address climate change, while generating returns and creating trade, investment and other partnership opportunities for the UK.

Financial Aid to India ended in 2015. DFID deploys technical assistance and expertise to stimulate mutual prosperity and generate new markets. DFID uses Development Capital Investment to invest in Indian companies, alongside co-investment from Indian Government bodies, with the returns coming back to HMG in due course. Thus far £63.43 million has been returned.

In the past five years DFID has spent the following amounts in India. Data for 2019 will be published in the Autumn.

India also receives ODA through multilateral institutions to whom DFID provides core funding. Information on all UK ODA spend is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development/about/statistics.

The Government will implement the creation of the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office in the most cost-effective way possible. This is primarily about bringing together our international efforts so we can maximise the UK’s influence and positive impact around the world. By aligning our efforts, we will maximise our influence and expertise and ensure we are in the best position to confront the challenges that lie ahead. This will strengthen our ability to lead the world’s efforts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic and allow us to seize the opportunities ahead, as we prepare to take on the G7 presidency and host COP26 next year.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will be accountable to parliament for how it spends UK aid. We remain committed to full transparency in our aid spending and there will continue to be parliamentary and independent scrutiny of the aid budget – the form this takes following the merger will be set out in due course.

Decisions on Machinery of Government changes are made by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both the Foreign Secretary and me ahead of his announcement in the House.

Decisions on Machinery of Government changes are made by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister discussed the merger with both the Foreign Secretary and me ahead of his announcement in the House.

The Prime Minister has decided to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to form a new international department – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The Government will continue to engage closely with interested stakeholders, including UK and international NGOs, in the weeks and months to come as we work to create the new department, which will unite our development expertise and first class diplomatic service to make the UK a greater force for good in the world.

The Prosperity Fund programme in Brazil will support better public services, more sustainable energy and investment, and more efficient international trade. The programme is evolving to ‘build back better’ after the COVID-19 pandemic, including focusing on vulnerable groups and in the Amazon region, working on issues such as solar energy, primary health, and skills development. All Prosperity Fund programmes follow robust due diligence procedures and take a ‘do no harm’ approach as a minimum standard. The UK is working with indigenous communities across Brazil, including in the Amazon region. The UK supports the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) Early Movers programme, which helps indigenous communities to develop sustainable income sources and strengthen food security: 19,593 families have benefitted so far. Through Partnerships for Forests, the UK also supports almost 2,000 indigenous people to strengthen livelihoods through sustainable forest management. The UK Government is committed to promoting and defending the human rights of all individuals, including indigenous peoples.

To tackle poverty and advance our Global Britain objectives, DFID takes evidence-based spending decisions and maintains high standards of programme delivery that are consistent with HMG best practice.

The UK has a legal commitment to spend 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) each year on Official Development Assistance (ODA). This commitment is linked to GNI. HM Treasury allocates ODA budgets to departments and is responsible for decisions on changes to these allocations.

The government reviews the ODA funding it allocates to projects on a regular basis in order to ensure delivery of its commitment to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA.

Gavi and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI) co-chair the COVAX partnership to accelerate the development of and access to COVID-19 vaccines. The COVAX Facility will be a set of financing mechanisms managed under the COVAX partnership to support vaccine development and access. The UK funds Gavi and CEPI to use their extensive experience and relationships with developers, industry, international organisations and governments to drive collaboration and negotiate effective agreements to accelerate development and access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The UK has provided £48 million so far to the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for COVID-19 vaccines, part of the COVAX Facility. It builds on the success of the pneumococcal vaccine AMC. Gavi will negotiate fair pricing and supply volumes with companies for future COVID-19 vaccines for eligible countries.

The UK has provided £250 million to CEPI to accelerate development of COVID-19 vaccines. CEPI’s core equitable access policy guides terms for the partnerships it enters with vaccine developers and manufacturers.

DFID has not paused new recruitment during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The value of the CDC investments listed in answer to Parliamentary Question 40722 was $190 million at the time of submitting that answer. The value of investments fluctuates during the period over which they are held by CDC. As a result of the disruption caused by the current pandemic across global markets, market volatility is particularly high at present. The last available valuation for the above investments is $196 million.

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented disruption across the world from direct health impacts caused by the virus itself, and indirect effects caused by the response, including on economies, livelihoods and education. We have so far pledged up to £764 million of UK aid, tackling the spread of COVID-19 and mitigating both its primary and secondary impacts.

