Robert Neill

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) imposes reciprocal obligations on the Parties to the Agreement. The TCA also includes some provisions – common in international agreements of this kind – which impose specific obligations on a particular Party.

There is no general non-discrimination provision applicable to all current and future EU Member States in the TCA.

The TCA does not prohibit either the UK or EU from entering into future agreements with each other. Article COMPROV.2 of the TCA includes information on how to treat future UK-EU agreements. The UK and EU Member States are free to make bilateral agreements with each other in principle. However, whether the EU Member States can enter into an agreement with the UK depends on the subject matter and the competence position under EU law.

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) imposes reciprocal obligations on the Parties to the Agreement. The TCA also includes some provisions – common in international agreements of this kind – which impose specific obligations on a particular Party.

There is no general non-discrimination provision applicable to all current and future EU Member States in the TCA.

The TCA does not prohibit either the UK or EU from entering into future agreements with each other. Article COMPROV.2 of the TCA includes information on how to treat future UK-EU agreements. The UK and EU Member States are free to make bilateral agreements with each other in principle. However, whether the EU Member States can enter into an agreement with the UK depends on the subject matter and the competence position under EU law.

While UK performing artists are still able to tour and perform in the EU, being outside the European Union means practical changes on both sides of the Channel that will require understanding and adaptation. We recognise this, and that is why we are working urgently across government to ensure guidance is clear, up to date and accessible for the performing arts sector travelling to the EU.

To date, we have published guidance on GOV.UK, signposting to official information provided by EU countries about their business travel routes. We will continue to enhance guidance for businesses to support travel for work purposes under our new trading relationship with the European Union, and we will publish business traveller summaries for each Member State in April. We are also developing sector specific “landing pages” for GOV.UK.

We will imminently be engaging with EU Member States to improve their guidance, specifically around their entry and work permit requirements, to ensure this is as clear and accessible as possible. Where there are issues around the clarity of Member States’ immigration rules, we will also raise these with the European Commission.

And through the DCMS-led Working Group, we are working closely with sector bodies - several of whom have already produced excellent guidance in this area - to help distil and clarify the new rules further.

The Government recognises the world-leading position of the UK performing arts sector and the rich breadth of artistic talent across the UK.

Leaving the EU has always meant that there would be changes to how creative professionals operate in the EU. UK performing artists are still able to tour and perform in the EU. However, we understand the concerns about the new arrangements and we are committed to supporting the sectors as they get to grips with the changes to systems and processes.

We are now working urgently across government and in collaboration with the performing arts and wider creative industries, including through the DCMS-led working group, on plans to support the creative sectors tour in Europe. This includes producing new guidance to help artists understand what's required in different countries, and looking carefully at proposals for a new Export Office that could provide further practical help.

This government recognises the importance of our world leading creative and cultural industries. That is why the UK took an ambitious approach during negotiations that would have ensured that touring musicians, performers and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU. Regrettably, our proposals were rejected by the EU, but our door remains open if the EU wants to reconsider its position.

A bespoke visa waiver agreement with the EU would require the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to be renegotiated. The TCA is the basis of our trading relations with the EU, and this is not going to be renegotiated.

The Commission would be likely to argue that any EU-wide visa waiver agreement can only be part of a wider package with a binding non-discrimination clause and a reciprocal visa waiver agreement covering all current and future Member States. This was what the Commission proposed in the negotiations and would be incompatible with our manifesto commitment to retain control of our borders.

It should also be noted that while the EU has visa-waiver deals with some other third countries, this does not bind Member States and many continue to apply visas on paid activity, while some Member States offer the same waiver regime to those with whom they don’t have deals.

However, we will imminently be engaging with Member States to improve their guidance around their entry and work requirements. DCMS is working closely with the FCDO and other government departments on an engagement strategy with EU Member States, and DCMS Ministers will speak to our Heads of Missions in EU countries shortly. Should Member States be willing to change their rules to match the UK’s significantly more generous arrangements for touring professionals, then we will have those discussions and encourage them to do so.

This government recognises the importance of our world leading creative and cultural industries. That is why the UK took an ambitious approach during negotiations that would have ensured that touring musicians, performers and their support staff did not need work-permits to perform in the EU. Regrettably, our proposals were rejected by the EU, but our door remains open if the EU wants to reconsider its position.

