Siobhan Baillie

Ministerial colleagues and I, as well as officials in the Cabinet Office and relevant other Government Departments, are working closely to ensure effective design and implementation of the Government response to Inquiry, with regular meetings and engagement across Whitehall.

The Government is committed to responding to the recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff in full, after the publication of the final report. The Government has appointed an expert group to provide advice on recommendations regarding compensation, and we are bringing forward amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill at Report Stage in the Other Place to speed up the Government response to the Inquiry.

Ministerial colleagues and I, as well as officials in the Cabinet Office and relevant other Government Departments, are working closely to ensure effective design and implementation of the Government response to Inquiry, with regular meetings and engagement across Whitehall.

The Government is committed to responding to the recommendations made by Sir Brian Langstaff in full, after the publication of the final report. The Government has appointed an expert group to provide advice on recommendations regarding compensation, and we are bringing forward amendments to the Victims and Prisoners Bill at Report Stage in the Other Place to speed up the Government response to the Inquiry.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady Parliamentary Question of 22 May is attached.

My Department has offered to meet the reasonable legal costs of postmasters applying to the GLO scheme in line with a tariff agreed with claimants’ legal representatives. I wrote to all GLO postmasters in December 2022 advising them not to engage any lawyer who asks them for payment, as this might mean their compensation would be reduced by legal costs which they could not recover. My Department’s understanding is that only one lawyer has been engaged on that basis, representing one or two out of 492 claimants in the GLO scheme.

Following the AI Regulation Whitepaper, the government is establishing a central AI risk function which will identify, measure and monitor existing and emerging AI risks using expertise from across government, industry, and academia. This will allow us to monitor risks — including fraud.

All companies in scope of the Online Safety Bill will need to take action to prevent fraudulent content - including AI-generated content or content posted by AI bots - appearing on their platforms and swiftly remove it if it does.

As Ofcom recognised, the Bill provides Ofcom with a powerful set of tools to understand how bots are used, and how services are assessing their risks and appropriate safety measures. In line with requirements in the Bill, the Government will review the operation of the Online Safety framework two to five years after the safety duties come into force, and we expect AI to be an important part of this.

Following the AI Regulation Whitepaper, the government is establishing a central AI risk function which will identify, measure and monitor existing and emerging AI risks using expertise from across government, industry, and academia. This will allow us to monitor risks — including online harms.

The Online Safety Bill will require services to tackle AI-generated content on services in scope. Content produced by AI bots on those services will be in scope of the regulation if they are controlled by a user and interact with other users.

In addition, adult users will have the choice to filter-out non-verified users, including generative AI bots that impersonate others or spread harmful content.

The Government’s independent advisers, the Climate Change Committee (CCC) advised that reaching net zero by 2050 is the right target for the UK, which is consistent with the UK’s contribution to reducing global emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. We followed their advice by legislating for net zero in 2019.

When setting our carbon budgets, which step down towards our 2050 target, we follow the requirements set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. These include taking account of several matters including “scientific knowledge about climate change” and “circumstances at European and international level”.

We will carefully consider the CCC’s advice ahead of setting the sixth carbon budget in legislation later this year. Following the setting of this target, we will be publishing a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26 which sets out the Government’s vision for how we transition to a net zero economy.

In the Spring Budget 2023, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced a transformative set of childcare reforms. This included the largest ever investment in childcare including expansions of early years entitlements and wraparound childcare.

The department is investing £289 million in a new wraparound childcare programme to support local authorities to work with primary schools and providers, including childminders, to set up and deliver more wraparound childcare before and after school in the term time. The department’s ambition is for all parents of primary school children who need it to access childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm.

Parents should expect to see an expansion in the availability of wraparound care from September 2024, with every parent who needs it able to access term-time wraparound childcare by September 2026. Programme funding allocations will be announced at the necessary points to support local authorities and schools to meet these timescales.

The department understands that parents may struggle to return to work or may work fewer hours when their children are of school age. A key barrier is the availability of school-age wraparound childcare. In 2022, 43% of non-working mothers with children aged 5 to14 said that if they could arrange good quality childcare that was convenient, reliable and affordable, they would prefer to go out to work.