Funding decisions are taken on an ongoing basis. We are reviewing our programming to ensure UK aid is spent as effectively as possible to help the world’s poorest. DFID will continue to deliver projects directly related to tackling the coronavirus pandemic but also many projects related to other development issues.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) are key partners for DFID in our response to COVID-19 and we have pledged new funding specifically for CSOs to support our work to tackle the virus. This includes funding allocated through the Rapid Response Facility and significant funding through the DFID Unilever COVID-19 Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition. A new UK Aid Direct funding round has also been launched, some of which has been set aside for rapid access by existing UK Aid Direct grant holders who are able to respond immediately to COVID-19. In addition, International Non-Government Organisations will receive funding through multilateral organisations as downstream partners as part of the UK’s response. As DFID’s country network adapts programming to respond to COVID-19, country teams are considering how they can do this through partners, including through CSOs.

We are working flexibly with existing civil society partners to respond to the pandemic, maintain delivery of essential programmes and manage the impacts on organisations and staff. DFID is also offering support to all suppliers, including civil society, in line with the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants. This allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK, to DFID aid programmes as a last resort and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants. UK-based CSOs are also eligible for the Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

NGOs are fundamental parts of DFID’s work. Given DFID’s support for them runs so deeply through everything we do, there is no plan to create a specific fund.

The UK’s funding for WHO is based on our assessment of the organisation’s needs. The scale and timing of future core voluntary contributions will be considered as part of this assessment.

In the Caribbean, DFID works with Governments of the Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth Caribbean as well as regional organisations to strengthen hurricane preparedness. This includes: provision for rapid funding to finance regional disaster surge response through the Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, and the establishing of the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), an insurance mechanism which makes pay-outs to Caribbean national Governments when they are impacted by a disaster. In addition, humanitarian relief items have been pre-positioned in the region.

In Asia, DFID works with partner Governments - including countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar – to support existing preparedness operations, including for cyclone and monsoon seasons. For example, DFID funds the START Fund, which is set up to respond quickly to emerging crises like severe weather events and aims to preposition stocks and bolster existing crises mechanisms. In response to the recent cyclone Amphan, £800,000 was rapidly released to NGOs from START Fund Bangladesh to provide water, health, food, non-food items and shelter, as well as UN-led humanitarian Coordination.

In many countries with weak governance or ongoing conflict, COVID-19 risks raising social tensions, reducing respect for human rights and, in some contexts, may pose challenges to peace processes. Higher levels of instability create obstacles to an effective response, for example limiting humanitarian access, and may pose risks to UK national security.

DFID is committed to ensuring that, through all channels of support, our assistance reaches the most marginalized and vulnerable. We are taking steps to ensure that both our immediate responses to COVID-19 and long-term recovery efforts do not exacerbate conflict and instead help to build peace and improve governance. We are encouraging our implementing partners to demonstrate accountability, strengthen local owner- and leadership and adopt inclusive, conflict sensitive approaches. We are also working with partners, governments, media providers, civil society and local community and faith leaders to counter misinformation.

As pledged in our manifesto, this Government will continue to support international initiatives to achieve reconciliation, stability and justice across the world.

NGOs of all sizes are key policy and delivery partners for DFID and we are committed to working with the sector to meet the challenges posed by COVID-19. In country we estimate that around a quarter of existing DFID programmes are implemented directly through NGOs partners. Many NGOs will also receive funding as part of DFID’s significant investment in the multilateral response to COVID-19.

The Chancellor has set out the risk that the UK economy will face a significant recession this year. All government departments are working through how their plans will need to change in the light of this. DFID is no exception. The Government’s 0.7% GNI target is directly linked to the performance of the UK economy and we need to prepare for this by prioritising our lifesaving aid. No decision has been taken yet, but we are considering the full range of our work.

However, we expect NGOs will in many cases receive additional funding through new centrally-managed programmes and funding mechanisms: including through the Rapid Response Facility, a COVID-19 themed UK Aid Direct round, DFID’s new partnership with Unilever, the START Fund, and a possible contribution to a Disasters and Emergency Committee appeal.

Previous DFID support is already helping to make money transfers easier, by helping 65 million people in the poorest countries access digital financial services so they can receive funds – including from diaspora communities in the UK – via their mobile phones or online. DFID support is also helping to give 2 million more people access to digital remittance services so that they can send and receive money from home.

In the crisis, the UK Government has made it clear that in the UK people can continue to visit money transfer businesses should they need to, while observing social distancing and staying safe.

And as referenced in the question, the UK has launched – along with Switzerland, and with support from the World Bank and UN agencies – a global Call to Action on remittances, which calls on policymakers, regulators and remittance service providers round the world to take action to ensure that diaspora communities can continue to transfer money to their relatives during the crisis.

The UK has launched, along with Switzerland and with support from the World Bank and UN agencies, a global Call to Action on remittances, which calls on policymakers, regulators and remittance service providers round the world to take action to ensure that diaspora communities can continue to transfer money to their relatives during the crisis.

This Call to Action specifically calls on remittance service providers to explore measures such as reducing remittance transaction costs. We are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals target of reducing the global average costs of remittances to 3% by 2030, from the current level of around 6.8%.

