Sarah Green

This government is committed to supporting UK artists, including emerging talent, to succeed and reach their full potential. We recognise that the success of our world-leading music industry relies on artists at every level receiving their fair share of the rewards, especially in the era of streaming.

That is why we convened the music industry through the Creator Remuneration Working Group over the past year to address concerns over low creator earnings. As part of this engagement, I met with representatives from across the music sector, including the Council of Music Makers, which advocates for musicians at every stage of their careers, as well as independent record labels, to discuss the challenges facing creators.

The outcome of the Working Group, published in August, is designed to deliver real benefits for UK creators, both through the principles created by the British Phonographic Industry, as well as individual commitments made by major labels. Together, these measures seek to support fair remuneration for the artists, songwriters, and session musicians that form the bedrock of the industry, as well as enhancing the growth of the overall UK music sector.

As part of this Government’s Industrial Strategy, our recently published Creative Industries Sector Plan introduced the new Music Growth Package of up to £30 million over three years from 2026; more than doubling funding for the grassroots music sector. This funding will support new artists with touring, performance, mentoring and export opportunities and ensure they have the resources and guidance to grow their careers, reach wider audiences, and sustain long-term artistic success.

The department has strengthened the requirements for the mathematics and English conditions of funding to ensure every eligible student is supported to make progress towards and, wherever possible, attain GCSE English by the end of their 16-19 study. This is backed by significant additional investment, including increases to the English and mathematics funding rate of 11% in 2025/26.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper includes a package of support for English, including new level 1 stepping stone English qualifications that support students with lower prior attainment for successful GCSE resits. It also pledges to improve the gathering and sharing of effective practice to support providers’ delivery of 16-19 English in the meantime and strengthens accountability measures to hold providers to account.

As a part of the public sector, further education (FE) colleges will be compensated for the increased employer National Insurance contributions. Details about this compensation will be announced in the future.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £300 million in 2025/26 for FE at the Autumn Budget 2024, to ensure young people are developing the skills they need to succeed. The department will set out in due course how this is distributed.

The government does not set pay or conditions within FE. This remains the responsibility of individual providers.

To boost the recruitment and retention of teachers, the department has extended targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early-career FE teachers in key subject areas.

The department knows that English and mathematics brings significant gains to all students, including children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by improving their employment prospects and access to qualifications at Level 3 and beyond. The mathematics and English condition of funding supports students who do not attain Level 2 English and mathematics qualifications at 16 by requiring them to continue to study these subjects as part of their 16-19 study programme or T Level. Where a student is not able to study GCSE or Functional Skills, they should be supported to achieve a stepping-stone qualification at an appropriate lower level. As the mathematics and English condition of funding is a study requirement, the focus is on supporting students to continue studying and learning these skills.

If a student wishes to re-take their Level 2 English and/or mathematics exam, they should do so when they and their institution think they are ready. The department will continue to assess the impacts of the condition of funding policy to understand where improvements can be made, including talking to lead sector bodies to understand the impacts on students with SEND. In parallel, the Curriculum and Assessment Review will look at ensuring all young people aged 16-19 have an excellent foundation in English and mathematics and how best to support 16 to 19 year olds who currently do not achieve a Level 2 qualification in these subjects by 16.

The department is making good progress with the review of qualifications reform. The review is focused on Level 3 qualifications that are due to have funding removed on 31 July 2025. The review will aim to ensure that there are a range of high quality qualifications at Level 3 alongside T Levels and A levels to meet the needs of learners and employers.

The department has an extensive programme of engagement underway, to ensure that the views of colleges, schools, teachers and wider stakeholders are fed into the review. The department has already held a round table, which was chaired by my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, with key leaders in the college sector. The department is also undertaking a series of focus groups and interviews with colleges, schools and other organisations to ensure that the views of stakeholders are fully considered. Alongside this, departmental officials are using the latest student data and information available to inform the review. The department remains committed to undertaking this review quickly and concluding it by the end of the year.

The department recognises the vital role that further education (FE) teachers and providers play in developing the skills needed to drive the government’s missions to improve opportunity and economic growth.

