Sam Tarry
Labour - Former Member for Ilford South
First elected: 12th December 2019
Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)
13 Former APPG memberships
Britain-Pakistan Trade and Tourism, Burma, Child Criminal Exploitation and Knife Crime, Crossrail, India, Kabaddi, Kashmir, Nepal, Night Time Economy, Rohingya, Rugby Union Football Club, Tamils, Youth EmploymentDivision Voting information
All Debates
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
(17 debate interactions)
Shadow Minister (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
(10 debate interactions)
(10 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(53 debate contributions)
(53 debate contributions)
(46 debate contributions)
(27 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(11,120 words contributed)
(2,858 words contributed)
(2,063 words contributed)
(1,163 words contributed)
Latest EDMs signed by Sam Tarry
Public ownership of water
Tabled by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)That this House condemns the mismanagement and underinvestment which led to untreated sewage being discharged into English waterways for more than 3.6 million hours in 2023; notes that water companies in England have incurred debts of more than £64 billion and paid out £78 billion in dividends since they were …
(Most recent: 23 May 2024)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 20
Independent: 8
Scottish National Party: 5
Plaid Cymru: 3
Green Party: 1
Workers Party of Britain: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and arms exports to Israel
Tabled by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)That this House expresses its deep concerns regarding the Israeli offensive on Rafah, which it believes will seriously worsen what is already one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises; reiterates its calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire; further expresses its frustration at the Government’s continued refusal to suspend …
(Most recent: 23 May 2024)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 11
Independent: 9
Scottish National Party: 4
Plaid Cymru: 3
Workers Party of Britain: 1
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 1
Green Party: 1
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Sam Tarry, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
Sam Tarry has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Sam Tarry has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
1 Bill introduced by Sam Tarry
A Bill to require Ofgem to amend the conditions of an electricity supply licence in relation to vulnerable customers; to require Ofgem to establish a fund for the purpose of rectifying dangerous electrical faults for vulnerable customers; to require energy supply companies to inform vulnerable customers about the services available to customers on the Priority Services Register; and for connected purposes.
Sam Tarry has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)1 Other Department Questions
The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ call for evidence closed on 30 November 2020 and the Commission aims to provide its full report to the Prime Minister shortly. The Commission also intends to publish the results of that call for evidence on gov.uk, following submission of its report.
Leader of HM Official Opposition
Chequers is not a government building; it is run and managed by an independent trust.
As has been the practice under successive Premiers, the incumbent Prime Minister uses Chequers consistent with the wishes of the donor, the late Sir Arthur Lee, who gave it to the nation for the use of the serving Prime Minister, for both official and private use. This is set out in the Chequers Estate Act 1917.
Details of official hospitality at Chequers are published on a quarterly basis and are available via gov.uk. Personal or party political hospitality is not paid for by the public purse.
Departments publish details of ministers' gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings on a quarterly basis. Cabinet Office returns include official hospitality provided by the Prime Minister, official No10 receptions and official hospitality at Chequers. More information can be found on GOV.UK.
In the majority of Government departments, at least 98% of staff earn a rate equivalent or greater than the 2021/22 Voluntary Living Wage (£11.05 if based in London, or £9.90 if based outside of London), as at 31 March 2022. In all departments the proportion is over 90%.
Table 1: Percentage of civil servants earning at or above the Voluntary Living Wage in March 2022 by Department
Departments (including agencies) | % at or above the VLW |
Attorney General’s Departments | 98.8% |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 99.6% |
Cabinet Office | 99.7% |
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 100.0% |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 99.9% |
Education | ≥99.9%¹ |
Transport | 92.5% |
Health and Social Care | 99.5% |
International Trade | ≥99.9%¹ |
Work and Pensions | 100.0% |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 99.5% |
HM Revenue and Customs | 100.0% |
HM Treasury | 99.5% |
Home Office | 98.6% |
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | 99.4% |
Defence | 96.3% |
Justice | 98.5% |
Other² | 99.1% |
Scottish Government | 100.0% |
Welsh Government | 100.0% |
¹ Exact figure suppressed due to low numbers
² Other includes staff in Government organisations not listed separately (CC, CMA, COD, ESTYN, FSA, HMLR, NCA, NIO, OFGEM, OFQUAL, OFSTED, OFWAT, ORR, SO, TNA, UKEF, UKSA, UKSC, WO)
Figures are based on the centrally held numbers and salaries of civil servants collected in the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey as at March 2022, and may differ from those provided by individual departments. Civil servants located outside the UK or with an unreported location (6,995) or without a reported hourly rate (an additional 150) have been excluded. Percentages are calculated on a headcount basis and rounded to the nearest percentage point, due to the rounding a very small number of employees in departments listed as 100% may earn below the Voluntary Living Wage.