The World Bank is conducting regular surveys of remittance costs in a number of corridors during the crisis. These surveys show that for most of the corridors surveyed that start in the UK, remittance costs are lower now than before the crisis.

Tackling climate change and building resilience remain priorities for the Government. Our international response to COVID-19 is focused on securing a strong global health response, accelerating the search for a vaccine and new treatments, and supporting the global economy. We believe that there is a connection between healthy lives, healthy societies and a healthy environment.

The steps taken to support and rebuild economies will have an impact on future sustainability, resilience and well-being. At the invitation of the United Nations Secretary General, the Prime Minister recently addressed other world leaders on ‘recovering better for sustainability,’ and as we prepare for COP26, the Government is urging the world to take the opportunity to make the recovery clean, inclusive and resilient.

The ODI Fellowship Scheme recruits and posts early career economists and statisticians of different nationalities to work as civil servants in developing country institutions for two-year placements. Approximately 80% of Overseas Development Institute fellows have been evacuated to their home countries. Seventeen remain at post, most of whom are engaged in supporting their host governments’ COVID-19 response. We are liaising closely with ODI on their plans to return fellows to post when it is safe to do so and to ensure the continuing safety of those remaining. Most fellows are working remotely and are continuing to support their host governments. We are working with ODI to ensure that fellows are able to operate effectively in these circumstances.

Ensuring 12 years of quality education for all children, especially girls, remains a UK priority. As the effects of the COVID-19 crisis play out, the socio-economic impact on girls has become increasingly clear, with the education of poor girls in particular being disproportionately affected.

The UK’s response to the pandemic entails mitigating short term risks by focussing on safety, nutrition, wellbeing and learning whilst schools are closed; and supporting countries to protect and maintain education budgets and work towards reopen schools safely in the longer term.

DFID is adapting its bilateral education programmes in 18 countries. The Global Partnership for Education, to which the UK is the largest donor, is flexing over £200 million to support education sector stability in response to the pandemic. We have also announced further funding to support emergency education in fragile contexts.

The first disbursements to recipients of this programme began in April 2019. In the financial year 2019/2020, 2,490 veterans and 3,229 widows of veterans were supported through the Commonwealth Veterans Programme. Disbursements are currently underway for this financial year (April 2020 to March 2021). To date, 1,815 veterans and 1,960 widows of veterans have received support. We do not track the number of households benefitting from this programme, because support is made on an individual basis.

It is estimated that there are just over 11,600 older people from Commonwealth or former Commonwealth countries who served in the British Armed Forces prior to their countries gaining independence. Of this number, it is known that around 6,200 are living in absolute poverty.

Through the Commonwealth Veteran’s Programme, DFID provides regular cash transfers to Commonwealth veterans and their widows and widowers in 29 countries to ensure they receive the equivalent of two healthy meals a day to prevent them from going hungry.

The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children. Addressing poor nutrition is also important in the face of COVID-19. We will continue to invest beyond 2020 in programmes to address malnutrition and to work closely with the Government of Japan to ensure the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit is a success.

Across the DFID country office network, we are adapting over one hundred existing health and humanitarian programmes, and close to two hundred existing social protection, economic, governance, conflict and other programmes, across 35 countries and regions relevant to the COVID-19 response. The flexing and adaptation of DFID programmes must consider numerous factors, ensuring that our strategy is tailored to the local context. There are no plans to publish internal guidance to country offices.

In addition, the UK has pledged £764 million to support efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible. We are taking decisive and co-ordinated action, guided by the WHO and based on science and evidence.

DFID supports international organisations and partnerships to develop new medical technologies for diseases affecting people in low-income countries, including COVID-19. These organisations and partnerships are committed to developing products that meet developing country needs and are affordable and accessible. They adopt a range of policies and partnership approaches to achieve this, which are relevant to contexts, stakeholders and challenges particular to different disease areas and product types.

We encourage dialogue across industry, international organisations and governments on how best to facilitate access to medicines, including through the use of TRIPS-compliant licensing models in developing countries. We encourage the use of non-exclusive voluntary licensing, the transfer of technology to developing countries and business model innovation.

The Government is committed to supporting access to COVID-19 medical technologies for developing countries, and we are working closely with international partners, including through the ACT-accelerator, to support this ambition. We have committed £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, £40 million to the?Wellcome?Therapeutics Accelerator and up to £23 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, to support equitable access to COVID-19 medical technologies.

Furthermore, we are ensuring that publicly funded work to find a vaccine in the UK supports global efforts. If the Oxford University trials are successful, AstraZeneca have said they will work with global partners on distributing a vaccine internationally, making it available to developing countries.

A performance evaluation of the ODI Fellowships Scheme will be completed by November 2020 and its conclusions will inform decisions on future funding.