A bespoke visa waiver agreement with the EU would require the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) to be renegotiated. The TCA is the basis of our trading relations with the EU, and this is not going to be renegotiated.

The Commission would be likely to argue that any EU-wide visa waiver agreement can only be part of a wider package with a binding non-discrimination clause and a reciprocal visa waiver agreement covering all current and future Member States. This was what the Commission proposed in the negotiations and would be incompatible with our manifesto commitment to retain control of our borders.

It should also be noted that while the EU has visa-waiver deals with some other third countries, this does not bind Member States and many continue to apply visas on paid activity, while some Member States offer the same waiver regime to those with whom they don’t have deals.

However, we will imminently be engaging with Member States to improve their guidance around their entry and work requirements. DCMS is working closely with the FCDO and other government departments on an engagement strategy with EU Member States, and DCMS Ministers will speak to our Heads of Missions in EU countries shortly. Should Member States be willing to change their rules to match the UK’s significantly more generous arrangements for touring professionals, then we will have those discussions and encourage them to do so.

Getting children and young people back into education, with settings devoting time to supporting wellbeing, will play a fundamental part in supporting children and young people’s mental health. The return to school will allow social interaction with peers, carers and teachers, which benefits wellbeing. The department has now published detailed plans?for all children and young people to return to full-time education from September. The guidance for schools is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

We have been working hard to ensure that all pupils and learners will return to a full high-quality education programme in September. Our £1 billion Covid catch-up package, with £650 million shared across schools over the 2020-21 academic year, will support education settings to put the right catch-up and pastoral support in place. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/billion-pound-covid-catch-up-plan-to-tackle-impact-of-lost-teaching-time.

As pupils return to school, staff need to be equipped to understand that some children and young people may be experiencing feelings in such as anxiety, stress or low mood as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and that these are normal responses to an abnormal situation. Our Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools Advice includes information about what to look for in terms of underlying mental health issues, linked to the graduated response and the support that might be suitable. More information is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2.

From September, the Government is investing £8 million to launch the new Wellbeing for Education Return training programme, which will provide schools and colleges all over England with the knowledge and practical skills they need to support teachers, students and parents, to help improve how they respond to the emotional impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This is additional to?longer term work to improve support, including?the?new?mental health support teams that we are rolling out?across the country,?linked to schools and colleges. More information is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/8m-programme-to-boost-pupil-and-teacher-wellbeing.

The department in collaboration with Public Health England and NHS England, delivered two webinars in July to provide further mental health support. The first webinar was for schools and colleges?to support?teachers in?promoting?and supporting?the?mental wellbeing?of children and young people?during the COVID-19 outbreak.?The second event was for?stakeholders?across the local system?to?support?strengthening of local partnerships?to?further?support?children and young people’s mental health as they return to school. We had around 10,000 sign up to the first webinar and around 1,300 to the second, and they are now available online for wider use.

We continue to working in partnership across education, health, the voluntary sector and local authorities to ensure that children and young people, parents and carers, and the professionals supporting them:

• can access good-quality resources
• are confident in supporting children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing (as well as their own) and

• ensure access to specialist services when they’re needed.

Access to mental health support is more important than ever during the COVID-19 outbreak. NHS mental services remain open. All NHS mental health trusts are providing 24/7 open access telephone lines to support people of all ages. The Government has also provided over £9 million to mental health charities to ensure they can continue to support people experiencing mental health challenges throughout the outbreak.

The Government has taken 32 specific measures to deal with the shortage of HGV drivers. These include the Large Goods Vehicle Driver apprenticeship standard with a funding band of £7,000 and the Urban Driver apprenticeship with a funding band of £5,000. The Government has also extended its £3,000 incentive payment for every apprentice a business hires to 31 January 2022.

The Department for Education is investing £34 million in skills bootcamps to train just over 11,000 more people to become HGV drivers. An additional 1,000 people are expected to be trained through the Government’s adult education budget.

The Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentre Plus are supporting an HGV driver training pilot scheme. Jobcentre Plus is also able to make Flexible Support Fund grants available to those who are unemployed or are in receipt of Universal Credit. It can be used to help those that hold an HGV licence but need to renew their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC).

The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services union has led to delays for customers. Throughout the pandemic DVLA has also been working with a significantly reduced number of staff on site to ensure social distancing in line with Welsh Government requirements. The current increased demand for the DVLA’s services has also contributed to delays with paper applications.