The availability of wraparound childcare differs across schools and local authorities. In March 2023, only 60% of primary schools reported to currently offer childcare at both ends of the day. This means that although there is some excellent provision, whether delivered by schools or providers, not all families are receiving the support that they need to enable them to work.

For this reason, the government is investing £289 million in a new wraparound childcare programme to support local authorities to work with primary schools and private providers to set up and deliver more wraparound childcare before and after school in the term time. This is the first step in the government’s ambition for all parents of primary school children who need it to access childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm. Successfully meeting this objective will go some way to ensuring that parents have enough childcare to work full time, more hours and more flexible hours.

Eligible working parents can continue to access support with childcare costs when their children are of school age: through Tax Free Childcare, worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged up to 11, or £4,000 per year for children aged up to 17 with disabilities, and the childcare element of Universal Credit for children up to age 16.

The attached table contains the department’s analysis of the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) student record showing the number of care leavers who entered courses at English higher education providers in academic year 2020/21. Coverage refers to entrants domiciled in England prior to study and care leavers are defined as codes 01 and 04 in the HESA care leaver collection documentation. Further information can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c20051/a/careleaver.

This shows that in academic year 2020/21, there were 4,290 care leavers who entered courses at English higher education providers in academic year 2020/21. Of these, 580 entered courses across 27 high tariff providers. A full breakdown by institution can be found in the attachment.

The department does not hold information on the numbers of all care leavers in further education. The department does hold and publish information on the activities of care leavers aged 17 to 21 who had been looked after by local authorities in England. This includes information on care leavers in education but not specifically further education. The latest statistics are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/607634ac-0f37-4ffc-8cdc-576d0bb9b16b.

The department does not hold information centrally on all looked-after children who are studying at KS5 or who are in further education. The department does hold and publish information on pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2018/2019 and reports on their destinations in the following academic year (2019/2020). The figures show, in academic year 2019/20, 5,450 children looked after were in a sustained education destination in the year following the end of key stage 4. Of these, 2,910 were in further education, 860 were in a school sixth form or sixth form college and 1,240 were in some other form of education. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d583af1d-ad7d-4f1f-990b-2b27586d6c69.

The latest information on attainment for looked after children is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/outcomes-for-children-in-need-including-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-in-england.

The department does not hold information on the numbers of all care leavers in further education. The department does hold and publish information on the activities of care leavers aged 17 to 21 who had been looked after by local authorities in England. This includes information on care leavers in education but not specifically further education. The latest statistics are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/607634ac-0f37-4ffc-8cdc-576d0bb9b16b.

The department does not hold information centrally on all looked-after children who are studying at KS5 or who are in further education. The department does hold and publish information on pupils who were at the end of key stage 4 in 2018/2019 and reports on their destinations in the following academic year (2019/2020). The figures show, in academic year 2019/20, 5,450 children looked after were in a sustained education destination in the year following the end of key stage 4. Of these, 2,910 were in further education, 860 were in a school sixth form or sixth form college and 1,240 were in some other form of education. Further information is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d583af1d-ad7d-4f1f-990b-2b27586d6c69.

The latest information on attainment for looked after children is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/outcomes-for-children-in-need-including-children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-in-england.

The UK plays an active role to support and implement the conservation and wise use of wetlands through the Ramsar Convention. In England we are not currently planning to publish a separate National Wetland Strategy but have set out our plan to recover nature and restore our habitats and wetlands in the revised Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP23), as well as our England Peat Action Plan. We are also meeting our commitments under the Ramsar Convention, as laid out in our Environmental Improvement Plan and the National Adaptation Plan, through establishing a UK Wetland Inventory - mapping our wetlands for the first time and supporting future action to protect these vital habitats.

We recognise that wetland restoration will be critical to protect the vast number of wetland species as well as providing critical nature-based solutions to climate change mitigation and adaption. By 2030 we have domestically committed to halt the decline in species abundance and by 2042 we aim to reverse species decline; to reduce the risk of species extinction; and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitats outside protected sites. Many wetlands are also Protected Sites, of which we have committed to restore 75% to favourable condition by 2042.