The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments, including for low-income countries. The Secretary of State speaks regularly with international and multilateral organisations on these issues, including the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, the WHO Vaccines Special Envoy, Sir Andrew Witty, and the head of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Dr Seth Berkley, to name a few. Our officials also regularly speak with organisations leading the international response.

The UK is active in international collaboration and a leading funder for the COVID-19 global response. We co-led the Coronavirus Global Response Initiative event on 4 May, at which 7.4 billion Euros were pledged. The Prime Minister took part by video message, calling for global collaboration to rapidly develop a vaccine, ensuring availability for everyone who needs it. The UK supports the Action for COVID-19 Tools Accelerator. The UK's First Secretary of State participated in its launch by WHO on 24 April. We have committed over £313 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, supporting equitable access to COVID-19 medical technologies.

The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccines.?We need unprecedented global collaboration and resourcing to drive the speed and scale needed. That is why the Prime Minister joined G20 Leaders on 26 March and called on governments to work together to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it available to anyone who needs it.

The UK supports the Action for COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator launched by the World Health Organization on 24 April, which the UK's First Secretary of State participated in. The ACT Accelerator is a global call to action to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. On 4 May the Prime Minister joined world leaders at the Coronavirus Global Response Pledging Conference in calling for truly global collaboration in ensuring everyone around the world can access new coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests when they are developed.

We have committed £250 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations for the development of a coronavirus vaccine - the largest contribution of any country. This, alongside our £1.65 billion pledge to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, will support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests for people in the Global South.

The UK is at the forefront of global research focussed on the development of potential COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, and is already providing Official Development Assistance to key organisations central to the global response. The UK co-led a successful pledging event on 4 May that raised 7.4 billion Euros for COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and testing, and we are hosting the Global Vaccines Summit on 4 June.

We have committed over £313 million of UK aid towards research to develop potential vaccines through the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, for treatments through the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator, and for diagnostic tests through the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. In addition, on 29 April, we pledged a total of £1.65 billion over 5 years to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines. We will continue to review the need for further development assistance as the pandemic progresses.

We are helping countries that have not yet reached the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak to respond to COVID-19 by funding bilateral programmes and multilateral organisations, globally and in specific countries.

This includes (1) supporting governments of lower income countries to prevent, detect and respond to COVID-19, (2) providing medical supplies and equipment to health facilities, (3) raising public awareness on the importance of hygiene for preventing the spread of infection; and (4) increasing access to the tools that people need to follow this advice such as handwashing stations, hygiene products and drinking water.

To date, the UK has committed £744 million to support global efforts to tackle COVID-19. £276 million of this will support vulnerable countries to respond and to become more resilient to the impact of COVID-19.

The number of new reported cases of COVID-19 is increasing every day in almost all countries in receipt of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Data from the World Health Organization shows that the only ODA-eligible countries where the epidemic currently appears to be shrinking are: Belize, Dominica, Fiji, Namibia, Suriname, Timor-Leste, Eritrea, Mauritius, Montserrat, Cambodia, Laos. Most ODA eligible countries are therefore unlikely to have reached peak infections.

So far, the UK has pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible. This includes support to Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to model the future trajectory of the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries. This will help countries predict when they will reach their peaks, and to put in place measures to reduce their size.

To maximise DFID’s resources for our COVID-19 response we are: using HMG’s crisis reserve, adapting and scaling up existing programmes that respond to COVID-19, and reviewing programmes that can be slowed or paused to free up resources e.g. preparation for delayed international events or support for delayed elections. We will continue to closely monitor the scenarios and impacts of COVID-19 in vulnerable countries, to ensure the best possible use of 0.7 in our response to COVID-19 and HMG’s wider development priorities.

DFID along with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading on the UK Government’s international response to COVID-19. DFID is surging staff internally to support this effort as its priority.

57 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff have been moved into a new central team coordinating the overall COVID-19 response and a further 4 FTE staff have been surged into this team from across government. Delivery of the response itself is spread across the Department, with many staff across our International, Economic Development, Policy, Science and Research and geographical/corporate Divisions focusing on the immediate COVID-19 response and longer-term recovery.

DFID has loaned staff with specific skillsets to other government departments in support of their COVID-19 work. 9 FTE staff have been deployed to support other government departments at this time.

There are seven joint private offices across DFID, FCO and Defra: four offices are in the FCO at King Charles St, two offices in DFID at 22 Whitehall, and one office at Defra at 2 Marsham Street. Additionally, there are shared office spaces in DFID and the FCO for Ministers and private offices to use when away from their home location.

The UK is at the forefront of global efforts to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests, and is already strategically funding key organisations at the centre of the global response. We have committed over £313 million of UK aid to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics. This funding is alongside our investment in GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, worth an equivalent of £330 million a year for five years, which will support the development, manufacture and delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests for people around the world.

