Terry Jermy

The government recognises the importance of the UKs copyright regime to the economic success of the cultural and creative industries, one of eight growth-driving sectors as identified in our Industrial Strategy. We also recognise the basic principle that rights holders should have control over and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI. The current UK Copyright Framework enables creative right holders to prevent the use of protected works, but we are aware that this can be very difficult to implement in the context of AI, especially for individual firms and creators.

Responses to our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which was published on 17 December and closed on 25 February, will inform our approach to the design and delivery of a solution to these issues. Our aim is to clarify the copyright framework for AI – delivering certainty through a copyright regime that provides creators with real control and transparency, and helps them licence their content, while supporting AI developers' access to high-quality material. We will now consider the full range of responses we have received through our consultation.

The government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy across all areas of the country, including rural areas.

The department has established Skills England to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will work together with regional and local governments, employers, education providers, trade unions and regional organisations to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.

This builds on the work of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), which provide an agreed set of actionable priorities that help to better align provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs. LSIPs cover all areas of England, supporting local innovation and growth so that every part of the country is able to succeed in its own unique way. In rural areas, plans recognise the importance of developing skilled workforces and expertise in priority local industries that can support these areas' growth and sustainability. For example, the Cumbria LSIP highlights the need for specific skills relevant to land-based industries, as well as addressing immediate skills challenges in the visitor economy and care sectors.

The Greater Lincolnshire LSIP identifies priority actions to help develop a localised workforce that can sustain infrastructure projects and technological and environmental opportunities across the area. LSIPs are also helping to support rural areas and communities through the removal of local barriers, such as poor digital connectivity, deprivation and economic inactivity. For example, the Heart of the South West LSIP reviewed ways that local and regional stakeholders can collaborate to leverage funding to help resolve how a lack of accommodation and transport in rural areas impacts on recruitment, development and retention of employees, tutors and students.

The Norfolk and Suffolk LSIP, which is led by Norfolk Chambers of Commerce and includes the constituency of South West Norfolk, is designed to help ensure investors and businesses in rural areas across Norfolk and Suffolk have access to a competitive and diverse pool of highly skilled employees, especially in key local industries such as agri-food tech and low carbon energy.

Specifically, the Norfolk and Suffolk LSIP has helped to develop various training programmes and prioritises continuous training opportunities, including vocational training in specific industries, staff training programmes in green technologies and sustainability curriculum integration. The LSIP also plays a key role in upskilling and reskilling the local workforce in the cross-cutting needs employers have said they need most, such as digital skills and soft skills.

The department is committed to making a success of T Levels and extending the opportunity they provide to as many young people as possible. 21 T Levels are now being delivered in providers across the country, many of which are in rural locations, creating opportunities for young people to develop skills for work and life.

The department funds the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver modern, high quality careers education through a national network of 44 careers hubs and over 3,800 business volunteers. Almost 400 leading employers, including the National Trust, National Farmers Union and Worldwide Fruit, provide local leadership in Careers Hubs to increase opportunities for meaningful employer encounters and workplace experiences. The CEC collaborates with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture, ensuring that careers information is promoted to schools via its digital platform and Careers Hub Networks.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for South West Norfolk to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26025.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has now published a final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations, as well as independent scientific advice. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on their proposed restriction, we are assessing their proposals, and a decision will follow. This decision will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

The Government recognised AI as an opportunity of a generation in its response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan. The application of AI in agriculture will help to inform farmers’ decision making, automate operations and reduce costs for a more productive, profitable and resilient farming sector. Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme will support this through the development of agri-tech innovation, including AI, machine learning and data management applications.

In Spring 2021, Defra asked the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency (EA) to prepare a UK REACH restriction dossier for lead ammunition, including lead shot, in all habitats. The HSE and the EA have considered the evidence of risk posed by lead in ammunition on human health and the environment, as well as the socioeconomic impact that would result from introducing further restrictions on lead in ammunition. They also considered the effectiveness, practicality, monitorability and enforceability of the potential restriction.

The HSE has now formed a final Opinion on their restriction proposal for lead in ammunition, informed by information from public consultations, as well as independent scientific advice. Now Defra has received HSE’s final Opinion on the proposed restriction, we are assessing the proposals, and a decision will follow. This decision will be taken with consent from the Devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales.

Agriculture and rural land management is one of the greatest pressures on the water environment, impacting 45% of water bodies in England.

We recognise intensive farming is not without risk. Intensive pig and poultry farms above specified size thresholds must hold an Environmental Permit requiring operators to adopt best available techniques to reduce pollution. Regulations, including the Farming Rules for Water, set the standards farmers must meet in order prevent and mitigate pollution risks. The EA works with farmers through advice-led enforcement to improve compliance. They have conducted over 4,800 inspections in the last fiscal year (2023/24) and over 2,300 in the first half of the current fiscal year (2024/25). These inspections are targeted to areas of the greatest risk, including the catchments of protected sites.

A summary of the number of animals slaughtered for food consumption and number of animals tested for lead can be found in the table on the following page.

For information, the majority of these data are available through the Defra Food and Farming statistics and the VMD also publishes the results of annual residues monitoring on an annual basis on GOV.UK.

The department publishes statistics on road injury collisions which occur on the public highway and are reported by police via the STATS19 system.

The number of such collisions involving ridden horses are shown in the table below for 2019 to 2023, which is the latest year for which data is available.

The Department has commissioned research on emissions from auxiliary engines mounted on road freight vehicles. The interim reports were published on 9 February and 28 October 2024. The final report is due shortly.

The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December as part of its ambitious plan for bus reform. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them, including in rural areas. The government has committed to increasing accountability by including a measure on socially necessary services so that local authorities and bus operators have to have regard for alternatives to changing or cancelling services.

In addition, the government has confirmed £955 million for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, make services more frequent and protect crucial bus routes for local communities.

The Department has funded 16 innovative demand responsive transport (DRT) pilots through the Rural Mobility Fund, including the Flexibus+ scheme around Swaffham. Each scheme is taking part in a detailed monitoring and evaluation process. This will provide a strong base of evidence and good practice for DRT and a better understanding of both the role it can play in rural areas and the challenges associated with introducing it.

In 2022 The Highway Code was updated to improve the safety of all road users, particularly the most vulnerable. Key changes included the introduction of a Hierarchy of Road Users, which ensures that those who do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat that they pose to others, along with the strengthening of guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking horse-riders.

The Government's flagship road safety campaign, THINK!, ran campaigns to alert road users of the changes as they came into effect and broader behaviour campaigns to encourage understanding and uptake of the guidance. Results from the last campaign showed that by September 2023 93% of drivers agreed it was their responsibility to give space to vulnerable road users. We will continue to promote The Highway Code changes on THINK! and DfT social media channels and via our partner organisations.

The Secretary of State for Transport has commissioned a review of the Department’s capital portfolio which will inform the next phase of the cross-Government Spending Review. It is too early to say how this will affect the proposed Norwich Western Link, but the Department will be in touch with the promoter, when there is further information.