The number of civil servants employed on zero hour contracts is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. Zero hours contracts are not the normal practice within the Civil Service. Departments may use them in very limited circumstances to help meet exceptional or fluctuating demands on the business.
The number of civil servants by department on a fixed-term contract of up to 12 months, including those on casual contracts, is published quarterly by Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their quarterly public sector employment statistics and is available at:
An extract of the relevant data published by ONS is presented at Table 1 below. Information on civil servants on contracts of more than 12 and less than 24 months are not held centrally as these employees are counted as permanent in the statistics, in line with official ONS public sector headcount methodology.
Civil servants are employed by departments and their agencies and not by employment agencies. However, information on the numbers of employment agency staff working at departments are published by individual departments each month for transparency purposes on their gov.uk departmental webpages as part of their Monthly Workforce Management Information.
Table 1: Civil servants on temporary/casual contracts [1] as at June 2022
Department | Headcount | Full-Time equivalent |
Attorney General’s departments | 200 | 190 |
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy | 70 | 70 |
Cabinet Office | 10 | 10 |
Other Cabinet Office agencies | 40 | 40 |
Charity Commission | 20 | 20 |
Competition and Markets Authority | 20 | 20 |
Defence | 20 | 20 |
Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | 50 | 50 |
Education | 210 | 200 |
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 210 | 200 |
Estyn | 0 | 0 |
Export Credits Guarantee Department | 10 | .. |
Food Standards Agency | 30 | 30 |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 60 | 60 |
Health and Social Care | 1,820 | 1,680 |
HM Land Registry | 10 | 10 |
HM Revenue and Customs | 560 | 550 |
HM Treasury | 30 | 30 |
Chancellor’s other departments | 0 | 0 |
Home Office | 1,220 | 880 |
International Trade | 0 | 0 |
Justice | 1,240 | 1,190 |
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities | 50 | 40 |
The National Archives | 20 | 20 |
National Crime Agency | 0 | 0 |
Northern Ireland Office | 0 | 0 |
Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills | 20 | 20 |
Office of Gas and Electricity Markets | 150 | 150 |
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation | 20 | 20 |
Office of Rail and Road | .. | .. |
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland | 0 | 0 |
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales | .. | .. |
Ofwat | 10 | 10 |
Transport | 580 | 550 |
UK Statistics Authority | 120 | 110 |
UK Supreme Court | 10 | 10 |
Work and Pensions | 3,520 | 3,450 |
Scottish Government | 1,940 | 1,450 |
Welsh Government | 30 | 30 |
TOTAL | 12,280 | 11,080 |
Temporary or casual employees are those with a fixed term contract of 12 months or less, or employed on a casual basis
Numbers are rounded to the nearest ten, and numbers less than five are represented by “..”. Data not available are represented by “-”.
Department totals include Executive Agencies, Ministerial and Non-Ministerial Departments
Source: Public Sector Employment Statistics, Office for National Statistics
Information on Special Adviser numbers and costs, including any severance payments, is published annually by the Cabinet Office in the Annual Report on Special Advisers, as per the requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The next planned publication of this data will cover the current financial year (1 April 2022 - 31 March 2023) and will be available next year, in accordance with our publication timetable.
My colleagues and I meet regularly with business leaders and chair several groups bringing together government and industry on strategic issues relating to net zero.