The government does not set or recommend pay in FE. The pay and conditions of FE staff remains the responsibility of individual colleges and providers who are free to implement pay arrangements in line with their local needs.

We are investing around an additional £600 million in FE across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. The department is also continuing to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the teaching workforce through the Taking Teaching Further programme.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced a Budget on 30 October to be followed by a multi-year spending review in the spring of next year. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events.

The previous Government carried out a consultation on extending Not-for-EU labelling requirements across Great Britain, including assessing the impacts on those businesses who export to the European Union but not to Northern Ireland. After reviewing that consultation, this Government has confirmed we will not introduce mandatory ‘not for EU’ labelling across Great Britain as proposed. This Government will continue to do everything required to support Northern Ireland's integral place in our internal market.

A consultation on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous Government.

The consultation sought views on options for the production standards behind the label, including the period of life which should be covered by the standards (for example whether slaughter should be included). We are now carefully considering all responses provided to the consultation before deciding on next steps.

The Government supports species reintroductions where there are clear benefits for nature, people and the environment. All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conservation Translocations. We will continue to work with Natural England to develop our approach to beaver reintroductions in England.

This is a devolved matter and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra is committed to protecting our nature-rich habitats, including peat bogs, and is looking at next steps regarding measures to ban horticultural peat. The Department will continue to work alongside the horticultural sector to accelerate progress on the peat free transition.

The validity period of the theory test certificate is two years. The cost of taking a theory test is £23.00. It is not possible to estimate the total sums paid by learner drivers for resitting their theory test because they have been unable to access a practical driving test before their previous certificate expired.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing everything it can to ensure that learners can access practical tests within that time, to prevent candidates from having to retake the theory test.

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a candidate’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.

Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the preparation of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Learners will therefore need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

The validity period of the theory test certificate is two years. The cost of taking a theory test is £23.00. It is not possible to estimate the total sums paid by learner drivers for resitting their theory test because they have been unable to access a practical driving test before their previous certificate expired.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) is doing everything it can to ensure that learners can access practical tests within that time, to prevent candidates from having to retake the theory test.

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place to ensure a candidate’s road safety knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.

Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the preparation of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Learners will therefore need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

Under the current guidelines Operator Licences are only required for domestic operators with vehicles over 3.5 tonnes. My Department is currently considering a range of reform options aiming to ensure that the Operator Licensing regime remains robust and effective.

Currently there are no plans to extend the domestic Operator Licensing regime to include vans with a maximum authorised mass of over 2,500kg and up to and including 3,500kg when those vehicles are undertaking hire or reward operations domestically within the UK.

The Department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of the current domestic regulatory requirements for vans with a maximum authorised mass between 2,500kg and 3,500kg operating for hire or reward on fair competition within the UK market.

Although these vehicles lie outside the UKs operator licensing framework if they are used solely domestically, operators of these vehicles are still required to keep them correctly taxed and insured and appropriately maintained, including annual MOT testing once the vehicle is more than three years old. Employers are also required to ensure that their drivers have the correct licences, that all loads carried are appropriately secured and that the relevant drivers’ hours rules are followed.

However, the Department recognises stakeholder concerns regarding the different regulatory requirements associated with light goods vehicles and heavy goods vehicles, and how this interacts with fair competition in the UK haulage industry. The Department continues to monitor developments in this sector.

The Department has not made a formal estimate of the potential revenue that could be generated from introducing operator licensing for vans with a maximum authorised mass between 2,500kg and 3,500kg operating for hire or reward domestically within the UK.

While operator licensing fees contribute to the costs associated with the administration and enforcement of the goods vehicle licensing regime, any future extension of the regime to smaller, lighter vehicles used solely domestically for hire and reward would require detailed financial modelling and consultation with stakeholders, as changes would almost certainly have a financial impact on businesses.

For government, whilst it is anticipated that making this change would see an increase in revenue, this would be offset by a rise in costs associated with developing the system, as well as compliance, monitoring and enforcement. However, this is something that the Department for Transport keeps under review.

