Thangam Debbonaire

Local planning authorities are able to collect developer contributions through the Community Infrastructure Levy and section 106 planning obligations. The levy is a set charge on most new development to help address the cumulative impact of development by funding infrastructure provision anywhere across the authority's area.

Different charges can be set for different types of development, based on viability evidence. In Bristol for example, the levy charge for student accommodation is currently £148 per square metre citywide, while the charge for other residential development in Bristol is either £103 or £74 per square metre, depending on location. Local planning authorities can also seek a bespoke section 106 planning obligation, where appropriate, to mitigate the impact of a specific development.

An Infrastructure Funding Statement, detailing an authority's request, receipt and use of developer contributions, is required to be published annually.

We are exploring replacing the existing system of developer contributions with a new Infrastructure Levy, which would also be chargeable on this type of development.

The Government strongly supports the expert group's view that EWS1s should not be required for buildings under 18 metres and continues to challenge industry on the use of the EWS1 process. Government continues to engage directly with lenders on this issue.

Building owners are responsible for the safety of their building, including keeping residents informed of any building safety work they are undertaking and for making sure that any disruption to residents is minimised. There is no requirement by Government to plan or fund other works unrelated to the removal of unsafe cladding in order for Government-funded remediation to take place.

The proposed school, the Oasis Academy Temple Quarter, has a current target for opening in 2025, subject to planning permission being granted. It is to be funded by the Department for Education to address a shortage of secondary places in central and east Bristol. The Planning Inspectorate is liaising with officials in my department on programming, and speaking with officials in the Department for Education in order to achieve the target.

The Government's position is that building owners and industry should make buildings safe without passing on costs to leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased through the Help to Buy scheme. In line with this, building owners should pursue all routes to meet costs. For example, through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work. The Government remains committed to protecting leaseholders from unaffordable costs and will continue to examine what more can be done to protect and support all leaseholders, including shared owners and those who have purchased their homes through Help to Buy.

Following the closure of the Inquiry into the Silverthorne Lane development the Inspector is now preparing her report and recommendation for Ministers to consider. The Inspector has had to seek further evidence from parties on revisions to published guidance made after the close of the inquiry. When her report is submitted, the target date for determining the application will be published.

All British nationals and their families who were evacuated are being provided with the same bridging accommodation and wrap-around support as everyone else. For example, we have provided all British Nationals with cash cards to give them subsistence support whilst their Universal Credit claim is processed. British Nationals and their families are provided with bridging accommodation for as long as is needed.

We continue to work at pace to agree the right long term support offer for British Nationals and great care is being taken in the matching process to meet the needs of the families as far as possible.

Building owners are responsible for the safety of their building, including keeping residents informed of any building safety work they are undertaking and for ensuring that any disruption to residents is minimised. Likewise building owners, or their representatives, are also responsible for the planning and delivery of the remediation of unsafe cladding being funded by the Building Safety Fund. As part of the funding application building owners must inform residents of the nature of the works they intend to carry out and provide them with regular updates on the progress of the remediation and they must ensure remediation projects follow best industry practice.

The Government has always been clear that a risk-based professional judgement should be made regarding the safety of a building’s external wall system and would encourage building owners to consult a competent professional who will be able to advise.

A number of factors should be considered when considering balconies including building height, balcony arrangement and location as well as consideration of other fire safety measures such as sprinklers. We cannot comment on specific building situations however we would always encourage those undertaking these assessments to use an approach proportionate to the level of risk in each building.

In April 2020, the Government published the workplan for the technical review of the statutory guidance to the Building Regulations with regards to fire safety (Approved Document B). We have commissioned research for this fundamental review which will address key fire safety issues. We have already started research on balcony spandrels and laminated glass, construction technologies and design, compartmentation and fire resistance, and other important topics. Details of the technical review are set out here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/877365/Technical_review_of_Approved_Document_B_workplan.pdf

The Technical Review will provide us a robust evidence base to make any future policy decisions.

We recognise the vulnerability of this group and as such, British Nationals are currently being accommodated in bridging accommodation in the same way as arrivals on the ARAP and ACRS programmes. They are also able to access Universal Credit, with financial support available until this is set up for them. DLUHC is working closely with the Home Office on this and a range of issues. Further details will be announced in due course.

An independent expert statement in July this year was clear that there is no systemic risk of fire in residential buildings under 18 metres and that EWS1 forms should not be required by lenders on buildings under 18 metres. The Government strongly supports this position and made this clear in its written statement of 21 July.

Following the Independent Expert Statement in July this year on Building Safety in medium and lower rise blocks of flats, the Government strongly supports the expert group's position that EWS1 forms should not be required on buildings under 18 metres. Any concerns identified in buildings under 18 metres, via an up to date statutory fire risk assessment, should be addressed primarily by risk management and mitigation, before any remediation considerations.

Details of the scope of the ban on combustible materials are provided in the circular letter which accompanied the amendments of the Building Regulations and associated amended guidance. The circular letter is available here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/924452/29112018_Circular_Letter.pdf.

In summary existing blocks of flats originally under 18m tall which are subsequently extended vertically to above 18m would be undergoing a material change of use defined in regulation 5(k). In these cases, Regulations 5(k) and 6(3) provide that the construction of the external walls, and specified attachments, must be investigated and, where necessary, work must be carried out to ensure they meet the requirements of the ban.

We have published the following circular letter dealing specifically with upward extensions and the application of the Building Regulations requirements in August 2020.

The circular letter is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/924449/Building_regs_circular_032020.pdf.

There has been significant interest in the UK Community Renewal Fund across the four investment priorities and bids are being assessed in line with the published assessment process. Outcomes will be announced shortly and bidders informed. We will provide further guidance on UK Community Renewal Fund as soon as possible, to enable bidders to plan for delivery once decisions have been announced.

In March of this year, the then Secretary of State called in the planning application for the proposed Whitehaven Coal Mine. A public inquiry is currently sitting, overseen by an independent planning Inspector. That inquiry will consider all relevant planning considerations, including the environmental effect of the proposal. Following the close of the inquiry, a report and recommendation will be prepared for Ministers to consider.

The Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful for employers, public authorities or service providers to discriminate or harass a person because of or for reasons related to the protected characteristic of ‘sex’, or victimise them for bringing a complaint, in any of the areas covered by the Act. The prohibition on indirect discrimination may provide protection for parents – for example, it is unlawful discrimination for an employer to apply a provision, criterion or practice which puts women, who are more likely to have childcare responsibilities, at a particular disadvantage unless it can be justified.

However, as far as providing specific protection for parents under the Act - for example by making parenthood a protected characteristic – is concerned, my assessment is that a change of this sort to equality law would risk providing additional rights for some groups at the expense of others and should therefore be treated with caution as having a potentially divisive effect. We have no plans to do this.

Section 36 of the Equality Act cannot commence for private companies before an assessment of local authority costs is made. This is because Section 36 applies to all types of landlords; commencement of Section 36 may require local authorities to meet additional costs regardless of the type of landlord. Departments continue to engage on quantifying additional costs.

Section 36 of the Equality Act cannot commence for private companies before an assessment of local authority costs is made. This is because Section 36 applies to all types of landlords; commencement of Section 36 may require local authorities to meet additional costs regardless of the type of landlord. Departments continue to engage on quantifying additional costs.

Section 36 of the Equality Act cannot commence for private companies before an assessment of local authority costs is made. This is because Section 36 applies to all types of landlords; commencement of Section 36 may require local authorities to meet additional costs regardless of the type of landlord. Departments continue to engage on quantifying additional costs.

The development proposal from Cambo is being scrutinised in line with robust regulatory procedures and no decision has yet been taken.

All previously licensed fields, such as Cambo, are accounted for in terms of projected production and estimated emissions and we are confident that they can be developed, even as we seek to achieve our commitment to net zero by 2050. Domestic production of oil and gas out to 2050 remains below that which we will consume in a Net Zero world, according to the Climate Change Committee’s scenarios.

The UK has a comprehensive consumer safety and protection regulatory framework that covers menstrual and sanitary products, this requires producers and distributors to ensure their products are safe before they are placed on the market.

The safety of menstrual and sanitary products is regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (GPSR). Under the GPSR, manufacturers are not required to list ingredients for their product.

These regulations are within scope of the review of the Product Safety Framework which is being carried out by the Office for Product Safety and Standards. This work will ensure that the UK product safety framework continues to be fit for purpose and adequately protects consumers so that our product safety system remains one of the best in the world.

In order to meet our Net Zero by 2050 target, we must act now to tackle the emissions produced by heating. In order to ensure continued progress, we have set a series of legally binding “carbon budgets”, which are amongst the most stringent climate targets in the world.

The Government is planning to publish the Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out our policies and plans for the 2020s, demonstrating how they work together to ensure we are on track for net zero by the end of the decade. The Strategy will build on the content of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan and the Energy White Paper, setting the strategic context for decision making, institutional arrangements and enabling functions that will be critical to achieving the transition to low carbon heating.

The Heat and Buildings Strategy has not delayed policy implementation. Over the last 6 months, the Government has published and delivered a number of landmark policies and consultations, including the launch of Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and a consultation on introducing a performance based policy framework for large commercial and industrial buildings, proposals to introduce Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards on Lenders as well as increasing ambition in the Non-Domestic Private Rented Sector to EPC B by 2030, where cost-effective.

The Government continues to provide financial support via Local Authorities for businesses that are required to close, or which are severely affected by the restrictions put in place to tackle Covid-19 and save lives.

At the Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer further extended the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme, providing top-up funding for Local Authorities to distribute to businesses. Final payments of the ARG must be made by 31 March 2022.

Local Authorities were expected to pay eligible businesses the full allocation of the Local Restrictions Support Grant (LRSG) (Closed) as soon as possible after receipt of the funding. They must issue payments for the second round of the 2021 LRSG (Closed) by 30 June 2021. The first round of LRSG (Closed) payments, from 5 January, must be paid out by 30 April 2021.

There are currently no plans to extend these deadlines.

The Government is working closely with industry to ensure there are enough installers to meet demand. More than 1,100 companies are registered with TrustMark and are able to carry out measures aligned to the Green Homes Grant Scheme, with more registering every day.

BEIS officials are working actively with TrustMark scheme providers and certification bodies to support installers to get certified as quickly as possible.

Furthermore, the Department launched a £6.9m skills competition to provide training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand. Funding will be provided to support training individuals with existing skills and those new to the sector in energy efficiency and clean heat measures, along with support for installation companies to gain required PAS 2030 or MCS accreditation.

The competition recently closed and the bids are currently being assessed. Training will commence once successful applicants have been informed.

As of 2nd November, there were 1,141 businesses that are TrustMark registered and certified to install measures under the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme. BEIS will continue to monitor installer applications as the scheme progresses.

The Government is developing options for a how a long-term framework of policy approaches, including regulation, can combine to provide a clear direction-of-travel for industry and accelerate the uptake of low-carbon heat, initiate a transformation of our building stock, and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings. Our Heat and Buildings Strategy will be published in due course.

BEIS are in the process of agreeing grant offers for 57 successful projects under the Local Authority Delivery scheme that will upgrade the energy efficiency of around 11,000 low-income households across England. Once grant offers have been finalised with those Local Authorities, a list will be published on GOV.UK.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 22 October to Question UIN 105421.

As of 16:00 on 20 October 2020, the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme had received 20,903 grant applications. Applications are currently being processed and checked for compliance with the scheme rules.

The Green Homes Grant opened to applications on the 30 September 2020. As of 16:00 on 20 October 2020, 20,903 grant applications have been received, reflecting the high levels of consumer interest there are in the scheme. BEIS will continue to monitor application data as the scheme progresses.

As of 16:00 on 20 October 2020, the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme had received 20,903 grant applications.

The latest tranches of Energy Company Obligation (ECO2 and ECO3) are currently being evaluated, with an evaluation report expected to be published in due course. We will also be reviewing in due course the effectiveness of our recently launched incentives of the Green Homes Grant and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator.

The Department has recently launched a consultation on improving the energy efficiency performance of privately rented homes. As part of the consultation, we are proposing to raise the maximum financial penalty per property and per breach of the regulations from £5000 to £30000.

The consultation, published on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-energy-performance-of-privately-rented-homes, will run till the end of December 2020.

There are a number of options with the potential to play an important role in decarbonising heat, including heat networks, heat pumps, hydrogen and biogas. Given the diversity of heat demand, no one solution can provide the best option for everyone - a mix of technologies and customer options will need to be available to decarbonise heat at scale.

The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.

Work experience students are considered to be employees, and will be covered by the employers' liability insurance policy of a business, provided the insurer is a member of the Association of British Insurers, or Lloyds.

We fully recognise the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on small businesses, including breweries. That is why we introduced an economic package to help small businesses, such as grants, loans and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The Government is continuing to work with the hospitality sector during the pandemic, including regular engagement with representatives from the industry.

We are working closely with Airbus to help the company through Covid-19 and into recovery. I appreciate this is a worrying time for workers at Airbus who may be affected; the Government will do all that we can to support affected workers through the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centre Plus in England, and in Wales through the services offered through the ReAct programme.

The Government took into account people with disabilities when developing the guidance.

The safer workplaces guidance provides some suggestions to help employers make their workplaces COVID-19 secure for their employees, visitors and customers. We expect all businesses to approach reopening in a sensible way, taking account of the Government’s guidance and discussing with neighbouring businesses and their local authorities where applicable.

Our guidance does not replace existing employment, health and safety or equalities legislation. It provides information to employers on how best to meet these responsibilities in the context of COVID-19.

Since 1 June, outdoor markets and car showrooms have been able to open. The transmission of the virus is lower outdoors and in open spaces and the COVID-secure guidelines can be more easily followed.

All other non-essential retail will be able to reopen from 15 June if the scientific and medical advice allows and they are able to follow the COVID-secure guidelines. This provides shops and other retail branches enough time to put in place the necessary social distancing measures and hygiene standards.

The Government keeps its business support schemes including the Retail, Leisure and Hospitality scheme under constant review. This is why we have updated guidance to Local Authorities administering the scheme, and why, based on feedback from our stakeholders, we launched the Discretionary Grant Scheme to allow Local Authorities to support businesses which did not meet the criteria for the Small Business Grant Fund or Retail Leisure and Hospitality scheme.

The Government has announced that up to £617 million is being made available to Local Authorities in England to allow them to provide discretionary grants as part of the suite of Business Support grants supporting businesses and local economies across England. Guidance, intended to support Local Authorities in administering the Discretionary Grants Fund, was published 13^th May.

Guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-business-support-grant-funding

This will not replace existing guidance for the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) or the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF).

Guidance here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-business-support-grant-funding-guidance-for-businesses

The additional Local Authority Discretionary Grants Fund is aimed at small businesses with ongoing fixed property-related costs but not liable for business rates or rates reliefs. We are asking local authorities to prioritise businesses in shared spaces, regular market traders, small charity properties that would meet the criteria for Small Business Rates Relief, and bed and breakfasts that pay council tax rather than business rates.

Local Authorities are responsible for defining precise eligibility for this fund and may choose to make payments to other businesses based on local economic need, subject to those businesses meeting the specific eligibility criteria. Businesses seeking information should refer to their Local Authority for further information on their discretionary scheme. Businesses already in receipt of the SBGF, RHLGF or Self-employed Income Support Scheme are not eligible.