This includes the Net Zero Council, with members representing leading global businesses. The Council last met just a few weeks ago.
Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
31 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Sam Tarry's BEIS questions)The Government actively encourages businesses to treat workers fairly and in accordance with the law. The specific issues raised by the Honourable Member for Ilford South about UberEats and their drivers are internal matters of a private company on which I cannot comment.
An individual’s entitlement to employment rights such as the minimum wage are determined by their employment status (employee, limb (b) worker or self-employed). The Government recently published employment status guidance, making it easier for businesses to comply with existing regulations and for individuals to understand which employment protections apply to them.
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government actively encourages businesses to treat workers fairly and in accordance with the law. The specific issues raised by the Honourable Member for Ilford South about UberEats and their drivers are internal matters of a private company on which I cannot comment.
An individual’s entitlement to employment rights such as the minimum wage are determined by their employment status (employee, limb (b) worker or self-employed). The Government recently published employment status guidance, making it easier for businesses to comply with existing regulations and for individuals to understand which employment protections apply to them.
Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion on 28th September 2022 to Question 51588.
Ministers and officials meet with a wide range of taxi and private hire vehicle stakeholders, including Uber. These meetings provide an opportunity to hear the views of the sector. Details of ministerial meetings from 2009 have been published and are available online. Meetings with officials are not published.
Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
The automotive sector is an important part of the Government’s plans for green growth, levelling up across our country and driving emissions to net zero by 2050.
The Government is committed to making the UK the best location to manufacture zero emission vehicles of all types.
The UK is taking ambitious action through the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan and landmark Net Zero Strategy to reach net zero, while creating jobs and reinvigorating new industries.
At the same time, the Government will support developing countries to decarbonise. Those efforts are at the heart of the UK’s COP Presidency and COP26, that took place in November 2021.
The Government does not forecast estimates of the numbers of jobs associated with particular oil field developments as a matter of course, and this does not form part of the regulator’s decision-making processes.
The upstream oil and gas sector supports approximately 147,000 jobs both directly and in the supply chain. Many of these roles are highly skilled, providing quality employment for workers in locations right across the country and supporting many more local jobs.
Since 31 March 2021, the UK Government no longer provides any new direct financial or promotional support for the fossil fuel energy sector overseas, other than in limited circumstances, and is aligning its support to enable clean energy exports.
While the Government is working to drive down dependency for oil and gas, there will continue to be ongoing demand over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee. Given the maturity of the UK Continental Shelf, even with continued development, the UK is projected to remain a net importer out to 2050. The North Sea Transition Deal sets out a path for the UK to manage the transition away from fossil fuels, with a goal of achieving a net zero basin by this timeframe. Further, as announced earlier this year, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint for any new licences which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with its climate goals, including net zero.
The Government has committed to phasing out unabated coal generation in Great Britain by October 2024. Coal’s share of our electricity supply has already declined significantly in recent years – from almost 40% in 2012 to less than 2% in 2020.
The Government is committed to improving energy efficiency. We have recently committed £3.9 billion to decarbonising buildings over the next 3 years, taking our total investment to date during this parliament to almost £6.6bn
This will fund the next 3 years of investment through the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, the Home Upgrade Grant scheme, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Heat Networks Transformation Programme and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Alongside these schemes, the Government is already providing energy-efficiency upgrades such as insulation and low-carbon heating to around 50,000 homes through the Local Authority Delivery Scheme. Furthermore, the Energy Company Obligation scheme has installed 3.3 million measures in 2.3 million homes since 2013.
Through our first Net Zero Strategy, published 19 October 2021, we committed to grow green industries and supply chains in the UK, which will support up to 240,000 jobs by 2035, resulting in £10 billion additional GVA in the same timeframe.
Consumer protection law requires mandatory protection of consumer deposits in a number of sectors, and particularly in the travel industry. The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 ensure arrangements are made so travellers are refunded, or where applicable repatriated, should the organiser become insolvent.
In July 2020 the Government announced that passengers who accept refund credit notes for cancelled holidays as a result of COVID-19 will be protected by the ATOL scheme if necessary. If the CMA finds evidence that companies are failing to comply with the law, it will take appropriate enforcement action.
