Sarah Owen

Bullying and harassment have no place in Parliament. The Independent Complaints and Grievance Scheme was established in July 2018 and covers all members of the parliamentary community, including MPs. There have been two independent reviews of the ICGS since its establishment – the 6-month review and the 18-month review. Alison Stanley carried out both reviews, the more recent one concluding in February 2021. Alison Stanley noted in her report in February that there has been much progress on the implementation of the scheme since the 6-month review, but there are still improvements to be made, particularly around the time taken for investigations to conclude. Her review contained 36 recommendations which, when implemented together, will make a significant difference to those who use the scheme.

The ICGS team has already made progress towards implementing these recommendations in important areas such as speeding up investigations, streamlining the ICGS process, smarter policies and processes, improved accessibility and stronger communications.

All ICGS cases against MPs are investigated by members of a pool of independent investigators contracted to work with the House Service, overseen by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, who is herself independent and impartial. The Commissioner reviews the investigator’s final report, the accompanying evidence and the investigator’s recommendation. If the Commissioner finds that rules have been breached, she can require an apology to the House or, if she feels the sanctions available to her are not sufficient, can refer to the Independent Expert Panel.

The Independent Expert Panel was established in June 2020; its members were appointed on 25 November following fair and open competition. The Panel is entirely independent, with no MPs taking part in its decisions or able to influence them. It hears appeals and decides sanctions in ICGS cases where complaints of bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct have been brought against MPs. Sanctions could include the suspension or expulsion of an MP, which would then require a vote in the House. To date, it has published four reports on the conduct of MPs.

The Investment COP 2021 ​is an official side event of COP26 which offers a forum for business and investment-driven solutions to climate change.

Though the UK COP26 Presidency does not manage the Investment COP, we look forward to showcasing leading green businesses in UK Government managed spaces at COP26. I continue to encourage all businesses to join the Race to Zero, which requires businesses to set net zero targets by 2050 and have credible action plans to get there. There is an SME Climate Hub to help support SMEs to join the Race to Zero, which businesses and organisations in Luton North can visit here.

As we have said throughout the pandemic, we keep our measures under constant review.

The Department of Health and Social Care confirmed that from 15 February anyone travelling to the UK from a country on the UK’s travel ban list will be required to quarantine in a government-approved facility for a period of 10 days. Full guidance for England is here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/booking-and-staying-in-a-quarantine-hotel-when-you-arrive-in-england

These actions provide further layers of protection to manage the risk of imported infections and protect our NHS while national lockdown and vaccinations take effect.

This Government is committed to realising the ambition set out in the Strategy for our Veterans of making the United Kingdom the best country in the world to be a veteran. There is a wide range of support available to veterans from central and local Government, the NHS and the third sector covering physical and mental health, housing, employment and finance, all underpinned by the Armed Forces Covenant. The Government is committed to continuing to improve this support and the 2020 Armed Forces Covenant Report sets out the progress we have made in doing so including the introduction of improved mental health services, a Veterans Railcard, a forthcoming national insurance break for employers and by making it easier for veterans to join the Civil Service. In addition over the last 12 months the Government has provided additional support through an additional £10m in the Budget and nearly £6m for the COVID 19 Impact Fund. Veterans in Luton North and across the country will benefit from this.

Information is accessible on the honours recipients page on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website: https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/culture-and-community/civic-participation/honours-recipients/latest

The Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. Data on gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation is collected by asking recipients to complete a diversity survey. A summary of this data is published alongside each New Year and Queen’s Birthday Honours List and can be found at www.gov.uk/honours/honours-lists.

A breakdown of ethnicities of honours recipients is also published twice a year on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website. The declared ethnicity data for recipients included on the New Year Honours List 2021 will be published in due course.. Overall the most recent honours list saw 14.2% of recipients declaring a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background - the highest ever.

Honours recipients can choose to report their own ethnicity using the 2011 Census categories. Data is published for the following five aggregated ethnic groups because the number of honours recipients is small and the data is provided anonymously:

• Asian

• Black

• Mixed

• White

• Other

Roughly around 10% of recipients do not provide any diversity information when accepting their honour.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. Data on gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation is collected by asking recipients to complete a diversity survey. A summary of this data is published alongside each New Year and Queen’s Birthday Honours List and can be found at www.gov.uk/honours/honours-lists.

A breakdown of ethnicities of honours recipients is also published twice a year on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website. The declared ethnicity data for recipients included on the New Year Honours List 2021 will be published in due course.. Overall the most recent honours list saw 14.2% of recipients declaring a Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic background - the highest ever.

Honours recipients can choose to report their own ethnicity using the 2011 Census categories. Data is published for the following five aggregated ethnic groups because the number of honours recipients is small and the data is provided anonymously:

• Asian

• Black

• Mixed

• White

• Other

Roughly around 10% of recipients do not provide any diversity information when accepting their honour.

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

In 2020, the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme received 58,138 applications. As of 18 January 2021, 9,054 vouchers have been rejected as they did not meet the scheme criteria.

Aerospace companies have been able to access the Government’s extensive Covid-19 business support measures, such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. In addition, the aerospace industry and its aviation customers are being supported with around £9 billion made available through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development, loan guarantees and support to exporters.

The Vaccine Taskforce is a unit within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy consisting of around 200 staff. The steering group of the Vaccines Taskforce meets virtually 3 times weekly. This has been the case since May 2020.

The Vaccine Taskforce is a unit within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy consisting of around 200 staff. The Department would not usually publish minutes of individual internal meetings that are deemed commercially sensitive and whilst Government policy is being developed.

The Nuclear Sector Deal, jointly authored by the Government and industry and published in June 2018, indicated that the nuclear sector contributes on average £12.4 billion to the UK economy each year, with each UK civil nuclear worker adding an average £96,600 in Gross Value Added (GVA).

Throughout the pandemic, inspectors from the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) have continued to travel to the Hinkley Point C site to conduct urgent and essential regulatory inspections. These are to ensure that both the normal stringent health and safety requirements, and the COVID-19 social distancing measures, are being properly followed.

The ONR’s Chief Inspector has assured the Department that he is satisfied that EDF’s measures at the site are robust and comprehensive, and that they are being implemented and enforced appropriately.

The Government is supporting efforts to rapidly develop a coronavirus vaccine as soon as possible. This includes reviewing regulations and scaling up manufacturing, so that when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in large quantities. To date the UK government has secured early access to 340 million vaccines doses through agreements with six separate vaccine developers. This includes agreements with University of Oxford’s vaccine being developed with AstraZeneca and agreements with BioNTech/Pfizer alliance, Valneva, Novavax, Janssen and GSK/Sanofi Pasteur.

The Government has also taken action to ensure the country’s vaccine manufacturing capabilities are scaled up, so that if a vaccine is found to be effective it can be made available to the public as quickly as possible. The Government has announced a £93 million investment to open the UK’s first dedicated Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation Centre, and an additional £38 million for a virtual centre of existing capability, in order to begin manufacturing at scale in the near future.

Ministers and officials have regular engagement with a large number of businesses, representative organisations, and trade unions, including those from the Exhibition and Events sector, specifically for the purposes of COVID-19.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations on a quarterly basis, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.

Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland, the national charities, will receive additional funding from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) fund announced on 8 April. Both conduct vital work to support individuals manage the covid-19 outbreak, particularly by helping them find appropriate support. The additional funding will reflect this.

On 20 May, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced that £200 million from the VCSE fund will be allocated for local charities to be administered by the National Lottery Community Fund. As local Citizens Advice are all individual charities, and not funded by central government, they will have the opportunity to apply to that funding pot where they meet the objectives.

My Department is in regular contact with Her Majesty’s Treasury to closely assess the impact of the Government’s interventions to stop the spread of COVID-19 on the events industry.

Events businesses can continue to make use of the Government’s comprehensive support package. This includes the various loan schemes, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, and the Job Retention Scheme.

We are also offering affected businesses generous terms for the repayment of deferred taxes and government-backed loans, as well as extending the application window of the government-backed loan schemes.

We continue to engage with stakeholders, through the Visitor Economy Working Group and the Events Industry Senior Leaders Advisory Panel, to closely monitor the situation facing events businesses.

Outdoor events organised by businesses, charitable organisations, and public bodies are currently permitted provided event organisers follow all relevant Covid-19 Secure guidance, organisers and attendees adhere to all legal requirements - including only allowing groups of 6 people and following any additional local interventions - and that the event does not pose a risk to public health.

Guidance developed by the Events Industry Forum in collaboration with DCMS outlines the Covid-secure measures that a Local Authority should assess have been put in place by event organisers.

Local Authorities can also consult the Government’s Covid-19 Secure guidance for a range of other indoor and outdoor events, including business events, cultural performances and sporting events.

Local authorities should avoid issuing licenses for events that could lead to larger gatherings forming and provide advice to businesses on how to manage events of this type. Local authorities have the power to prohibit, restrict or impose requirements on events at any time in response to any public health concerns.

The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health. As set out in the '16 to 19 Study Programmes: Guide for Providers', on-site education should be the norm for the majority of the 16-19 curriculum. However, remote or online learning can add value for some students and courses where it is underpinned by a clear educational rationale and forms part of a clear strategy.

In making decisions concerning the use of remote and online delivery, providers should give particular consideration on how best to support vulnerable and disadvantaged students and students with special educational needs and disabilities and mitigate effects on their mental health and wellbeing. Providers should also be considerate of the wider socio-economic and well-being implications of remote and online learning.

In all circumstances, quality should be the key criteria for determining use of remote and online learning.

The department realises that many students and staff members will be feeling uncertain and anxious at this time. Further education providers should identify young people who may need additional support and engage with them and their representatives to understand their needs, and ensure they have appropriate mental health and wellbeing support in place. To provide support, the government remains committed to its joint green paper delivery with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England, which is establishing Mental Health Support Teams, covering an estimated £3 million children and young people by 2023, and providing senior mental health led training to all state schools and colleges by 2025. As part of this commitment, from this autumn, we will offer 7,800 schools and colleges in England grants to train a senior mental health lead in their setting, which is being backed by £9.5 million.

To qualify for home fee status in England, a person must have settled status or a recognised connection to the UK. This includes persons who are covered by the EU Withdrawal Agreement, have long residence in this country or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office. There are also requirements associated with ordinary residence in the UK. Subject to meeting the normal eligibility requirements, Hong Kong British Nationals (Overseas) (BN(O)) status holders will be able to qualify for home fee status once they have acquired settled status in the UK.

Universities are autonomous institutions and are responsible for setting their own fees within the limits of regulations. As such, we would generally expect universities to treat Hong Kong BN(O)s with settled status the same as any other student with settled status.

Officials continue to engage with the Cabinet Office and other government departments on entitlements for Hong Kong BN(O)s and the support that individual departments can offer.

The Prevent strategy is designed to safeguard and support vulnerable people to prevent them from being drawn into terrorism. Prevent does not target specific faiths or ethnic groups, or children - it deals with all forms of extremism.

The Department trusts teachers and other staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a Prevent referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding concerns. Teachers are subject to professional requirements to safeguard pupil wellbeing, whilst understanding, and acting within, statutory frameworks such as the Equality Act 2010.

Through teacher referrals, local authorities can ensure that support is obtained for children and young people who may be being exploited by radicalising influences. A referral allows for a multi-agency safeguarding assessment to be conducted, where all referrals are carefully assessed based on the specific details of the case. If a vulnerable individual is found to not be at risk of radicalisation, the case is immediately closed to Prevent. In these instances, they may be referred to other appropriate safeguarding services so that they can receive the support they need, or no further action may be taken.

Through Prevent training, the Department is equipping frontline professionals with the skills and knowledge to safeguard vulnerable individuals from radicalisation. There is specific e-learning available to ensure that when a referral is made, it is robust, informed and with good intention, and that the response to that concern is considered, and proportionate. This e-learning is available at: https://www.elearning.prevent.homeoffice.gov.uk/prevent_referrals/01-welcome.html.

The Government is committed to assessing the effectiveness of the Prevent strategy, which is why an independent review of Prevent is being carried out. The reviewer will be able to consider criticisms and complaints of the current approach, as well as how best to improve the UK’s strategy to support people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism.

I refer the hon. Member for Luton North to the answer I gave on 9 June 2021 to Question 10312.

The department has consulted in two stages on proposals for the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3, which includes Applied General Qualifications (AGQs). The review aims to ensure that students and employers have confidence that every qualification on offer is high quality and can lead to skilled employment or further study. The second stage consultation proposed that there should be a range of qualifications alongside A levels and T Levels in areas where those qualifications can demonstrate their necessity and meet new quality criteria.

The impact assessment published alongside the second stage of consultation stated that the changes will generally be positive because students will have access to higher quality qualifications in future, including new T Levels. This will put them in a stronger position to progress to further study or skilled employment. AGQs were included in the impact assessment, but the impact assessment did not separate out the impact of removing these qualifications from wider changes to the qualification offer.