Sector representatives are aware that the law has not changed in relation to refunds. Businesses in the sector are offering consumers refund credit notes but this must be the choice of the consumer who retains the right to a cash refund.

Government has no plans at this time to waive bankruptcy fees.

The Department reached a voluntary agreement with all domestic energy suppliers to a set of principles to support energy customers impacted by COVID-19. These principles include support for prepayment meter customers, who primarily use electronic tokens, keys or cards to top up their meters. Based on individual circumstances, the support available to prepayment meter customers could include:

• extending discretionary/ friendly credit or sending out a pre-loaded top up card;
• enabling customers to nominate a trusted third party to be able to pick up discretionary credit sent to a shop on their behalf;
• switching smart prepayment meters into credit mode, or extending non-disconnection periods, and;
• taking reasonable steps to contact prepayment customers with advice on what to do in the event of self-isolation.

Many energy suppliers have provided additional support for their customers.

The Government is clear that we must support people in work to follow PHE guidance during the Covid-19 outbreak. We have taken an evidence-based approach to the use of PPE. For people working in supermarkets, based on current evidence, practising good hand hygiene and social distancing is key to minimising the risk of infection.

We are in regular conversations with industry, including the British Retail Consortium and supermarket CEOs, to ensure it is well prepared to deal with a range of scenarios and operations remain in line with the latest health guidance.

Government is clear that we must support people in work to do the right thing during a Covid-19 outbreak. We are in regular conversations with industry, including the British Retail Consortium and supermarket CEOs, to ensure it is well prepared to deal with a range of scenarios and operations remain in line with the latest health guidance.

We need everyone to do their bit to stop the spread of the virus. We all have a responsibility to keep a distance from others – including while shopping.

Food shops that remain open will be expected to comply with requirements on people to keep a distance from each other. We will continue working closely with supermarkets to help them meet the demand for online deliveries. We’re also working with local authorities to deliver essential items to those who are most vulnerable.

The Government is well prepared for this type of outbreak. The Department is frequently communicating with business representative organisations, including the Association of British Insurers, to gain current intelligence on Covid-19 and its impact on businesses.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are currently working together to take all necessary steps to understand the effect of Covid-19 and to respond.

Last week, the Government confirmed that for those businesses which do have a policy that covers pandemics, the Government’s action is sufficient and will allow businesses to make an insurance claim against their policy.

The Government is committed to tackling so-called subscriptions traps and other business practices that harm consumers.

In response to specific complaints about these practices in telecoms, insurance, and cash savings, regulators (Ofcom and the FCA) are taking action to ensure that longstanding customers are not charged more. For example, Ofcom has agreed with most major mobile and broadband providers to give discounts to customers that have been paying high “out of contract” prices in mobile and broadband.

The Government will consult on stronger enforcement powers to ensure harmful trading practices like these are tackled.

We appreciate the important role that the festival sector plays in the UK’s economy, and that the Covid-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge to this sector. We have been working closely with the festival sector to understand the challenges it faces and to keep the situation under review.

The festival sector has estimated the total GVA for festivals to the UK economy is £1.76bn. The industry has also estimated that widespread cancellation of festivals in the summer could lead to a drop in GVA of £1bn (between June and August 2021).

We are aware that COVID-19 and related restrictions have severely impacted these sectors and their supply chains. We continue to engage with stakeholders through the Tourism Industry Council, the Festival and Outdoor Events Working Group and the Venues Steering Group. These groups include representatives from leading sector organisations and other experts to develop action plans for how we can best support the sector’s safe reopening. Pilots will run as part of the Events Research Programme to examine how such events can take place without the need for social distancing using other mitigations such as testing.

The live events and festival sectors have been eligible to access Government COVID-19 support. This includes various government-backed loans, business grants, reduction in VAT and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes. The recently announced discretionary Local Restrictions Support Grant and Additional Restrictions Grant provides local authorities with funds to support businesses that meet the eligibility criteria. On 5th January the Chancellor announced one-off top up grants for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses worth up to £9,000 per property to help businesses through to the Spring.

These sectors have also benefited from the Cultural Recovery Fund (CRF). Over £1 billion worth of funding has now been allocated across the UK, including over £800 million to almost 3800 arts, culture and heritage organisations and sites in England. Supply chain organisations were eligible for the CRF. They are recognised as a critical part of the sector. An additional £300 million was announced at Budget on 3 March for the CRF.

The Youth Investment Fund remains a manifesto commitment for transformative levelling up across England over the course of the parliament. In the recent announced Spending Review £30m of this was committed as capital investment for 2021-22. This will provide investment in new and refurbished safe spaces for young people, so they can access support youth workers, and positive activities out of school, including sport and culture. Further details of the timetable for allocation and how the funding will be distributed will be announced in due course.

Government recognises the significant impact of Covid-19 on young people, particularly the most vulnerable, and on the youth services that support them. A £16.5m Youth Covid-19 Support Fund has been announced which will protect the immediate future of grassroots and national youth organisations across the country.

We are working closely with social media platforms to help them identify and take action to remove incorrect claims about the virus, particularly around the potential Covid-19 vaccine in line with their revised terms and conditions, and to promote authoritative sources of information.

The Online Harms White Paper highlighted disinformation as potentially being in scope of the regulatory framework, and set out a list of potential steps that platforms could take ahead of regulation. Further details about how the legislation and the regulator will tackle disinformation will be published in the Full Government Response to the Online Harms White Paper. The regulator will have strong enforcement powers to deal with non-compliance, including the power to issue notices, warnings and fines.

We are committed to getting the performing arts sector fully back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. It is a priority of my department to work with the arts and cultural sectors to address the challenges of reopening. We have released guidance to support the performing arts sector resume activity in line with the roadmap announced by the Secretary of State last month. In addition, the Government is supporting a number of studies that are currently underway to understand more about the risks associated with these activities. The findings from these studies will inform further changes in the guidance.

Singing, especially in groups, such as in choirs or in audiences - in religious settings or otherwise, is considered a higher risk activity because of the potential for aerosol production and the absence presently of developed scientific analysis to assess this specific risk. The evidence is being developed rapidly. Whilst further evidence is being developed, we advise that non-professional groups should not sing in at this stage and should only do activities in line with government guidance on social mixing.

We are committed to getting the performing arts sector fully back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. It is a priority of my department to work with the arts and cultural sectors to address the challenges of reopening. We have released guidance to support the performing arts sector resume activity in line with the roadmap announced by the Secretary of State last month. In addition, the Government is supporting a number of studies that are currently underway to understand more about the risks associated with these activities. The findings from these studies will inform further changes in the guidance.

Singing, especially in groups, such as in choirs or in audiences - in religious settings or otherwise, is considered a higher risk activity because of the potential for aerosol production and the absence presently of developed scientific analysis to assess this specific risk. The evidence is being developed rapidly. Whilst further evidence is being developed, we advise that non-professional groups should not sing in at this stage and should only do activities in line with government guidance on social mixing.

The Events Industry Forum has published Covid-19 secure guidance on outdoor events which has been developed with input from DCMS. Event organisers should take account of government guidance on performing arts when organising outdoor events with live performances.

We will continue to work with the festivals and the outdoor events sector to develop Covid-19 secure guidance that reflects the latest government regulation and policy.

We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for those science education centres like We, The Curious, which also operate as visitor attractions. These organisations educate and entertain visitors of all ages on what science is.

We do not have any plans to make an assessment of the merits of allocating additional support to the We, The Curious centre, or to other science education centres. Visitor attractions will benefit from the reduced rate of VAT which the Government will temporarily apply to attractions, accommodation and hospitality from 15 July 2020-12 January 2021.

In addition, the Department for Education is funding a range of science institutions to support high-quality science education. This includes funding STEM Learning to deliver high quality CPD for teachers of science through the national network of 33 Science Learning Partnerships. STEM Learning also deliver Project Enthuse, which provides DfE-funded bursaries for teachers to attend CPD classes.

The Department for Education also funds the Institute of Physics to run the Stimulating Physics Network to provide support to schools to improve progression to physics A level, particularly by girls.

The DfE has been working with its providers to agree how to modify their science education programmes in light of the current situation. This has involved ensuring all activity prioritises the safety of staff, teachers and pupils, while continuing to support schools and teachers where possible.

Businesses and workers in the science education centre sector can also access the Government’s comprehensive economic support package. This includes the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Bounce Back Loan scheme, VAT payment deferrals for firms and £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses.

We recognise the COVID-19 crisis has significantly impacted tourism across the UK, including in Bristol. DCMS and VisitEngland remain in regular contact with tourism stakeholders and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to closely monitor the situation and to assess the economic effects in all regions.

The Chancellor has announced a host of measures to support businesses and individuals through the crisis, including those in the tourism sector. This includes the recently extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounce Back Loans scheme.

Through VisitEngland, we announced a £1.3 million scheme to provide financial support to DMOs at risk of closure due to COVID-19. The DMO Resilience Fund has supported a number of DMOs in the South West, including £22,400 support for Visit Bristol, helping them to continue their vital business support work.

From 4 July, people will be allowed to enjoy holidays in England. To help tourism businesses prepare, we have published reopening guidance on Gov.uk for the visitor economy as well as hotels and other guest accommodation.

We will continue to engage with stakeholders - including through the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Visitor Economy Working Group - to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.

We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for tourism businesses across the country. DCMS and VisitEngland remain in regular contact with tourism stakeholders and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) to assess the economic effects on the industry.

I encourage affected tourism businesses to continue to explore the Government’s economic support package, which includes the extended Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme and the Bounce Back Loans scheme.

Through VisitEngland, we announced a £1.3 million scheme to provide financial support to DMOs at risk of closure due to COVID-19.

In preparation for parts of the sector reopening on 4 July, we have published reopening guidance on Gov.uk for the businesses in the visitor economy as well as hotels and other guest accommodation. VisitEngland have also introduced an industry standard quality mark that tourism businesses can acquire if they are compliant with COVID-19 secure guidance.

We will continue to engage with stakeholders - including through the Cultural Renewal Taskforce and the Visitor Economy Working Group - to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.

We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for hospitality businesses across the country, including short term lets. My officials and I continue to engage with short term holiday accommodation stakeholders to monitor the impact. No specific assessment has been made on COVID-19’s effect on the number of short term lets in Bristol.

In preparation for parts of the sector reopening on 4 July, we have published reopening guidance on Gov.uk for hotels and other guest accommodation, including short term holiday lets.

We will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.

We recognise that these are extremely difficult conditions for hospitality businesses across the UK, including those in the short term lets market. We also greatly appreciate this market’s work in housing key workers and vulnerable groups during this crisis.

My officials and I continue to engage with short term holiday accommodation stakeholders to monitor the impact. No specific assessment has been made on COVID-19’s effect on the number of short term lets in the UK.

We have worked very closely with accommodation stakeholders to prepare reopening guidance for hotels and other guest accommodation, including short term holiday lets.

As the sector reopens from 4 July onwards, we will continue to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.

Charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises across the country undertake incredibly important work with and for disabled people. This work has become even more critical during this unprecedented crisis.

Many organisations, including those working with and for disabled people, are experiencing significant pressures due to Covid-19, through either, or both, a loss of income and increasing demand for services increases.

This is why the government has made an unprecedented £750 million package of support available, specifically for charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. The £200m Coronavirus Community Support Fund (CCSF) forms a central part of this package, and is being distributed to organisations through the National Lottery Community Fund (TNLCF). Organisations, including those who work with and for disabled people, should visit the TNLCF website to learn more about how to submit an application (www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk).

Furthermore, the Department of Health and Social Care has announced a £6 million fund to support charities working with people with learning disabilities, autism and complex needs.

To support the vital role of local news outlets, the government has clarified that all journalists including broadcast journalists, and other ancillary staff, are ‘key workers’ for the purposes of access to childcare and educational places. The government also issued guidance to local authorities on the importance of newspaper delivery, which has been critical to the continued dissemination of public interest news.

News publishers in particular are facing existential pressures due to the steep drop in advertising revenues resulting from the impacts of Covid-19. The government has therefore sought to maximise advertising opportunities for the sector, implementing a public information campaign to ensure the distribution of authoritative, up-to-date information about Covid-19, while also alleviating publishers’ financial pressures.. The current partnership brings together over 600 titles across the UK, of which the vast majority are local papers.

For online media outlets, the government has taken steps to ensure the use of ‘keyword blocklisting’ technology is not inadvertently damaging news publishers’ online advertising revenues for Covid-19 related stories. Additionally, the Chancellor brought forward the commencement of zero-rating of VAT on e-newspapers in order to bring savings to readers and support digital publishing.

We are in regular dialogue with stakeholders about ensuring the support offered to local news outlets is as effective as it can be. Ministers are also engaged with national and local broadcasters on a regular basis to understand the impacts of Covid-19 on their day to day operations, including broadcast news provision.

The government is strongly supportive of the community radio sector and recognises the great value that it offers to communities across the United Kingdom, in terms of providing quality local news, information and entertainment.

The government has today announced that the £400,000 Community Radio Fund administered by Ofcom will be used to provide a lifeline for radio stations hit hardest by the coronavirus. Relevant stations will be invited to bid for emergency grants through Ofcom to help meet their core costs.

Last week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced additional measures to support businesses and organisations that have been impacted by the pandemic.

This includes the Government stepping in to help pay people’s wages – a scheme which is one of the most generous of any in the world – paying grants to support as many jobs as necessary. Any employer in the country who promises to retain their staff, can apply for a grant to cover most of the cost of paying people’s wages. Government grants will cover 80 per cent of the salary of retained workers up to a total of £2,500 a month, with this limit set well above the median income. The cost of wages will be backdated to 1st March and will be open for at least three months. The Government will consider extending the scheme for longer if necessary.

We are also deferring the next three months of VAT, a direct injection of £33 billion of cash to employers which means no business will pay any VAT in March, April or May; and they will have until the end of the financial year to repay those bills.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme will now be interest free for twelve months, an extension from the initial announcement of six months. We have already introduced and announced an extension to the Business Interruption Loan Scheme, which is for small and medium-sized businesses. On Tuesday, the Chancellor expanded the amount that can be borrowed from £1.2 million to £5 million.

Last week, the Secretary of State and Minister for Digital and Culture took calls with the creative and cultural sectors amongst others to understand the challenges that they are facing. Officials are continuing to engage with organisations daily in order to best understand how Government can support the cultural and creative sectors and regular Ministerial engagement is taking place.

Arts Council England also announced measures in support of it’s funded organisations last week. More information for those this may apply to can be found here: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19#section-2

Businesses that experience increased costs and disrupted cash flow as a result of Coronavirus are being supported. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has already announced a host of measures to help businesses in this period with £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK, delivered through two schemes:

• Support for liquidity amongst large firms, with a major new scheme being launched by the Bank of England to help them with any disruption to their cash flows through loans.

• Increasing the amount businesses can borrow through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme from £1.2m to £5m and ensuring businesses can access the first 6 months of that finance interest free, as the Government will cover the first 6 months of interest payments.

£20bn of direct fiscal support for businesses in England through tax relief and cash grants to help business manage cash flow. This includes:

• Cash grants of up to £25,000 for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses with a rateable value of between £15,000 and £51,000.

• Cash grants of £10,000 for several hundred thousand small businesses eligible for business rate relief and rural rate relief.