In July, the Government published a command paper, ‘Reforming Competition and Consumer Policy’ that sets out a range of proposals to enhance consumers’ rights, including with regard to consumer prepayments which in some cases count as deposits. The consultation closes on 1 October and can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-competition-and-consumer-policy.
The UK Government has legislative targets already in place covering the period 2023-2027 (carbon budget 4) and 2028-32 (carbon budget 5). In April, the Government laid legislation for the UK’s sixth carbon budget, proposing a world-leading target which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. This builds on the momentum of our Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, to reduce emissions in 2030 by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels.
The Government is funding a number of schemes as part of its commitment to retrofit homes to cut energy bills for households and to make them greener on the path to Net Zero.
The Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LAD), which supports projects to install energy efficiency measures such as various types of insulation, and low-carbon heating systems for low-income households, has already provided £500million to Local Authorities for upgrades to low-income households across England, and is being delivered up to December 2021. The London Borough of Redbridge has already been allocated £2.2 million of funding through the first phase of LAD, as well part of the £6.8 million of the Greater London Authority’s successful consortium-led bid in that phase.
On 16th June 2021, the Government launched the Sustainable Warmth Competition enabling Local Authorities to apply for further funding under the £200million Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 scheme and from an initial allocation of £150million for the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 1 scheme, for delivery up to March 2023.
In addition, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator has awarded £62million of funding to social landlords across England and Scotland to test innovative approaches to retrofitting at scale, seeing over 2300 social homes improved to at least EPC band C. The Government has announced around a further £160million for the first wave of the £3.8bn manifesto commitment in financial year 21/22, delivering up to March 2023.
The Government announced in the Sustainable Warmth Strategy a four-year, £4 billion successor scheme to ECO, to accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets. ECO will continue to be an obligation on suppliers.
In order to meet our Net Zero by 2050 target, we must act now to tackle the emissions produced by heating. in order to ensure continued progress, we have set a series of legally binding “carbon budgets”, which are amongst the most stringent climate targets in the world.
The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, setting out the interventions required to meet our ambitious carbon budget targets, with a particular focus on carbon budgets 4 and 5. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.
We will also publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy. This will raise ambition as we outline our path to meet net zero by 2050, our Carbon Budgets and Nationally Determined Contribution.
From Step 3 which took place on 17 May, indoor areas of hospitality venues reopened. Venues are prohibited from providing smoking equipment such as shisha pipes, for use on the premises.
The Government’s COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 set out that the Government aims to reopen the remaining closed settings by Step 4. We have always said that we would be led by data, not dates. We have looked at the data very closely and assessed it against the four tests. It is on the basis of worsening data that we have taken the difficult call not to proceed with Step 4 reopening at this point, but to pause for four weeks until 19 July.
Help to Grow: Digital is seeking to encourage small businesses to adopt software which will help them save time, money and grow.
Further detail covering the software the voucher can be used on and how vendors eligible for the scheme can apply will be published prior to the Autumn launch date.
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Construction workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining vital infrastructure, and providing and maintaining safe, decent homes for people to live in. Throughout the pandemic, the Government has been clear that construction activity should continue, where it can take place safely.
The Government has worked with the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, construction firms, and other stakeholders to develop guidance on safer working on construction sites. This is available at:
The construction industry has also developed Site and Branch Operating Procedures for firms and merchants, as well as guidance for small firms and mineral products suppliers. These provide advice as to how construction firms can apply the Government guidance on safer working.
The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme which supports energy efficiency and low carbon heat projects for low-income households is being delivered in three phases:
- Phase 1A; over £74million was allocated to 55 Local Authorities in October 2020 to be delivered by June 2021.
- Phase 1B: around £126million has been allocated to 81 Local Authorities for delivery by September 2021.
- Phase 2: funding of £300m has been allocated to the five Local Energy Hubs, who will work with Local Authorities in their region to deliver projects by December 2021.
BEIS estimates the LAD Scheme will support on average 8,000 jobs per annum over the years 2020/21 and 2021/22.