In the Pathways to Work Green Paper we announced plans to launch a review of the PIP assessment, which I shall lead. To make sure we get this right, we will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details about the scope of the review as plans progress.

In the meantime, we also set out in the Green Paper that we are exploring ways to improve our communication with people receiving ongoing awards in PIP who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life. We are considering improvements to the information we provide when we write to people about an ongoing award decision, what support is offered to people receiving ongoing awards between ‘light touch’ reviews​ and looking at the length of time between ‘light touch’ reviews.

The Government have recently consulted on proposed reforms to manage all CMS cases in one service allowing the CMS to automatically identify missed, late and partial payments. This will provide greater protection from financial abuse. Responses to consultation are currently under consideration.

Income, including income from assets as well as earned income, needs to be declared to the UK tax authorities and subject to UK tax in order to be included in the maintenance calculation.

The Government is now considering next steps on the child maintenance service.

A principle of child maintenance is to increase levels of cooperation between separated parents and encourage parents to meet their responsibilities to provide their children with financial support. Where a family-based child maintenance arrangement is not suitable the Child Maintenance Service offers a statutory scheme for those parents who need it.

The Government is dedicated to ensuring parents meet their obligations to children and the Child Maintenance Service will do everything within its powers to make sure parents comply. Where parents fail to pay their child maintenance, the Service will not hesitate to use its enforcement powers, including deductions from earnings orders, removal of driving licences, disqualification from holding a passport, and committal to prison. The Service is committed to using these powers fairly and in the best interests of children and separated families.

Statistics on child maintenance arrangements and collections are part of the CMS quarterly statistics published on gov.uk in tables 4, 5 and 6 of the National Tables. The below information is from the latest publication for data up to March 2024.

• In the 12 months up to March 2024 the child maintenance service arranged £1.4 billion child maintenance, an increase from £1.2 billion during the previous 12 months.
• 61% of all CMS arrangements use Direct Pay, with 37% using Collect and Pay and just over one billion pounds was arranged through the Direct Pay service in the last 12 months (we do not measure the compliance of Paying Parents on the Direct Pay service).
• Since March 2023, the percentage of parents paying something towards their maintenance through collect & pay has increased to 69% from 65%.
• In the period April 2023 to March 2024 £316.8 million was arranged through the Collect & Pay service:

o £224.9 million was paid

o £91.9 million was unpaid

NHS England is currently producing new national guidance with sections on binge eating and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). NHS England has also developed training for primary care staff and others who come into contact with people with an eating disorder.

NHS England continues to work with eating disorder services and local commissioners to improve access to treatment for all children and young people with a suspected eating disorder, including those presenting with ARFID.

NHS England is currently producing new national guidance with sections on binge eating and avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). NHS England has also developed training for primary care staff and others who come into contact with people with an eating disorder.

NHS England continues to work with eating disorder services and local commissioners to improve access to treatment for all children and young people with a suspected eating disorder, including those presenting with ARFID.

The Government is carefully considering the work by the Patient Safety Commissioner and her report, which set out options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh. This is a complex issue involving input from different Government departments, including the Cabinet Office. The Government will provide a further update to the Patient Safety Commissioner’s report.

The Government consults with Community Pharmacy England on arrangements for remunerating and reimbursing community pharmacy contractors. Community Pharmacy England represents all pharmacies in England including independent pharmacies.

For 2025/26, funding for the core community pharmacy contractual framework has been increased to £3.073 billion. This represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. Any future contractual framework for community pharmacy will also be developed in consultation with Community Pharmacy England.

The Department has no plans to make an assessment on the adequacy of the application form for the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS), however the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), the administrator of the NHS LIS, is trialling a new online service available to those who meet certain criteria.

Incorrectly completing the NHS LIS application form does not result in a penalty for the applicant, but may lead to the result of their claim being delayed. Anyone who is entitled to help will be sent a HC2 certificate for full help with health costs or a HC3 certificate for limited help.

In 2024/25, the NHSBSA received a total of 375,625 applications for the LIS, and 121,428 of those applications are either pending for more information/further contact, or have been abandoned by the claimant.