Steve Yemm

We are delivering the £150 Warm Home Discount to eligible customers – including those with Pre Payment Meters – to support them with their bills.

Ofgem has introduced stringent rules for the involuntary installation of Pre Payment Meters, helping to ensure vulnerable households are protected. Through our review of Ofgem, we will make sure that the regulator is a proper consumer champion that stands up for the interests of billpayers across the country.

Electric vehicle owners who have access to private charging facilities can fuel their vehicles for much less than it costs to fuel a combustion engine car. Further savings can be made if owners use smart charging, so that their electric vehicle batteries are charged outside of peak demand periods.

Government is however aware of the cost discrepancies between private and public charging and is working with Ofgem and others to explore measures to bring down the costs of public charging, including in the areas detailed within the Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan 2023.

The Government has seen no evidence that dog meat is being sold or consumed in this country. There are strict rules for food businesses on the slaughter and production of meat for human consumption in the United Kingdom and dog or cat meat would not be permitted under these requirements. We also have specific laws on the sale of food in England which are enforced under the Novel Foods Regulation 2018. These regulations make it an offence to sell dog or cat meat in England.

The following table shows the number of additional elective appointments at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the period July to November 2023, and the corresponding period in 2024:

Source: NHS England

Note: These data are consistent with the publication of additional elective appointments on 16 February which includes those scope of the Value Weighted Activity metric with the key diagnostic times from diagnostic waiting times statistics. It excludes outpatient appointments without procedure and elective admissions for endoscopies to avoid double-counting of diagnostics. The scope of this data is limited to elective services consistent with consultant-led referral to treatment waiting times. It excludes emergency care, maternity and mental health services.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines should be routinely funded around the time of licensing, to support rapid patient access to clinically and cost-effective new medicines.

The NICE has introduced the cost-comparison process for the appraisal of lower risk treatments where a lighter-touch approach is considered appropriate. The cost-comparison process enables the NICE to make recommendations on medicines within 100 working days compared with 195 days for a standard appraisal, freeing up resources for more complex appraisals. In 2024, the NICE carried out appraisals through its cost-comparison process on average 83 days faster than its standard process.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) aims, wherever possible, to issue recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new medicines should be routinely funded around the time of licensing, to support rapid patient access to clinically and cost-effective new medicines.

The NICE has introduced the cost-comparison process for the appraisal of lower risk treatments where a lighter-touch approach is considered appropriate. The cost-comparison process enables the NICE to make recommendations on medicines within 100 working days compared with 195 days for a standard appraisal, freeing up resources for more complex appraisals. In 2024, the NICE carried out appraisals through its cost-comparison process on average 83 days faster than its standard process.

Children are disproportionately at risk from the effects of climate change, and children and young people will be at the forefront of shaping a resilient, sustainable future. The UK-led Glasgow Climate Pact urges Parties and stakeholders to ensure meaningful youth participation and representation in multilateral, national and local decision-making processes. We have championed this approach at COP29, with the Minister of State for Development meeting with youth climate activists from developing countries, and UK Special Representative for Climate Rachel Kyte attending events alongside universities and the UN Youth Office to highlight the critical role of youth in climate action.

Through the Defence Industrial Strategy, this Government will be prioritising spend with UK businesses.

Over recent months I have chaired 12 roundtables with 112 UK SMEs and mid-tiers, across all nations and regions of the UK, hearing about how the Government can make it simpler for UK businesses to access more Ministry of Defence work. We are committed to reforming the Ministry of Defence procurement system to reduce waste, speed up decision making and opening access to a wider range of British businesses.

The government understand the importance of safeguarding grassroots music venues that may be at risk due to development which affects them. The agent of change policy in the National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that in such circumstances the developer is expected to put suitable mitigation measures in place, and that in no circumstances should an existing business or community facility face unreasonable restrictions on its operation as a result of new development.