We are considering the feedback to the consultation carefully and will shortly publish a full response, including an updated impact assessment.

The Department works closely with networks of Government funded Prevent practitioners. This includes Prevent Education Officers, which are employed by local authorities in priority areas, and regional coordinators who support further education colleges and universities.

When required, the Department seeks feedback on specific issues or areas of guidance from a range of stakeholders, such as volunteers identified by practitioners and partner organisations.

The Department also has a public facing helpline for providers if they are concerned about extremism or would like further advice. Further information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-extremism-in-schools-and-childrens-services/preventing-extremism-in-the-education-and-childrens-services-sectors.

The Government is committed to assessing the effectiveness of the Prevent strategy, which is why it is carrying out an independent review of Prevent. William Shawcross was appointed on 26 January 2021 as the new independent reviewer. The review will look at how effective the statutory Prevent duty is, including through engagement with the education sector, and will make recommendations for the future.

Prevent is about safeguarding people who are at risk of radicalisation. Prevent does not target a specific faith or ethnic group; it deals with all forms of extremism.

Protecting pupils from the risk of radicalisation forms part of schools wider safeguarding duties, alongside protecting children from other harms, such as drugs, criminal and sexual exploitation. As with other forms of safeguarding, the aim is to protect and meet the needs of any vulnerable child.

The Department trusts teachers and other school staff to exercise their professional judgment about whether a referral is appropriate, as they do for all other safeguarding risks. Schools and colleges must follow the public sector Equality Duty and must ensure equal treatment of children from all backgrounds.

The Government is committed to assessing the effectiveness of the strategy and are carrying out an independent review of Prevent. William Shawcross was appointed on 26 January 2021 as the new Independent Reviewer, and the review will look at how effective the statutory Prevent Duty is and will make recommendations for the future.

The government is clear that the Prevent Duty should not be used to suppress free speech. It requires providers, when exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. There is no prescription from the government, or the Office for Students (OfS), in regard to what action providers should take once they have had due regard. The legislation imposing the Prevent duty in relation to higher education specifically requires that providers must have particular regard to their duty to ensure freedom of speech and to the importance of academic freedom.

In the most recent published assessment by the OfS on implementation of the Prevent programme in the English higher education sector in 2019, they found no cause for concern that free speech was being undermined by Prevent in external speakers’ policies and their implementation. The assessment is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-review-meetings-programme-findings/.

The government also remains committed to an Independent Review of Prevent, which is why William Shawcross was appointed on 26 January 2021 as the new Independent Reviewer. The call for evidence for the Independent Review was reopened on the 24 March 2021 and will close on the 26 May 2021. The review will look at how effective the statutory Prevent duty is and will make recommendations for the future.

The department has carried out structured discussions at all stages of the policy development leading up to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, including student engagement through the National Union of Students and roundtables with students’ unions. The department welcomes further discussions and will continue to proactively engage stakeholders with a wide range of interests and backgrounds during and after passage of the Bill, including Muslim, East Asian and South East Asian students. The department plans to meet with Muslim organisations, as well as other stakeholders, in the next few weeks and looks forward to discussing the Bill measures in detail.

The government is clear that the Prevent Duty should not be used to suppress free speech. It requires providers, when exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. There is no prescription from the government, or the Office for Students (OfS), in regard to what action providers should take once they have had due regard. The legislation imposing the Prevent duty in relation to higher education specifically requires that providers must have particular regard to their duty to ensure freedom of speech and to the importance of academic freedom.

In the most recent published assessment by the OfS on implementation of the Prevent programme in the English higher education sector in 2019, they found no cause for concern that free speech was being undermined by Prevent in external speakers’ policies and their implementation. The assessment is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-review-meetings-programme-findings/.

The government also remains committed to an Independent Review of Prevent, which is why William Shawcross was appointed on 26 January 2021 as the new Independent Reviewer. The call for evidence for the Independent Review was reopened on the 24 March 2021 and will close on the 26 May 2021. The review will look at how effective the statutory Prevent duty is and will make recommendations for the future.

The department has carried out structured discussions at all stages of the policy development leading up to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, including student engagement through the National Union of Students and roundtables with students’ unions. The department welcomes further discussions and will continue to proactively engage stakeholders with a wide range of interests and backgrounds during and after passage of the Bill, including Muslim, East Asian and South East Asian students. The department plans to meet with Muslim organisations, as well as other stakeholders, in the next few weeks and looks forward to discussing the Bill measures in detail.

The government is clear that the Prevent Duty should not be used to suppress free speech. It requires providers, when exercising their functions, to have due regard to the need to prevent people being drawn into terrorism. There is no prescription from the government, or the Office for Students (OfS), in regard to what action providers should take once they have had due regard. The legislation imposing the Prevent duty in relation to higher education specifically requires that providers must have particular regard to their duty to ensure freedom of speech and to the importance of academic freedom.

In the most recent published assessment by the OfS on implementation of the Prevent programme in the English higher education sector in 2019, they found no cause for concern that free speech was being undermined by Prevent in external speakers’ policies and their implementation. The assessment is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/prevent-review-meetings-programme-findings/.

The government also remains committed to an Independent Review of Prevent, which is why William Shawcross was appointed on 26 January 2021 as the new Independent Reviewer. The call for evidence for the Independent Review was reopened on the 24 March 2021 and will close on the 26 May 2021. The review will look at how effective the statutory Prevent duty is and will make recommendations for the future.

The department has carried out structured discussions at all stages of the policy development leading up to the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, including student engagement through the National Union of Students and roundtables with students’ unions. The department welcomes further discussions and will continue to proactively engage stakeholders with a wide range of interests and backgrounds during and after passage of the Bill, including Muslim, East Asian and South East Asian students. The department plans to meet with Muslim organisations, as well as other stakeholders, in the next few weeks and looks forward to discussing the Bill measures in detail.

Given the ongoing disruption to education caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, we announced in January that GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead as planned this summer.

The Department and Ofqual have ensured that there is a clear and accessible route for private candidates to receive a grade this year at the same time as other candidates. Private candidates can work with a centre to be assessed on a range of evidence, which could include evidence from an established educational provider and the board-provided assessment materials. These candidates should have the same opportunity as other students to be assessed on what they were taught. Centres can conduct assessments remotely if needed. This guidance includes information for centres about assessing private candidates, taking into account their different circumstances: https://www.jcq.org.uk/summer-2021-arrangements/.

The Department is working with the sector to ensure there are enough centres available to support private candidates. The Joint Council for Qualifications have published a list of available centres: https://www.jcq.org.uk/private-candidates-summer-2021/, giving private candidates the opportunity to find a centre at a similar cost to a normal year. The exam boards have committed that private candidates will not be charged late fees if entries are received by 26 April.

To support centres with the additional requirements of assessing private candidates this year, and avoid the cost being passed on to candidates, we are providing a grant for centres to claim £200 per private candidate entry. Guidance on the grant is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-candidate-support-grant-information-for-exam-centres/private-candidate-support-grant. The Government is encouraging all available exams centres to sign up to help these candidates achieve their qualifications in this exceptional year.

Guidance for schools for the period of national lockdown can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

The Department has published updated guidance on face coverings in education from 8 March 2021, which can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/face-coverings-in-education/face-coverings-in-education.

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

In addition, we now also recommend that face coverings should be worn in classrooms unless social distancing can be maintained. We are recommending this precautionary measure for a limited time during this period of high COVID-19 prevalence in the community.

In primary schools, face coverings should be worn by staff and adult visitors in situations where social distancing between adults is not possible, for example, when moving around in corridors and communal areas. Children in primary school do not need to wear a face covering.

Some individuals are exempt from wearing face coverings. This applies to those who cannot put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability, or if you are speaking to or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate. The same exemptions should be applied in schools, and we would expect teachers and other staff to be sensitive to those needs.

Transparent face coverings which may assist communication with someone who relies on lip reading, clear sound or facial expression to communicate, can also be worn. There is currently very limited evidence regarding the effectiveness or safety of transparent face coverings, but they may be more effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 than not wearing a face covering at all.

We continue to work closely with Public Health England and the Department of Health and Social Care and stakeholders across the sector to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice

These measures will be in place until Easter. We will keep this under review and update guidance at that point.

The Department collects daily data from schools and colleges via the educational setting status form, which was set up to help the Government monitor the impact of COVID-19 on schools and colleges. The form was expanded to collect detailed data on reasons for staff absence from 12 October 2020 and this data was published on 19 January 2021.

The Department has published the number and proportion of i) teachers and head teachers and ii) teaching assistants and other staff absent due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, a suspected case of COVID-19 or self-isolation in state funded schools in England on each day between 12 October and 17 December 2020, excluding the October half term period. This is summarised, for each Thursday where data is available, at the following link^1,2: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2d95b3a7-77f8-4901-aade-9fa56ce88481.

The Department has also published this data for all local authorities in England, including Luton. This data is based on responding schools only and no adjustments have been made for non-response. This data is available for each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020. Data for Luton is summarised at the following link^1,2,3 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3bb923b9-1cc4-4635-8514-5f4773c249a7.

¹ Data is given for Wednesday 16 December instead of Thursday 17 December due to a decrease in response rates on Thursday 17 December which make estimates for this date less reliable. Data is not given for Thursdays 22 and 29 October as this data is affected by half term.

² This data is as reported directly by schools via the Department for Education's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.

³ Local authority level figures are based on responding schools only.

The Department collects daily data from schools and colleges via the educational setting status form, which was set up to help the Government monitor the impact of COVID-19 on schools and colleges. The form was expanded to collect detailed data on the reasons for pupil absence from 12 October 2020. This data has been published at national level on a weekly basis since 20 October 2020 and was published at local authority level on 15 December 2020.

The Department has published the number and proportion of pupils absent due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, a suspected case of COVID-19 or self-isolation in state funded schools in England on each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020, excluding the October half term period. These estimates are summarised in table 1^1,2,3.

Table 1: Estimates of the number of pupils absent in state-funded schools in England due to a confirmed case of COVID-19, suspected case of COVID-19 and self-isolation

The Department has also published this data for all local authorities in England, including Luton. This data is based on responding schools only and no adjustments have been made for non-response. This data is available for each Thursday between 15 October and 17 December 2020. Data for Luton is summarised at the following link^1,2,3,4 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/e284e1f4-5a40-4348-9f16-5b3376e7f6f9.

¹ Data is given for Wednesday 16 December instead of Thursday 17 December due to a decrease in response rates on Thursday 17 December which make estimates for this date less reliable. Data is not given for Thursdays 22 and 29 October as this data is affected by half term.

² This data is as reported directly by schools via the Department for Education's daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence and COVID-19 cases overall.

³ Pupils self-isolating because of COVID-19 is reported as a range to account for possible double counting.

⁴ Local authority level figures are based on responding schools only.

The Government has announced that, from 5 January 2021, schools and colleges have moved to remote education, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. Along with regular, pre-existing reference groups and roundtable sessions, meetings with both the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges, including regarding Vocational Qualifications, have taken place with the Department and/or Ofqual.

A joint consultation has launched on how to fairly award all pupils, including private candidates and students taking vocational qualifications, with a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives. The Department has strongly encouraged our stakeholders to respond to this.

The Government has announced that, from 5 January 2021, schools and colleges have moved to remote education, except for vulnerable children and children of critical workers. In light of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, GCSE, AS and A level exams will not go ahead this summer as planned.

The Department will continue to engage with a range of relevant stakeholders when developing plans for our policy on GCSE, AS and A level assessments in 2021, as will the exams regulator Ofqual. Along with regular, pre-existing reference groups and roundtable sessions, meetings with both the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges, including regarding Vocational Qualifications, have taken place with the Department and/or Ofqual.

A joint consultation has launched on how to fairly award all pupils, including private candidates and students taking vocational qualifications, with a grade that ensures they can progress to the next stage of their lives. The Department has strongly encouraged our stakeholders to respond to this.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.

From June to September 2020, the Department ran a pilot in partnership with BT to provide children and young people with free access to a BT Wi-Fi hotspot. Through the pilot, 10,000 BT codes were sent to local authorities and trusts for them to pass on to families so that they could access a BT Wi-Fi connection until 31 December 2020.

This offer was not extended to schools, local authorities or trusts outside of the pilot because following testing it did not suitably meet children and young people’s needs for a reliable and consistent internet connection to access remote education.

We are grateful to BT for partnering with the Department in order to help disadvantaged children continue to access remote education in the event of local disruptions, and we are grateful for their continued support with our mobile data uplift offer.

We have already provided 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.

We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, including securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people.

From June to September 2020, the Department ran a pilot in partnership with BT to provide children and young people with free access to a BT Wi-Fi hotspot. Through the pilot, 10,000 BT codes were sent to local authorities and trusts for them to pass on to families so that they could access a BT Wi-Fi connection until 31 December 2020.