Paper driving licence applications are currently taking between six and ten weeks to process. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example if medical investigations are needed. The latest information on turnaround times for paper driving licence applications can be found here.

The DVLA continues to explore opportunities to reduce turnaround times and has introduced new online services and recruited additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to accommodate more staff to work predominantly on drivers’ medical casework and queries. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.

Throughout the pandemic the DVLA’s contact centre has actively managed its operation and flexed the services for customers in line with the available resources. This has included procuring the use of an additional building to increase the number of staff able to take calls within the social distancing guidelines. Remote working has been increased with staff handling email, webchat, social media and more recently telephone customer contacts.

To help stop the spread of coronavirus, routine driving tests have been suspended in all areas of England, Scotland and Wales.

In England and Wales, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) will respond to requests for driving tests from organisations on behalf of frontline mobile emergency workers, who require a driving licence to carry out duties in their employment role. This service is restricted to candidates working in health and social care, and public bodies providing a service in the national interest. The DVSA will contact eligible organisations.

Approved driving instructors and trainers can return to work only for the purpose of supporting a mobile emergency worker with a booked test.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has a range of services available online offering quick and easy ways of transacting. The DVLA’s online services have worked well and as normal throughout the pandemic. Over 36 million online driver and vehicle transactions have been processed since March with nearly two million driving licences issued.

The DVLA’s 6,000 staff are largely based at a single site in Swansea and to adhere to Welsh social distancing requirements the number of staff onsite has been greatly reduced. This has impacted on the time taken to process applications sent by post as these have to be dealt with in person.

The DVLA has reconfigured its accommodation to maximise staff numbers whilst meeting the requirement in Wales to maintain the two-metre social distancing and ensure it remains Covid secure.

Additionally, drivers with a licence that expires between 1 February and 31 December 2020 have been given an automatic extension from the date of expiry. This means they will not need to renew their entitlement to drive until 11 months after the original expiry date.

The DVLA has also accelerated the development of additional online services to further reduce paper applications and supported their take up through a publicity campaign.

The Government has and will continue to prioritise investment into the National Health Service. We worked closely with NHS leadership to agree £3.3 billion per year of new funding for the NHS in England at the autumn statement. This is on top of the historic funding settlement that the NHS received at the last spending review.

The work of the Long Term Workforce Plan will be used to inform future Government work on how to best meet the needs of patients and the NHS workforce. Funding plans will be subject to business and financial planning and investment decisions once the work has been completed. Funding plans beyond the current Spending Review period will be subject to the outcome of future Spending Reviews.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has been developed jointly by NHS England and Health Education England (HEE), reflecting their close working relationship irrespective of the merger. The merger builds on cooperation and joint working between HEE and NHS England and will help ensure that the merged organisation performs its functions as effectively as possible, including on the implementation of the Long-Term Workforce Plan.

The Department will continue to monitor and track the performance of the new NHS England through the NHS England mandate.

A copy of the Terms of Reference for the joint NHS England and Health Education England Diagnostic Workforce Board is attached. There is an imaging workforce sub-group of this board.

Individual members of the Diagnostic Workforce Board have had an opportunity to feed into the development of the Long Term Workforce Plan for the National Health Service at appropriate stages and in the capacity of their roles. In line with the Terms of Reference, the board will have a role in supporting implementation of the workforce plan.

The Government has committed to publishing the long term workforce plan this year. Further information on governance arrangements will be set out in due course.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan has been developed jointly by NHS England and Health Education England (HEE), reflecting their close working relationship irrespective of the merger. The merger builds on cooperation and joint working between HEE and NHS England and will help ensure that the merged organisation performs its functions as effectively as possible, including on the implementation of the Long-Term Workforce Plan.

The Department will continue to monitor and track the performance of the new NHS England through the NHS England mandate.

Under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, over 21,000 people have already been brought from Afghanistan to the UK, including judges and legal professionals. We continue to work with likeminded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan to support safe passage for eligible Afghans.

The UK was concerned by the recent outbreak of violence and looting in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which sadly resulted in loss of life, injuries, and substantial damage to buildings and businesses. We welcome the South African Government's determination to restore calm and strongly support President Ramaphosa's emphasis on the importance of the rule of law. Our High Commission remains in regular contact with the South African authorities. As a long-standing friend of South Africa, the UK will continue to partner closely with the South African Government, business and civil society on a shared agenda of security, health, economic and social issues.