Alongside setting targets in other areas including water and air quality, we are taking targeted action to recover our wetlands. Our recently announced and government-supported Lost Wetlands Nature Recovery Project will reclaim, restore and rewet a mosaic of wetland habitats over 5,000ha in South Greater Manchester and North Cheshire, previously lost to industrialisation, urbanisation and agricultural intensification. Defra has also launched a 60,000-hectare Nature Recovery Project focusing on the Somerset Wetlands, with the 6,140-hectare super National Nature Reserve at its heart. These projects will enhance connectivity, species recovery and resilience to climate change.

Yes, my Department will be marking World Wetlands Day, including through a variety of communications and engagement activities. Wetlands play a crucial role in sustaining life globally - they benefit water, food, livelihoods, climate, cultural pursuits, and biodiversity – and this day marks an opportunity to promote these benefits.

This year’s World Wetlands Day theme is ‘Wetland and human wellbeing’, reflecting that Wetlands positively impact mental wellbeing by promoting mindfulness and emotional balance through the connection to nature they provide and offer recreational opportunities, contributing to stress management and relaxation.

Government has a goal of stimulating at least £500m per year of private investment into nature recovery in England by 2027, rising to at least £1bn per year by 2030. Defra is putting in place interventions to set the conditions for this to happen, including publishing a nature markets framework, partnering with the British Standards Institute on nature investment standards, stimulating a pipeline of investable nature projects (including multiple projects in wetland areas), and enabling public funding for nature to crowd-in private investment.

The Government is also supporting eight blue finance projects with around £750,000 of grants through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund. This funding is being used to develop a pipeline of projects that can demonstrate viable private-sector investment models, ultimately working to restore important coastal and marine habitats such as saltmarsh. Four of the five Protected Site Strategy Research and Development Pilots involve pressures affecting wetlands, including long-term management and financing, while Natural England is additionally progressing two projects on peatland National Nature Reserves on selling carbon using the Peatland Code.

Defra already supports a range of research projects relating to wetlands, including a recent collaboration with the British Trust for Ornithology modelling the impacts of different land use change scenarios on a range of wetland species. We also fund the Wetlands Bird Survey through grant in aid via JNCC. Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, UK Administrations are working with DESNZ and Defra to address key research questions relating to blue carbon habitats.

Internationally, we provide regular financial and in-kind support to the Ramsar Wetlands Convention to promote the protection and wise use of wetlands.

Through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, Defra is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero alongside the other UK Administrations to address key research questions relating to blue carbon habitats, such as saltmarsh. In 2022, the UK Government launched its £140 million Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, a flagship three-year R&D programme, spanning England’s land, coast and sea. The programme includes mapping of blue carbon stock and sequestration rates in important coastal environments such as saltmarsh habitats, alongside wider ecosystem services which provide societal, ecological and economic benefit.

The Environment Agency’s Restoring Meadow, Marsh and Reef (ReMeMaRe) initiative is working to restore our estuarine and coastal habitats to benefit people and nature. The EA’s restoration handbooks are a key tool to support restoration of coastal blue carbon habitats in the UK and beyond.

We are also supporting direct investment into saltmarsh restoration through our £80m Green Recovery Challenge Fund, which is supporting nature recovery projects across England. The Government is supporting eight blue nature finance projects, including blue carbon, with around £750,000 of grants through the Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund. This funding is being used to develop a pipeline of projects that can demonstrate viable private-sector investment models, ultimately working to restore important blue habitats such as saltmarsh.

Natural England launched the Green Infrastructure Framework: Principles and Standards for England in January 2023. During the course of developing the Framework they produced and commissioned research, working with government Departments for: Environment Food and Rural Affairs; Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Transport and Health and Social Care. They also sought wider from input from experts in public bodies and private organisations to steer and advise.

Natural England and Public Health England (Office for Health Improvement and Disparities) published a Rapid Scoping Review of Health and Wellbeing Evidence as part of the project. In addition, Defra has also funded research into the economic modelling of accessible green space across England and Wales, known as the Outdoor Recreation Valuation tool.

As set out in the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, we will use the Green Infrastructure Framework to track progress in our commitment for everyone to have access to green or blue space within 15 minutes from their front door

The Government recently announced the launch of Test to Release for International Travel, which will be implemented from 15 December. The test to release scheme is a voluntary, opt-in scheme that allows people arriving in England from countries, territories and regions not on the travel corridor list to book and pay for a test which, if negative, allows them to cease self-isolating early and go about their daily lives. The test needs to be taken no earlier than 5 full days since the traveller was last in a country, territory or region, not on the travel corridors list and must meet minimum standards.