This offer was not extended to schools, local authorities or trusts outside of the pilot because following testing it did not suitably meet children and young people’s needs for a reliable and consistent internet connection to access remote education.

We are grateful to BT for partnering with the Department in order to help disadvantaged children continue to access remote education in the event of local disruptions, and we are grateful for their continued support with our mobile data uplift offer.

We have already provided 4G wireless routers, with free data for the academic year, and continue to provide 4G wireless routers where children need to access remote education.

We have partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data to help disadvantaged children get online as well as delivering 4G wireless routers for pupils without connection at home.

We continue to invite a range of mobile network providers to support the offer.

The delivery model for asymptomatic testing in schools is structured around schools’ ability to deliver the necessary tasks and roles required to deliver the tests in a safe environment for staff, pupils and volunteers. New technology that allows for rapid testing means that schools can now introduce our programme of asymptomatic testing in secondary schools and colleges. This is weekly testing for the workforce and daily testing for staff or students who are identified as close contacts of a positive case from within the education setting. Daily testing of contacts will mean that they do not need to isolate and can stay in face-to-face education.

A total of £78 million has been made available to meet the costs of testing.

British Nationals (Overseas) ('BN(O)s') who are in the UK in advance of the new Hong Kong BN(O) route being launched in January 2021 are entitled to access a school place for their children. BN(O)s are able to apply for ‘leave outside the rules’ prior to the new route - which will give them and their family members access to work and study whilst in the UK - becoming available. This information is clearly set out on this website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/british-nationals-overseas-in-hong-kong.

Dependent children of BN(O)s who are in the UK will also be entitled to access a school place under the new route once it is launched in January 2021.

BN(O)s may not be aware of the processes and timescales involved in applying for an English school before they move to the UK. They can find the information they need on this website: https://www.gov.uk/schools-admissions.

This website also provides links across to information on the school admission systems in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, in case they are applying for schools under the different education systems that pertain in those nations.

I refer the hon. Member for Luton North to the answers I gave on 21 October 2020 to Questions 104035 and 104036.

The Higher Education taskforce was created to discuss and take quick actions on higher education (HE) admissions and acceptances and to discuss COVID-19 related challenges faced by HE providers and students.

The group consists of members from Universities UK, the Office for Students, the University and Colleges Admissions Service and several university groups. Unite and Unipol were invited, by exception, to a meeting where student accommodation was a focus of the agenda.

The taskforce is ongoing and, although we do not currently have plans to publish the read-outs from the meetings, we will review this in due course. The main items of discussion at this meeting included the increase in COVID-19 cases amongst young adults, COVID-secure practices and supporting students to remain on campus in cases of local COVID-19 outbreaks.

The department is in frequent contact with representatives of the higher education sector, having regular interactions at both official and ministerial level with key parties, including Universities UK and the Office for Students. Officials have also been in frequent contact with representatives of private providers of accommodation, including Unipol, who operate the national codes of practice for private student accommodation providers.

I have spoken with representatives of Unite and Unipol at the Higher Education Taskforce, which the government convened in August. The Taskforce continues to work with the sector on the challenges universities, colleges and their students are facing due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

On 10 September, the government issued updated guidance for providers on reopening campuses and buildings to help providers make informed decisions about their provision, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses.

This guidance builds on the advice provided in June, and updated in July, which universities have been using to plan for a safe return. Policies are kept under review as the situation evolves, based on the latest advice from Public Health England and evidence of the effectiveness of interventions and support for students and providers. The guidance reflects the latest scientific advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies.

The department has worked with universities to ensure that they all have outbreak plans. These have been developed in conjunction with local public health teams and all have been or are being agreed with local directors of public health. The plans should cover a range of scenarios, including outbreaks in accommodation, both on and off campus.

The government has published guidance for landlords and tenants who may be affected by current events, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.

It is a priority for the Government to keep close track of the situation in schools in relation to suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. The Department is currently collecting data from schools on a daily basis, as well as gathering information from local areas and following up with individual settings to confirm that procedures for requiring pupils to isolate are well understood and that necessary decisions are made on the basis of public health advice.

We collect data on the number of schools that have indicated they have sent children home due to COVID-19 containment measures and have attendance data for schools that have done so. The Department’s published data on school openings and attendance, shows that 94% of state-funded schools were fully open on 17 September. For responding schools which were not fully open on 17 September, 4% said they were not fully open due to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Approximately 87% of pupils on roll in state-funded schools were in attendance on 17 September. Attendance estimates include pupils absent for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related reasons. More information on this data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

From the autumn term, pupils in all year groups were asked to return to school full-time. Our latest guidance on full opening sets out the public health advice schools should follow and how we expect schools to operate in the autumn term. The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The student finance system removes financial barriers for those hoping to study. It is backed by the taxpayer, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years, which is an investment in the future skills of this country.

Maximum tuition fees for undergraduate courses (including nursing, midwifery and allied health professions), and the subsidised fee loans available from the government to pay them, will remain at £9,250 for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2020/21 academic year, which is the third year in succession maximum fees have been frozen. Monthly repayments are linked to income and not to interest rates or the amount borrowed. Repayments are calculated (at 9%) only on amounts earned over the repayment threshold, which is currently annually £26,575. Additionally, borrowers are protected, as their repayments decrease if their income decreases.

The government has announced a 2.9% increase in maximum loans for living costs for the 2020/21 academic year to £9,203 for eligible full-time undergraduate students living away from home and studying outside London. Higher rates of loan are available for students living away from home and studying in London. In addition, new and continuing nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students will be eligible to receive a new non-repayable grant of up to £8,000 from September 2020 to contribute to their living costs.

Air quality is a key policy area for this Government and a great deal of work is being done to tackle air pollution. Implementing the commitments set out in the Clean Air Strategy, which was published last year, will help to clean up our air faster and more effectively in towns and cities.

The upcoming Environment Bill, which will shortly be reintroduced to Parliament, will deliver some key commitments in the Strategy. This includes introducing a duty to set a legally binding target for fine particulate matter concentrations, the pollutant of most harm to health. The Bill will also ensure that local authorities have a clear framework for tackling air pollution, and are better able to tackle a key source of fine particulate matter emissions – domestic solid fuel burning. It will also provide the Government with new powers to enforce environmental standards for vehicles and machinery.

The Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit is also working with a number of local authorities to deliver compliance with legal limits for nitrogen dioxide in the shortest possible time. The unit provides these local authorities with guidance and support to develop local plans to identify and implement suitable measures to achieve this objective, supported by £572 million dedicated funding. In some instances local authorities will be implementing charging clean air zones to deliver these reductions, and the Government is working closely with these authorities to ensure the necessary IT systems are in place and ready to use.

Further, Defra’s Air Quality Grant Programme provides funding to local authorities, funding projects in local communities to tackle air pollution and reduce emissions affecting schools, businesses and residents. Defra has awarded over £60 million in funding to local authorities since the grant started in 1997.

These measures will improve air quality across the country, including in inner-city areas.

An annual assessment of air pollution in the UK is published on the UK-AIR website at the following URL: https://uk-air.defra.gov.uk/library/annualreport/index

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

The traffic light system categorises countries, based on risk to protect public health and the vaccine rollout from variants of COVID-19. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) produces risk assessments of countries and territories. Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account the JBC risk assessments, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country include:

• genomic surveillance capability
• COVID-19 transmission risk
• Variant of Concern transmission risk

A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

The data for all countries will be kept under regular review and the Government will not hesitate to take action where a country’s epidemiological picture changes.

We are working with the travel industry and private testing providers to see how we can further reduce costs for the British public while ensuring travel is as safe as possible. We are considering a range of options including cheaper tests being used when passengers return home. The price of tests has reduced significantly in recent weeks, with providers offering testing packages for green arrivals starting at £20.

The Department for Transport is in regular contact with bus operators; through our engagement we are exploring operators’ plans to work with Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) to deliver the commitments in the National Bus Strategy. The Strategy sets out that within cities and towns, we want low flat fares (or maximum fares and daily price caps) to be standard practice.

Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect Local Transport Authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the strategy. BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation funding that each authority receives, and we will expect to see fares policy as an integral part of the plans.

In addition, the Department’s bus open data service, which will create a single source of information on bus fares in England, provides an opportunity for bus operators to simplify fares structures and potentially move towards flat fares.

The Williams-Shapps Plan for Rail and the National Bus Strategy set out that bus and rail services should be better integrated with each other. Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs), which we expect local transport authorities to produce by the end of October, will need to set out ambitious visions for travel by bus, meeting the goals and expectations in the National Bus Strategy.

BSIPs will influence the share of the £3 billion transformation funding that each authority receives, and we will expect to see proposals for modal integration as part of each plan, including how bus and rail operators can increasingly align their services, timetables and network planning.

With the lifting of restrictions, I am keen to visit stations where improvements have been delivered or stations that are potential candidates.

Around 75% of rail journeys are now through step-free stations, compared with only 50% in 2005, and I am committed to further improving accessibility across the network.

No specific conversations have taken place on this with either Thameslink or East Midlands Railway. We remain disappointed that fully accessible services cannot always be provided for rail replacement. As Rail Minister, I have set clear expectations on the train operating companies to source and use PSVAR compliant vehicles wherever possible in the first instance, and only use a non-compliant vehicle that has been granted a special authorisation when all other compliant options have been exhausted.

As announced on 22nd February as part of the roadmap for the phased lifting of restrictions in England, the Secretary of State for Transport will also now lead a successor to the Global Travel Taskforce to develop a framework that can facilitate greater international travel when the time is right, while still managing the risk from imported cases and variants.

The government is also developing a forward looking strategic framework on the recovery of the sector, which will explore the return to growth of the aviation sector, which will include consideration of workforce and skills, regional connectivity, noise, innovation and regulation, and consumer issues. We will also consider climate change and decarbonisation. We aim to publish this framework later this year.

As announced by the Prime Minister on 22 February, The Global Travel Taskforce is an important step in exploring how we can safely reopen international travel. It will develop a framework that can facilitate greater travel when the time is right, while managing the risk from imported cases and variants.

It will look to take a risk-based approach, making use of the suite of measures the Government already has in place such as testing (pre-departure testing and Test to Release) and self-isolation, as well as the recommendations from the first Global Travel Taskforce last year.

The Government will engage with stakeholders across the international travel sector to develop this work, in a similar way to the first Global Travel Taskforce last November, and will work at pace to report to the Prime Minister by 12 April. Further detail on the Taskforce and its plans will be shared shortly.

The government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector due to COVID-19. The sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry can draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures we have put in place during this time. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), which supports companies cover the wage costs of their employees, has been extended until the end of April 2021, during which time it will contribute up to 80% of employees’ wages (up to £2,500 per month). The government has also support the aviation industry through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility and Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Schemes.

The Airport and Ground Operations Support Scheme announced on 24 November will provide support for eligible businesses, up to the equivalent of their business rates liabilities in the 2020/21 financial year, subject to certain conditions and a cap per claimant of £8m. This is intended to help reduce cash burn and could unlock shareholder and lender support.

We continue to monitor the financial health of the sector and review the support provided to it in light of evolving restrictions on domestic and international travel.

Further to my answer of 11 January 2021, on 25 January 2021 the Secretary of State held a meeting with Highways England to discuss progress. He has asked for a report setting out progress in delivering the 18-point smart motorway action plan and which identifies actions that can be delivered early by 12 March 2021, so any accelerated works can be rapidly put in place.

Department for Transport officials liaise with Govia Thameslink Railway on a frequent and regular basis to understand the measures they are putting in place regarding the safety of their staff.

In line with the January COVID-19 lockdown announcement, and guidance from Public Health England, Govia Thameslink Railway has implemented COVID-secure arrangements at all work places across their network. Measures include:

• Additional mess room facilities to enable social distancing
• The application of a sanitising agent (Zoono virucide) within the cab and saloon areas of trains
• Regular testing for secure ‘bubbles’ is provided where training within a cab is required
• All Clinically Extremely Vulnerable (CEV) employees were immediately stood down from work
• Staff rosters have been amended to reduce the number of frontline workers at stations, in line with the reduction in passenger numbers

Leagrave was nominated for Access for All funding in 2019, but was not selected as other stations in the region better met the selection criteria. The Department looks forward to receiving a further bid for Leagrave when we open a new round of Access for All in the future.

The Department for Transport has not had any bespoke discussions with representatives of Luton Airport specifically on the ban on international travel during the covid-19 lockdown announced in January 2021. The Department’s Airports Team however held its regular monthly meeting with representatives of Luton Airport on 7^th January 2021 and representatives of Luton Airport attended a pre-departure testing airports round table hosted by the Aviation Minister on 8^th January 2021.