The UK has long supported affordable and equitable access to essential medicines and vaccines in the UK, and for people living in the Global South. We have committed £250 million of UK aid – the largest contribution of any country - to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to develop a portfolio of Covid-19 vaccines that, once available, will be available to all. CEPI works with a range of partners to support equitable access for products that it supports. The UK has further committed £40 million to the Wellcome Therapeutics Accelerator and £23 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), both of which are central to efforts to accelerate development and access to new treatments and tests.

The Secretary of State has had a range of discussions on this issue with G7 counterparts along with a range of global partners on access to Covid-19 vaccines, tests and treatments. We support global collaboration, joining efforts to ensure equitable access to potential COVID-19 vaccines, treatments and tests, including for the poorest countries.

DFID routes ODA funding for research into the development of vaccines and other medical tools to tackle COVID-19 through Product Development Partnership and other multilateral not for profit organisations. Besides having the best scientific expertise in their respective field, these funding platforms also have the legal and administrative expertise to ensure that, once developed, products are affordable and accessible to provide low and middle-income countries with the tools they need to tackle this disease in their country.

In many countries with weak governance or ongoing conflict, COVID-19 risks raising social tensions and posing a challenge to peace processes and respect for human rights. Higher levels of instability pose risks to UK national security and poses obstacles to an effective response, e.g. by limiting humanitarian access.

DFID is taking steps to ensure that both our immediate responses to COVID-19 and long-term recovery efforts do not exacerbate conflict and instead help to build peace and improve governance. As pledged in our manifesto, this government will continue to support international initiatives to achieve reconciliation, stability and justice across the world.

As such, there has never been a more important time to deliver our UK aid commitment and we have so far pledged £744 million of UK aid to help end this pandemic as quickly as possible.

The UK is also ensuring that those people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 can continue to receive humanitarian assistance during the pandemic. We are a key contributor to the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan, which is supporting the most vulnerable, including refugees, Internally Displaced Persons, migrants and host communities.

In low- and low-middle income settings, DFID recognises the need for social distancing to be developed and implemented in a context-sensitive way within the wider range of disease control measures. This will both increase adherence (therefore slowing spread of the disease) and minimise negative secondary impacts of these measures.

DFID is working with the World Health Organization and other international organisations, to build context-specific evidence on how social distancing measures can be of most overall benefit to low- and low-middle countries. This includes DFID funding research to model the impacts of disease control measures (including social distancing) on cases and deaths from COVID-19 in addition to indirect secondary impacts. This will help countries to make informed decisions on which interventions are likely to deliver the best outcomes for their populations.

DFID is developing a strong, coordinated, monitoring, evaluation and learning system around COVID-19, which includes risks associated with the role of security actors. The cross government COVID-19 Conflict, Security and Governance Hub has been established to monitor, analyse and support action on risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes governments enforcing lock-downs using the security services, with potential for exacerbating underlying instabilities. The hub is setting up a system to monitor risks such as these as part of a wider cross-country monitoring system. In addition, many DFID Country Offices are working with government counterparts to establish their own country-based monitoring systems and live ‘stability-trackers’.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) in the global south are key partners for DFID. Many of DFID’s programmes support local CSOs in order to deliver humanitarian and development outcomes, including providing humanitarian support to tackle the spread and consequences of COVID-19. As DFID’s programming adapts to respond to COVID-19, we are also considering what work needs to be adapted or paused as our partners are affected by the pandemic, either directly or in response to the risk.

DFID’s recent announcement of £200 million of funding to the global response, brings the total announced funding to £744 million to support the global efforts to combat the outbreak of the pandemic. This includes £20 million directly to CSOs to support them on humanitarian response, the majority of which will go through the Rapid Response Facility. It also includes £130 million for the UN agencies. CSOs based in the global south will be able to access some of this funding as downstream partners. We are encouraging the UN to channel the funding as quickly as possible, including to CSOs. Extra funding opportunities will also be available through DFID’s new partnership with Unilever to support hygiene practices in developing countries.

Much of DFID’s work is delivered through our extensive country office network and we know CSOs play a key role in delivery of our COVID-19 response through our country programmes. We are reviewing our programme portfolio in light of the COVID-19 response which will enable us to identify existing activities which can already support the response and others which can be adapted or scaled up, such as our support to health systems and humanitarian crises.

DFID is offering support to suppliers and partners where this is appropriate, and will apply the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants, which allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK to DFID aid programmes as a last resort, and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants.

DFID is actively monitoring the overall financial health of our supply partners to understand the impact of COVID-19 on our supplier base and delivery capacity.

We are offering support to suppliers and partners where this is appropriate, in line with the UK government position and will apply the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants, which allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK, to DFID aid programmes as a last resort and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants.