• Entirely removing all eligible properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector from business rates, so that no pub, hotel, or high street shop will pay business rates for 12 months.

• This comes on top of compensation for businesses having to cover Statutory Sick Pay that the Chancellor announced in the Budget.

As part of the government’s emergency legislation measures, Statutory Sick Pay will be available from day one for those affected by coronavirus. Anyone on zero-hour contracts who may not be eligible for Statutory Sick Pay will be able to claim Universal Credit or New Style Employment and Support Allowance, dependent on their circumstances.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced last week additional measures to support businesses and organisations that have been impacted by the pandemic. Guidance for businesses can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses

Last week, both the Secretary of State and Minister for Digital & Culture took calls with the cultural and creative industries sector amongst others to understand the challenges that they are facing as they respond to Government advice regarding Covid-19. Ministers have been representing DCMS sectors through COBRA committees.

Officials are continuing to engage with organisations daily in order to best understand how the Government can provide further guidance and support following the announcement of these measures, and regular Ministerial engagement is taking place.

Government recognises that multiple aspects of the events sector are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, including event organisers, conference centres and event suppliers.

We are taking a number of steps to make sure that the events sector is financially supported through the coronavirus crisis. My Department regularly engages with stakeholders in the sector and across Government on this developing issue. We will continue to monitor its impact on the sector and would urge events businesses to share information with VisitBritain via their Tourism Industry Emergency Response group.

The Chancellor has announced unprecedented support for business and workers to protect them against the current economic emergency. This includes a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, tax relief and cash grant measures, plus £330bn worth of government backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses across the UK. I am also writing to the Chancellor to provide clarity guidance for the events sector on business rate relief.

The Adoption Support Fund was developed in recognition that children who have left the care system, through adoption or special guardianship orders, were not getting the therapeutic support necessary for them to attach to their new permanent parents and carers.

The law is very clear that children in foster care must have a care plan that sets out their needs and how their local authority will meet them. The care plan should include information about the child’s emotional and behavioural development, and how any emotional or behavioural difficulties are to be managed. It must also include what support should be available to the foster carer to meet the needs of the child.

From 2019 to 2021, the government have invested over £1 million to pilot high quality mental health assessments to maximise learning and inform changes needed to the mental health assessments of looked after children going forward.

The pilots generated considerable learning and we will be working closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure learning from the pilots is embedded in service delivery for looked after children moving forward, building on the commitment in the NHS Long-Term plan. The department aims to support pilot sites to embed and sustain the learning and good practice from the pilot within their local areas.

We are determined to press ahead with examinations this year. We regularly engage with stakeholders throughout the education sector and there continues to be widespread support for examinations to go ahead.

Together with Ofqual, we consulted on and have confirmed a range of adaptations to GCSE and A/AS level exams. By 7 February, exam boards will be releasing advance information about the focus of the content of examinations in most GCSE and A/AS level subjects. Combined with the choice of content or topics in some GCSEs, and a transition year for grading, this package provides unprecedented support, reflecting the disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.

We have been clear our intention is for examinations to go ahead, but think it is right that we continue to have contingency plans in place for the unlikely event that examinations cannot go ahead fairly or safely, and have confirmed that students would receive teacher assessed grades instead.

Local authorities children’s social care spending on the most vulnerable children – those needing a social worker, children in care, and care leavers – has increased by over £3 billion since financial year 2012-13.

The department takes robust action when an authority does not meet its requirements to protect all children and young people. Local authorities rated inadequate by Ofsted receive comprehensive support from the department. Those performing well are supported to share best practice.

In this financial year, 2021-22, we have invested £5.7 million to expand our sector-led improvement (SLI) programme so that 19 of our strongest performing local authorities are able to work with their peers, to improve children’s social care services. Since July 2021, SLI partners have worked with 42 local authorities, the majority of which are judged to be inadequate or require improvement by Ofsted, and have delivered around 5,500 days of support to the sector.

We are investing over £4 million over the three years to March 2024 to support the development of corporate and political leadership across children’s services, working closely with the Local Government Association. 146 local authorities out of a total of 151 have benefited from the programme to date.

We have also invested £22.2 million in the COVID-19 Regional Recovery and Build Back Better Fund this year, which seeks to support local authorities to work together to address COVID-19 pressures, where a regional approach would be beneficial in addressing issues that face the sector.

Looking to the future, this government is committed to making a real difference to the needs, experience and outcomes of vulnerable children and families supported by children’s social care. To do this, we need to make fundamental changes to the current system. That is exactly why this government launched the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, a bold and broad review with the aim of contributing to ambitious and deliverable reforms.

The review will share its final recommendations in spring 2022 and the government will then consider and respond to them. Further, the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’s death and the Joint Targeted Area Inspection of Solihull will make sure we learn what needs to be changed nationally, and that we can understand and strengthen local work to safeguard children.

The department will always prioritise the health and welfare of staff, pupils and students.

At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, shielding was introduced as one of the few ways to support those who, at the time, were considered clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV).

The situation is now very different to when shielding was first introduced. We know a lot more about COVID-19 and what makes someone more or less vulnerable to the virus. The vaccine continues to be successfully rolled out, and other treatments and interventions are becoming available.

We are committed to protecting education, which is why the safety measures are based on the latest scientific advice and strike a balance between managing transmission risk with measures such as regular testing, enhanced ventilation and hygiene, and reducing disruption to face-to-face learning.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) have not advised people to shield since 1 April 2021, and people previously identified as CEV were advised to follow the same guidance as the general population. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do.

All children and young people previously considered CEV were advised to return to childcare and education provision when shielding paused on 1 April. The decision to include children as part of the CEV group was based on the information that we had at the time. Now that we have more evidence, the clinical review panel has been able to recommend that all children and young people are no longer considered to be CEV and have been removed from the Shielded Patient List. However, if a child or young person has been advised to isolate or reduce their social contact by their specialist, due to the nature of their medical condition or treatment, they should continue to follow the advice of their specialist.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that children aged 5 to 11 in a clinical risk group, and household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, should be offered 2 10mcg doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, with an interval of 8 weeks between the first and second doses. The NHS is working through updated guidance and will set out how this is going to be operationalised in due course.

Vaccines remain an effective measure against COVID-19. We recommend all school staff take up the offer of a vaccine.

Education providers should continue to ensure good hygiene for everyone, maintain appropriate cleaning regimes, keep spaces well ventilated and follow public health advice on testing, self-isolation and managing confirmed cases of COVID-19. They should continue to conduct risk assessments for their particular circumstances and take appropriate action in line with our guidance, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

It is important that we reduce the disruption to children and young people’s education, particularly given that the direct clinical risks to children are extremely low. The evidence is clear that being out of education causes significant harm to educational attainment, life chances, mental and physical health, which is why children should continue to attend their education provision, unless they are symptomatic or test positive for COVID-19. All students and pupils aged 5 and above are strongly advised to take seven daily lateral flow device tests if they are identified by Test and Trace as a close contact of a confirmed positive case.

The department announced on 16 December that high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing in financial year 2022-23 by £1 billion to over £9.1 billion.

This unprecedented increase of 13% comes on top of the £1.5 billion increase over the last 2 years and will continue to support local authorities and schools with the increasing costs they are facing. Every local authority will attract an increase of at least 12% per head of the 2 to 18-year-old population in financial year 2022-23, with some local authorities seeing increases of up to 16% compared to the previous year.

As well as substantial increases in high needs funding for all local authorities, we are also targeting extra support for those authorities in the most financial difficulty and reviewing the overall system of support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The SEND Review is considering all elements of the SEND system, and the outcome of that review will be published in the first quarter of 2022 as a green paper for full public consultation.

In the autumn Budget a package of £500 million for ‘Early Help’ was announced. This includes a £300 million package to transform ‘Start for Life’ services and create a network of family hubs in half of council areas in England and a £200 million uplift to the ‘Supporting Families’ programme.

The additional funding provided for ‘Supporting Families’ takes the total investment to £695 million over the next 3 years, around a 40% real-terms uplift in funding for the programme by financial year 2024-25.

The ‘Supporting Families’ key workers consider the whole family’s needs and work through a multi-agency approach which includes schools and education specialists.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a range of measures at COP26 to put climate change and sustainability at the heart of education. These included a draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy for the education and children’s services systems, a new National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award.

From December 2021 to March 2022, working groups of sector representatives and a group of young people, reflecting a diverse range of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, will bring together feedback on the draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy from those they represent.

The department has set up a youth panel to ensure we can listen to the views of young people as we further develop the strategy. Young representatives from larger organisations such as the Student Climate Commission, Teach the Future, the UK Sustainable Schools Network and the Green Skills Youth Council will share the views of the children and young people from their networks at the youth panel meetings. The department encourages all interested stakeholders to feed their views in via these organisations.

The department will work closely with the working groups and with delivery partners across government to refine and build on the strategy ahead of publication of a final version in April 2022. We will also continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders through bi-lateral meetings and topic specific workshops.

The department will be launching an informal online survey early next year for interested stakeholders. We will publish the details of the survey in the new year and will make it available to schools and young people.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a range of measures at COP26 to put climate change and sustainability at the heart of education. These included a draft Sustainability and Climate Change strategy for the education and children’s services systems, a new National Education Nature Park and Climate Leaders Award.

From December 2021 to March 2022, user groups of sector representatives and a group of young people, reflecting a diverse range of voices, backgrounds, and experiences, will bring together feedback on the draft Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy from those they represent. Youth representation will also be included in the sector group.

The department will work closely with these groups and with delivery partners across government to refine and build on the strategy ahead of publication of a final version in April 2022.

In recruiting members to each user group, we have been mindful of the need to balance the range of voices with the need for focused and meaningful discussion. The department has used the advice and views of sector leaders and experts to help us select participants in each group, seeking to ensure each one represents a key organisation working in the field or group of recognised stakeholders. This will allow us to more effectively access a broad range of opinions in a short space of time. Organisations such as the Early Years Alliance, teaching unions, Association of Colleges, and UniversitiesUK are amongst the participants and we would encourage interested stakeholders to feed in their views via these representatives.

The department will also continue to engage with a wide range of stakeholders through bi-lateral meetings, topic specific workshops and an informal public survey.

During the Autumn term, the department provided CO₂ monitors to all state-funded education providers, including early years, schools and further education colleges, backed by £25 million in government funding.

We have now delivered on our public commitment with over 353,000 monitors delivered in the Autumn term. Feedback suggests that schools are finding the monitors helpful to manage ventilation and, in the majority of providers, existing ventilation measures are sufficient.

The department is currently conducting a major review of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system. In the first three months of 2022 we will launch a consultation on our proposals. We will need to consider the outcome of our consultation to determine whether any legislative changes are required in relation to any parts of the SEND system.

The SEND Code of Practice is statutory guidance about the exercise of SEND functions under Part 3 of the Children and Families Act 2014. We will therefore be consulting on updating the Code as part of delivering a reformed SEND system.

Local authorities must make disagreement resolution services available to parents and young people for matters relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). These services can be used for disagreements between parents or young people and schools, including academies, about the SEND provision made for a child or young person, whether they have education, health and care plans or not. Further information about these services can be found on the local authority’s local offer website.

All academies must have a complaints procedure, which complies with Part 7 of the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014. If a complainant has completed the school’s complaints procedure, or if they feel they have been prevented from doing so, they can complain to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). The ESFA will consider whether an academy has followed the correct process in handling a complaint, but the ESFA cannot change an academy’s decision about a complaint. Further information on the ESFA’s remit in considering complaints more fully is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/complain-about-an-academy/complain-about-an-academy. Guidance on taking forward complaints about SEND support is available here: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-school/sen-complaints.

The education, health and care plan (EHCP) needs assessment system was introduced as part of the new special educational needs and disability (SEND) Regulations in 2014 and is different from the assessment for a statement of special educational needs that had previously been in place.

The time limit of 20 weeks was set to reflect the changed process of assessment as well as responding to the need to ensure a smoother and swifter system for determining special educational provision for children and young people.

The department is currently looking at the EHCP process as a whole as part of the SEND Review.

The department has consulted on plans for reforming how local authorities fund their school improvement functions and will publish a government response early in the new year. The department is continuing to deliver year on year, real term per pupil increases to school funding. We are investing a further £4.7 billion by financial year 2024-25 for the core schools budget in England, over and above the Spending Review 2019 settlement for schools in financial year 2022-23.

Since 2020, we have increased the number of educational psychologists whose training we fund, from 160, to over 200 per academic year. This is delivered through contracts with two consortia, led by the University of Manchester, and University College London.

The department funds trainees’ bursary payments for the first year of their training course, while bursaries for the second and third years are funded by the local authorities where the trainees are deployed. We do not have plans to introduce a centralised system for this.

Since 2020, we have increased the number of educational psychologists whose training we fund, from 160, to over 200 per academic year. This is delivered through contracts with two consortia, led by the University of Manchester, and University College London.

The department funds trainees’ bursary payments for the first year of their training course, while bursaries for the second and third years are funded by the local authorities where the trainees are deployed. We do not have plans to introduce a centralised system for this.

The department closely monitors a range of data and intelligence to assess the operation and delivery of the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. This includes data on:

• special educational needs in schools via the annual collection of data from schools
• the numbers of new assessments, plans and placements
• local authority expenditure and dedicated schools grant assessment on spend/financial sustainability including Section 251 returns
• feedback from local authorities and the Parent and Pupil Panel survey
• inspection or revisit reports from the local area SEND inspections undertaken by Ofsted and Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The government recognises that the current SEND system does not deliver the outcomes we want or expect for children and young people with SEND, their families or the people and services who support them. The SEND Review is seeking to improve the outcomes for children, with high expectations and ambitions. We need to build a financially sustainable system, where there is clear accountability. The Review will publish as a green paper for full public consultation in the first three months of 2022.

The department, with SEND advisers and NHS England advisers, provides support and challenge to 89 local authority/health/social care areas who, following their Ofsted and CQC inspection or revisit, were required to produce a written statement of action (71 local authorities) or accelerated progress plan (19 local authorities) to improve the local areas’ ability to meet their statutory duties as set out in the SEND Code of Practice. In addition, the department commissions specialist support from delivery partners and delivers training programmes to local authorities, health and social care staff across the country on their statutory assessment duties.

We recognise that pressures on high needs budgets have contributed to some local authorities finding it difficult to manage their dedicated schools grant funding.

By financial year 2021-22, annual funding allocations to local authorities for high needs will have increased by more than £2 billion, or one third, since 2019-20. As a result of the recent Spending Review, overall funding for the core schools budget, from which high needs funding is drawn, will increase by a further £4.7 billion by financial year 2024-25, compared to previous plans, representing further real terms per pupil increase each year. We will announce how that increase will be split between mainstream schools and high needs in due course.

Local authorities are statutorily responsible for securing the provision specified in the education, health and care (EHC) plans they maintain, working with their relevant health partners. Where an EHC plan names a local authority maintained school, an academy, a non-maintained special school, a maintained nursery school, a general further education college or an independent special school or specialist post-16 institution on my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education's approved list, it is statutorily required to admit the child or young person. The local authority remains responsible for securing the provision and monitoring its effectiveness, for example through the annual review process.