The UK was concerned by the recent outbreak of violence and looting in the South African provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, which sadly resulted in loss of life, injuries, and substantial damage to buildings and businesses. We welcome the South African Government's determination to restore calm and strongly support President Ramaphosa's emphasis on the importance of the rule of law. Our High Commission remains in regular contact with the South African authorities. As a long-standing friend of South Africa, the UK will continue to partner closely with the South African Government, business and civil society on a shared agenda of security, health, economic and social issues.

On 24 June The Prime Minister expressed his concern at increased tensions between China and India. We welcome recent progress between India and China to manage tensions along their disputed border and the commitment on 5 July by Indian and Chinese Special Representatives on 'the Boundary Question' to disengage troops along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalate the border areas. We encourage both sides to maintain dialogue and continue to monitor the situation closely.

On 24 June the Prime Minister expressed his concern at increased tensions between China and India. We welcome recent progress between India and China to manage tensions along their disputed border and the commitment on 5 July by Indian and Chinese Special Representatives on 'the Boundary Question' to disengage troops along the Line of Actual Control and de-escalate the border areas. We encourage both sides to maintain dialogue and continue to monitor the situation closely.

Extensive guidance is already available on gov.uk for applicants and caseworkers.

There are no plans to publish any further at the current time.

Visitor applicant guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa

Permitted paid engagement applicant guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/permitted-paid-engagement-visa

Visitor caseworker guidance, including for permitted paid engagements, is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visit-guidance

Frontier worker applicant guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/frontier-worker-permit

Frontier worker caseworker guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/frontier-worker-permit-scheme-caseworker-guidance

Longer term engagements are covered by our work routes. Further guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas

We are working with the insurance industry to address the challenges experienced by leaseholders facing increasing building insurance costs.

Ministers continue to press insurers to take a proportionate approach to pricing insurance.

This information is not held by the Department.

The Government's funding covers all reasonable costs directly related to the remediation of unsafe cladding systems which may include legal fees involved with managing an application and a remediation project. This would be paid out together with other costs associated with the remediation project.

As a condition of funding, we require that all Government funding received, including for legal costs, are to be paid into an account which is for the benefit of leaseholders. This means that the funding can only be used for the remediation project, with no eligible project costs being passed onto leaseholders.

The Government acknowledges that remediation of unsafe cladding is complex and each individual project will vary in their journey through the funding application process. Detailed information on the Building Safety Fund application process and estimated timelines can be found in the Building Safety Fund application guidance available at: www.gov.uk/guidance/remediation-of-non-acm-buildings#building-safety-fund-application-process

The November 2020 Spending Review set out the main strategic elements of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in a Heads of Terms. Further details will be set out in a UK-wide Investment Framework to be published later this year and funding profile for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will be set at the next Spending Review. The UK Government is providing an additional £220 million funding through the UK Community Renewal Fund to help local areas prepare for the launch of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022.

Whenever new functionality is developed for Common Platform, it goes through several stages of testing. For significant changes, we ensure the functionality is tested by the main groups of users who are most impacted by the system, and rigorously test it in early adopter courts to ensure it is suitable for use in a live court environment.

A handful of solicitors were invited to test the new functionality for the digitalisation of the Pre-Trial Preparation and Better Case Management forms late last year. The feedback provided gave valuable insight into the usability of the forms by practitioners.

Now that we are planning the next phase of implementation, where barristers are a critical user group, we are enhancing their role in our implementation approach. In addition to the existing opportunities they have to provide their input on design, we plan on providing opportunities for barristers to join sessions to test the system and we will be issuing further communications to raise awareness on that approach soon.

We will be undertaking user acceptance testing with defence advocates, including barristers, as we did in November 2022 before moving the Preparation for Effective Trials and Better Case Management forms to a digital format.

HMCTS is accountable to, and regularly engages with, the Lord Chancellor on Common Platform. The Lord Chancellor sees court reform as a top departmental priority, and is fully committed to engaging with the legal profession on all the department’s priorities, including Common Platform. He is looking forward to meeting with representatives of the Criminal Bar Association in mid-July to discuss the priorities that they wish to engage on.