The regulations do not specify the type of test that should be used – any tests that meet the minimum standards will be able to be used for the purposes of determining whether you can cease self-isolating early. We continue to engage with international partners on health measures at the border, including how testing and other technology is developing.

Detailed guidance on minimum standards for private providers is available on Gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/testing-to-release-for-international-travel-minimum-standards-for-testing/minimum-standards-for-private-sector-providers-of-covid-19-testing-for-testing-to-release-for-international-travel

Although the Health and Safety Executive annually reviews substances for potential inclusion in the UK REACH Candidate List of substances of very high concern for authorisation, it is not anticipating an update to the list before 2025.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost to clerically review each case.

The Child Maintenance 2012 system whilst providing visibility of sole and joint account data, does not have the functionality to separate joint domestic accounts from business accounts.

We have interpreted this question to be in relation to deduction from ‘unlimited’ partnerships to mean not a limited company.

The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost to clerically review each case.

The Child Maintenance 2012 system whilst providing visibility of sole and joint account data, does not have the functionality to separate joint domestic accounts from business accounts. Moreover, there can be more than one director in ‘unlimited’ partnerships, which within Child Maintenance is treated the same as a joint account

Notifiable diseases, listed under schedule 1 of the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010, are kept under review by the Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The Government published a public consultation between 12 July and 15 November 2023, seeking views on proposed amendments to the regulations, including adding diseases to schedule 1 to make them notifiable.

Adding Group B Streptococcal (GBS) Infection to schedule 1 was not included in the consultation proposals, but a small number of respondents suggested it could be suitable for inclusion. A summary of responses to the consultation has been published. The Department and the UKHSA are considering the consultation responses, and confirmation of any changes to the regulations will be published in due course.

To increase awareness and understanding of GBS, NHS England published a revised Core Competency Framework in May 2023, which covers the mandated training for all maternity services, which now includes GBS. Undertaking this training will enable midwives and doctors to be better informed when speaking to families about the risk of GBS in labour. The Core Competency Framework is incentivised through the maternity incentive scheme administrated by NHS Resolution.

National surveillance systems, established and managed by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), are used to monitor trends, characteristics, and outcomes of Group B Streptococcus (GBS) infection, vital to prevention efforts. These include the reporting of cases diagnosed in local microbiology laboratories, and the submission of clinical isolates to the national reference laboratory. Analyses based on this surveillance is published in annual reports.

The UKHSA has jointly co-ordinated periods of enhanced surveillance with academic and public health collaborators, allowing greater understanding of risk factors and outcomes of infection, vital in identifying opportunities for prevention. Data generated through laboratory surveillance is utilised to assess the impact of prevention efforts.

The list of notifiable diseases is kept under review by the Department, with UKHSA involvement. Should GBS be added to the list of notifiable diseases, the means to assess the impact of this change on surveillance data will be considered.

The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course. Bowel mesh, also known as rectopexy mesh, did not fall within the definition of pelvic organ prolapse that the PSC investigated for her report.

The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report, and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course. Bowel mesh, also known as rectopexy mesh, did not fall within the definition of pelvic organ prolapse that the PSC investigated for her report.

NHS England is currently considering the methodology for undertaking a proper assessment of the impact of the various supply routes into the midwifery workforce.

The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published in 2023 sets out the need to grow midwifery education and training, in line with the conclusions of the Ockenden Review. We will increase midwifery training placements from a baseline of 3,778 places to 4,269 places, and that by 2028 we envisage that about 5% will be through apprenticeships. We envisage that trusts will meet establishment levels set by midwifery staffing tools and achieve fill rates by 2027/28. Recent investment in midwifery of 650 training places in 2019 and 1,000 in each of the following three years means we expect to see solid growth in midwives of between 1.8 and 1.9% per year over the course of the plan. These increases are being measured against the 2018/19 baseline of 2,715 starters on midwifery programmes. And in early 2022, a funding offer was agreed to support 300 places for adult nurses on the shortened midwifery programme.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) poses a persistent threat to the peace and security of Europe. There have been at least 10 threats by Iran to kidnap or assassinate British or UK-based people this year. The recent transfers of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for use in Ukraine is yet another facet of Iran's destabilising behaviour. The UK has sanctioned over 300 Iranian individuals and entities for their role in weapons proliferation, human rights abuses, and terrorism, including the IRGC in its entirety. The Foreign Secretary raises this regularly with his European partners.