An EHC plan must identify the special educational needs of the child or young person, with any relevant health and social care needs, must set long-term outcomes and must specify provision to deliver them. A child or young persons EHC plan should therefore identify all the additional special educational provision which they require over and above that ordinarily available in the school.

When the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG) was created in financial year 2013-14, it included the extension to age 25. The expected additional cost to local authorities was considered by:

• Moving all funds previously allocated to supporting young people aged 16-25 with high needs through the previous funding system, into the high needs block of the DSG; and
• Increasing the high needs block further to reflect the likely increase in numbers of young people requiring high needs funding.

£272 million was added to the DSG in the financial year 2013-14, and £390 million in the financial year 2014-15, to take account of the extended age range to 25 covered by the DSG. The difference between the two years is mainly because some of the changes post-16 started in August 2013 rather than at the start of the financial year in April 2013.

These increases in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 financial years were consolidated into the funding baseline that informed the 2015 Spending Review settlement reached between the department and HM Treasury. Local authorities’ increased spending, including on 16-25-year-olds, was also considered in subsequent baselines used for allocations of high needs funding through the DSG, and for informing overall Spending Review settlements.

The autumn 2021 Spending Review delivers an additional £4.7 billion for the core schools' budget by financial year 2024-25. This settlement includes an additional £1.6 billion for schools and high needs in the financial year 2022-23, on top of the funding we announced in the summer of 2021, following the previous Spending Review. We will confirm in due course how this additional funding for the financial year 2022-23, and the two subsequent years, will be allocated for schools and high needs.

In 2017 the department produced guidance for local authorities about education, health and care (EHC) plans for 19 to 25-year-olds with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This non-statutory guidance is primarily for local authorities. It aims to support them in making fair and consistent decisions about when they should maintain an EHC plan beyond the age of 19 or issue an EHC plan to a young person aged 19 or over, in line with their duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, and as described in the SEND Code of Practice.

The number and percentage of education, health and care (EHC) plans that have been issued within the statutory timescale of 20 weeks is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/9641146e-f32a-4f3f-925c-bde4cc238be0.

The latest published data shows that 58.0% (31,446) of EHC plans issued in 2020, excluding exceptions, were issued within 20 weeks.

The Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities is responsible for local government funding, including funding necessary to support local authorities to meet their statutory duties with regards to all children's services, including special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services.

This year, local authorities have access to £51.3 billion to deliver their core services, including SEND services. Local authorities have the flexibility to spend according to local needs and priorities, including to undertake education, health and care needs assessments.

The autumn 2021 Spending Review delivered an additional £4.7 billion for the core schools' budget by financial year 2024-25. That includes an additional £1.6 billion for schools and high needs in financial year 2022-23, on top of the funding we announced last summer. The department will confirm in due course how this additional funding for 2022-23, and for the two subsequent years, will be allocated for schools and high needs. Increasing funding for schools should help to reduce the demand for statutory assessment, thereby reducing the burden on local authorities.

We have introduced the ‘safety valve’ intervention programme for those local authorities with the very highest percentage dedicated schools grant deficits. The programme requires the local authorities involved to develop substantial plans for reform to their high needs systems, with support and challenge from the department, to rapidly place them on a sustainable footing, including appropriately managing demand for education. The department will help these local authorities with additional funding over time to contribute to their historic deficits, contingent on delivery of reforms and targets set out in published agreements.

The department will continue to work with other government departments, including the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to ensure the Spending Review reflects the needs of children’s services.

The Department for Education continues to work closely with the Department of Health and Social Care on the possibility of extending the equivalent or lower qualification exemption to those studying paramedic science degrees.

For any forthcoming international mobility in education, regardless of how it is funded, we expect all universities, colleges and schools managing these to follow the relevant Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) travel advice for the destination country and to highlight this to their participants, being aware that the situation can change.

We suggest anyone who may be affected discuss their placement with their provider, being conscious that their placement may not be able to continue as originally planned, but there may be opportunities for it to start at a later date if the situation changes and this is feasible. Participants should be ready to comply with local isolation, testing or quarantine requirements, and will need to rely on the local health system.

Turing Scheme and Erasmus+ mobilities will both be in operation during the 2021/22 academic year.

Current government guidance for Turing Scheme, Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps travel is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#travel-guidance-for-erasmus-and-european-solidarity-corps-exchanges.

FCDO travel advice per country can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice.

The Student Loans Company launched its application system for postgraduate loans for the 2021/22 academic year on 28 June 2021.

Students should have confidence in their grades this year. Awarding organisations have provided assessment materials, guidance, and training to support centres to make fair, consistent, and evidence based decisions which are without bias. Ofqual has also published information for centres about making objective judgements this year.

For the 2021 summer series, reasonable adjustments for disabled students and access arrangements should have been in place when evidence was generated. Where they were not, centres should take that into account when coming to their judgement. Teachers have had the flexibility to substitute or discount evidence where reasonable adjustments were not applied. For all assessments completed in the summer term, centres should have ensured students had access to reasonable adjustments. Special circumstances that may lead a teacher to disregard a piece of evidence or to replace it with another piece of evidence would cover instances where students were not provided with their approved access arrangements or reasonable adjustments when completing their work. This also applies where temporary illness or injury, bereavement, or some other event outside of the student’s control might have temporarily affected their performance.

This year, teachers have assessed their students based on what they were taught, not what they missed. Regarding the use of set texts, the Department expects students to have been assessed on the specific texts taught by their schools. Schools should follow their own processes for ensuring students have access to set texts, as they would in any other year.

Centres should follow the schools operational guidance on equipment when using classroom based resources, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#system-of-controls.

Where schools have taught remotely, they should follow the guidance on remote education, which refers to the provision of resources, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#system-of-controls.

Where only some of the text has been taught, teachers had the flexibility to focus their assessments on the proportion taught.

Deadline for centres to submit their teacher assessed grades was 18 June so centres have therefore completed their assessments for the 2021 series.

Students should have confidence in their grades this year. Awarding organisations have provided assessment materials, guidance, and training to support centres to make fair, consistent, and evidence based decisions which are without bias. Ofqual has also published information for centres about making objective judgements this year.

For the 2021 summer series, reasonable adjustments for disabled students and access arrangements should have been in place when evidence was generated. Where they were not, centres should take that into account when coming to their judgement. Teachers have had the flexibility to substitute or discount evidence where reasonable adjustments were not applied. For all assessments completed in the summer term, centres should have ensured students had access to reasonable adjustments. Special circumstances that may lead a teacher to disregard a piece of evidence or to replace it with another piece of evidence would cover instances where students were not provided with their approved access arrangements or reasonable adjustments when completing their work. This also applies where temporary illness or injury, bereavement, or some other event outside of the student’s control might have temporarily affected their performance.

This year, teachers have assessed their students based on what they were taught, not what they missed. Regarding the use of set texts, the Department expects students to have been assessed on the specific texts taught by their schools. Schools should follow their own processes for ensuring students have access to set texts, as they would in any other year.

Centres should follow the schools operational guidance on equipment when using classroom based resources, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#system-of-controls.

Where schools have taught remotely, they should follow the guidance on remote education, which refers to the provision of resources, available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance#system-of-controls.

Where only some of the text has been taught, teachers had the flexibility to focus their assessments on the proportion taught.

Deadline for centres to submit their teacher assessed grades was 18 June so centres have therefore completed their assessments for the 2021 series.

This year, due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, students are being awarded grades determined by their teachers and based on a range of evidence. Assessing students and determining their standard of performance is an important part of teachers’ roles in a typical year. Nevertheless, many elements of the approach to awarding qualifications in 2021 have been designed with workload in mind. The Department is regularly engaging with teacher unions and other sector representatives to ensure the processes developed, and the guidance that supports them, reflects their feedback. The Joint Council for Qualifications and the exam boards have published extensive guidance and materials for schools and colleges to support teachers with their assessment, marking and making their judgements of students’ performance in these challenging circumstances.

Exceptionally for 2021, the Department is providing additional funding to centres for teachers to process priority appeals following results day. This will be £75 per each priority appeal. In addition, we are providing funding to awarding organisations so that state-funded schools will not need to pay a fee for formal appeals this year. Last year, we announced the biggest pay rise the teaching profession has seen since 2005, with above-inflation rises to the teacher pay scales. We are also committed to introducing a £30,000 starting salary.

The government supports the provision of nutritious food in schools, which ensures that pupils are well nourished, develop healthy eating habits and can concentrate and learn. Under the benefits-related criteria, there are currently 1.6 million pupils eligible for and claiming a free school meal, and a further 1.4 million infant-aged children who benefit from our Universal Infant Free School Meals policy.

The government also funds breakfast clubs in over 2,450 schools to support more than a quarter of a million children in the most disadvantaged areas of the country. Up to £24 million will be available to extend our support for school breakfast clubs until 2023, to make sure that thousands of children in disadvantaged areas have a healthy start to the day. We know that breakfast clubs can bring a wide range of benefits for children. An evaluation by the Education Endowment Foundation found that supporting schools to run a free-of-charge, universal breakfast club before school delivered an average of 2 months’ additional progress for pupils in key stage 1 with moderate to low security. Breakfast club schools also saw an improvement in pupil behaviour and attendance.

Backed by an investment of up to £220 million, the Holiday Activities and Food programme ran nationwide throughout the Easter holiday period and will run during the summer and Christmas holidays in 2021, supporting disadvantaged pupils with enriching activities, providing them with healthy food, helping them to learn new things and improving socialisation. This programme builds on pilots of the scheme since 2018, including last summer’s programme, which supported around 50,000 children across 17 local authorities. We have developed this programme, as we know that disadvantaged children are more likely to experience unhealthy holidays (in terms of nutrition and physical exercise), are less likely to take part in enriching activities and can experience isolation during the holidays.

In January, confirmatory PCR testing for pupils and students taking lateral flow tests in an assisted setting at school or college was paused. This was the same across all other sectors and NHS Test and Trace set out at the time that this was expected to be a temporary measure until prevalence was reduced. NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England have kept the changing clinical circumstances under review and have now advised that, due to the ability for PCR to now detect and track new variants and the lower prevalence of COVID-19, confirmatory PCR testing should now be reintroduced.

If you conduct a lateral flow test at home or receive a supervised school/college-based lateral flow test (LFT) as part of the rapid asymptomatic testing programme and it is positive then you, your close contacts, and other members of your household should self-isolate immediately in line with NHS Test and Trace guidance. All positive results from rapid tests, whether conducted at home or at a school or college, will then need to be confirmed with a PCR test within two days of the positive LFT. This should be booked immediately either online or by calling 119. Whilst awaiting the PCR result, you and your close contacts should continue to self-isolate. If the PCR test is negative, provided it was taken within two days of the positive LFT, it overrides the LFT and you can return to school or college and you, your close contacts, and other members of your household can stop self-isolating.

NHS Test and Trace guidance is available to view here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nhs-test-and-trace-how-it-works.

The Government recognises that extended school and college restrictions have had a substantial impact on children and young people’s education and are committed to helping pupils make up lost education due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

We know that it is important that pupils in this cohort are able to obtain a grade safely and fairly and we will continue to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on all pupils to ensure that those due to take exams in 2022 are supported to move on to the next stage of their lives fairly.

The Department has appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to oversee the long-term plan to help schools support pupils make up their education over the course of this Parliament. Sir Kevan will engage with parents, pupils, and teachers in the development of this broader approach and review how evidence-based interventions can be used to address the impact the COVID-19 outbreak has had on education. We will share further details in due course.

As an immediate step, on 24 February 2021, the Department committed an additional £700 million to support summer schools, tutoring, early language interventions and additional support to schools to help pupils make up their education. This builds on the £1 billion catch-up package announced in June 2020, which included a Catch-up Premium, shared across state primary and secondary schools to support schools to make up for lost teaching time over this academic year. It also includes the National Tutoring Programme which provides schools with access to high-quality, subsidised tuition in this academic year and next.

In June 2020, the Government announced a £1 billion catch up package that included a £650 million catch up premium. Independent schools with pupils who have an education, health and care plan or special educational needs and disability support funded by the local authority attract catch up premium funding at a rate of £240 per pupil. Mainstream schools attract funding of £80 per pupil. We have applied additional weighting to specialist schools, recognising the significantly higher per pupil costs they face.

In February 2021, the Government announced a further £700 million Education Recovery plan. As well as a range of measures to support all pupils to recover lost education, the plan includes significant funding aimed at addressing the needs of disadvantaged pupils. This includes a one-off £302 million recovery premium for the next academic year that will be allocated to schools on the same methodology as the pupil premium. This will provide each mainstream school with £145 for each eligible pupil and special (including special units within a mainstream school), alternative provision and hospital schools with £290 per pupil across the 2021-22 academic year.

Pupils are working hard in preparation for their GCSEs, AS and A levels this year and teachers have made tremendous efforts to provide high quality education both in the classroom and remotely. 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. Fairness to young people is fundamental to the Department and Ofqual’s decision making. We want to ensure all young people have the confidence that, despite exams not going ahead, they will receive a grade that reflects their ability and enables them to progress.

This year, teachers will not be asked to judge the grade a pupil might have achieved if the COVID-19 outbreak had not occurred. They will be asked to make an evidence-based judgement of the grade each pupil is performing at. Guidance will be provided to teachers by the end of March 2021, to support them in making assessments fairly and consistently.

Schools and colleges will have a range of supporting materials available to help them in marking and awarding grades. There will also be a process for both internal and external quality assurance to support teachers to do what is needed and ensure as much consistency as possible. Head teachers will have to confirm to the exam boards that the requirements for quality assurance have been met at the time of submitting the grades for their centre. Exam boards quality assurance will check the evidence to support grades submitted at a sample of centres, to ensure consistency in approach between centres. The sample of centres subject to these checks will be drawn to ensure representation of all types of centres, including state and private schools and colleges.

As part of their quality assurance process, schools and colleges will be given guidance on the use of previous performance data for their centre to help benchmark their results. The use of previous performance data is intended for guidance only and will not limit grades awarded for a student if supported by evidence.

We understand that whilst some independent schools choose to take qualifications regulated by Ofqual, many also choose international GCSEs, which are not regulated by Ofqual and are not part of the arrangements for summer 2021 that apply to GCSEs, A/AS levels and VTQs. We have worked closely with the exam boards who have confirmed that exams in England for their international GCSEs will not go ahead and pupils will be awarded grades using teacher assessment.

The Government is committed to helping all children and young people make up learning lost as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In January 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, committed to work with parents, teachers and pupils to develop a long-term plan to help pupils make up their learning over the course of this Parliament. As an immediate step to support early years settings, schools and colleges, on 24 February, we committed an additional £700 million to support summer schools, tutoring, early language interventions and additional support to schools to help pupils make up their learning. This builds on the £1 billion from last year and brings the total available to £1.7 billion.

We have also appointed Sir Kevan Collins as the Education Recovery Commissioner to advise on this broader plan. The objectives of the Education Recovery Commissioner as outlined in the terms of reference are to advise on the design and implementation of potential interventions that will help students catch up learning lost due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The terms of reference for the Education Recovery Commissioner is published here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/960070/Terms_of_reference.pdf#:~:text=Education%20Recovery%20Commissioner%3A%20role%20specification%20and%20terms%20of,approach%20for%20education%20recovery%2C%20with%20a%20particular%20focus.

The Department will continue to assess the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on pupils and their catch-up needs to help target support across the system effectively.