We have also assessed the Business Continuity Plans of our strategic supply partners and commissioned a weekly survey of 300 private sector and civil society suppliers to give us a heat map of impacts at programme, portfolio, and sector levels. Some supply partners are at greater risk, but it would not be appropriate to name specific organisations. We will consider financial data as part of our response to any request for supply partner relief.

There are seven joint Private Offices - four are in FCO at King Charles St, two are in DFID at 22 Whitehall, and one at DEFRA at 2 Marsham St. There are also shared offices in DFID and FCO where Private Offices can work.

Healthcare providers in CDC’s portfolio are undertaking numerous steps to support national governments in their efforts to respond to COVID-19. They are working with governments on requests for specific support such as designating isolation wards or units, equipping themselves with COVID-19 clinical practices and ensuring the safety and security of their staff.

CDC’s investments, both direct and intermediated via funds, into hospitals include: Asian Institute of Medical Sciences; Rainbow Hospitals; CARE; STS Holdings / Evercare Hospital, Dhaka; HCG Africa; Abraaj Admiralty; Metropolitan Hospital; Avenue Group; Nairobi Women's Hospital; Evercare Lahore; Rome; Sante; Vaatsalya; BSR Hospital; Vikram Hospitals; TMR International Hospital; Medecins de Nuit (MDN); Joint Medical Holdings; Medical Investments Limited (MIL); Professional Services Inc. (PSI); Gate Healthcare 1 Pak (Private) Limited; Avicenna Healthcare 1 Pak (Private) Limited.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public finances of low-income developing countries. During 2020, developing countries were projected to spend around $26 billion on servicing external debts to bilateral and multilateral creditors. In this time of crisis, it is vital that creditors work together to ensure that servicing debts does not prevent countries protecting their citizens and economies.

The UK, alongside the G20 and the Paris Club of official creditors, has committed to a temporary suspension of debt service repayments from the poorest countries. This official sector effort could provide up to $12 billion of additional fiscal space until the end of the year, allowing countries to redirect finances towards mitigating the health and economic impacts of COVID-19. This initiative provides time to assess what further assistance these countries may need.

The G20 has asked the Multilateral Development Banks to explore whether there are options for them to participate in a suspension of debt service payments over the same period as the G20 initiative, while maintaining their current credit ratings and low cost of funding, which are important for supporting their client countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic is the biggest threat we have faced in our lifetimes, and here in the UK and across the globe we are seeing the devastating impact of this virus. The UK is at the forefront of the international response, having so far pledged £744 million of UK aid.

In order to ensure we can divert sufficient resources to HMG’s COVID-19 response, DFID is reprioritising its planned spend and objectives for this financial year and beyond. This is both for our immediate COVID-19 response and to support longer-term recovery through rebuilding livelihoods, economies and health systems.

We will continue to work to deliver the 2019 Manifesto priorities, for example on girls’ education, and help vulnerable people, systems, and economies whilst prioritising the global COVID-19 response.

The UK has led the way in responding to the economic impact of coronavirus, producing a huge and unprecedented programme of support both for workers and for business in the UK and help to avert the global slowdown that the UN Conference on Trade and Development describes.

There has never been a more important time to deliver our UK aid commitment and we have so far pledged £744 million of UK aid to support the global efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes giving up to £150million to the International Monetary Fund’s Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust to support vulnerable economies. We also support the suspension of debt repayments from the poorest countries by G20 and Paris Club creditors.

We are helping to prevent the poorest countries from collapse by supporting their economies and access to skills and education. Economic disruption hits the world’s poor the most, and would deepen a global recession, making it harder for all of us to bounce back and prosper.

The Secretary of State for International Development and the Foreign Secretary are working closely together to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19.

The UK is using all available diplomatic channels, including its position in multilateral organisations, such as the UN, to ensure that international humanitarian law and global commitments regarding humanitarian access, and the protection of refugees and other vulnerable groups are maintained during this crisis.

The UK is also a key contributor to the UN’s Global Humanitarian Response Plan, which supports humanitarian access through securing the continuity of the supply chains for essential commodities and services, and supporting the most vulnerable, including refugees, internally displaced peoples, migrants and host communities.

To date, the UK has committed £744 million to support global efforts to combat COVID-19. This includes significant support to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to help National Societies meet the needs of people in hard to reach areas. DFID is also supporting governments and other partners to ensure that supply chains remain open and assistance is targeted to those who need it the most.

Responding to COVID-19 and Ebola present markedly different challenges. However, there are lessons from tackling Ebola that have relevance to other infectious disease outbreaks, including COVID-19. In particular, investment in research and development – especially in vaccines – has been vital in limiting the current Ebola epidemic. To tackle COVID-19, the UK has committed over £313 million into innovative research and development of vaccines, rapid diagnostics and promising therapeutics for coronavirus.