Throughout the rollout of Common Platform, we have engaged extensively with the defence community on the wider reform landscape and the design of Common Platform functionality. We have done this through a range of formal engagement groups with representatives from the defence community. The feedback we have received has been extremely valuable and provided a wealth of information that has been fed into our designs. Defence practitioner input is particularly important for informing the next phase of implementation which will bring significant changes and improved functionality for the judiciary, counsel, and other parties in the Crown Court.

Phase 1 of Common Platform was not designed for the use of Crown Court judges or barristers. It replaces the systems used by HMCTS staff in the Crown and magistrates’ courts and is used by magistrates’ court users to view case materials.

Phase 2 of Common Platform will introduce new functionality that will enable Crown Court cases to be handled on Common Platform. Until then the Crown Court Digital Case System (DCS) continues to be the single document repository for Crown Court Cases. Barristers are expected to continue accessing the information they need from DCS and do not need to access Common Platform other than to check into a case when arriving at the hearing.

Having worked with defence practitioners throughout the design stage of the programme, we were aware that once Crown Court cases are fully managed on Common Platform, there is a requirement for barristers to be able to give access to cases to other barristers, at short notice and at unsociable hours. This requirement was intended to be met when other Phase 2 functionality is introduced.

The absence of this flexibility in Phase 1 does mean that if a case changes hands at short notice, counsel attending the hearing may not be able to check into the case, and a process has been put in place for court staff to complete the check-in on their behalf in this scenario.

In early April 2023 we learned that, despite all the above, the inability to reassign cases was causing issues for barristers.

Now that we are aware of the issue, the functionality to enable greater flexibility has been reprioritised and will be delivered sooner than planned. The development teams are analysing this change now and we should soon be able to provide a time estimate for its release.

We are grateful that this issue was raised with us, and welcome further feedback to improve the Common Platform for all our users.

We are already live in 67 Crown Courts with 10 remaining, and we have learnt and adjusted our approach in the ways of working with the Judiciary and CJS partners. To date 369,447 cases have been accepted onto the Common Platform, and 521,812 hearings have been managed on Common Platform in the Crown Court.

We recognise introducing a new digital system and business processes is challenging and we are working with Judiciary and CJS partners to embed the changes.

Common Platform has been designed for its users, incorporating their experiences and feedback at every stage. Experienced staff and Judges have been directly involved throughout the design, testing and implementation of Common Platform. Their knowledge and expertise have been instrumental in developing the system.

We have a Defence Practitioners Working Group and a Judicial Working Group who have been closely involved in the design of the functionality and how it will be used. We started with discussions about what requirements users have, then mocked these up into visual images for validation with our users, and to ensure we’ve correctly interpreted their requirements. Once the designs are finalised, the functionality is developed. As soon as functionality has been developed, we have arranged demonstrations for users. We are now organising User Acceptance Testing and training, as well as opportunities for users to come and see the new functionality in order to get an idea of the look and feel of it. We are also planning to bring some pieces of functionality to early adopter courts before rolling out wider. Once new functionality has been implemented, we have a robust feedback process in place to ensure any issues are identified and resolved quickly.

Feedback from Common Platform users is important for us to make implementation as smooth as possible. We have a newly established feedback process to capture concerns and suggestions from staff and this has improved the way we manage feedback and keep them directly updated on how it is being used, through a range of measures. These include a new digital form, monthly feedback webinars, and allocating senior sponsors to all regions to act as independent escalation points.

The Government has made a landmark change to the law on divorce with the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. We are working to implement it so that the legal process for divorce does not incentivise conflict. By making an applicant or applicants’ statement conclusive evidence of the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership, we are removing the need to establish conduct or separation-based facts and for the drafting of supporting particulars.

We want to encourage positive, non-confrontational approaches to resolving problems before they reach the courts. This includes separating parents who are in conflict. In December 2020, we issued a statement on behalf of the Family Justice Board that sets out our immediate and longer-term reform priorities for the family justice system. This includes testing an earlier gateway to court to offer families a more rounded assessment of the needs of children and their families, and an improved offer for non-adversarial problem solving. This Government is committed to ensuring couples and parents can navigate the family justice system and understand the different options available to resolve their disputes, including out-of-court options such as mediation where they are safe and appropriate.