Monitoring of COVID-19 symptoms and criteria for Test and Trace are clinical issues, and therefore fall within the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care. As part of the return to face-to-face education from 8 March, all secondary school and further education college students will be offered regular asymptomatic testing for COVID-19, receiving four tests on their return with three of these on site. Thereafter, students will receive twice-weekly home tests.

The new subjects of Relationships Education (for primary aged pupils), Relationships and Sex Education (for secondary aged pupils) and Health Education (for all pupils in state-funded schools) became mandatory from September 2020. The statutory guidance sets out the content to be covered for each subject, which includes teaching about treating everyone with respect regardless of their background and characteristics, and how stereotypes can cause damage or might encourage prejudice.

As with other aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver the content of the new subjects so they can develop an integrated approach that is sensitive to the needs of all of its pupils. In light of challenges faced by schools because of the impact of COVID-19 and school closure, schools may choose to focus this year’s RSHE teaching on the immediate needs of their pupils, with particular attention to the importance of positive relationships, as well as mental and physical health, introducing a more comprehensive RSHE programme in September 2021.

All schools must follow the principles of the Equality Act 2010 – the need to eliminate discrimination, to promote equality of opportunity and to foster good relations between different groups in society.

In September 2020, the Department published a support package to help all schools increase their confidence and the quality of their RSHE teaching practice. This includes teacher training modules, non-statutory implementation guidance, and training for teachers led by Teaching Schools.

Ofsted’s routine graded school inspections are currently suspended. When those inspections resume, inspectors will take account of the relationships education taught in each school as part of its evaluation of pupils’ personal development.

The January 2021 census will be used to determine pupil premium eligibility for alternative provision and pupil referral units for the financial year 2021-22. Pupil premium eligibility for mainstream and special schools will be based on the October 2020 census. The Department will confirm pupil premium allocations for the financial year 2021-22 in June 2021.

Data on the number of pupils who have become eligible for free school meals since 2 October 2020 is currently being collected in the spring school census and is not yet available.

The Department publishes information on pupil premium allocations and the number of pupils eligible annually. The most recent publicly available figures can be found via this link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2020-to-2021.

We appreciate that the wraparound childcare sector, like many sectors, is facing unprecedented financial pressures as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is for this reason that the government has made a range of financial packages of support available for businesses to access throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes tax relief, business loans or cash grants through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, as well as a £594 million discretionary fund for councils and the devolved administrations to support local businesses that may not be eligible for other support, during the current national lockdown. More information on this can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus/business-support.

Additionally, we have encouraged all local authorities to consider which local grants could be used to bolster this part of the childcare sector in their areas, to safeguard sufficient childcare provision for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. This includes funding streams such as the holiday activities and food programme. The expanded programme, which comprises a £220 million fund to be delivered through grants to local authorities, will be expanded to reach all local authority areas over the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays in 2021.

The National School Breakfast Programme continues to be funded, and our suppliers Family Action along with Magic Breakfast are working closely with participating schools to make sure that children can still receive healthy breakfasts during this period, including for children staying at home.

Family Action have reported that more than 1,000 schools in disadvantaged areas are registered to receive breakfast deliveries from this programme during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following the recent announcement by the government that it is no longer viable for some exams and assessments to go ahead this academic year, exams and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications that require a student to demonstrate professional or occupational competence can continue to proceed in February and March 2021, with protective measures in place in line with Public Health England’s measures. The position on exams and assessments scheduled for April 2021 onwards is being considered in our joint consultation with Ofqual.

Where exams and assessments can continue, public health guidance has been produced for all exam centres on the arrangements they should have in place to deliver exams and assessments, including those of a practical nature: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responsibility-for-autumn-gcse-as-and-a-level-exam-series/public-health-arrangements-for-autumn-exams.

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.

As of 1 February 2021, this includes over 927,000 laptops and tablets that were delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities.

Education settings for 16 to 19 year olds, including schools with sixth forms, further education (FE) and sixth form colleges, and other FE institutions will be able to order laptops and tablets to further support disadvantaged students to access remote education. The vast majority of settings with eligible pupils have already been invited to do so. Orders are currently being fulfilled within 5 working days.

The Department has currently paused daily contact testing, previously known as serial testing, in all but a small number of secondary schools and colleges, where it will continue alongside detailed evaluation. This is following updated advice from NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England which concluded that, in light of the higher prevalence and rates of transmission of the new variant of the virus, further evaluation work is required to make sure that daily contact testing is achieving its aim of breaking chains of transmission.

We will be working closely with the small number of secondary schools and colleges that will be continuing daily contact testing as part of the evaluation.

In collaboration with the Department of Heath and Social Care and NHS Test and Trace, the Department has provided help and support to all schools and colleges in scope. This support can vary, depending on the settings, but at a minimum all schools and colleges have had access to the following:

1. Published guidance including: Handbook, How to Guide, Standard Operating Procedure, FAQs.
2. We have run a number of webinars to help educational settings understand what is required and how best to implement test and trace.
3. Provided access to an online training package.
4. Access to a dedicated Department for Education Helpline.
5. Supplies of lateral flow antigen test kits and PPE.

Additionally, state funded secondary schools, further education colleges and special schools have been able to access further support to help with setting testing sites up, which includes:

1. Through a triage process, additional support in setting up the testing sites, which in some cases may be on the ground support from the military.
2. Funding is also being provided to help with the set up costs of the testing sites within the educational settings.

The Department is also liaising with the Community Testing Programme to ensure that those educational settings that are not within scope can access this programme.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, by securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. As of Monday 25 January 2021, over 870,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities across England, who are responsible for distributing them onward to disadvantaged children and families.

Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.

All schools, academy trusts and local authorities have now been given the opportunity to order devices. Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities to lend to the children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Figures on the number of devices delivered, broken down by Local Authority and Academy Trust are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-4.

Where schools need additional devices above their allocations, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.

We have also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data for the academic year to help disadvantaged children get online. We are grateful to EE, O2, Smarty, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone for their collaboration.

We have also delivered 54,000 4G wireless routers for pupil and care leavers without connection at home.

The Government is investing over £400 million to support access to remote education and online social care services, by securing 1.3 million laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children and young people. As of Monday 25 January 2021, over 870,000 laptops and tablets had been delivered to schools, academy trusts and local authorities across England, who are responsible for distributing them onward to disadvantaged children and families.

Regional figures for delivery of devices are currently not available for the period requested and figures by Parliamentary constituency are also not available.

All schools, academy trusts and local authorities have now been given the opportunity to order devices. Laptops and tablets are owned by schools, academy trusts or local authorities to lend to the children and young people who need them most during the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Figures on the number of devices delivered, broken down by Local Authority and Academy Trust are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/laptops-and-tablets-data/2021-week-4.

Where schools need additional devices above their allocations, they should contact the Department for Education’s service team at covid.technology@education.gov.uk. They should include the number of disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 who require support and an explanation of how they have gathered this evidence.

We have also partnered with the UK’s leading mobile operators to provide free data for the academic year to help disadvantaged children get online. We are grateful to EE, O2, Smarty, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Three, Virgin Mobile, and Vodafone for their collaboration.

We have also delivered 54,000 4G wireless routers for pupil and care leavers without connection at home.

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.

For those learners aged 16-19 in both schools and further education (FE) settings, we had existing means of supporting disadvantaged learners through the 16-19 bursary fund. We, therefore, asked schools and FE providers to use this to meet the tech needs of their most disadvantaged students.

During the summer, we enabled schools and FE providers’ to boost their bursary funds to meet any extra costs for student technology needs.

Many FE providers have reported challenges in procuring devices due to the current global shortage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Procurement and distribution of devices by Government provides a reliable supply of devices.

We have now extended the Get Help with Technology programme to provide disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with technological support. This is part of the £400 million investment to help children and young people continue their education at home and to get any online social care services they need. We expect to be able to invite most eligible FE providers, including colleges, sixth form colleges and school sixth forms, to order devices before the end of January. Other FE providers, such as independent training providers and special post-16 institutions will also be in scope if they have learners receiving free meals.

On 17 December 2020 we confirmed that the pupil premium will continue in 2021-22 with the same per pupil funding rates as in 2020-21. This is expected to increase pupil premium funding to more than £2.5 billion in 2021-22 as more children have become eligible for free school meals.

For mainstream and special educational needs schools, we will base eligibility for the 2021-22 pupil premium funding on the October 2020 census. In previous years, we have used the January census to determine pupil premium eligibility. Moving to the October census brings the administration of the pupil premium in line with the rest of schools’ core budgets (most notably the national funding formula, and local school funding formulae), which calculate schools’ budgets for the coming year on the basis of the October census. The move to the October census simplifies the school funding system, and provide both schools and the Department with greater certainty around future funding levels earlier in the year.

Alternative Provision and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) will continue to be funded based on the January census, since there is no census for alternative provision in October, and the October census is not representative of the number of pupils in PRUs across a full academic year.

The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care. This includes delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device. The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available this term to support disadvantaged children that might experience disruption to their education. Since September 2020, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools. This represents an injection of over half a million laptops and tablets by the end of the year.

Summer term delivery data, which includes Bristol Council, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/Devices_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.

Current delivery data, as of 22 October 2020, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.

A summary of attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The Get Help With Technology scheme is intended to enable schools to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 who do not have access to a laptop or tablet privately or through school. Support is provided when schools report disruption to face-to-face education. Schools can order laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official or medical advice, for all year groups who attend hospital schools, and for those completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college. Subject to availability, we expect to deliver orders within 48 hours of the ordering being received.

The Department allocated a number of devices to each school. To arrive at this allocation, the Department has used data on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals in each school. The Department expects that pupils’ device needs will be met to some extent by existing school laptops and tablets.

The Department estimated the number of disadvantaged pupils without access to an internet connection using data on pupils eligible for free school meals in each school, taking into consideration estimations by Ofcom and reflecting that some pupils would already have access to a private internet connection.

In the context of significant demand, we have updated our allocation process to more accurately align orders with the number of students typically self-isolating, ensuring as many children as possible benefit from receiving a device this term.

Schools, local authorities, and academy trusts can request additional devices if their allocation from the Department does not meet their needs. These requests can be submitted to: covid.technology@education.gov.uk.

Laptops and tablets are owned by the local authority, academy trust, or school who can lend unused laptops and tablets to children and young people who need them most, and who may experience disruption to face-to-face education due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care. This includes delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device. The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available this term to support disadvantaged children that might experience disruption to their education. Since September 2020, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools. This represents an injection of over half a million laptops and tablets by the end of the year.

Summer term delivery data, which includes Bristol Council, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/Devices_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.

Current delivery data, as of 22 October 2020, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.

A summary of attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The Get Help With Technology scheme is intended to enable schools to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 who do not have access to a laptop or tablet privately or through school. Support is provided when schools report disruption to face-to-face education. Schools can order laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official or medical advice, for all year groups who attend hospital schools, and for those completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college. Subject to availability, we expect to deliver orders within 48 hours of the ordering being received.

The Department allocated a number of devices to each school. To arrive at this allocation, the Department has used data on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals in each school. The Department expects that pupils’ device needs will be met to some extent by existing school laptops and tablets.

The Department estimated the number of disadvantaged pupils without access to an internet connection using data on pupils eligible for free school meals in each school, taking into consideration estimations by Ofcom and reflecting that some pupils would already have access to a private internet connection.

In the context of significant demand, we have updated our allocation process to more accurately align orders with the number of students typically self-isolating, ensuring as many children as possible benefit from receiving a device this term.

Schools, local authorities, and academy trusts can request additional devices if their allocation from the Department does not meet their needs. These requests can be submitted to: covid.technology@education.gov.uk.

Laptops and tablets are owned by the local authority, academy trust, or school who can lend unused laptops and tablets to children and young people who need them most, and who may experience disruption to face-to-face education due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department has invested over £195 million to support remote education and access to online social care. This includes delivering over 220,000 laptops and tablets during the summer term for disadvantaged children who would not otherwise have access to a digital device. The Department is adding to this support by making over 340,000 additional laptops and tablets available this term to support disadvantaged children that might experience disruption to their education. Since September 2020, over 100,000 of these have been delivered to schools. This represents an injection of over half a million laptops and tablets by the end of the year.

Summer term delivery data, which includes Bristol Council, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/912888/Devices_and_4G_wireless_routers_progress_data_as_of_27_August_2020.pdf.

Current delivery data, as of 22 October 2020, can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/929064/Ad-hoc_stats_note_shipped_data_231020_FINAL.pdf.

A summary of attendance in education settings during the COVID-19 outbreak can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

The Get Help With Technology scheme is intended to enable schools to support disadvantaged children in Years 3 to 11 who do not have access to a laptop or tablet privately or through school. Support is provided when schools report disruption to face-to-face education. Schools can order laptops and tablets for disadvantaged children across all year groups who are shielding as a result of official or medical advice, for all year groups who attend hospital schools, and for those completing their Key Stage 4 at a further education college. Subject to availability, we expect to deliver orders within 48 hours of the ordering being received.

The Department allocated a number of devices to each school. To arrive at this allocation, the Department has used data on the number of pupils eligible for free school meals in each school. The Department expects that pupils’ device needs will be met to some extent by existing school laptops and tablets.

The Department estimated the number of disadvantaged pupils without access to an internet connection using data on pupils eligible for free school meals in each school, taking into consideration estimations by Ofcom and reflecting that some pupils would already have access to a private internet connection.

In the context of significant demand, we have updated our allocation process to more accurately align orders with the number of students typically self-isolating, ensuring as many children as possible benefit from receiving a device this term.

Schools, local authorities, and academy trusts can request additional devices if their allocation from the Department does not meet their needs. These requests can be submitted to: covid.technology@education.gov.uk.

Laptops and tablets are owned by the local authority, academy trust, or school who can lend unused laptops and tablets to children and young people who need them most, and who may experience disruption to face-to-face education due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Following last year’s Spending Review, core school funding is increasing by £2.6 billion in the financial year 2020-21 and will increase by £4.8 billion and £7.1 billion in 2021-22 and 2022-23 respectively, compared to 2019-20. On average, schools are attracting 4.2% more per pupil this year compared to 2019-20.

Schools have continued to receive their core funding allocations as usual, regardless of any periods of partial or complete closure due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and this has ensured they have been able to continue to pay for staff and meet their other regular financial commitments.

The Department for Education’s Guidance for schools on full opening sets out the options available for schools seeking to manage staffing capacity and absences as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools. In addition to using supply teachers and other temporary staff, schools can also consider using existing staff more flexibly, including support staff and Initial Teacher Training trainees, or volunteers, as would usually be the case.

As stated in our guidance, schools should continue to use their existing resources to manage staffing capacity. Where schools do hire agency workers, we recommend they consider using the Department’s and the Crown Commercial Service’s agency supply deal, as this offers a list of preferred suppliers that must be transparent about the rates they charge. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/deal-for-schools-hiring-supply-teachers-and-agency-workers.

The Department continue to work with stakeholders and representative bodies to understand staffing capacity and are keeping the situation under close review.

Schools remain open during the period of the new national restrictions. Where schools implement the system of controls outlined in the published schools guidance, in line with their own workplace risk assessment, Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirm that these measures create an inherently safer environment for children and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced.

As a result, on current evidence, PHE and DHSC advise that schools are not currently considered high risk settings when compared to other workplace environments.