The Government is aware of the challenges, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that medical research charities are currently facing. We appreciate the globally recognised expertise of these charities, and the substantial contributions they make to our world-leading life sciences sector.
BEIS and DHSC regularly discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on charity-funded research with the Association of Medical Research Charities. We are continuing to engage with them and receive intelligence on the impacts facing the sector, such as the challenges facing fundraising activities.
The Government already provides significant funding to charities’ research, for example through Research England’s Quality Related (QR) charity support funding. This year charity QR will amount to £204m, to support charity funded research in universities in England and equivalent support is provided in Scotland through devolved funding arrangements.
The Government has demonstrated its ambitions for research by committing £14.6bn to R&D in 2021/22. This funding will support the life sciences sector within which Medical Research Charities operate alongside other research areas.
All BEIS consultations and Departmental responses can be found on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/search/policy-papers-and-consultations?parent=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&content_store_document_type%5B%5D=closed_consultations&organisations%5B%5D=department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy&order=updated-newest.
The 2018 National Security and Investment White Paper consultation indicated that the proposed legislative reforms would extend to the wider economy and not be limited to specific types of company.
The National Security and Investment Bill will be brought forward in due course.
The Government conducted a comprehensive review of the Hinkley Point C project in 2016. The conclusions of the review were set out in a statement made by the then Secretary of State on 15th September 2016, Official Report, Column 1066.
For reasons of national security, I am unable to publish the security assessments produced to support the 2016 review. However, all investment involving critical infrastructure is subject to thorough scrutiny and needs to satisfy our robust legal, regulatory, and national security requirements.
WHSmith’s restructuring programme is not expected to impact Post Office services provided in the 206 Post Offices operated within WHSmith stores.
The restructuring programme review of WHSmith’s operations is to ensure the company is able to navigate the current uncertain economic times, particularly as a result of the decline in travel during Covid-19. However, the Department has an open dialogue with both Post Office Limited and WHSmith and will keep monitoring the situation closely.
As of 16 August, 60,409 facilities have been offered through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS), worth a total of £13.68bn.
Restrictions on dividend payments have been in place since the introduction of the scheme on 20 April. Businesses taking out a loan through the scheme could continue making dividend payments, but could not increase the size of those payments for as long as any facility under CLBILS remained outstanding.
When the scheme was amended on 26 May to increase the maximum loan size to £200m, further restrictions on dividend payments were introduced for companies borrowing more than £50m. The new restrictions meant that borrowers seeking loans of over £50m could not make any dividend payments (other than those that have already been declared) until the facility had been repaid in full.
Shareholder dividends are listed in companies’ annual reports and are available through Companies House records.
The Government has supported millions of firms over the course of the crisis to date, helping them protect jobs and stay in operation, ready to form part of the recovery.
We are aware that many companies have taken on substantial amounts of debt during the pandemic. Some of these companies have never taken on debt before and will need support to manage their debts and repayments. We are aware of external proposals by think tanks and other bodies to support companies to recapitalise and we regularly consider a variety of policy ideas to identify the best way to support businesses through and beyond the pandemic.
Eligibility for the RHLGF was based on businesses being in scope of the Expanded Retail Discount Scheme for Business Rates, as set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/business-rates-retail-discount-guidance.
This eligibility definition was agreed as a way of ensuring that Local Authorities could target businesses at pace and ensure that the process of disbursing funding could proceed quickly.
The Department for Transport is monitoring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the coach industry. Ministers and officials have met with the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and considered an assessment provided by the CPT on the impact of COVID-19 on the coach industry.
Baroness Vere of Norbiton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport, hosted a roundtable with the CPT and coach operators on the 15 July, and on 13 August spoke with the CPT’s CEO to discuss wider issues facing the coach sector. Department for Transport officials continue to meet with the CPT regularly to discuss a range of issues including the challenges facing the coach industry.
UK Government Ministers and officials have been open to engaging with all devolved administrations following the UK Internal White Paper publication on 16 July, with discussions held before and after receipt of the devolved administration’s consultation responses. Further discussions are planned at Ministerial and official-level with all three devolved administrations as the legislative Consent Motion process is engaged following the Bill's introduction.