Department for Transport officials have regular meetings with Luton Borough Council on a variety of transport related matters, including on local road maintenance issues. The Department is providing Luton with over £2.3 million towards highway maintenance this financial year. It is for each Council to decide on how this funding is utilised based on their highway asset management strategy, needs, and priorities.

Highways England’s Delivery Plan 2020-25 sets out the activities and projects Highways England will deliver over the current road investment strategy period. In addition to ongoing work to upgrade sections of the motorway, a priority for Highways England is the delivery of the Secretary of State’s 18 point action plan to raise the bar on safety and increase public confidence in the motorway network.

Highways England will implement the action plan in full and has already completed work, including the provision of 10 additional emergency areas on the M25 and making all emergency areas more visible by introducing a bright orange surface and better, more frequent signs. A nationally-targeted safety campaign to increase road user confidence, including what to do in the event of a breakdown in a live lane, will launch during January 2021.

Highways England will deliver all the remaining actions including the provision of stopped vehicle detection on ALR motorways and conversion of dynamic hard shoulder to ALR.

Decisions on International Travel Corridors are currently informed by risk assessments provided by the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC), working closely with Public Health England (PHE), using methodology endorsed by the four Chief Medical Officers (CMO) of the UK.

JBC and PHE monitor over 250 countries, territories and islands daily to inform these risk assessments. Factors taken into consideration include:

• An estimate of the proportion of the population that is currently infected (this is known as ‘point prevalence’);
• Weekly case incidence rate taking into account population size of the country, territory or island;
• Trends in incidence, deaths, hospitalisations and intensive care admissions;
• Information on laboratory capacity, testing and contact tracing strategies, and test positivity rates;
• COVID-19 cases detected in the UK following travel to the country, territory or island (‘imported infections’);
• Qualitative information related to the reliability of reported data and the maturity of public health systems;
• Public health measures in place and the enforcement of, and adherence to, those measures.

The Department for Transport is in regular contact with airlines, airports and unions to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on the sector and its workers.

We expect companies to pursue all possible actions to preserve cash and maximise liquidity, including engaging with shareholders, lenders and the markets, and utilising all available assets and facilities. However, we do not comment on discussions held with individual companies, as this information is commercially sensitive.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 11 June 2020, PQ UIN 56177.

The Government has been clear that we will only consider bespoke support for businesses once all other avenues have been exhausted, including the economy-wide support announced by the Chancellor.

In considering whether there is a case for providing additional support, we would look at factors such as whether the business makes a material contribution to the economic activity of the UK and the equitable and fair treatment across businesses in the sector. Any support that is offered will follow the government guidance on Managing Public Money.

The Secretary of State has held extensive discussions about self-isolation measures with the Home Secretary.

The Department for Transport has engaged with the aviation sector on this issue and will continue to do so in the coming weeks. This includes working with senior representatives from the aviation industry as part of the Aviation Expert Steering Group. This group serves as the working group for the International Aviation Taskforce – one of the five sectoral taskforces announced by the Government on 13 May.

In addition, the Department has co-chaired with Border Force three implementation groups with the aviation industry to ensure that the industry is aware of how the new regulations on self-isolation will be implemented.

The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19, and has been engaging regularly with airlines throughout the UK to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on their financial position.

Businesses across the industry, including airlines, have been able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures put in place during this time. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for different sizes of business, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees and VAT deferrals.

If airlines find themselves in trouble as a result of coronavirus even following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, the Transport Secretary and Chancellor have confirmed that the Government is prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort, having exhausted all other options. Any intervention would need to represent value for money for taxpayers.

Airlines across the country are eligible and have accessed these schemes which has protected a substantial number of jobs across the industry. We do not comment on the commercial or financial matters of private firms and are therefore it would be inappropriate to detail individual discussions.

The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19, and has been meeting with airlines based in the UK on a regular basis to understand the impact that COVID-19 is having on their financial position. These meetings have also been used to inform and advise airlines on the support that can be potentially available to them if applicable.

Businesses across the industry, including airlines, have been able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures put in place during this time. This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital, two business interruption loan guarantee schemes for different sizes of business, Time to Pay flexibilities with tax bills, financial support for employees and VAT deferrals.

The Chancellor wrote to airlines and airports across the sector 24^th March. As that letter outlined if airlines find themselves in trouble as a result of coronavirus even following the Government’s cross-economy wage and financial interventions, the Transport Secretary and Chancellor have confirmed that the Government is prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support, but only as a last resort, having exhausted all other options. Any intervention would need to represent value for money for taxpayers.

It would not be appropriate to comment on individual discussions. However, we recognise that this will be very distressing news for EasyJet employees and their families, and we stand ready to support them.

Our transport systems are critical to support the restart of the wider economy and we continue to work closely with the aviation sector on these restart plans and the longer-term recovery of the sector. Firms can draw upon the unprecedented package of measures, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees. If airlines find themselves in trouble because of coronavirus, and have exhausted the measures already available to them, the Government is prepared to enter discussions with individual companies seeking bespoke support as a last resort, having exhausted all other options.??Any intervention would need to represent value for money for taxpayers.

Our transport systems are critical to support the restart of the wider economy and we continue to work closely with the aviation sector through the phasing of lockdown restrictions and beyond, on these restart plans and the longer-term recovery of the sector. In addition, the International Aviation Taskforce has been set up to support the development of guidelines for safely restarting the sector that will take place, when the science allows. The Taskforce will be publishing guidance for passengers and operators shortly.

The Chancellor recently extended the Job Retention Scheme until the end of October, bringing more flexibility to the scheme to ensure those who are able to work can do so, while remaining amongst the most generous employee schemes in the world. As well as financial support for employees, firms can also draw upon the unprecedented package of measures to protect jobs, including: schemes to raise capital and flexibilities with tax bills.

The Civil Aviation Authority is working with airlines and airports to provide flexibility within the regulatory framework to help manage and mitigate Covid-19 impacts where this is appropriate, including on fulfilment of regulatory requirements such as Pilot’s flight time.

The Department for Transport is in regular conversation with UK airlines and is working with the sector, the regulator and consumer groups to help ensure airlines deliver on their commitments. The Government’s position is clear - if a customer asks for a refund, that refund needs to be paid.

The number of reported personal injury road accidents and the number of fatal casualties between junctions 10 and 13 on the M1 since 2010 can be found in the table below:

On 24 October 2019 the Secretary of State for Transport announced that the Department will carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about smart motorway safety.

The Department will present the findings shortly.

The Removal of the Spare Room Subsidy (RSRS), introduced in 2013, encourages mobility within the social rented sector, strengthens work-incentives and makes better use of available social housing, while providing fairness to taxpayers on expenditure on Housing Benefit.

The policy has saved over £2 billion since its introduction in April 2013. A breakdown by financial year is provided in the table below:

Total Estimated Housing Benefit RSRS Deductions, 2013/14 to 2019/20 (£m pa)

Notes

1. Deductions figures do not take into account any additional savings due to behavioural change before/after the policy has been introduced, for example moving to a smaller property to avoid a deduction.

1. Figures do not include claimants on Universal Credit (UC) with a removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) deduction, as these data are not currently available.

In terms of the cost of administering the RSRS, funding was made available to local authorities (LAs). Information is published in Housing Benefit subsidy circulars available on Gov.UK.

To date (2019/20) administrative funding for the RSRS policy has been around £68m (which includes funding for the administration of Discretionary Housing Payments associated with the introduction of the RSRS policy).

HIV testing and prevention is funded by local government through the ringfenced Public Health Grant. We have provided £3.324 billion to local authorities in England to fund public health services in 2021/22, including sexual health and HIV services. We have invested in the successful deployment of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in England and the Public Health Grant in 2021/22 includes £23.4 million to cover local authorities’ costs of routine commissioning of PrEP.

Funding for HIV treatment and care services is provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement through specialised commissioning. Decisions on future funding for are being taken as part of the forthcoming Spending Review. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, including the need for HIV prevention services Funding for PrEP in 2021/22 has been allocated using a specific formula which recognises that the level of risk of acquiring HIV is distributed differently to the approach taken for the Public Health Grant.

HIV testing and prevention is funded by local government through the ringfenced Public Health Grant. We have provided £3.324 billion to local authorities in England to fund public health services in 2021/22, including sexual health and HIV services. We have invested in the successful deployment of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in England and the Public Health Grant in 2021/22 includes £23.4 million to cover local authorities’ costs of routine commissioning of PrEP.

Funding for HIV treatment and care services is provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement through specialised commissioning. Decisions on future funding for are being taken as part of the forthcoming Spending Review. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, including the need for HIV prevention services Funding for PrEP in 2021/22 has been allocated using a specific formula which recognises that the level of risk of acquiring HIV is distributed differently to the approach taken for the Public Health Grant.

HIV testing and prevention is funded by local government through the ringfenced Public Health Grant. We have provided £3.324 billion to local authorities in England to fund public health services in 2021/22, including sexual health and HIV services. We have invested in the successful deployment of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in England and the Public Health Grant in 2021/22 includes £23.4 million to cover local authorities’ costs of routine commissioning of PrEP.

Funding for HIV treatment and care services is provided by NHS England and NHS Improvement through specialised commissioning. Decisions on future funding for are being taken as part of the forthcoming Spending Review. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, including the need for HIV prevention services Funding for PrEP in 2021/22 has been allocated using a specific formula which recognises that the level of risk of acquiring HIV is distributed differently to the approach taken for the Public Health Grant.

Genomic sequencing will continue to be part of our border measures to identify new variants. From 24 October anyone fully vaccinated who tests positive on an lateral flow test must self-isolate and take a confirmatory polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, which will be sent for genomic sequencing. Those who are unvaccinated, partially vaccinated or whose vaccines are not recognised by the United Kingdom must continue to take PCR tests following arrival in England. All arrivals from ‘red list’ countries will continue to take PCR tests following arrival in England, regardless of vaccination status.

Many of the measures we have implemented to tackle COVID-19 will also be effective against flu, such as hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, social distancing, environmental cleaning and use of personal protective equipment.

Public Health England’s local health protection teams investigate notifications of suspected influenza/respiratory virus outbreaks in care homes and alongside making recommendations on infection prevention and control measures, can recommend that local services consider prescribing antivirals to prevent and treat flu where needed.

There is a cross-Government effort to design a package for arrivals from Afghanistan, including the support that is needed to help these families relocate to the United Kingdom. The cost of managed quarantine is being considered in these discussions.

Measures are in place to monitor and reduce the spread any influenza outbreaks within care homes. All care home residents and staff are eligible for flu vaccination and measures that are effective for COVID-19 work for flu. Hand hygiene, respiratory hygiene, social distancing, environmental cleaning, use of personal protective equipment and other COVID-19 precautions provide protection against flu. Public Health England’s local health protection teams investigate notifications of suspected influenza/respiratory virus outbreaks in care homes and alongside making recommendations on infection control measures, can recommend that local services consider prescribing antivirals to prevent and treat flu where needed.

In their advice of 3 September, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) suggested that the Government may wish to seek further views on the wider societal and educational impacts of universal vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds from the United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), with representation from the JCVI in these subsequent discussions. Consequently, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the UK health ministers wrote to the CMOs to ask that they consider the vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds from a broader perspective, as suggested by the JCVI.

The UK CMOs have recommended the extension of the offer of a first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to all children and young people aged 12 to 15 years old on public health grounds. The Government has accepted this advice.

There is a cross-Government effort to design a package for arrivals from Afghanistan, including the support that is needed to help these families relocate to the United Kingdom. The cost of managed quarantine is being considered in these discussions.

There is a cross-Government effort to design a package for arrivals from Afghanistan, including the support that is needed to help these families relocate to the United Kingdom. The cost of managed quarantine is being considered in these discussions and we are actively looking to provide support where the need is greatest.

There was negligible circulation of influenza in care homes in 2020-21 due to the measures designed to stop the spread of COVID-19. Existing systems for multi-virus testing of care homes remain in place and can be deployed when required.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions in place for COVID-19 last winter such as mask-wearing, social-distancing and restricted international travel resulted in extremely low influenza activity globally. As restrictions are lifted, it is expected that winter 2021/2022 will be the first winter in the United Kingdom when seasonal influenza and other respiratory viruses will co-circulate alongside COVID-19. The National Health Service continues to recommend hand washing, using tissues to catch coughs and sneezes and disposing of them as quickly as possible. However, influenza vaccination remains a cost-effective measure to protect those at risk and reduce hospitalisations.

We have provided an extra £6.6 billion to manage COVID-19 pressures in the first half of 2021/22. Efforts are underway to boost the performance of the emergency care system including an extra £55 million investment in ambulance trusts and ongoing work on major emergency department upgrade schemes. Emergency department capacity will be increased through expanding waiting areas and increasing the number of treatment cubicles which will reduce overcrowding and improve infection control measures.