It is therefore appropriate for teachers and other school staff to attend the workplace. Accordingly, we expect that staff – apart from the clinically extremely vulnerable who should work from home during the period of national restrictions – will attend school.

The Department for Education’s guidance for schools on full opening sets out the options available for schools seeking to manage staffing capacity as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

In addition to using supply teachers and other temporary or peripatetic teachers, schools can also consider using existing staff more flexibly, including support staff and Initial Teacher Training trainees, or volunteers, as would usually be the case.

Arrangements for sporting activities in higher education (HE) during the period of national restrictions are set out in this guidance document: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/higher-education-new-national-restrictions-guidance.

Where sporting activities are part of an educational course, students can continue those activities and providers will need to ensure that these take place in a COVID-secure way. Similarly, programmes for elite athletes in HE may also continue. Unless team sporting activities are part of educational courses or elite performance programmes, they would not be possible.

I wrote to universities and other higher education (HE) providers on 20 March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, to highlight the vulnerability of care leavers and estranged students, and asked them to prioritise these groups for additional support.

Last month, I met with a group of 12 care leavers and estranged students to formally discuss the issues that they face in both entering and succeeding in HE. Following that discussion, I asked officials to make sure that the end-of-term Christmas guidance, which will be published shortly, pays particular attention to the needs of vulnerable students.

The government has worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to help clarify that HE providers can draw upon existing funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. Providers were able to use the OfS’s Student Premium funding worth around £23 million per month for April to July this year and £256 million for the academic year 2020/21, starting from August, towards student hardship funds, including the purchase of mental health support.

The government also invested over £100 million to help provide laptops and devices for disadvantaged children and young people so they can access education and social care services remotely. As part of this, we have provided devices for care leavers, including those who are studying at university.

Care leavers attending HE courses are treated as independent students when their entitlement to living costs is assessed. This means that, in nearly all cases, they will qualify for the maximum loan for living costs. Care leavers undertaking HE also qualify for a £2,000 HE bursary from their local authority.

Additional bursaries are offered by some HE providers for care leavers, and students estranged from their families.

We now know much more about COVID-19 and so in future there will be far fewer children and young people advised to shield whenever community transmission rates are high. Therefore, the majority of pupils will be able to return to school. Shielding advice for all adults and children will pause on 1 August, subject to a continued decline in the rates of community transmission of COVID-19.

This means that even the small number of pupils who will remain on the shielded patient list can also return to school, as can those who have family members who are shielding.

Where a pupil is unable to attend school because they are complying with clinical and/or public health advice, we expect schools to be able to immediately offer them access to remote education. Schools should monitor engagement with this activity.

Further information is available in our guidance on the full reopening of schools:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

The Department for Education (DfE) is funding a range of science institutions to support high-quality science education. This includes funding STEM Learning to deliver high quality continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers of science through the national network of 33 Science Learning Partnerships. STEM Learning also deliver Project Enthuse, which provides DfE-funded bursaries for teachers to attend CPD at the National STEM Learning Centre in York. In addition to this, we fund the Institute of Physics to run the Stimulating Physics Network to provide support to schools to improve progression to physics A level, particularly by girls.

The DfE has been working with its providers to agree how to modify their science education programmes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This has involved ensuring all activity prioritises the safety of staff, teachers and pupils and exploring what can be delivered remotely.

The Government has provided a range of financial support to charities during the COVID-19 outbreak. Information on the range of financial support, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, available to charities can be can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/financial-support-for-voluntary-community-and-social-enterprise-vcse-organisations-to-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19.

The DfE does not provide funding to We the Curious. Funding for charities is a matter for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

We do not currently anticipate that, as a general rule, children and young people will need to repeat a school year as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it remains possible for headteachers to agree this in individual cases, if they think it is appropriate. It is important for parents to remember that all children in any year group will be in the same position and schools will be planning carefully to take this into account in their teaching and their support for pupils as they return.

We have announced a package of support worth £1 billion to ensure that schools have the support they need to help children and young people make up for lost teaching time, with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most. This package of measures includes:

• A universal catch up premium for schools of £650 million to help them make up for lost teaching time.
• A new £350m National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils.

Once a child has been admitted to a school it is for the headteacher to decide how best to educate them.

From 1 June, places of worship and community centres are allowed to open for providers on the early years register which usually use those premises. Information about this can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Providers should ensure they are acting in line with the protective measures and safe working guidance as well as the planning guide for early years and childcare settings. They should also ensure they are managing risks related to other users of the premises.

Guidance on protective measures and safe working guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-protective-measures-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

The planning guide for early years settings can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-early-years-and-childcare-settings-from-1-june.

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Government guidance makes clear how important it is that institutions operate a non-eviction policy, so that no student is required to leave halls if their contract is up, if their rental agreement does not cover holiday periods or if they are unable to pay their rent. This is particularly important in the case of international students, care leavers and students estranged from their families.

Students will continue to receive scheduled payments of loans towards their living costs for the remainder of the 2019/20 academic year.

We have worked closely with the Office for Students to enable higher education providers to draw on existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers will be able to use the funding worth around £23 million per month for June and July, towards student hardship funds.

Students with a part-time employment contract should speak to their employer about the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/financial-support-for-businesses-during-coronavirus-covid-19), which has been set up to help pay staff wages and keep people in employment. We have also asked that higher education providers pay particular attention to the additional financial hardships that are being faced by student staff who have been reliant on income from campus-based jobs at this time.

The Government is asking all schools to close from Friday 20 March until further notice, except for children of critical workers and vulnerable children, as part of the country’s ongoing response to coronavirus.

Schools will continue to be fully funded. That will ensure that they are able to continue to pay all their staff, and meet their other regular financial commitments, throughout these difficult times.

The Government has announced changes to statutory sick pay to support those affected by coronavirus. Details can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19.

The Department understands the sector’s concerns about the additional cost pressures associated with COVID-19, especially following our announcement on 18 March, about schools only remaining open to make provision for vulnerable children and the children of key workers.

The Department recognises that schools may face additional costs as a result of COVID-19. We are working with other Government departments and public sector buying organisations with the aim of prioritising schools. All schools will continue to receive core funding payments as normal, and we will put in place a new process to reimburse schools for exceptional costs that they face as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department will discuss how best to deliver this funding with stakeholders over the next few days. We will publish details of the scheme shortly and we trust that this will give head teachers the reassurances they need to enable them to concentrate on their vital role in supporting the nation through this crisis.

We are working closely with a wide range of stakeholders to respond quickly and effectively to emerging issues which may impact animal welfare.

We are having regular meetings with the livestock industry to discuss the specific issues affecting each sector and to consider what interventions might be appropriate. We have provided detailed guidance on how to safely care for farm animals whilst maintaining social distancing. We are encouraging farmers to consider the financial support schemes introduced by the Government, including a specific Dairy Response Fund, which will be open to applications from 18 June and will provide up to £10,000 each to help those dairy farmers most in need of support.

The Government recognises that the zoos sector, including aquariums, faces unique circumstances and we are committed to working with the industry to understand the impacts. We have been engaging closely with the main industry association, the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA), and with individual zoos about the best way forward, also taking expert advice from Defra's Zoos Expert Committee.

Zoos are eligible to apply for a range of support schemes including the Job Retention Scheme, VAT deferral, Business Rates Relief, the Business Interruption Loan schemes, the option to reclaim the costs of Statutory Sick Pay and grant funding of up to £25,000. In addition, specifically for zoos in severe financial distress, the Government introduced a £14 million Zoos Support Fund for licensed zoos in England on 4 May.

As announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June, outdoor areas of zoos and safari parks will be allowed to reopen from 15 June, subject to appropriate social distancing measures being in place. This includes keeping indoor exhibitions, such as reptile houses and those in aquariums, closed, and ensuring other amenities like cafes offer take-away services only. The move follows close work by the Government with the zoo industry to ensure visitor numbers can be managed and safeguards are put in place. The decision to relax restrictions on these select outdoor attractions is part of the Government’s careful approach to easing the lockdown in phases, guided by the advice of scientific and medical experts and the fact the risk of transmission is much lower outdoors.

Officials continue to meet weekly with BIAZA and with the CEOs of the largest charitable zoos and aquariums in England providing a valuable forum to monitor concerns and seek insights from key sector representatives on current issues.

We are in regular contact with animal welfare charities to discuss their concerns and to see what actions can be taken so that the welfare of animals can be maintained through these difficult times.

We have also responded to, and continue, to respond to individual enquires from pet owners and pet related businesses.

To assist animal owners in these difficult times, the Government has issued the following guidance for owners and their animals which can be found on the GOV.UK website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-people-with-animals. Throughout this crisis, veterinarians have been classed as key workers and practices have been permitted to remain open.

The Government has sought the expert advice of the Animal Welfare Committee on the potential impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare and the actions that might be taken to mitigate the risks. Their report, published on 4 June, will help inform our future actions in addressing the wider impact of Covid-19 on animal welfare: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awc-opinion-on-the-animal-welfare-issues-related-to-covid-19

We continue to remain in close contact with the animal welfare sector about the situation facing organisations working with animals and to understand the impacts on the sector and their needs.

The Government has well-established ways of working with the food industry during disruption to supply situations. Our retailers already have highly resilient supply chains and they are working around the clock to ensure people have the food and products they need. Industry is adapting quickly to any changes in demands, and food supply into and across the UK is resilient.

The Secretary of State is in regular dialogue with industry, including the British Retail Consortium and supermarket chief executives to discuss any additional support the Government can provide. To help supermarkets respond to this unprecedented demand we have already introduced new measures to keep food supply flowing. We have issued guidance to local authorities to allow extended delivery hours to supermarkets so that shelves can be filled up quicker, and we have implemented extensions to drivers’ hours.

We fully recognise the additional pressures on our food supply chain as a result of recent events. The UK’s major supermarkets have last weekend issued a statement to encourage everyone to shop as they normally would and pull together to support those staying at home.

We will continue to work closely with the industry over the coming days and months.

The Government welcomes the water industry commitment of a 50% leakage reduction by 2050. This commitment forms part of a target set by Ofwat which is bound to financial penalties or rewards based upon performance as part of the Price Review (PR) process.

In PR19 Ofwat set out a £51 billion five-year investment package for the 2020-25 period, including requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12%

Water companies provide data to the Environment Agency on water losses. In 2018-19 reporting period 1570.5 Ml/d was lost.

The safety and welfare of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff is of paramount importance as it has been throughout the pandemic. Extensive measures are in place to support the wellbeing of staff and information on the services available to staff is regularly communicated.

The DVLA’s online services remain available and are the quickest and easiest way to transact. Motorists are strongly advised to use these channels where possible. Paper applications are taking longer to process because of reduced numbers of staff on site. The ongoing industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union is inevitably harming some of the most vulnerable in society, as these are often the people who rely on less automated services which require DVLA staff to be working on site.

We are analysing the feedback from respondents and aim to make an announcement early next year.

The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. The Global Travel Taskforce is working at pace to consider how testing, technology and innovation can drive a recovery for international travel and tourism, without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity.

Public Health England prepared a paper on the effectiveness of ‘double testing’ travellers coming to the UK. The paper is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/phe-investigation-into-the-effectiveness-of-double-testing-travellers-incoming-to-the-uk-for-signs-of-covid-19-17-june-2020.

At the present time it is still our intention to proceed with plans to reform the Bus Service Operators Grant, however due to the ongoing pandemic these plans have temporarily been placed on hold and no specific date is envisaged at this time. The digitalisation of the grant process has also been placed on hold, however the department is committed to delivering this as part of the Governments Digital by Default Agenda and we aspire to resuming this before the end of the year.

The Government has temporarily waived the requirement for bus and lorry drivers to provide a medical report when renewing their licences. This change was announced on 17 April 2020 for those applying to renew licences that expire on or after 1 January 2020.

It remains a legal requirement for drivers to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency of the onset or worsening of a medical condition that may impact their driving.

Most professional lorry and bus drivers must complete 35 hours of periodic training every 5 years to maintain their Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) qualification. This is evidenced by a Driver CPC card (sometimes called a ‘driver qualification card’ or ‘DQC’).

Periodic training is available remotely from commercial providers, via online video platforms. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency encourages drivers to continue to undertake training wherever possible, but not as an activity that needs extra travel and only in compliance with general government advice.

The validity of DQCs with expiry dates from 1 February 2020 to 31 August 2020 have been extended by 7 months.

Drivers will not be issued with a new card to reflect the new expiry date, and must continue to carry their DQC.

Drivers who have a DQC that has an expiry date from 1 September 2020 must not drive until it is renewed.

Highways England was established on 1 April 2015. The Department for Transport has not carried out an assessment of the adequacy of pay increases for each level of staff in Highways England over the period since its establishment.

Responsibility for setting pay levels within Highways England sits with the Company, overseen by its Remuneration Committee. Annual pay increases within Highways England are based on a number of factors, including affordability and guidance from the Department for Transport and the Cabinet Office.

I would like to assure you that the Secretary of State is placing significant focus on pay in the Department’s arm’s length bodies.

DWP offers interpreting and translation services under the Language Services Contract, currently provided by The Big Word. All DWP staff, including Work Coaches, have access to spoken and non-spoken face to face interpreting, telephone interpreting, British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation through the video relay services, and written translation. These services are readily available to support customers who have additional communication needs.

This government has a strong safety net that helps people who are facing hardship and are unable to support themselves financially, and we have taken steps to strengthen that safety net as part of the government’s response to the pandemic.

Disability benefits do not include or exclude by condition, instead they look at the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability. People living with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus can access the financial support that is available through Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, New Style ESA or Pension Credit depending on individual circumstances. They are also able to access Personal Independence Payment in the same way as other people with long-term conditions or disabilities.

As research into the long-term health symptoms and impacts of Covid-19 is ongoing, we are collaborating across Government to monitor emerging evidence and consider our response.

It is for trustees to decide how funds in defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes are invested. They have a fiduciary duty to do so in the best interest of all their members. As most DB schemes are now closed, and the time available before benefits must be paid is reducing, a gradual shift towards investment in lower risk assets is to be expected.

It is the responsibility of the sponsoring employer to fund the promised benefits in a DB scheme, and these are not dependent on investment performance.

While DB provision has been in long term decline, since the introduction of Automatic Enrolment in 2012, defined contribution pension schemes have grown rapidly. As they are typically much less mature than DB schemes, they will tend to invest in higher proportions of return seeking assets such as equities. This Government is removing barriers to schemes investing directly in the UK economy through private markets, including by encouraging consolidation and requiring schemes to publish the net returns of their default arrangements.

It is for trustees to decide how funds in defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes are invested. They have a fiduciary duty to do so in the best interest of all their members. As most DB schemes are now closed, and the time available before benefits must be paid is reducing, a gradual shift towards investment in lower risk assets is to be expected.

It is the responsibility of the sponsoring employer to fund the promised benefits in a DB scheme, and these are not dependent on investment performance.

While DB provision has been in long term decline, since the introduction of Automatic Enrolment in 2012, defined contribution pension schemes have grown rapidly. As they are typically much less mature than DB schemes, they will tend to invest in higher proportions of return seeking assets such as equities. This Government is removing barriers to schemes investing directly in the UK economy through private markets, including by encouraging consolidation and requiring schemes to publish the net returns of their default arrangements.