The last published Companies House statistics show that were a total of 6,902,173 directorships as of March 2019. Directorships are not the number of unique directors on the register, but the number of directorships appointed. Some individuals will have more than one appointment so the actual number of people who are directors will be lower than this figure.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The criteria for awarding new franchises?is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.? I have therefore asked?Nick Read,?the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon. Member on this matter. A copy of?his?reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The number and location of Post Office franchises awarded to ZCO Ltd ?is an operational matter for Post Office Limited.? I have therefore asked?Nick Read,?the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon. Member on this matter. A copy of?his?reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The use of online tracking technology is regulated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). This legislation sets rules in relation to organisations’ use of cookies, tracking pixels and similar technologies that track information about people accessing a website or other electronic services. It also requires organisations to give people clear and comprehensive information about the use of tracking technologies, and a choice about whether or not they are applied on devices.
The ICO is the independent regulator for PECR and the UK GDPR and has produced guidance for organisations on the use of tracking technologies. It is currently conducting an investigation into use of personal data by the ad-tech industry and will publish its final findings, once the investigation is concluded. Further information can be found on the ICO’s website.
People who have privacy concerns in respect of the use of their personal data by any organisation can contact the ICO for further advice or to make a complaint. The ICO can be contacted by telephone on 0303 123 1113 and through their live chat facility. Further contact details are on the ICO’s website. The ICO has a number of tools to take action against those who breach the legislation. For example, it can require organisations to address unlawful practices and impose civil monetary penalties.
The welfare and safety of everybody taking part in sport is of paramount importance. I welcome the work of The FA and other sports organisations in increasing access to first aid equipment and education.
Sport England, our arm’s length body for community sport, has funded UK Coaching’s free course for first responders to help them understand how to respond and act quickly to a sudden cardiac arrest:
https://www.ukcoaching.org/resources/topics/tips/sudden-cardiac-arrest-tips-to-help-you-be-prepared
Events at both UEFA EURO 2020 earlier this year and more recently at Newcastle United have demonstrated the immense value of access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and first aid training for anyone involved in sport. Sports have a responsibility to make the safety and welfare of players their top priority, including through access to life-saving first aid equipment and relevant training and education.
At the grassroots level, all capital funding awards for sports venues made by Sport England, the Government’s arm’s length body for community sport, must include AED provision if it is not already available.
For football facilities, support over recent years has been provided by The Football Association (The FA) and the British Heart Foundation to help ensure AEDs are available. In June 2021 I welcomed the Premier League’s announcement of their new Defibrillator Fund, which will fund AEDs at thousands of football clubs and facilities across the country. Each grant recipient will be required to have at least one person successfully complete The FA Education Sudden Cardiac Arrest free online course. Sport England is working with the Football Foundation in support of the Premier League initiative to put £3 million into providing AED equipment for grassroots football clubs.
The Defibrillator Fund will see AEDs provided to Football Foundation funded facilities which currently are without a device onsite. A second phase of the project will allow grassroots clubs that own their facilities to apply for funding for a defibrillator.
Online abuse of any kind is unacceptable. Racist abuse and other hateful content has no place in an open and tolerant society.
We are taking groundbreaking steps to hold companies accountable. Under new online safety laws, all companies in scope of the framework will need to take swift and effective action against criminal online abuse - including abuse which takes place anonymously. Major platforms will also need to address legal but harmful content for adults. Priority categories of legal but harmful content for adults will be set out in secondary legislation and these are likely to include some forms of online abuse.
Users will also be better able to report abuse, and should expect to receive an appropriate response from the platform. This might include the removal of harmful content, sanctions against offending users, or changing processes and policies to better protect users. If a company fails in these duties, it could face an investigation and enforcement action from the regulator, Ofcom, including large fines.
The draft Online Safety Bill, which will give effect to the regulatory framework, has now been published for pre-legislative scrutiny. It is for Parliament to determine how and when the Bill will be scrutinised, which the government hopes will be soon.