Other relevant lessons from combatting Ebola include the importance of:

(i) effective community engagement to promote local participation in a response

(ii) delivering a multi-sectoral response to address people’s broad needs

(iii) ensuring strong coordination across domestic, international and UN partners, and an empowered UN leadership from the onset.

We continue to apply what we have learned as we work to help end the pandemic and mitigate the health, humanitarian and economic impacts on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable.

Refugees and internally displaced people are amongst the most vulnerable to the COVID 19 pandemic. Many live in close quarters without access to proper healthcare or shelter, often in crowded camps where social distancing and regular handwashing are particularly difficult.

The UK is at the forefront of responding to refugee crises globally. Existing DFID programmes are already providing access to public health information, clean water, sanitation and health services for both displaced people and host communities. We are also working closely with all our international partners to coordinate a global response to COVID-19 that addresses the particular needs and vulnerabilities of displaced populations.

To date, we have committed £744 million in the international fight against COVID-19. Our most recent funding includes new support to the UN’s refugee agency and other partners to help install hand-washing stations and isolation and treatment centres in refugee camps, support vulnerable displaced families, provide protection and education services for forcibly displaced children, and increase access to clean water for displaced people living in areas of armed conflict.

The UK is at the forefront of the global response to COVID-19, through our diplomatic efforts and the provision of £744 million of UK aid to counter the health, humanitarian, and economic impacts. This will provide a safety net for the most vulnerable and support the poorest economies against collapse including in vulnerable middle income countries. The UK is using its significant investment and influence within the international system to leverage a strong and co-ordinated response globally and at the country level.

The UK is at the forefront of efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Our goal is to end the pandemic, save lives and start global economic recovery. At the G20 last month, the Prime Minister called on all governments to work together to develop a vaccine as quickly as possible and make it globally available.

The UK has committed over £313 million into innovative research and development of vaccines, rapid diagnostics and promising therapeutics for COVID-19. We are funding key international organisations such as Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance, to ensure safe, effective and affordable COVID-19 vaccines can be rolled out at scale to ensure equitable access.

The UK welcomes the Action for COVID-19 Tools (ACT)-Accelerator launched at WHO last week, a global collaboration to accelerate global access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. The First Secretary of State participated in this launch.

The UK Government is deeply concerned about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on low-income developing countries. In this time of crisis, it is vital that creditors work together to ensure that countries especially vulnerable to the pandemic are able to protect their citizens and economies.

The UK, alongside the G20 and the Paris Club of official creditors has committed to a temporary suspension of debt service repayments from the poorest countries.

The G20 has called on the private sector to participate and the UK is working with the Paris Club and Institute of International Finance, which represents nearly 450 financial services institutions from over 70 countries, to ensure a coordinated approach to comparable treatment.

We know that women and girls will be particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely to increase domestic violence, exacerbate the burden of care on women, and increase maternal mortality.

Southern women’s rights organisations (WROs) will be among the first responders on the front line and most likely to reach vulnerable women and girls. They are best placed to ensure the response is informed by the voices and needs of women.

DFID has therefore engaged directly with key women’s funds and women’s rights organisations to understand the impact on the ground and ensured their participation in wider civil society consultations. The United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence has shared conclusions of its rapid assessment from 122 women’s rights organisations.

This evidence is informing our response. This includes providing £10 million of UK aid to the United Nations Population Fund and £20 million to the UN Children’s Fund to scale up protection and support services for women and girls. We launched a call for proposals under our Rapid Response Facility which required all projects to mainstream gender, protection and safeguarding.

Consultation will continue as the situation evolves and as we move into recovery and response.

DFID has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and aid diversion. Our Smart Rules framework, including pre-disbursement due diligence checks, project monitoring requirements and risk management processes, is designed to ensure that we spend wisely in all our programmes, particularly those delivering in high risk environments. We work closely with our implementing partners to ensure that DFID funds, in line with the International Development Act, are directed only to the aid outcomes or recipients they are intended for, with effective safeguards in place to maximise value for money for the UK taxpayer.

The UK is at the forefront of the global response and has publicly committed up to £744 million of UK aid. Following agreements and disbursement schedules DFID has disbursed £132.5 million to date. This does not include substantial spend through existing programmes.

Due to a parliamentary system error, this PQ on East Africa Locusts remained unpublished. We have answered Question 15079 today.

Global commitments to nutrition made at the 2013 Nutrition For Growth Summit come to an end this year. Continued investment to prevent and treat malnutrition is important, particularly as countries face worsening levels of malnutrition in the face of COVID-19. The Secretary of State reiterates the importance of nutrition in her endorsement for the DFID-funded Global Nutrition Report, which will be published in May.