In addition, providers will offer the flu vaccine to over 35 million people this winter season. This includes a continued offer of vaccination for 50 to 64 year olds and the expansion of the children’s programme to secondary school year 11 to protect children and prevent onward transmission to vulnerable members of the community.

The proposed regulations to make vaccination a condition of deployment in care homes apply to all staff employed directly by the care home, those engaged via an agency and any volunteers deployed in the care home. The regulations contain a 16-week grace period from when they are made to when they come into force to enable staff who have not been vaccinated to take up the vaccine or obtain evidence that they are exempt.

Care homes will be expected to comply at all times with employment legislation and adhere to good employment practice in ensuring adherence to the regulations. This includes communicating the requirement and timescales to be vaccinated or obtain an exemption to staff as soon as possible, notifying staff of and the potential consequences of not doing so, and consulting and engaging with staff and exploring redeployment opportunities. Further details of good employment practice that care homes will be encouraged to follow will be set out in guidance which will be published as soon as possible.

We are monitoring of the effectiveness of the Managed Quarantine Service with regular testing and genomic sequencing to determine which variants have been prevented from entering the United Kingdom, including the Delta variant. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies’ Environmental Modelling Group Transmission sub-group is currently reviewing the evidence on the risk of transmission in hotels which will be published by autumn 2021.

We currently undertaking work to agree which regulators from around the world have similar stringent standards as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. This will be finalised in due course and will allow recognition of vaccines administered abroad. Once a decision has been made, NHSX will provide access to a NHS COVID Pass for those eligible.

Work is ongoing to determine which non-United Kingdom vaccines can be recognised in this country.

The selection process for Regional Serious Violence and Contextual Safeguarding Leads is the established NHS England and NHS Improvement recruitment process, following fair and open procedures. The role description includes the system assurance of several statutory functions which the National Health Service is required to implement, including Prevent; female genital mutilation; modern slavery and human trafficking; tackling serious violence; preventing domestic abuse; and stopping violence against women and girls. The Regional Serious Violence and Contextual Safeguarding Leads focus on all nuances of neglect, abuse, exploitation and violence as indicated with their community safety partnerships, national crime agency data and counter terrorism reports.

A National Health Service number is needed for individuals to demonstrate their COVID-19 vaccination status via the NHS App, through the NHS website or via letters from the NHS, which can be requested by calling 119. Anyone can register with a general practitioner (GP) practice to get an NHS number. It is free to register and proof of address or immigration status, ID or an NHS number is not needed. A registration letter will arrive in the post containing an NHS number.

Individuals who do not have an NHS number or are not registered with a GP are still entitled to free COVID-19 vaccinations.

The data is not currently available as it is being collated and centrally validated.

Data provided by Corporate Travel Management to the Department shows that to 1 July, 127,074 travellers have completed hotel quarantine, across 73 hotels.

The Managed Quarantine Service operates through a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which include infection control. These procedures are based on advice from the Department’s infection prevention specialist. We have contracted with Global Secure Accreditation to provide liaison officers in each hotel to oversee the correct deployment of the SOPs. They undertake monthly reviews of compliance and their effectiveness and if required make recommendations for the Department to strengthen them. Should an outbreak occur, incident management teams investigate the cause and implement measures to stop further transmission. Directors of Public Health and Environmental Health take considerable interest in all quarantine hotels in their area and regularly visit all quarantine hotels in their area to assure the correct infection control measures are in place.

Since February 2021, approximately 60 people have been granted exemptions from COVID-19 managed quarantine facilities on medical grounds.

We have governance arrangements in place and tools available in the event of transmission of a dangerous variant of concern with vaccine escape qualities. This includes the local action committee command structure and outbreak management protocols within the Contain Framework, which act as routes to provide support and interventions where required. The United Kingdom’s world leading genomic sequencing programme allows us to quickly identify and respond to any new variants and we are building onshore capability to rapidly develop new vaccines if required.

The Government recognizes that this has been an incredibly difficult time to grieve, with the challenging, yet necessary, measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 affecting the complexity of grief for many people.

Since March 2020, the Government has given £10.2 million to mental health charities, including bereavement support charities, to support adults and children struggling with their mental wellbeing due to the impact of covid-19. We have also published our Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, backed by a one-off targeted investment of £500 million, to ensure that we have the right support in place this year.

A wide range of support continues to be available for the bereaved, and we will continue to work closely with bereavement services to assess how further support can be provided.

The Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office are continuing to consider to options for validation and will provide a further update in due course.

We continue to have meetings with those bereaved as a result of the pandemic, in order to hear and learn from their experiences.

The Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office will continue to consider the most effective way of ensuring data transparency. Our partners are responsible for collecting information on the operation of the policy, which is used to maintain an effective service.

The Department is unable to publish data relating to the operation of the scheme as this information is not currently centrally validated. Partners are responsible for collecting information on the operation of the policy, which is used to maintain an effective service and the Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office will continue to consider the most effective way of ensuring data transparency.

The information is not collected in the format requested.

On 13 February 2021, the Government published the COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Plan, which aims to improve uptake across all communities in the United Kingdom. We have allocated £23.75 million for councils and voluntary groups through the Community Champions scheme. Through this scheme, Community Champions will use their local networks to provide advice about COVID-19 and the vaccine. Champions will also work with councils to identify the barriers to accessing accurate information about the vaccine and to provide tailored support, such as phone calls for people who are digitally excluded and linking to general practitioner surgeries.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation supports flexibility in delivery of the programme at a local level to ensure that every opportunity is utilised to offer the vaccine to groups with lower uptake. This can include offering vaccine in a wider range of settings. In Luton, additional vaccination centres, including a gym and a youth centre, have been set up by the local clinical commissioning group to maximise vaccine uptake.

Public Health England has produced a range of advice on pregnancy and fertility with regards to COVID-19 vaccination, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-women-of-childbearing-age-currently-pregnant-planning-a-pregnancy-or-breastfeeding

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to help social media platforms identify and take action against false claims about COVID-19 vaccines in lines with their terms and conditions. This includes false narratives about the alleged impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on fertility. There is no evidence that the vaccine affects fertility.

Our vaccine communications toolkits for stakeholders, partners and employers cover information around these concerns and we have been sourcing and sharing case stories of women of childbearing age who have had the vaccine before, during or after pregnancy to tackle vaccine hesitancy. At a local level webinars and engagement sessions have been focused to address women’s concerns around the vaccine and have also been tailored to specific demographic groups.

Public Health England has not made an assessment.

Health visiting services have continued to deliver the Healthy Child Programme throughout the pandemic. Contacts were initially virtual unless there was a clinical or safeguarding need. Health visitors have also prioritised families not already in contact with services. Services have now been restored in line with the community services prioritisation guidance.

The information is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

There have been no specific discussions.

National Health Service staff vaccination data is currently published down to regional level. NHS England and NHS Improvement have no imminent plans to publish data on vaccinations by trust. The level of data published by NHS England and NHS Improvement is regularly reviewed.

The legislative measures in the Health and Care Bill White Paper are a critical first step in wider reform in the adult social care sector. However, our commitment to the reform of social care extends beyond this legislation and we will bring forward further proposals in 2021.

Health visitors have continued to provide support throughout the pandemic through a blended approach consisting of face-to-face and virtual visits, making a professional judgement on what sort of appointment is best for each family. Local authorities are best placed to make decisions on workforce based on local need. New parents are offered five universal health and wellbeing reviews during the first two and a half years of a child’s life where health visitors provide tailored support and can signpost parents to additional services as required.

No such discussions have taken place. There has been no suspension of first doses available in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care System although as the number of people who are due their second dose increases, the balance of appointments will change to reflect vaccine availability and the need to complete those second doses within 12 weeks.

A formal impact assessment has not been produced for the regulations that require day two and day eight testing. NHS Test and Trace tests are free for people who have symptoms of COVID-19 or who are clinically advised to take a test. Only essential travel should be being undertaken during the pandemic to protect the public. All international arrivals need to buy the travel testing package through the testing booking portal or through hotel quarantine before they travel to the United Kingdom. For all arrivals quarantining at home the testing package is £210 from NHS Test and Trace. However, we recently introduced private sector testing of travellers in home quarantine partly to safeguard National Health Service capacity and to offer a wider choice for international arrivals who need to purchase private tests. The prices and service offered by these approved providers vary.

Limiting mixing indoors, where the risk of transmission is much higher, is critical to halting the spread of the virus. Therefore, people will not be allowed to mix indoors with anyone they do not live with or have not formed a support bubble wit, until step three of the roadmap, which will come into force no earlier than 17 May. From step three, up to six people or two households will be able to meet indoors. However, couples can currently meet outdoors on a one to one basis for exercise and recreation.

The Government will keep this under review in keeping with its commitment to remove current restrictions based on the data.

The Government has been clear that there will be opportunities to look back, analyse and reflect on all aspects of COVID-19. This will include an independent inquiry at the appropriate time.

Entitlement to free National Health Service treatment is generally based on ordinary residence in the United Kingdom. If individuals are not registered with a general practitioner NHS regional teams working with various appropriate local systems will contact unregistered people to ensure they are offered the vaccine. This includes those experiencing homelessness, people who may not live in a fixed location, refugees and those seeking asylum.

Locally commissioned arrangements to reach these groups may include local NHS community and mental health trust providers, Primary Care Networks or partnership activity with statutory and voluntary services.  Because there is no charge for the vaccine for people living in the UK, the immigration status of a patient is not relevant, therefore no proof of residence is needed and there is no requirement to report anyone to the Home Office.

Discussions are ongoing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about additional funding for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as the increased advance payments, general COVID-19 business support has been accessible to most community pharmacies, including the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant and business rate relief. Additional payments have been made to support opening hours on Bank Holidays, social distancing and the medicine delivery service to shielded patients. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is provided free of charge and pharmacies are reimbursed for PPE already purchased. Non-monetary support provided during the pandemic included the removal of some administrative tasks, flexibility in opening hours and the delayed introduction of new services.

For phase two of the COVID 19 vaccination programme, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation published its interim advice on 26 February setting out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, and not occupation. This is because age is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisations. Therefore, police officers will not be prioritised based on their occupation.

To date, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues or NHS England and NHS Improvement about prioritising workers at managed quarantine facilities for vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  The JCVI identified that the vaccination of frontline healthcare workers should be a priority for the COVID-19 vaccination programme during phase one because these staff are at high risk of acquiring COVID-19 infection and also of transmitting that infection to multiple persons who are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19, as well as to other staff in a healthcare environment.

For phase two of the vaccination programme, the JCVI published its final advice on 13 April, setting out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, rather than by occupation. This is because age is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisations, and because the speed of delivery is crucial as we provide more people with protection from COVID-19. The Government is on track to offer all adults eligible in phase one and phase two their first dose of authorised vaccines by the end of July. Therefore, workers at managed quarantine facilities who are eligible for a vaccine, because of their age or other clinical factors, such as underlying health conditions, will have access to a vaccine by the end of July.

Due to significant diary pressures, we are unable to meet with the family of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong at this time.

The Government takes this issue seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety of pregnant women during this pandemic.

Due to significant diary pressures, we are unable to meet with the family of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong at this time.

The Government takes this issue seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety of pregnant women during the pandemic.

Since March 2020, the Department has received a huge increase in the number of Written Question tabled. In the last calendar year to 1 March 2021, we have received over 13,000 Written Questions and as a result response times have significantly fallen. We have created and put into action an iterative recovery plan, the objectives of which are to increase the number of questions answered on time, to clear the backlog of overdue questions and to ensure high-quality answers.

Advice for pregnant employees was published by the Government, in partnership with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, The Royal College of Midwives and The Health and Safety Executive on 23 December 2020.

The guidance sets out that if a woman is pregnant and has let their employer know in writing, the employer should carry out a risk assessment. Pregnant women of any gestation should not be required to continue working if this is not supported by the risk assessment.

Women who are 28 weeks pregnant and beyond or are pregnant and have an underlying health condition that puts them at a greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19 at any gestation, are advised to take a more precautionary approach. Employers should consider how to redeploy these staff and maximise the potential for homeworking, wherever possible.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccines the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level.  For the first phase, the JCVI has advised that the vaccine be given to care home residents and staff, as well as frontline health and social care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors.

Teachers aged 50 years and older or in an at-risk group are eligible for vaccination in the first phase of the programme. Prioritisation decisions for the next phase of delivery are subject to of the surveillance and monitoring data and information from phase one, as well as further input from independent scientific experts such as the JCVI. Phase two of the roll-out may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services, such as teachers and school staff.

We are working closely with all 314 lower tier and unitary local authorities to collate information on how the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme is progressing and will release this information in due course.

The Department is working with Public Health England, NHS England and NHS Improvement and key stakeholders to encourage take-up of the COVID-19 vaccine among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and ensure that everyone, including those with questions about the vaccination process, has access to accurate advice and information. The Department is also working with community press and radio stations to deliver information on vaccination in over a dozen languages.