DWP has worked closely with HMRC since issues were first raised around forecasts for State Pension. A change to the Check your State Pension forecast service was applied in April 2021.

This change ensures that individuals who are at greatest risk of having errors or omissions on their National Insurance record that may affect their State Pension forecast, are identified at the point where they request a State Pension forecast. Such individuals are advised that HMRC will take the corrective action needed in order to update their National Insurance record. Once this work is completed, a State Pension forecast will be made available.

No. The Pensions Regulator was created in 2004 by the then Labour Government to be independent.

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.

We take the issue of food insecurity seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published the data in March this year. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020). Food insecurity data from the Family Resources survey for 20/21 is not yet available.

This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.

We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.

We are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every local authority across England this year. Children eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday club programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.

As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty in all its forms. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.

Foodbanks are independent, charitable organisations and the Department for Work and Pensions does not have any role in their operation. There is no consistent and accurate measure of food bank usage at a constituency or national level.

We take the issue of food insecurity seriously, which is why we added internationally used food security questions to the Family Resources Survey in 19/20 and published the data in March this year. (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-resources-survey-financial-year-2019-to-2020). Food insecurity data from the Family Resources survey for 20/21 is not yet available.

This Government is wholly committed to supporting those on low incomes, including by increasing the living wage, and by spending an estimated £111 billion on welfare support for people of working age in 2020/21. This included around £7.4 billion of Covid-related welfare policy measures.

We introduced our Covid Winter Grant Scheme providing funding to Local Authorities in England to help the most vulnerable children and families stay warm and well fed during the coldest months. It will now run until June as the Covid Local Support Grant, with a total investment of £269m.

We are investing up to £220m in the Holiday Activities and Food programme which has been expanded to every local authority across England this year. Children eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals will have the option to join a holiday club programme that provides healthy food and enriching activities during the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays in 2021. We also increased the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 in April.

As the economy recovers, our ambition is to help people move into and progress in work as quickly as possible based on clear evidence around the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risks of poverty in all its forms. We are investing over £30 billion in our ambitious Plan for Jobs which is already delivering for people of all ages right across the country.

The Government recognises that it is crucial to the success of an adoption placement that an adopter is able to take time off work to care for and bond with their child.

We recognise that affordability may limit the time away from work that some self-employed adopters can take which is why statutory adoption guidance says that Local Authorities should consider making a payment - equivalent to Maternity Allowance - in cases where adopters do not qualify for any statutory payment because of their self-employed status.

On 20^th October I laid secondary legislation in response to the Court of Appeal Judgment made on 22 June in the case of Johnson, Woods, Barrett and Stewart, which concerned claimants who receive two calendar monthly payments of earnings in one Universal Credit assessment period. This will allow us to reallocate a payment of earnings reported via the Real Time Information service to a different Universal Credit assessment period, either because it was reported in the wrong assessment period or (in the case of calendar monthly paid employees) it is necessary to maintain a regular payment cycle. This will mean that claimants who are paid calendar monthly will therefore have one salary payment taken into account in each assessment period. It also means that certain claimants will also benefit from any applicable work allowance.

We continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people and those with health conditions using a range of sources. There will however be a period until the data needed to fully assess the impact becomes available.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is publishing a rolling programme of data and articles relating to the social and economic impacts of COVID-19, with specific outputs on disabled people in Great Britain.

The ONS also publishes quarterly statistics on the labour market status of disabled people.

The Department for Work and Pensions publishes statistics annually on the employment of disabled people. The first report was published in March 2020, including data from the Labour Force Survey, Annual Population Survey and Understanding Society.

Research into the long-term health symptoms and impacts of COVID-19 and the number of people likely to be experiencing them is ongoing.

The Department interacts with millions of people, and among them are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. There are many reasons why people pass away whilst claiming a DWP benefit and it would not be appropriate for the Department to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of every individual. This is a consideration and decision for a Coroner.

As a department we want to do all we can to ensure people get the support they need. We are striving towards becoming a learning organisation, for example through the Serious Case Panel, which considers themes and systemic issues that come out of serious cases and makes recommendations for improvements.

Where the Department is made aware of a death and there is a suggestion or allegation that the Department’s actions or omissions may have negatively contributed to the customer’s circumstances an Internal Process Review will be conducted. Internal Process Reviews are not designed to identify or apportion blame, but to look at whether processes were followed correctly and what learning we can derive from this.

All face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits are currently suspended in line with public health advice. During the Covid-19 period we continue to assess people based on written evidence alone, where that is possible, and have introduced telephone assessments. Telephony-based assessments do not fall within the same waiting time criteria. Once face-to-face assessment are reinstated we will work closely with suppliers to improve the waiting times whilst maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.

Raising the local housing allowance (LHA) rate to the 30^th percentile ensured over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 this year.

This increase means that 30% of properties in each broad rental market area charge a rent within the LHA rate, with the exception of 15 rates in central and inner London where the national maximum caps continue to apply. The national caps have also been increased and are now based on the Outer London LHA rate plus 20%.

I refer the Rt.Hon Member to the answer I gave on 1 July 2020 to Question UIN 63208:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-06-23/63208/

For the last 12 months, the percentage of individuals seen at the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Bristol Assessment Centre within 30 minutes of their appointment time is 77.9%. This covers the period July 2019 to the 17 March 2020 when face-to-face assessments were suspended. We continue to work closely with suppliers to improve the waiting times whilst maintaining a high level of customer satisfaction.

There are currently 40 full-time equivalent (FTE) Inspectors based in Bristol.

Individual employers and those in control of construction sites have a legal responsibility of ensuring appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from Covid-19 on construction sites. Nevertheless, the Government recognises the important role that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) plays as Great Britain’s health and safety regulator and has announced that additional funds are being made available to support them in their regulatory work relating to Covid-19. HSE is currently developing plans for carrying out proactive checks of workplaces including construction sites to ensure that appropriate measures are in place. In addition, HSE continues to address reported workplace concerns with employers, including those relating to Covid-19.

No such assessment has been made.

The Chancellor has announced a Self-Employed Income Support Scheme that will help millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This covers 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.

The scheme brings parity with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, whereby the Government committed to pay up to £2,500 each month in wages of employed workers who are furloughed during the outbreak.

We have temporarily relaxed the application of the Minimum Income Floor (MIF) for all self-employed claimants affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 to ensure that the self-employed can access UC at a more generous rate and those applying for Contributory ESA will be able to claim from day 1 – as opposed to day 8 - without the need for a face-to-face assessment.

We will invest £5.4 billion over the next three years to reform adult social care. This includes more than £3.6 billion to reform the social care charging system, enabling local authorities to move towards paying providers a fair rate for care and over £1.7 billion to begin improvements across the social care system in England.

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement proposes an additional £3.5 billion for councils - an increase in local authority funding for 2022/23 of over 4% in real terms. As part of this settlement, local authorities will have access to over £1 billion specifically for social care in 2022/23.

No formal assessment has been made. NHS England and NHS Improvement continue to work with system leaders and regions to prioritise service delivery and investment to meet the needs of vulnerable young people.

We are investing a further £79 million extra in 2021/22, which will allow 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services. NHS England and NHS Improvement are also investing £40 million in 2021/22 to address the impact of COVID-19 on children and young people’s mental health. Of this, £10 million capital funding is providing extra beds at units which provide care for young people with the most complex needs, as well as £1.5 million for additional facilities for children under 13 years of age, including for those with eating disorders.

While no formal assessment has been made, we continuously monitor access to services. NHS England and NHS Improvement work with system leaders and regions to prioritise service delivery and investment for vulnerable young people. We are investing £79 million in 2021/22 to enable 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services.

General practitioners (GPs) and hospital consultants are currently identifying eligible children and the National Health Service will contact their parents or carers. GPs will contact immunosuppressed individuals to advise that their family member is eligible for vaccination. We expect deployment to begin by the end of January 2022 with appointments offered by the NHS locally.

Individuals can apply for a medical exemption through the NHS COVID Pass Service via 119. The guidance on medical exemptions sets out that applications will be clinically reviewed by a general practitioner, specialist clinician or midwife. The domestic NHS COVID Pass does not distinguish on the basis of COVID-19 status. Individuals should use their medical exemption confirmation letter to evidence their medical exemption status for vaccination as a condition of deployment purposes.

The Government has committed to invest £375 million in neurodegenerative disease research over the next five years to fund projects into a range of diseases including dementia. This funding will be provided through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The NIHR and UKRI rely on researchers submitting high-quality applications to access funding therefore details of allocations and timescales are not currently available.

All applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. A new dementia strategy, which will set out our plans on dementia for England for future years, will be published in 2022. The strategy will include our ambitions for dementia research.

The provisional local Government finance settlement proposes making available over £1 billion of additional resource to local authorities specifically for social care in 2022-23. Councils will also have access to funding from grant covering all services, including the 2022-23 Services Grant, and from council tax to meet the inflationary and demographic pressures facing social care.

In addition to this increased local Government funding, the Government will provide £5.4 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25 for adult social care reform. The funding available to councils means overall local Government spending will increase by 4%, including the investment in adult social care reform.

No assessment has been made of the figure quoted by the Alzheimer’s Society. Local Government finance settlement provides funding to allow councils to increase their spending on the vital public services they provide, such as adult social care, and will ensure those services can respond effectively to rising demand and cost pressures.

We will be setting out our plans on dementia for England for future years in 2022. We are currently working with stakeholders and have established task and finish groups to develop the strategy. We will consider the funding implications as part of forthcoming business planning for the next financial year.

As of 6 February 2022, 15,215 or 4.5% of residents in all adult care homes were reported as yet to receive two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and 42,163 or 12.1% were reported as yet to receive the booster dose. A proportion of these residents will be medically exempt from vaccination or may not currently be eligible due to COVID-19 infection or other practical reasons. Residents may also have received their vaccination or booster dose, but it may not yet have been reported.

The information is not available in the format requested. Since September 2021, information on activity and demographics of patients who have been referred to a post-COVID-19 assessment service in England have been published as part of the official statistics publication, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/covid-19-post-covid-assessment-service/

The most recent publication of 9 December covered the period from 27 September to 24 October 2021. The attached table shows the waiting times of patients who had an initial assessment at a post-COVID-19 assessment service in this period. Data on waiting times was first added to this publication in October 2021, for the period from 2 August. As this is a relatively new data collection and this is experimental data, some variation may be due to incomplete data submissions.

Third vaccinations are currently recorded in the same section as booster doses in the NHS App. The functionality was immediately available at the start of the booster vaccination programme and is clinically accurate in recording details of the vaccine received. This information is updated on general practitioner records and the NHS COVID Pass.

More than 87% of the severely immunosuppressed cohort has received a third primary dose. An assessment of retrospectively updating records in the immediate future was made and it was determined that this could risk data quality issues. We are reviewing plans to record third primary doses via the NHS App in the longer term.

No specific assessment has been made. However, we are working with the Department for Education and NHS England and NHS Improvement to improve the provision of health services, including therapies to disabled children. On 5 March 2021 we announced that as part of the £500 million for mental health recovery, £79 million will be used to expand mental health services for children, including disabled children. We have provided over £34 billion support for health services in response to COVID-19 in 2021/22. This includes £2 billion to tackle the elective backlog and reduce waiting times for patients, including disabled children. We have also invested £4.9 billion in the 2020/21 academic year to support the recovery of children and young people’s education.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question 70280.

Vaccine toolkits for local services, stakeholders, partners and employers include guidance on the concerns of pregnant women. We have shared case stories of women of childbearing age who have received the vaccine during or after pregnancy. NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Chief Midwifery Office and ‘media medics’ have made appearances on media to reassure people about concerns. At a local level we have also supported webinars and engagement sessions focused on women’s vaccines concerns and tailored to specific demographic groups. We have also introduced new communications content focused on younger age groups. This includes drawing on the support of social media sites which have a broad reach across younger women.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with regional teams and providers to ensure that advice on vaccination in pregnancy, including the risks and benefits of vaccination to pregnant women, is being offered antenatally and that information materials are available across antenatal and primary care settings. NHS England and NHS Improvement have asked maternity and primary care services to support all general practitioners, practice nurses, midwives and obstetricians to give objective, evidence-based advice to women on vaccination in pregnancy at every antenatal contact. For healthcare professionals, there is a checklist to aid discussions on the potential benefits and risks of COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy and to gain informed consent.

On 29 November 2021, we updated our advice for all those aged 18 years old and above, including pregnant women and those individuals with severe immunosuppression who have had three primary doses, will be eligible for a booster vaccination.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises that women who are pregnant should be offered vaccination at the same time as non-pregnant women, based on their age and clinical risk group. As such, pregnancy alone is not currently a cause for prioritisation for a COVID-19 booster dose at this time. The Government has accepted this advice. The JCVI will review data as it emerges and consider further advice on booster vaccinations in the rest of the population.

The Children and Young Persons (Sale of Tobacco etc.) Order 2007 and The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 ensure that tobacco and nicotine inhaling products can only be purchased by those who are aged 18 years old and over. This applies to both in person and online sales. The Department will consider whether the regulatory framework needs to be strengthened to protect young people from accessing products containing nicotine online.

No COVID-19 vaccine is currently authorised in the United Kingdom for use in children aged five to 11 years old by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the independent regulator.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will continue to review data on the potential benefits and risks of vaccination of children aged five to 11 years old and will issue separate advice in due course.

We have not made a specific assessment. However, Skills for Care data from 2020/21 suggests that 20% of the workforce providing home care and 12% providing residential care not including care homes worked for employers not registered with the Care Quality Commission and therefore will fall outside the scope of the regulations. Including those working in non-registered day and community settings, this is potentially 24% of the total workforce.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 November 2021 to Question 70278.

In March 2021, we announced £95.6 million to support the recruitment of 1,200 midwives and 100 consultant obstetricians to ensure safe staffing levels and personalised midwifery care for women and babies. The Department has commissioned the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists to develop a new workforce planning tool to improve calculations of medical staffing requirements to provide safe, personalised care tailored to communities. We have also provided £6.8 million to support Local Maternity Systems to implement Equity and Equality Action Plans and implement targeted and enhanced Continuity of Carer to improve equity and safe outcomes for mothers and babies.

The NHS People Plan includes a focus on healthy working environments and safe spaces for staff to rest and recuperate. The National Health Service has established a People Recovery Task Force to develop a framework and interventions which will ensure that all NHS staff, including midwives, are safe and able to recover. We have invested £43 million in staff mental health support for 2021/22, in addition to £15 million in 2020/21. Forty mental health hubs are providing outreach and assessment services to help frontline staff receive rapid access to mental health services.

A small proportion of children over 12 years old have or will receive full vaccination following the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice. International standards for travel require a full course to be recognised as ‘fully vaccinated’. We are exploring ways to provide fully vaccinated 12 to 15 year olds with a travel NHS COVID Pass.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s letter of 15 September 2021 to COVID-19 vaccination providers sets out that hospital hubs are expected to support the opportunistic vaccination of inpatients who require a COVID-19 booster vaccination.

All people with a cancer diagnosis, including those diagnosed with less survivable cancers, are invited to complete the Cancer Quality of Life Survey. This is an initiative aimed specifically at supporting long term survivorship. For cancer patients who sadly do not survive for 18 months from diagnosis other approaches to assessing their experience, such as the Cancer Patient Experience Survey, will be more appropriate.