DFID is looking at options for the UK commitment now that both the Olympic pledging event and the main Nutrition for Growth Summit have been postponed. The UK remains committed to preventing and treating malnutrition as part of our commitment to end the preventable deaths of mothers, new-borns and children. We will provide an update on our plans in due course.

The Secretary of State for International Development last spoke to Henrietta H. Fore on 9 March 2020.

The Secretary of State has not yet met with Stephanie Draper, although she has corresponded with her twice since her appointment in February of this year. Baroness Sugg, who is the delegated lead for engagement with civil society, has had virtual meetings with Stephanie Draper several times recently, including on a one to one basis. The last time they met was today, as part of a Steering Group on civil society sector response on COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of building strong and resilient health systems to protect against health threats, achieve universal health coverage and ending the preventable deaths of mothers, new-born babies and children. We are supporting health systems to manage the primary and secondary impacts of the pandemic by flexing our funding and programming. This builds on our long-term investments to strengthen and scale up health systems through: technical assistance and financial support directly to countries; supporting the World Health Organisation, global health initiatives and other agencies to provide technical assistance and programmes; and funding research and new products that increase access and reduce prices for essential health commodities.

The Secretary of State and members of her Ministerial team have had a number of calls with the CDC Chair which have included CDC’s response to COVID-19. The primary line of communication between the Secretary of State and CDC is through the Chair of the board, and DFID Officials engage with CDC Management.

Department Officials are engaging closely with CDC Board and Management on its response to COVID-19. CDC is supporting its existing portfolio, including in the healthcare sector, to safeguard impact and help firms and their workforces weather the crisis. CDC is also looking to make new investments that can provide systemic liquidity to companies, especially Small Medium Enterprises, and at investments that can directly mitigate some of the adverse health impacts of COVID-19 by increasing access to healthcare and equipment. The latest updates on CDC’s response are available on its website (https://www.cdcgroup.com/covid-19).

DFID is engaging with supply partners to address the challenges posed to them and DFID-funded projects by COVID-19. We will work collaboratively with supply partners to find pragmatic solutions to support both our partners and continuation of our programmes where appropriate.

DFID is offering support to suppliers and partners where this is appropriate, in line with the UK government position and will apply the provisions of the Cabinet Office Procurement Policy Note and associated guidance for grants, which allows for relief on services and goods provided in the UK, to DFID aid programmes as a last resort and on a case-by-case basis for DFID contracts and grants.

Decisions on allocating funds through the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) are being made in relation to the wider DFID COVID-19 response. We will keep further funding under review as we do with all our humanitarian interventions. DFID is also adapting its programmes across its country network to respond to COVID-19 and has committed significant new funding through the multilateral system. We expect NGOs to play a key role in delivery through these channels. In addition, extra funding has been allocated to NGOs through the DFID Unilever COVID-19 Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition.

The Secretary of State for International Development last met with Dr Seth Berkley on Monday 27 April 2020.

The nature of the Covid-19 pandemic means that a number of factors continue to interact in ways that are difficult to predict with certainty. These include the duration and severity of the pandemic, the intensity and efficacy of containment efforts, the extent of supply chain disruptions, commodity price levels and many other uncertainties. As a result, DFID will be continuously assessing the economic impacts on an ongoing basis, working with our partners to understand the real-time challenges facing workers and farmers and supporting the most vulnerable through our response.

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s work is critical to the delivery of the UK’s objective to end preventable deaths, having helped save 13 million lives since its inception in 2000, and has a crucial role to play in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK remains deeply committed to supporting this work, including through the provision of significant funding to Gavi and hosting the Gavi replenishment at the Global Vaccine Summit 2020 on 4 June. The level of funding for Gavi’s next strategic period is currently being considered.

The UK is at the forefront of the international response to COVID-19, our £744 million commitment to tackling this pandemic makes us one of the largest donors globally.

The weakness of developing countries’ healthcare systems is one of the principal risks to the global spread of the virus. Countries experiencing conflict and humanitarian crises are those least able to cope. Vulnerable groups – including the elderly, people with disabilities, women and girls and displaced people – are particularly at risk.

We are already strengthening fragile health services in the world’s poorest countries by ensuring that our aid targets those who are most vulnerable, based on their needs. This includes supporting countries to integrate the needs of refugees and Internally Displaced People in their response to the crisis.

We are funding the UN’s Population Fund to support the most vulnerable women and girls and the International Committee of the Red -Cross to reach people in the most fragile regions of the world. UK aid is, for example, helping to install new hand-washing stations, isolation and treatment centres in refugee camps as well as increase access to clean water for those living in areas of armed conflict.

The Prime Minister has directed that work on the Integrated Review should now be formally paused across Whitehall. This is due to the pressing need to focus on COVID-19, which will, of course, have significant international implications. We will provide an update on timing once it is clearer how and when we will be able to resume full work on the Review.