Our activity is also focusing on recruiting trusted voices, faith leaders, and community organisations for priority multicultural audiences, with a particular focus on Muslim, Polish, black African and Caribbean and Jewish communities. The Department is building on pre-existing relationships and established channels, as well as reaching out to more influencers through virtual sessions. Externally, the Department is also working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to help social media platforms identify/ take action on incorrect claims on the virus, including anti-vaccination narratives that could endanger people’s health.

This data is not held in the form requested. Data is held on the number of doses of COVID-19 vaccine received by people in the United Kingdom by week. By 3 January 2021, 375,357 people in the UK had received their first dose of vaccine. This increased to 1,085,657 by 10 January 2021. The daily update of the number of vaccinations in the UK is available at the following link:

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations

We are following the advice from independent experts on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on which groups of people to prioritise for COVID-19 vaccines.

The JCVI advised the immediate priority should be to prevent deaths and protect health and care staff, with old age deemed the single biggest factor determining mortality.

The Government will set out plans for phase two of the vaccination programme, based on further advice from the JCVI. Phase two may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

Due to significant diary pressures, we are unable to meet with the family of Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong at this time.

The Government takes this issue seriously and is committed to ensuring the safety of pregnant women during this pandemic.

The information requested is not held centrally.

All vaccination sites are maximising the use of all vaccines and preventing wastage, mitigating the possibility of doses exceeding their recommended shelf life or being spoiled.

The Secretary of State has not had specific conversations with the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, individual clinicians in Luton or Luton Borough Council regarding the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The Secretary of State has not had specific conversations with the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, individual clinicians in Luton or Luton Borough Council regarding the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

The Secretary of State has not had specific conversations with the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, individual clinicians in Luton or Luton Borough Council regarding the COVID-19 vaccination programme.

On Wednesday 16 December the Government released provisional figures which showed at least 137,897 people received the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by the end of Tuesday 15 December. Further information is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-137000-people-in-uk-receive-first-dose-of-covid-vaccine-in-one-week

Data published by NHS England shows that by the week ending 17 January 2021, 3,857,266 people had received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The latest COVID-19 vaccination data is available here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-vaccinations/

As of 27 December 2020, the Department published data showing that 944,539 people in the United Kingdom had received a COVID-19 vaccination.

Formal statistics will be published on an ongoing basis at: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.

Therefore, in line with the recommendations of the JCVI, the vaccine will be initially rolled out to the priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old and health and care workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions. Phase 2 of the roll out may include further reduction in hospitalisation and targeted vaccination of those at high risk of exposure and/or those delivering key public services.

On 15 May 2020 we published details of a £600 million Infection Control Fund for adult social care. The Fund was paid in two instalments: in May and July. The Department is still assuring the information that local authorities have provided on the final expenditure of the overall fund, which ran from May to September 2020. However, on 27 July, we published data that shows that every local authority distributed funding and that, in total, councils had distributed £257 million of the initial £300 million tranche by 23 July.

On 17 September 2020 the Government announced the extension of this fund until March 2021, with an additional £546 million for the care sector.

The Infection Control Fund has provided over £1.1 billion to the care sector to implement infection prevention measures. Under the conditions of the extended fund which came into place in October, local authorities are required to pass funding to care homes and Care Quality Commission regulated community care providers within the local authority’s geographical basis. The conditions also require local authorities to submit returns specifying how the grant has been spent for the Department to consider.

The flu vaccination is recommended for health and social care workers who have direct contact with patients and service users, so they can protect themselves and the vulnerable people that they care for. This is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Responsibility for offering a free flu vaccination to frontline health and social care workers rests with their employers, as part of their occupational health responsibility. Where a workplace scheme is not available, social care workers can access the flu vaccine for free through their general practitioner or at most high street pharmacists, via the National Health Service complementary scheme.

This year we have also published guidance on flu vaccination for social care workers and made available letters for care workers and personal assistants if they need help to provide proof of entitlement to the free vaccination. These are both available on GOV.UK at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flu-immunisation-for-social-care-staff

General practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists are responsible for ordering flu vaccine from suppliers which are used to deliver the national flu programme to adults, with deliveries phased through the season. The Department has procured additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine to ensure more flu vaccines are available this winter for priority cohorts, including frontline health and social care workers. GPs, community pharmacists and trusts who have exhausted their own supply are now able to order from this central stock.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with local areas to ensure that local providers are supported to meet increased demand for the flu vaccination this winter. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has granted dispensation to allow the movement of vaccines locally between practices and other National Health Service provider organisations this season, to help address local shortages.

The flu vaccination is recommended for health and social care workers who have direct contact with patients and service users, so they can protect themselves and the vulnerable people that they care for. This is based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Responsibility for offering a free flu vaccination to frontline health and social care workers rests with their employers, as part of their occupational health responsibility. Where a workplace scheme is not available, social care workers can access the flu vaccine for free through their general practitioner or at most high street pharmacists, via the National Health Service complementary scheme.

This year we have also published guidance on flu vaccination for social care workers and made available letters for care workers and personal assistants if they need help to provide proof of entitlement to the free vaccination. These are both available on GOV.UK at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flu-immunisation-for-social-care-staff

The first provisional monthly influenza vaccine uptake data amongst frontline healthcare workers in England, published by Public Health England, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake-in-healthcare-workers-monthly-data-2020-to-2021

The report covers data on vaccine uptake between 1 September 2020 and 31 October 2020 based on manual returns.

Since the initial pandemic peak, the Government has assessed and managed the impact of COVID-19 on the wider health and care agenda. This included agreeing approaches to managing service backlogs whilst also planning for winter and a successful European Union exit transition period.

During the summer the Government continued to work on the response to COVID-19 by developing the health and social care plan to ensure readiness. This has included £3 billion of additional funding to support the National Health Service announced on the 17 July and a further £450 million of capital funding.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) considered the expansion of the flu vaccination programme at a meeting on 6 July 2020. The JCVI was supportive of extending vaccination to all adults aged between 50 and 64 years of age, starting at the oldest age groups as a temporary measure for the 2020/21 influenza season.

The minute of the JCVI’s Extraordinary Meeting on COVID-19 Immunisation prioritisation held 6 July 2020 is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation#minutes

A decision was made this year to extend the seasonal flu programme to people aged 50 and over in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns about the co-circulation of flu and COVID-19. A decision has not yet been made in relation to the inclusion of people aged 50 and over in future years.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) considered the expansion of the flu vaccination programme at a meeting on 6 July 2020. The JCVI was supportive of extending vaccination to all adults aged between 50 and 64 years of age, starting at the oldest age groups as a temporary measure for the 2020/21 influenza season.

The minute of the JCVI’s Extraordinary Meeting on COVID-19 Immunisation prioritisation held 6 July 2020 is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/joint-committee-on-vaccination-and-immunisation#minutes

A decision was made this year to extend the seasonal flu programme to people aged 50 and over in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, and concerns about the co-circulation of flu and COVID-19. A decision has not yet been made in relation to the inclusion of people aged 50 and over in future years.

The flu vaccine programme is currently being delivered, with priority given to those who are most at risk from the effects of flu, and frontline health and social care workers. There will be further communication on extending the programme to those aged 50-64 later in the season. Overall, there is sufficient vaccine for more than 30 million people to be vaccinated in England this winter.

NHS England and NHS Improvement advise that at no point have urgent blood tests been delayed or unavailable due to the reported distribution issue.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working to ensure all shortage items are supplied promptly and that delivery schedules are returned to normal. They are working closely with Roche Diagnostics, and will continue to do so until all routine services have resumed, and any backlog of testing has been worked through.

Public Health England collect provisional weekly data on flu vaccine uptake levels in key cohorts, including those aged 65 years and over, at risk groups, pregnant women and children aged 2 and 3. The weekly reports are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports

Monthly data on the number of people who have been vaccinated from these cohorts, together with monthly data on uptake in healthcare workers and school age children, Reception to Year 7, is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures

The first monthly data was published on 26 November on the number of people who have been vaccinated up to 31 October 2020.

It is still very early in the flu season to provide an assessment on overall uptake.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with all the national pharmacy organisations on plans to ensure that community pharmacies, including large chain pharmacies, are used to optimal effect in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, starting with the sites that can do this at scale. As of 22 February 2021, 196 community pharmacies have now started to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service, with more pharmacies joining the service over the coming weeks. We expect 200 community pharmacies sites to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service as of 8 March 2021. Some pharmacists and members of their team have also been working with general practitioners to deliver the vaccine in many areas of the country.

The BMA General Practitioners Committee in England agreed with NHS England and NHS Improvement the general practice COVID-19 vaccination service, which was commissioned in line with agreed national terms and conditions as an Enhanced Service. GP Practices working within Primary Care Network groupings were invited to nominate by Tuesday 18 November a site to be designated and approved for administering COVID-19 vaccinations. The ES specification was published on 1 December. Practices were asked to opt into the ES by the end of the 7 December.

NHSE&I wrote to practices on 4 December, giving 10 days’ notice to prepare Primary Care Network groupings who had opted into vaccine delivery to be ready to roll out the vaccines from the week commencing 14 December, under the new Enhanced Service.

Practices in more than a hundred parts of England took delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine on 14 December, with hundreds of other sites starting to vaccinate patients in December. The sites are located in every region of England and will each deliver 975 doses of the vaccine to patients in their first week of vaccinating. Patients will be invited to return three weeks later for their second dose.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with all the national pharmacy organisations on plans to ensure that community pharmacies, including large chain pharmacies, are used to optimal effect in the COVID-19 vaccination programme, starting with the sites that can do this at scale. As of 22 February 2021, 196 community pharmacies have now started to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service, with more pharmacies joining the service over the coming weeks. We expect 200 community pharmacies sites to offer the COVID-19 vaccination service as of 8 March 2021. Some pharmacists and members of their team have also been working with general practitioners to deliver the vaccine in many areas of the country.

The Government has asked the National Health Service to be ready to deploy any safe, effective vaccines when available. Planning considerations include the size and make-up of the workforce needed to deliver a potentially extensive vaccination programme at pace, training requirements, guidance, consumables and other equipment, as well as the supporting infrastructure required, including warehousing, transport, logistics and end-destination ‘clinic’ storage.

The scale of what is rolled out and when will depend on a safe, effective vaccine being available. All plans we are making recognise that there are numerous potential vaccine candidates, meaning that we will need to remain flexible. Throughout, as health is a devolved matter, the Government is working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure successful delivery across the whole of the United Kingdom.

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met with a wide range of individuals who have been impacted in different ways by the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how they have been affected. This includes meetings with relatives of those who have sadly lost their lives to the virus.

The National Health Service COVID-19 App has been widely available to download since 24 September and provides several tools to support testing and contact tracing in England and Wales including contact tracing, local area alerts and venue check-in. As of 14 October, the app had been downloaded over 17.67 million times in England and Wales. By 28 October this had risen to 19.22 million.

Public Health England and NHS England and NHS Improvement are the health and social care delivery organisations responsible for ensuring that a COVID-19 vaccine is deployed and administered safely and efficiently to the public. This includes the planning for distribution and the consideration of the settings and workforce required to vaccinate against COVID-19. All developing programme plans recognise that there are numerous potential vaccine candidates, meaning that we will need to remain flexible.

Public Health England is in regular discussion with potential suppliers of COVID-19 vaccines around the storage and distribution of vaccines from when they may become available.

Throughout, as health is a devolved matter, the Government is working closely with the devolved administrations to ensure successful delivery across the whole of the United Kingdom.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care discusses a range of topics concerning Departmental responsibilities with Cabinet colleagues, including the distribution of a potential COVID-19 vaccine.

The Government is taking a cross-Government approach to address bereavement support and help ensure that families and friends of those deceased get the support they need.

We are engaging with the National Health Service, arm’s length bodies and bereavement organisations to assess the increased need for bereavement support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

We recognise how difficult it has been for people to be cut off from their friends and family throughout the past few months. Support bubbles were introduced to assist the most isolated in society. They can be a source of extra support to some of those most impacted by the difficult effects of the social restrictions, while ensuring we continue to keep the rate of transmission low. This is why the policy has been targeted at single-adult households. However, there are other sources of support available for grieving households. For example, support groups of up to 15 people are still able to meet. In such scenarios, people should continue to adhere to social distancing when interacting with those not in their household or support bubble.

Guidance on meeting people from outside of their household has been published and can be accessed at the following link:

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

The Government is taking a cross-Government approach to address bereavement support and help ensure that families and friends of those deceased get the support they need – particularly during this difficult time.