Sports and physical activity are incredibly important for our physical and mental health, and are a vital weapon against coronavirus.
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. The £300m Sports Survival Package also aims to protect the immediate futures of major spectator sports in England.
Sport England has also provided £220million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic, via a range of funds including their £35million Community Emergency Fund. This includes £6,599,437 investment in cricket to 1,362 projects.
On 26 January Sport England also published their strategy ‘Uniting the Movement’ and as part of this have committed an extra £50million to help grassroots sports clubs and organisations affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.
I am not aware of discussions between my predecessor and the National Archives specifically relating to the document entitled, FCO 37/3978 Involvement of UK companies training Sri Lankan security forces, 1985 during 2016.
Shadow Minister (Health and Social Care)
The department regularly engages with BT and others across the telecoms industry on a variety of issues, including the government’s ambitions for nationwide gigabit capable broadband and 5G mobile coverage. Despite recent speculation in the media, BT is not subject to a takeover bid at the current time.
Ministers and officials have regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of stakeholders on a variety of issues. Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website. It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing commercial matter.
The government is committed to delivering an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product compatible with Islamic finance principles as soon as possible. To support the delivery of an ASF product to date, the government has taken new powers in the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 to enable the Secretary of State to provide alternative payments, in addition to grants and loans. We have further carried out work with specialist advisers, the Islamic Finance Council UK, on the design of an ASF model.
As set out in the answer of 25 July 2022 to Question 37600, the government is introducing the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE), which will significantly change the ways students can access learning and financial support.
Work is underway to assess how we can ultimately deliver an ASF product alongside the LLE. We are procuring advice from experts in Islamic finance and will be working with the Student Loans Company to better understand timescales for delivery of an ASF product.
In our response to the LLE consultation, published on 7 March 2023, we set out our aim that students will be able to access an ASF as part of the LLE as soon as possible after 2025.
Schools are now required to teach first aid as part of statutory health education. In this subject, pupils are taught how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services, administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.
To support teachers to deliver this topic the department published a first aid teacher training module, which was produced with expert input from St John Ambulance and Resuscitation Council UK. This module is freely available on GOV.UK.
We do not expect teachers to provide first aid training to pupils unless they are qualified to do so. Many schools use organisations such as St John Ambulance, the British Heart Foundation and the British Red Cross to support delivery of the topic.
Ofsted will inspect the delivery of relationships, sex and health education in schools as part of the personal development category. The department plans to monitor delivery of the subjects, including measuring teacher confidence to teach the statutory subjects.
Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the department has acted swiftly to help minimise the impact on pupils’ education and provided extensive support for schools.
Whilst we believe that exams are the fairest way of judging students’ performance, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak meant we could not guarantee all students would be in a position to fairly sit their exams either in 2020 or 2021. Teachers were best placed to determine grades for GCSE, AS and A level qualifications in the absence of exams, as they have a good understanding of their students’ performance.
Given that some students have suffered more disruption than others, students were only assessed on the content they had been taught. Teachers were able to use evidence from across the duration of a student’s course to determine their grade.
Parents and pupils can have confidence in the grades awarded this summer. Supported by thorough guidance and a robust quality assurance process, the department trusted teachers’ judgements as they were best placed to understand the content students have covered and their students’ performance. Further to this, an appeals system was also in place as a safety net to fix any genuine errors that were not identified earlier on, and the Joint Council for Qualifications published detailed guidance to centres setting out the process for appealing results.
The department also encouraged schools and colleges to support students to take autumn exams if they have the capacity. In addition, we helped schools and colleges to offer autumn exams to students by assisting with additional space and invigilators where required, as well as covering fee deficits to ensure that exam fees are not passed on.
For those students who need support in catching up on lost education, we have announced education recovery funding of nearly £5 billion. Our latest investment of £1.8 billion is targeted at those we know will need it most, delivering a universal uplift of hours for those with the least time left in education, in 16-19 colleges and an additional £1 billion to extend the recovery premium for disadvantaged pupils for the next two academic years.