The Government is committed to combatting the rise of anti-Semitism in all its forms and we have a regular, frank and open dialogue with international partners on this issue. The International Development Secretary reiterated our concerns about allegations of incitement in Palestinian textbooks in a call to the Palestinian Education Minister just last month, during which they discussed the Palestinian Authority's review of the content of Palestinian textbooks. The Foreign Secretary discussed freedom of religion or belief with the Saudi authorities during his visit to Riyadh on 4 and 5 March. Saudi Arabia has committed to several education reform programmes including the revision of textbooks. Although we do not believe that Jordan's curriculum contains materials which promote hatred in any form, we have a major programme in support of education in Jordan. My predecessor met the Jordanian Minister of Education in January. We have a regular, positive engagement with the Egyptian authorities on freedom of religion or belief. Our Honourary Consul in Alexandria attended a service at the Synagogue of Alexandria in February to mark its reopening after refurbishment.

The UK is leading the way on ocean protection. The Blue Belt Programme is on track to protect over 4 million square kilometres of ocean around the Overseas Territories before the end of the year. The Government has committed to extend this programme. We are also working closely with Commonwealth partners through the Commonwealth Marine Economies Programme (CMEP) to support sustainable development of their marine economies; and the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance (CCOA) to reduce marine plastic pollution, amongst other initiatives. The Government is committed to further action to protect the ocean including through the £500 million Blue Planet Fund.

My Department and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have been closely involved in the negotiation of a new Implementing Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction - the BBNJ Agreement - as an important step forward in addressing the challenges that the ocean faces. The UK is pressing for an ambitious Agreement to be concluded in 2020. It will be a key mechanism in enabling the designation of at least 30 per cent of the global ocean as Marine Protected Areas by 2030. A joint FCO-DEFRA team of officials will represent the UK in these talks based on positions agreed by ministers.

At Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced the expansion of the VAT relief for the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) in Great Britain from 1 April 2022.

This relief will continue to apply to the installation of ESMs, rather than the direct purchase of the materials themselves. However, complex eligibility conditions, introduced in 2019 following an EU Court of Justice ruling, have been removed.

Further to this, wind and water turbines have been reinstated as materials which qualify for the relief, and all qualifying installations will also benefit from a VAT zero-rate until April 2027. Overall, this represents an additional £280 million of support for investment in ESMs over the next 5 years, building on the £9.7 billion that the Government has committed to invest since March 2021 to increase the energy efficiency and decarbonisation of our homes and buildings.

Targeting the VAT relief on professional installations ensures that the Government supports best practice in the choice and installation of ESMs. Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. VAT raised around £130 billion in 2019-20 and helps to fund key spending priorities. As you will know, any reduction in tax paid is a reduction in the money available to support important public services, including the NHS and policing.

Given this, although the Government keeps all taxes under review, there are no plans to further extend the VAT relief to direct purchases of ESMs.

At Spring Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced the expansion of the VAT relief on the installation of energy saving materials (ESMs) to residential accommodation in Great Britain.

The changes reverse restrictions introduced in 2019 following a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling, including re-instating wind and water turbines as qualifying materials, and removing complex eligibility conditions. Further to this, qualifying installations, including ground and air source heat pumps, will benefit from a VAT zero-rate until April 2027. Overall, this represents an additional £280 million of support for investment in ESMs over the next 5 years.

The changes to the VAT treatment of ESMs announced at Spring Statement 2022 were brought in at pace to immediately support households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, bolstering the UK’s energy security and contributing to our transition to Net-Zero.

In order to accelerate take-up and prevent loss of investment, the changes were brought in from 1 April 2022, 10 days after Spring Statement 2022. A longer delay between announcement and implementation risked having an adverse effect on the ESMs market, i.e. in anticipation of future relief business and consumers may have otherwise delayed entering into a contract thereby causing a temporary stalling effect in the market, and risking supply bottlenecks further down the line.