We are engaging with a range of specialist bereavement organisations to assess the increased the need for support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government is taking a cross-Government approach to address bereavement support and help ensure that families and friends of those deceased get the support they need – particularly during this difficult time. We are engaging with a range of specialist bereavement organisations to assess the increased need for support as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May, the Government awarded £4.2 million to mental health charities and charities providing bereavement support. This funding is part of an overall £750 million package for the voluntary sector announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in April.

The information requested is not currently held centrally.

In recent months the Government has reintroduced shielding advice for clinically extremely vulnerable people in tier 4 areas or during periods of national lockdown. The updated guidance and letters signpost people to mental health support and the Government has provided additional funding to local authorities to support clinically extremely vulnerable people during these periods of enhanced restrictions. NHS Volunteer Responders also remain on hand to support people, including clinically vulnerable people with serious mental illness.

General practitioners and other National Health Service providers have been asked to prioritise flu vaccination for all those who are in the clinically vulnerable groups documented in the national guidance.

Vaccination of those who are in at risk groups has started and will continue in all areas in England through the winter months.

Information on the flu vaccination programme for this season is included in the Annual Flu Letter Update 2020/21, which was published on 5 August 2020. The Annual Flu Letter is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/907149/Letter_annualflu_2020_to_2021_update.pdf

We will be providing further communication later in the season on the expansion of the programme to those aged 50 – 64 years.

As of 10am on 29 September, there had been over 13 million downloads of the NHS COVID-19 app.

The Government receives a range of inputs in order to make all of its decisions relating to COVID-19 restrictions, including monitoring the impact of restrictions in local areas via the Joint Biosecurity Centre and monitoring international experience.

These restrictions on operating hours have been applied in local areas where the evidence suggests it can play a role in reducing the transmission of the virus while allowing businesses to trade for the majority of the evening. We have also seen in Belgium that the package of measures introduced, including early closures in some regions, was effective in controlling transmission rates.

The Government keeps all of its COVID-19 restriction measures under review and will closely monitor the impact of this policy.

Hospitality settings have higher environmental risks than other places. We saw in Bolton how, when the 10pm curfew was deployed as part of a package of measures, the weekly average number of cases fell from 31 to 28 cases per 100,000. Cases were previously higher than anywhere else in Greater Manchester.

This is supported with Public Health England’s Weekly Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) surveillance report highlighted that from 21-27 September, 13% of those testing positive for COVID-19 reported eating out in the time before symptom onset, when there is a high risk of asymptomatic transmission.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies will continue to publish minutes from its meetings and the supporting scientific papers on GOV.UK, as has been the case since the start of the pandemic.

We will publish an evaluation of the Isle of Wight and Newham findings in due course.

The NHS COVID-19 App will have functionality to trace and contact people who have been in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case.

England's NHS Test and Trace programme has worked extensively with tech companies, international partners, scientists, privacy and medical experts and at-risk communities – and learned from the trials – to develop an app that is secure, simple to use and will help keep our country safe.

The more people who use the NHS COVID-19 App, the better it works therefore we are aiming for mass adoption. We will ensure a strong focus on building trust and coverage in communities that are at greater risk from COVID-19 and/or are currently less likely to engage with NHS Test and Trace.

The source of this data is the Test and Trace Weekly Statistical bulletin. The data provided immediately and there are some cases where a test is registered after the day it has been taken, which means that the number of tests can increase slightly over time.

The updated data is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/number-of-coronavirus-tests-processed-by-local-authority-england-28-may-to-16-september-2020

We are expanding capacity further, having already met our testing capacity target of 500,000 tests a day by the end of October. More laboratories are joining the network and we are investing in new technology to process results faster. We are automating parts of the process, installing new machines and hiring more permanent staff.

We continue to target testing capacity at the areas that need it most, including those where there is an outbreak, and prioritising at-risk groups.

At times during the National Testing Programme, demand has been high and as such test sites in areas with higher prevalence were prioritised. Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and National Health Service Test and Trace monitor infection levels across the country so higher volumes of testing are targeted where they are needed most. We are working closely with local authorities and local Directors of Public Health, sharing data on a daily basis to understand and tackle outbreaks

Further we regularly redistribute completed tests across the Lighthouse Lab network to ensure best possible utilisation of the network. We are ‘future-proofing’ capacity so that we can respond to increases in demand. We can expand testing to new use-cases – such as asymptomatic testing of NHS staff in high-prevalence areas and the mass testing pilot in Liverpool.

The Government is taking a cross-Government approach to address bereavement support and help ensure that families and friends of those deceased get the support they need.

In May, the Government awarded £4.2 million to mental health charities and charities providing bereavement support. This funding is part of an overall £750 million package for the voluntary sector announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in April.

From Monday 14 September, when meeting friends and family you do not live with (or have formed a support bubble with) you must not meet in a group of more than six, indoors or outdoors. This is against the law and the police will have the powers to enforce these legal limits, including to issue fines (fixed penalty notices) of £100, doubling for further breaches up to a maximum of £3,200.

In England, a support bubble is a close support network between a household of any size and a single adult household. Support bubbles are to assist the loneliest and most isolated in society. It is to provide extra support to some of those most impacted by the most difficult effects of the current social restrictions, while ensuring we continue to keep the rate of transmission low.

My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has met with a wide range of individuals who have been impacted in different ways by the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how they have been affected. This includes meetings with relatives of those who have sadly lost their lives to the virus.

The Government keeps the funding arrangements for all pre-registration undergraduate and postgraduate National Health Service health professionals’ education under close review, to ensure that students are appropriately supported.

In 2017 pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students became eligible for tuition fee and maintenance loans, receiving at least 25% more funding for living costs support than under the previous system. The Government introduced the Learning Support Fund which provides a child dependants allowance, reimbursement of all additional travel costs to attend clinical placements and an exceptional hardship fund.

From September 2020, all eligible new and continuing pre-registration nursing, midwifery and most allied health profession students studying at English universities would benefit from a new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year in addition to the funding available already through the Learning Support Fund.

Ministers regularly meet with key stakeholders including trade union and royal college representatives, to discuss the Government’s approach to National Health Service workforce supply and the financial support available to nursing, midwifery and allied healthcare students.

In 2017 pre-registration nursing, midwifery and allied health profession students became eligible for tuition fee and maintenance loans instead of receiving an NHS Bursary. We also introduced the Learning Support Fund which provides a child dependents allowance, reimbursement of all additional travel costs to attend clinical placements and an exceptional hardship fund.

In December 2019, the Government announced that from September 2020, all eligible new and continuing pre-registration nursing, midwifery and most allied health profession students studying at English universities would benefit from a new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5,000 per academic year in addition to the funding available already through the Learning Support Fund.

Students on the loans system receive at least 25% more funding for living costs support than under the previous system.

Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office officials are working at pace to implement the announcement for removing health and care workers from the Immigration Health Surcharge and further information will be available shortly.

Department of Health and Social Care and Home Office officials are working at pace to implement the announcement for removing health and care workers from the Immigration Health Surcharge and further information will be available shortly.

There is a huge global demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), which is why we are both sourcing and shipping stock from abroad, alongside working with British manufacturers so we can be confident we can meet the PPE needs of health and social care over the next seven and 90 days.

Lord Deighton is leading our national effort to buy and produce more PPE. We have signed contracts for over 2 billion items of PPE through United Kingdom-based manufacturers, including facemasks, visors, gowns and aprons, ensuring we build and maintain a domestic base for the future.

Public Health England published ‘COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE)’ updated guide on 17 April. This advises that suitable decontamination arrangements for some PPE items should be obtained from the manufacturer, supplier or local infection control. This guidance also included advice on when PPE can be reused.

We have been giving the National Health Service and the social care sector everything they need to tackle this outbreak. We have delivered millions more items of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline staff over the last few days to hospitals, ambulance trusts, general practitioner practices, pharmacists, care homes, home care providers and hospices. The full weight of the Government is behind this effort and we are working closely with industry, the NHS, social care providers and the army to ensure the right equipment is delivered to the right people. This includes working with all partners to reprioritise PPE for use on the frontline.

The National Health Service has expert teams in every ambulance service and a number of specialist hospital units with highly trained staff and equipment ready to receive and care for patients with any highly infectious disease.

The NHS practises and prepares its response to disease outbreaks and follow tried and tested procedures, following the highest safety standards possible for the protection of NHS staff, patients and the public.

All guidance is published on GOV.uk and standard operating procedures are published on NHS England and NHS Improvement’s website. Guidance is also available to healthcare professionals on NHS England and NHS Improvement’s website, with specific guidance for those in ambulance services. This includes information on personal protective equipment (PPE) as well as infection prevention and control guidance. More information can be found at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/872745/Infection_prevention_and_control_guidance_for_pandemic_coronavirus.pdf

The United Kingdom maintains stockpiles of protective equipment for healthcare staff who may come into contact with patients with the virus.

These stocks are being monitored daily, with additional stocks being ordered where necessary.

NHS England is in regular contact with all hospitals and has published regular updates to its guidance and advice.

NHS England published a letter, on 17 March, detailing the next steps, in response to the COVID-19, which builds on multiple actions already in train. The letter can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/next-steps-on-nhs-response-to-covid-19-letter-from-simon-stevens-and-amanda-pritchard/

We have launched a public information campaign to help the public understand the risks of the virus and how they can protect themselves, including publishing a series of guidance documents on how to handle suspected cases in different sectors of the economy, including schools. We will keep this under review and publish more guidance as necessary.

More information can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19

From 20 March, parents have been asked to keep their children at home wherever possible. Schools, and all childcare providers, are being asked to continue to provide care for a limited number of children – children who are vulnerable, and children whose parents are critical to the COVID-19 response and cannot be safely cared for at home. More information on this can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers/closure-of-educational-settings-information-for-parents-and-carers

The Department is considering carefully all available evidence around the potential of different medicines for use in treating COVID-19.

Clinical trials are being developed to assess the benefits of a number of different medicines in treating COVID-19. Further medicines may be trialled should evidence indicate to the Department this would be an appropriate course of action.

The Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Public Health England and the National Health Service are working together to ensure that trials can begin as soon as possible. The first trial in the United Kingdom in hospitalised patients should begin later this week.

Officials are working with the LGAs (local government associations), Public Health England and NHS England on continuity planning, to support social care providers.

We know social care will be at the frontline of our response to COVID-19, with social care providers looking after many of the most vulnerable in society.

Social care guidance is being worked on urgently and updated regularly. The latest advice which the government keeps under review is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-social-or-community-care-and-residential-settings-on-covid-19

The Chancellor has set out a £12 billion package of temporary, timely and targeted measures to support public services, individuals and businesses through the economic disruption caused by COVID-19.

We are scaling up intensive care beds. NHS England is looking at National Health Service organisations critical care capacity - including the availability of additional facilities of independent sector providers.

It is also making sure that they have as much ventilation equipment as possible and, crucially, the skilled and trained people to use it.

There are no plans to provide ventilators at home as this would not be viable.

Public Health England have published guidance for companies and care workers. This advice will be regularly updated as the scale of the outbreak increases. The guidance is available at the following link:

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

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-social-or-community-care-and-residential-settings-on-covid-19

We know social care will be at the frontline of our response to COVID-19, with social care providers looking after many of the most vulnerable in society.

Social care guidance is being worked on urgently and is due to be published in due course.

Officials are working with the local government associations, Public Health England and NHS England on continuity planning, to support social care providers.

Data showing the proportion of time between booking an appointment with a general practice and the appointment taking place by National Health Service regions in England in the 12 months up to December 2019 are presented in the attached table.

NHS Digital publishes ‘Appointments in General Practice’. This is an experimental data collection which is still being refined and improved.

It should be noted that the ‘time from booking to appointment’ refers only to the time elapsed between the successful booking of an appointment and the appointment taking place. The data does not take into consideration that many patients will be appropriately booking ahead as part of the continuity of care they receive for long-term conditions.

This Government is clear that no one should be without a roof over their head. It is widely recognised that being homeless or sleeping rough can have a significant impact on the mental and physical health of individuals, including children, disabled people and the elderly.

The Rough Sleeping Strategy, published in August 2018, set out actions to address the needs of all people sleeping rough, including disabled people and elderly people. NHS England has committed to spending up to £30 million over five years on mental health services for people sleeping rough and we have promoted guidance on care for homeless people at the end of their lives. We are providing £2 million in funding to test ways to improve access to health services for people with co-occurring mental ill-health and substance misuse problems who are currently, or at risk of returning to, sleeping rough.

This Government has committed to eliminating rough sleeping in the term of this parliament.

The Department works with NHS Improvement and key stakeholders (including health professional bodies) to continuously review the National Health Service overseas visitors charging regime, to ensure it is fit for purpose and in line with current practice.

The Overseas Visitor Improvement Team at NHS Improvement does not have a target; but continues to work to maximise the total income opportunity of correctly identifying and charging overseas visitors to ensure that the National Health Service is fairly funded for this activity.

