Sarah Smith

The administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme is the responsibility of the Cabinet Office.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and GOV.UK.

We are making Capita work to restore, to contractual levels, administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme following its failed transition in December last year. Capita committed to restoring the service by the end of June. The Government is now undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the latest data provided by Capita post the end of June commitment.

We remain committed to holding Capita accountable. Should underperformance occur and the agreed firm end of June deadline not be met, the Government will not hesitate to take firm action, all commercial levers will be used and all options will be considered.

A dedicated 140-person government surge team was deployed to clear the 15,000 inherited unread emails and stabilise operations. Government has been clear that this support will remain in place until they are satisfied service levels have been restored, with an expectation of Capita picking up the cost (to be part of the post-recovery contractual settlement).

There are no general restrictions on shop opening hours aside from Sunday trading restrictions on large shops, which the Government has no plans to change. However, for new properties or those selling alcohol, additional restrictions may apply subject to the planning system and the licensing regime.

There are no general restrictions on shop opening hours aside from Sunday trading restrictions on large shops, which the Government has no plans to change. However, for new properties or those selling alcohol, additional restrictions may apply subject to the planning system and the licensing regime.

Our immediate focus is getting the Online Safety Act (OSA) implemented quickly and effectively. The OSA sets out a clear regulatory framework to tackle both mis- and disinformation where it constitutes illegal content or harmful content to children.

In addition, through our work on media literacy, we are taking steps to empower users with the skills they need to engage critically with online content. Since 2022, we have provided almost £3million in funding to projects helping citizens make safer, more informed decisions online.

Officials also regularly meet with major social media platforms to discuss disinformation activity, emerging risks and platforms’ responses.

The government is committed to supporting families who have endured unimaginable losses. The Online Safety Act will help address challenges faced by bereaved parents when engaging with online services following a child’s death. The Act gives Ofcom the power to require information from regulated services about a deceased child’s online activity following a coroner’s request.

In terms of horrific abusive content, under the Act social media platforms must take responsibility for users’ safety by removing illegal abusive content. These duties on platforms to tackle illegal content are expected to come into effect in Spring 2025.

The Online Safety Act will require social media platforms to take more responsibility for the safety of their users. Platforms will need to remove all illegal abusive content and protect children from harmful content, including hateful and abusive content.

Where anonymous abuse does not meet the criminal threshold, adult users of the largest services (Category 1) will have the choice to filter out content from non-verified users. Those services must also offer user empowerment tools to adult users, which when applied will reduce the likelihood that they are exposed to certain legal content, including abusive content.

The Online Safety Act will require social media platforms to take more responsibility for the safety of their users. Platforms will need to remove all illegal abusive content and protect children from harmful content, including hateful and abusive content.

Where anonymous abuse does not meet the criminal threshold, adult users of the largest services (Category 1) will have the choice to filter out content from non-verified users. Those services must also offer user empowerment tools to adult users, which when applied will reduce the likelihood that they are exposed to certain legal content, including abusive content.

The government is working with Ofcom to implement the Online Safety Act as quickly and effectively as possible. The Act, once implemented, will require services to tackle illegal content online and protect children from harmful content. On 16 December 2024, Ofcom reached a significant milestone by publishing the first draft illegal harms code which sets out measures that services can take to comply with their new duties.

Ofcom will reach several more milestones over the coming months including publication of its: child access guidance; age assurance guidance for pornography publishers; draft guidance on protecting women and girls online; and the draft child safety code.

The Government has confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers (SGOs) until the end of the 2024/25 Academic Year. Funding beyond then will be confirmed ahead of the start of the 2025/26 Financial Year, with funding from April 2026 onwards subject to the ongoing Spending Review.

Providing a good quality of service for members is a key aim for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme.

The department consistently monitors the scheme administrator’s performance and maintains strong oversight through contract management processes and an independent Pension Board, which includes employer and member representatives, to ensure service standards are upheld.

Where examples of poor service are identified, the department’s contract management team engages directly with the scheme administrator to understand the issues and ensure improvements are made.

Breaktime Plus is a short breaks programme run by Lancashire County Council. Local authorities have a duty to publish their own short breaks offer, and the government has supported them in this by publishing the lessons learned from the Short Breaks Innovation Programme in February 2026. This report includes a range of approaches to improving the effectiveness, accessibility and efficiency of short breaks provision.

The government is also carefully considering the recommendations made by the Law Commission in its September 2025 report on disabled children's social care. The Commission highlighted the importance of short breaks as a key form of support for disabled children and their families. Ministers are considering the Commission's findings and recommendations and intend to publish the government's response in the autumn.

The department is committed to ensuring all young people across England can access a wide range of enrichment opportunities at school and college, as part of our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and ensure all children deserve a childhood with a wide range of things to do away from screens.

In our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving Schools White Paper, we set out our ambition to introduce an enrichment entitlement for every pupil, underpinned by a core enrichment offer that every school and college should aim to provide.

This is supported by the new Enrichment Framework, which sets out benchmarks, case studies and practical tools to help schools and colleges plan high-quality enrichment more strategically.

We are also putting in place support for wider provision, including through PE and School Sport Partnerships, Music Hubs, and the £22.5 million Enrichment Expansion Programme, delivered with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, supporting up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to meet these benchmarks. ‘Every Child Can’, funded through the Dormant Assets Scheme, will deliver £132.5 million for new activities programmes delivered through schools, community programmes, weekend activities and holiday provision, structured around the same five categories as the Enrichment Framework.

The Statutory Nuisance Regime under Section 79 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA) is designed to provide protection from nuisances including noise, odour, smoke, fumes, artificial light, infestations and accumulations. Local authorities are responsible for investigating nuisance problems brought to their attention under the EPA.

If they agree that a statutory nuisance is happening, has happened or will happen in the future, councils must serve an abatement notice (usually on the person responsible). This could result in an unlimited fine if the recipient does not follow the rules of the abatement notice. It could also result in prosecution and an additional fine if found guilty in a Magistrates Court.

Local Authority Environmental Health Officers are qualified to make decisions on what can be considered a statutory nuisance within the local context and issue an abatement notice immediately. At this present time, there are no current plans to change the regime to include local consultation.

Families with disabled children get an extra amount of Universal Credit of up to £487.58 per month, no matter how many children they have. This increased in line with inflation. If they are receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, they are also exempt from the benefit cap.

School nurses are crucial in tackling health inequalities but we know we can do more to support them. That is why we are updating the Healthy Child Programme guidance, informed by the Department for Education, which will strengthen school nurses’ impact.

Alongside this, our commitment to publishing a new Professional Strategy for all nurses and midwives will help increase their impact in reducing health inequalities across the country.

Scheme managers of the individual public service pension schemes are responsible for ensuring the effective delivery of the McCloud remedy and for supporting their scheme’s members. I have written to scheme managers to remind them of their responsibilities to implement the remedy as quickly as possible and ensure that scheme members and the Pensions Regulator are kept informed of progress and plans.

This Government has committed to publishing a Trade Strategy which sets out the UK’s approach to trade. The Trade Strategy will consider a range of levers to achieve our economic and international objectives. As with all policy, the Government keeps import duty under ongoing review.