Evaluating the case for adding new technologies to the relief would require careful consideration and consultation to ensure changes represent value for money and would not have unintended behavioural effects, a process which would have delayed making changes to immediately benefit the public.

The Government keeps all taxes under review and continues to welcome representations on how the tax system can be improved. It is important that Government policy takes into account the pace of technological development in the ESMs market and the changing policy context since this particular relief was first introduced. That said, requests for further changes should be viewed in the context of over £50 billion of requests for relief from VAT received since the EU referendum. Such costs would have to be balanced by increased taxes elsewhere, increased borrowing, or reductions in Government spending.

In March, the Government launched the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, backed by £160m of funding overseen by the ASB taskforce. This includes funding Police and Crime Commissioners to increase patrolling in ASB hotspot areas and to run immediate justice schemes.

In July we launched Round 5 of the Safer Streets Fund funding PCCs to deliver ASB and crime prevention measures.

For the first time in history there is in statute a wide-ranging definition of domestic abuse which incorporates a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive or controlling behaviour, and economic abuse.

The Home Secretary is to issue statutory guidance on domestic abuse, under section 84 of the Domestic Abuse Act to support the implementation of the definition of domestic abuse introduced by the Act.

The guidance aims to provide information to help with recognising abuse and how it may impact different victims. This includes children, who are for the first time recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right. In addition, it seeks to provide support to frontline professionals, signpost other sources of guidance, useful resources and tools. A finalised version of the guidance is not yet available, the Home Secretary is required under the legislation to undertake consultation ahead of finalising the guidance and before it may be issued, details of this will follow in due course. A draft of the guidance was published during the passage of the Bill, and is available for reference:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896640/Draft_statutory_guidance_July_2020.pdf

The Government recognises the distress pet theft causes will consider the evidence and what more could be done to prevent these cruel crimes. That is why we launched the Pet Theft Taskforce on 8 May. Among the activities that the Taskforce will be undertaking is work with police and other law enforcement partners is to understand the scale of pet theft.

This Government is committed to tackling homelessness, especially amongst vulnerable young people.

We have implemented the Homelessness Reduction Act, the most ambitious reform of homelessness legislation in decades. It has greatly expanded the duties on local housing authorities, meaning many young people, who may not previously have been eligible for support, are now being helped. The new duties should help prevent homelessness before it occurs. The Act also places a duty on public bodies, including Children’s Services, ensuring better partnership working between public bodies and local authorities.

As part of the Rough Sleeping Strategy, the government committed £3.2 million per annum to increase the support provided to?care leavers?at risk of homelessness or rough sleeping. The funding has been allocated to the 47 local authorities with the highest number of care leavers with complex needs.

We fund St Basil’s to deliver positive pathway events with local authority housing teams to share best practice on supporting young homeless people and ensure they are putting prevention and early help at the heart of their service.

We have put in place bespoke support for local authorities through our Homelessness Advice and Support Team, which includes dedicated youth homelessness advisers.

Finally, we?have updated?guidance on the ‘Prevention of homelessness and provision of accommodation for 16 and 17-year-old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation’ setting out the respective duties of children’s services and housing services.

The table below contains the number of households where the main applicant was under 25 in Gloucestershire during April to June 2019 where the household was assessed as owed a prevention or relief duty, and additionally the number of 18-24 year olds living in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2019 in Gloucestershire. Relief and main duties are owed to those currently homeless. Those at risk of homelessness are those owed a prevention duty.

In December 2019 we announced the allocation of £263 million in funding for 2020/21 to local authorities designed to support them to deliver services to tackle homelessness. The purpose of this funding is to give local authorities more control and flexibility in managing homelessness pressures and supporting those who at risk of homelessness, including providing them with temporary accommodation.

The pet theft taskforce has been set up to gather evidence to understand the factors that may be contributing to any rise in pet thefts and to recommend any necessary measures – legislative and non-legislative - to tackle the problem. It will consider the issue from end to end, including causes, prevention, reporting, and enforcement, examining every option available to protect families from this hurtful crime and make sure perpetrators feel the full force of the law. The taskforce is due to report its recommendations in the summer.

The sentencing guidelines are produced by the Sentencing Council which is independent of Government and aims to promote greater transparency and consistency in sentencing.