NHS Improvement also looks to ensure accuracy and consistency of approach across the NHS Overseas Visitors Charging Regime.

The Overseas Visitor Improvement Team at NHS Improvement does not have a target; but continues to work to maximise the total income opportunity of correctly identifying and charging overseas visitors to ensure that the National Health Service is fairly funded for this activity.

NHS Improvement also looks to ensure accuracy and consistency of approach across the NHS Overseas Visitors Charging Regime.

One of the UK's immediate priorities is to work with international partners to ensure that life-saving humanitarian aid can reach those who need it most. The UN is seeking commitments from the Taliban to enable humanitarian work to continue. These must include respect for humanitarian principles, humanitarian access, international humanitarian law and guarantees for female aid workers.

The UK led work on the recent UN Security Council resolution, demonstrating our commitment to holding the Taliban to account on human rights, humanitarian access, safe passage and preventing terror.

The UK government continues to discuss the situation in Kashmir with both the Governments of India and Pakistan, and with our contacts in Kashmir, through our diplomatic networks in both countries. The UK's longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to identify a lasting resolution to the situation in Kashmir, one that takes into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

Human rights form a regular part of our dialogue with India. Most recently, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister of State for South Asia, discussed the situation for Christians in India with India's Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kishan Reddy, on 15 March. Our Acting High Commissioner in New Delhi also discussed UK Parliamentary interest in minorities in India with officials from India's Ministry of External Affairs on 5 January. A senior FCDO official discussed the situation for India's religious minorities with the Indian High Commissioner on 29 December 2020.

The British High Commission in New Delhi regularly meets religious representatives and has run projects promoting minority rights. This year, they supported an interfaith leadership programme for a cohort of emerging Indian faith leaders, including Christians and Muslims, creating an opportunity to exchange expertise on leading modern, inclusive faith communities, and promoting values of tolerance and multi-culturalism.

We were extremely concerned by reports the military regime has closed internationally-run clinics in the Tanintharyi region of Myanmar. It is vital that HIV treatment programmes are not interrupted - for the wellbeing of patients and for wider public health. HIV services must be allowed to resume. We have called on the regime to ensure health workers can go about their lifesaving work freely.

The FCDO continues to have regular contact with prison authorities in Pakistan to check on Mr Rafique's welfare and have sought assurances that medical staff will continue to monitor his health. His family are being kept informed of all developments and we continue to speak to Mr Rafique, his friends and lawyers. Whilst prison visits are suspended due to the pandemic, we continue to arrange telephone calls with Mr Rafique to discuss any welfare and health issues. Mr Rafique's lawyers are supporting him through the next stages of his legal case. We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan. On 20 February, the Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights.

The ongoing violence across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is deeply concerning and must stop. We call on all sides to reduce tensions, restore calm and avoid provocation. Violence against peaceful worshippers of any faith is unacceptable. Respect for the historic status quo at the Holy Sites in Jerusalem is important at all times, especially during religious festivals such as Ramadan. Our priority now is to secure an immediate de-escalation on all sides.

We regularly make clear our concerns about the evictions of Palestinians from their homes in East Jerusalem. I spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and to the Palestinian Head of Mission in London on the 11 May, to urge them to de-escalate, restore calm and to reiterate our position on this issue. I tweeted on the 8 May outlining our concern over tensions in Jerusalem linked to the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. We continue to urge Israel to cease such actions, which in all but the most exceptional cases are contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

The FCDO continues to have regular contact with prison authorities in Pakistan to check on Mr Rafique's welfare and have sought assurances that medical staff will continue to monitor his health. His family are being kept informed of all developments and we continue to speak to Mr Rafique, his friends and lawyers. Whilst prison visits are suspended due to the pandemic, we continue to arrange telephone calls with Mr Rafique to discuss any welfare and health issues. Mr Rafique has engaged new lawyers to support him through the next stage of his legal case.

We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan. On 20 February, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights.

The FCDO continue regular contact with prison authorities in Pakistan to check on Mr Rafique's welfare and have sought assurances that medical staff will continue to monitor his health. His family are being kept informed of all developments and we continue to speak to Mr Rafique, his friends and lawyers. Whilst prison visits are suspended due to the pandemic, we continue to arrange telephone calls with Mr Rafique to discuss any welfare and health issues. Mr Rafique and his lawyer have lodged an appeal against his sentence. We hope that a pro bono legal panel, arranged by the FCDO, will provide support to his lawyers during this next stage of his legal case.

We regularly raise our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. On 20 February, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights.

The Government is committed to working with international partners, including the UN, to hold China to account for its human rights violations in Xinjiang. Ministers and Officials are in regular contact with counterparts at the UN in New York and Geneva. For example, the Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke to the High Commissioner for Human Rights in September. In February, the Foreign Secretary used a personal address at the UN Human Rights Council to reiterate his call for China to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent expert, urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang.

The Government remains gravely concerned by the human rights situation in Xinjiang and is committed to continued robust action to hold China to account for its human rights violations in the region. In February, the Foreign Secretary used a personal address at the UN Human Rights Council to reiterate his call for China to allow the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, or another independent expert, urgent and unfettered access to Xinjiang. On 22 March, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK had imposed, under the UK's Global Human Rights sanctions regime, asset freezes and travel bans against four senior Chinese government officials responsible for the violations that have taken place and persist against the Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. Alongside those individuals, the UK also designated the Public Security Bureau of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, the organisation responsible for enforcing the repressive security policies across many areas of Xinjiang.

The FCDO continue regular contact with prison authorities in Pakistan to check on Mr Rafique's welfare and have sought assurances that medical staff will continue to monitor his health. His family are being kept informed of all developments and we continue to speak to Mr Rafique's friends and lawyers. Whilst prison visits are suspended due to the pandemic, we continue to arrange telephone calls with Mr Rafique to discuss any welfare and health issues. We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan. On 20 February, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights.

The FCDO continues to speak to Mr Rafique about any health and welfare concerns through telephone calls as visits are still suspended due to the pandemic. Officials are in regular contact with the prison authorities to check on his welfare and his family are being kept informed of all developments. We regularly raise at a senior level our concerns about the human rights situation with the Government of Pakistan. On 20 February, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, discussed our human rights concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights.

We are aware of these reports but do not comment on individual cases. The Government engages in regular dialogue with businesses in Hong Kong and as a matter of course monitors the operation of the financial sector and its participants. Financial institutions operating in Hong Kong do so within a strict legal and regulatory framework. We are concerned that a number of recent decisions by the authorities in Hong Kong are further evidence of a determined campaign to stifle opposition and silence dissent. As a signatory to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, China must abide by the legally binding commitments it made to uphold fundamental rights and freedoms, and respect Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy for at least 50 years from 1997. The UK will continue to pursue an approach in Hong Kong that is rooted in our values, defends the rights of the people of Hong Kong and respects the provisions of the Joint Declaration.

The Foreign Secretary last spoke to his New Zealand counterpart on 12 November 2020. They discussed COVID-19 in relation to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations, and protecting vulnerable countries. As one of our closest international partners, UK Government officials have frequent contact with New Zealand counterparts on a range of COVID-19 issues, including border policy. The UK has some of the strongest safeguards against importing COVID-19. We have taken decisive action in relation to new variants identified in South Africa and South America. We have also, as a precautionary measure, suspended the travel corridors and ensured that we have a system in place requiring a pre-departure negative test. In addition, we have reintroduced quarantine on arrival, backed up by increased enforcement by both Public Health England and Border Force.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have publicly stated their position on the shocking events at the Capitol on 6 January 2021. Officials at the British Embassy in Washington are in regular contact with senior Democrats and have amplified the concerns expressed by the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary.

The Foreign Secretary has conveyed to the US Administration the UK's shock at the events in the Capitol on 6 January.

The UK Government condemns the scenes at Congress. There is no justification for violent attempts to frustrate the lawful and proper transition of power.

The UK is concerned about violence against women and girls in Bangladesh and strongly supports action to tackle this issue. Through the British High Commission in Dhaka, we work with partners to press for better implementation of legislation that protects and promotes the status of women and girls. UK programmes support access to security and justice and health services for survivors of violence, as well as women's and girls' education, health, and economic empowerment. We also work with men and boys to tackle social norms around gender-based violence and early marriage.

This month, the British High Commission in Dhaka will join the Government of Bangladesh and international and local partners for 16 Days of Activism to end gender based violence and impunity and to support survivors.

The UK strongly supports action to tackle violence against women and girls in Bangladesh. This month, the British High Commission in Dhaka will join the Government of Bangladesh and international and local partners for 16 Days of Activism to end gender based violence and impunity and to support survivors.

Through the British High Commission in Dhaka, we continue to raise concerns about violence against women and girls with the Government of Bangladesh. We also work with international partners and civil society to press for better implementation of legislation that protects and promotes the status of women and girls, and in support of justice for survivors of gender based violence.

FCDO staff have monitored Mr Tanveer Ahmed Rafique's health and welfare through phone calls, as he was detained during the Covid-19 pandemic so physical access to Mirpur Central Prison is not possible. We will raise any welfare concerns with local authorities with Mr Rafique's consent in line with our public guidance set out in the FCDO guide: Support for British Nationals Abroad. We regularly remind the Pakistani Government of its human rights obligations.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working around the clock, through our Posts overseas and in London, to make sure all British people who need help are receiving the support and information they need. We have now brought home nearly 31,000 people on 144 flights organised by the Foreign Office from 27 countries and territories. The vast majority of the 8,000 British nationals in Zambia are long-term residents. The High Commission currently has no requests from British nationals for assistance in departing Zambia and commercial flights from Lusaka continue to operate. Information and support for British nationals in Zambia can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/zambia/return-to-the-uk. The number of British nationals seeking to leave Sudan has sharply increased following the extension of airport closures to 20 May. We are looking at all options to help British travellers looking to return home from Sudan, and we encourage them to register their details via our Travel Advice page: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/sudan/return-to-the-uk. We are working to establish whether a repatriation flight from Sudan would be possible later this month. Further information on this option for travellers will be shared on the Travel Advice page as soon as it is available.

Our longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people. We encourage India and Pakistan to open channels of communication and engage in dialogue as a means to resolving differences. We have welcomed India’s commitment to economic and social development in India administered Kashmir and have asked the Indian Government to provide more detail on how their plans will be realised. We do not currently have any aid programmes in India administered Kashmir or Pakistan administered Kashmir. The UK seeks to reduce poverty, foster prosperity and build sustainable inclusive markets in India and Pakistan, while generating a return for the UK and creating trade, investment, and partnership opportunities.

?In London, across India (where we have our largest diplomatic network) and in multilateral institutions across the world British officials engage daily with Indian counterparts. Our engagement covers the full range of issues in a broad and deep relationship.

We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir carefully, and are in regular contact with the Governments of India and Pakistan. The Prime Minister has underlined the importance of resolving issues through dialogue to both of his counterparts. Most recently the Foreign Secretary discussed the situation in Kashmir with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan and Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon raised the issue with the Indian Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs. Our longstanding position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting political resolution on Kashmir, taking into account the wishes of the Kashmiri people.

We are monitoring the situation in Kashmir carefully and keep our travel advice under constant review. If anyone in the UK is concerned about family or friends in Kashmir who are British Nationals, they should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office directly for advice. We should also stress that our consular services are very limited due to restrictions on communications in India-administered Kashmir. The safety and security of all people in India and India-administered Kashmir, including British nationals, is the responsibility of the Indian authorities.

​

We recognise that there are human rights concerns in India-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Any allegation of human rights violations or abuses is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly, promptly and transparently. We encourage all states to ensure domestic laws in line with international standards. We raise our concerns with the Governments of India and Pakistan.

​

The Foreign Secretary has set out our concerns about the situation in Hong Kong directly to both the Chinese Foreign Minister, State Councillor Wang Yi and the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam. The Foreign Secretary made clear that meaningful political dialogue is the only way to resolve the situation. The Foreign Secretary also raised Hong Kong with the Chinese Ambassador in London on 19 November 2019. Senior officials have remained in regular contact with the authorities in Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The leadership in China and Hong Kong is in no doubt about the strength of UK concern over the current situation, and our commitment to seeing the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Joint Declaration upheld.

We have particularly serious concerns about the human rights situation in Xinjiang including the extra-judicial detention of over a million Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in “political re-education camps”, systematic restrictions on Uyghur culture and the practice of Islam, and extensive and invasive surveillance targeting minorities. On 26 September during an Urgent Question on Hong Kong the Foreign Secretary set out the UK’s serious concerns about the credible reports of over a million Uyghur Muslims being held in so-called “re-education camps”. He stated in the House that the British Government will continue to ensure that these concerns are expressed directly with Chinese authorities. Most recently, the UK Ambassador to China raised our concerns with Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang on 24 December 2019. The UK also regularly raises the human rights situation in Xinjiang at the UN Human Rights Council.