The Cancer Patient Experience Survey will capture experiences from people treated for cancer, including people with less survivable cancers. Due to the need for statistical robustness, there is a time lag between the experience of treatment and the survey questionnaires being sent out. This creates an issue for capturing insight about the experience of patients with less survivable cancers.

The Picker Institute Europe, which carries out the survey on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement, reviewed the survey in 2018 and as a result guidance to trusts was amended to streamline and speed up preparations for the survey.

All people with a cancer diagnosis, including those diagnosed with less survivable cancers, are invited to complete the Cancer Quality of Life Survey. This is an initiative aimed specifically at supporting long term survivorship. For cancer patients who sadly do not survive for 18 months from diagnosis other approaches to assessing their experience, such as the Cancer Patient Experience Survey, will be more appropriate.

The Cancer Patient Experience Survey will capture experiences from people treated for cancer, including people with less survivable cancers. Due to the need for statistical robustness, there is a time lag between the experience of treatment and the survey questionnaires being sent out. This creates an issue for capturing insight about the experience of patients with less survivable cancers.

The Picker Institute Europe, which carries out the survey on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement, reviewed the survey in 2018 and as a result guidance to trusts was amended to streamline and speed up preparations for the survey.

On 29 November 2021, we announced updated advice that all individuals aged 18 years old and over will be eligible for a COVID-19 booster vaccination. This includes participants in the AstraZeneca vaccine trials. Trial participants for a COVID-19 vaccine which has since been approved, such as AstraZeneca, can access a booster dose from any vaccine centre when invited to do so.

Investigations are ongoing.

On 15 October 2021, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) alerted the public and endeavoured to contact every person who may have been affected, recommending a further test if they were likely to be infectious. Briefings were held with local authorities, Directors of Public Health and public health teams. Samples were diverted to other laboratories to ensure there was no loss of testing provision in the South West. The UKHSA, the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to support the regional Directors of Public Health.

The contract was awarded to Immensa Health Clinic Ltd in August 2021 prior to the recent findings under investigation.

The UK Health Security Agency identified this incident on 12 October 2021.

Investigations are ongoing.

On 15 October 2021, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) alerted the public and endeavoured to contact every person who may have been affected, recommending a further test if they were likely to be infectious. Briefings were held with local authorities, Directors of Public Health and public health teams. Samples were diverted to other laboratories to ensure there was no loss of testing provision in the South West. The UKHSA, the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities and NHS England continue to support the regional Directors of Public Health.

A pilot launched on 30 September in England for residents vaccinated abroad to request that their vaccines are uploaded to the national database. Vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency, the Food and Drug Administration or Swissmedic are accepted for the NHS COVID Pass. We are working to understand which non-Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved vaccines we would be confident to recognise in the NHS COVID Pass.

The investigation into the Immensa Laboratory in Wolverhampton is ongoing and the UK Health Security Agency will update their findings in due course.

The information requested is not held centrally. Details of discretionary payments made by local trusts for travel expenses is not collected centrally.

The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers identified specific medical conditions that placed people at the greatest risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19. It was determined that a blanket inclusion of everyone with a diagnosis of diabetes was not appropriate. As the shielding programme has now ended, there is no longer a centrally defined clinically extremely vulnerable group.

Private providers determine the rates of pay for their staff according to their employment contracts and local conditions. However, some contractors may choose to mirror arrangements used in the National Health Service, including annual pay awards.

Once within the United Kingdom, domestic self-isolation regulations apply. If an individual who was vaccinated outside of the UK is the contact of a positive case, they are not exempted from self-isolation. This is because there are no means of verifying their vaccination status as it is not recorded by the National Health Service.

For a NHS COVID Pass to be issued, both vaccine doses must be recorded in national vaccine databases. NHS Digital has established bi-directional live data flows between England and Wales and England and Scotland. The NHS App can demonstrate vaccines administered in England, Wales and Scotland for residents registered with a general practitioner in England. Data flows will be established with Northern Ireland shortly.

Since March 2020, the Government has given over £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 continue to take a cross-Government approach to assess what is needed to provide support to bereaved individuals during this incredibly difficult time, whether they have been bereaved due to COVID-19 or other causes.

The Department and NHS England and NHS Improvement are working with the sector to explore these challenges and how they could be addressed. NHS England and NHS Improvement have established advisory and technical working groups, with membership from the dental profession. These groups are exploring new contractual arrangements to bring forward proposals for change. Any proposed contractual changes will be negotiated with the British Dental Association and may involve legislative changes. It is therefore not possible to set out when these changes could be implemented.

We have no plans to do so.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence do not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to the point of diagnosis.

COVID-19 is a new disease and we continue to increase our understanding of the physical, psychological and rehabilitation needs for those experiencing long-term effects of the virus. On 15 June, NHS England and NHS Improvement published a new 10-point plan and announced an additional £100 million expansion of care for patients, taking the total investment in ‘long’ COVID-19 support in England to £134 million. This includes £70 million to facilitate the expansion of Post-Covid Assessment Clinics and £30 million for an enhanced service for general practice.

Fourteen paediatric hubs have been established in England to provide advice and help coordinate care for children and young people up to the age of 18 years old. Also, the ‘Your COVID Recovery’ online service, provides a digital, interactive, personalised recovery programme for people recovering from COVID-19.

No separate impact assessment has been made. Travellers to the United Kingdom are treated in the same way as any other individual. All those testing positive must self-isolate, regardless of vaccination status or where they were vaccinated. If they have been fully vaccinated in the UK, they are exempt from self-isolation if identified as a close contact. If they were vaccinated abroad, regardless of whether they received a vaccine approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, they are required to self-isolate if identified as a close contact.

The Government continues to make the case internationally, including through groups such as the G7, G20, European Commission and the World Health Organization, that anyone on a COVID-19 vaccine trial should be treated the same in terms of certification as someone who has received a deployed vaccine. Ultimately it is for Governments to set their inbound travel policy, including for clinical trial participants on Valneva and other trials.

No recent estimate has been made. Currently there is no a single, established dataset to monitor referrals for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments and treatments nationally or the provision of wider ADHD services as assessments, diagnosis and provision of support to people with ADHD may be undertaken in a variety of care settings. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence does not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD to the point of diagnosis.

Primary Care Support England (PCSE) Online is in its post-implementation support phase, which is intended to ensure that any early issues are identified and resolved. NHS England continues to work with PCSE, NHS Pensions and other stakeholders, including general practitioner practices, to rapidly identify and resolve any outstanding issues that have emerged since the new system has come into operation.

At present, no vaccine therapies are licensed for use as a treatment for brain cancer. Such treatments are used within either experimental or early stage trial settings, therefore they are not routinely available to patients.

Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan) does not yet have a marketing authorisation for use in Great Britain and is not yet available for routine prescribing. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is currently considering a marketing authorisation application for Trodelvy through the accelerated process for Project Orbis medicines.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is also currently developing guidance for the National Health Service on whether Trodelvy represents a clinically and cost effective use of NHS resources. It expects to publish draft guidance in spring 2022. Interim access arrangements may be considered for medicines licensed through the Project Orbis pathway where NICE guidance is not anticipated to be published in line with the three month timeframe. NICE and NHS England and NHS Improvement are actively engaging with Gilead to see how interim access arrangements may be applied.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s guidance sets out the support and access for partners and parents of babies in neonatal critical care should be provided by National Health Service trusts. Parents of babies in neonatal critical care are partners in their baby’s care and neonatal units should identify how to safely facilitate parental presence at all times of day.

Eligibility for the full or partial payment of NHS travel expenses depends upon being in receipt of a qualifying benefit, being named on an NHS Low Income Scheme and referral by a primary care provider to receive non-primary care services. If these criteria are met individuals would be recompensed for their travel costs. Additionally, trusts have discretion to make a payment if they deem it appropriate.

The information requested is not held centrally. While the NHS Business Services Authority holds prescription data relating to drugs dispensed within a community setting, no data is collected on the clinical condition of the patient.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is conducting a review of topical steroid withdrawal. The review is discussing alterations to labelling, guidance and communications with health care professionals. We have consulted on these topics with healthcare experts in the field including those in the National Health Service, patient representatives and other stakeholders. We are considering updates to the product information and further communications to health care professionals and the MHRA expects to issue more information on this in the next few months.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is conducting a review of topical steroid withdrawal. The review is discussing alterations to labelling, guidance and communications with health care professionals. We have consulted on these topics with healthcare experts in the field including those in the National Health Service, patient representatives and other stakeholders. We are considering updates to the product information and further communications to health care professionals and the MHRA expects to issue more information on this in the next few months.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is conducting a review of topical steroid withdrawal. The review is discussing alterations to labelling, guidance and communications with health care professionals. We have consulted on these topics with healthcare experts in the field including those in the National Health Service, patient representatives and other stakeholders. We are considering updates to the product information and further communications to health care professionals and the MHRA expects to issue more information on this in the next few months.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP) on 10 June 2021 to Question 11722.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Slough (Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi MP) on 10 June 2021 to Question 11722.

Primary Care Support England (PCSE), a service operated by Capita on behalf of NHS England and NHS Improvement, implemented a new general practitioner payment and pensions system, PCSE Online, on 1 June 2021. Since June the new payments system has successfully processed over 187,000 payment lines, totalling £970 million. Payments to general practice are made on a set schedule in line with contractual deadlines and NHS England and NHS Improvement has advised that all expected payments have been made, including any corrections that were made in-month to ensure that all contractual deadlines were met. PCSE has advised that it continues to work with stakeholders to monitor the new system and address any issues.

The Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme (HTCS) is part of the NHS Low Income Scheme and was set up to provide financial assistance to those patients in receipt of a qualifying benefit who do not have a medical need for ambulance transport, but who require assistance with their travel costs. The HTCS is not setup to provide financial assistance to people visiting hospital inpatients.

There are currently no plans to extend the remit of the HTCS. Other possible sources of help with travel expenses for patients and visitors include hospital endowment funds, education departments, adult social care department and charities such as the Family Fund. Additionally, some trusts provide accommodation for parents in hospital.

There have been no recent discussions. However, as part of the Government’s commitment to reaching zero new HIV transmissions in England by 2030, the Department is currently developing a Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which are planned for publication later this year. Officials continue to engage with the Department of Education the consideration of issues relating to HIV and how they are covered in the statutory curriculum in schools, as part of the ‘intimate and sexual relationships’ lessons under Personal, Health and Social Education.

HIV Prevention England (HPE), the national HIV prevention campaign funded by Public Health England (PHE) and delivered by the Terrence Higgins Trust, aims to promote HIV testing and other safer sex interventions amongst black African communities, men who have sex with men and other groups in which there is a higher or emerging burden of infection. HPE operate an annual campaign promoting HIV testing during National HIV Testing Week.

PHE’s Reproductive Health, Sexual Health and HIV Innovation Fund has supported a range of projects between 2017 and 2020 that deliver new approaches to HIV testing among the most affected populations.

Decisions about the funding and provision of health services, including ear wax removal, are the responsibility of local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). They should plan services to meet the needs of local communities including continuing to ensure there is appropriate access to ear wax services.

General practitioner (GP) practices are increasingly recommending self-care methods as the primary means to support the safe removal of ear wax.

However, if a GP practice considers removal clinically necessary, the procedure should either be undertaken at the practice, or the patient should be referred to an appropriate local service depending on the arrangements in place in the local area.

The Government will publish a white paper later this year, setting out bold new policy interventions to improve living standards in all parts of the country.

The new Office for Health Promotion support collaboration across Government on the wider determinants of health. We will reinforce the role of local authorities as champions of health in their communities and enhance the National Health Service’s public health responsibilities on prevention.

We have made no specific assessment.

The funding made available to support the 2021/22 National Health Service operational planning and contracting round is ongoing. Through this process, local systems will work with their partner organisations, including clinical commissioning groups and local authorities in the South West, to agree their mental health finance planning for financial year 2021/22, which will include funding for eating disorders services. NHS England and NHS Improvement will review the plans against expected trajectories such as on waiting times targets for children and young people’s eating disorder services, seek assurance on any major divergences and establish recovery plans where needed.

NHS England and NHS Improvement’s programmes of work for children and young people’s mental health, including eating disorders, are focussed on community mental health services and inpatient services.

The funding and provision of health services, including mental health services, are the responsibility of local clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) which have the flexibility to allocate funding according to local need. CCGs are required to meet the mental health investment standard (MHIS), which means increasing the spending on mental health by at least as much as their overall budget increases and therefore increase their spend on mental health. Latest data shows that 99% of CCGs are on track to meet the MHIS in 2020/21.

Under the NHS Long Term Plan, funding for children and young people’s mental health services will grow faster than both overall National Health Service funding and total mental health spending. This means that children and young people’s mental health services will for the first time grow as a proportion of all mental health services, which will themselves also be growing faster than the NHS overall.

We have also announced an extra £79 million in 2021/22 to significantly expand children’s mental health services, including allowing 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services.

We recognize the importance of HIV testing for improving early diagnosis and will set out our plans for its wider access in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and the HIV Action Plan, planned to be published this year.

Access to and provision of HIV testing, including online and self-sampling services, is the responsibility of local authorities. There is no comprehensive data available on the number of local authorities that provide HIV self-sampling services. Public Health England’s framework for the national HIV self-sampling service was set up in 2015 and is used by many local authorities.

We recognize the importance of HIV testing for improving early diagnosis and will set out our plans for its wider access in the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and the HIV Action Plan, planned to be published this year.

Access to and provision of HIV testing, including online and self-sampling services, is the responsibility of local authorities. There is no comprehensive data available on the number of local authorities that provide HIV self-sampling services. Public Health England’s framework for the national HIV self-sampling service was set up in 2015 and is used by many local authorities.

Student finance and National Health Service bursaries are already available, subject to certain conditions, for people who have a degree and who wish to study for an undergraduate five-year degree in medicine.

Those who wish to undertake a standard five year course in medicine and who already hold an equivalent or higher qualification that does not meet eligibility requirements for a four-year graduate entry medical programme, can apply for a partially means-tested maintenance loan and supplementary grants from Student Finance England (SFE) for the first four years of their course. Students will usually be expected to self-fund their annual tuition fees for those first four years. In year five of their course, they can also apply for a reduced rate, non-means tested maintenance loan from SFE.

Provided these students meet the NHS Business Services Authority eligibility criteria, they can apply for an NHS Bursary for the fifth year of study.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is now routinely available in the specialist sexual and reproductive health services throughout the country.

The settings in which PrEP to be made available outside of sexual health services, such as pharmacies, will be considered as part of our ongoing work on the development of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and the HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish later this year.

The Department has asked NHS England and NHS Improvement to work with the British Dental Association, to build on the learning from the dental contract reform programme to bring forward implementable proposals, and address the key challenges facing the delivery of National Health Service dentistry.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

We have established the Maternity Inequalities Oversight Forum to bring together experts to address the inequalities for women and babies from different ethnic backgrounds and socio-economic groups. Additionally, the Chief Midwifery Officer for England is leading work to understand why mortality rates are higher, consider evidence about what will reduce mortality rates and take action to improve equity in outcomes and experience of care for mothers and their babies.

Under measures set out in the 2021/22 Planning Guidance, most women from black, Asian and mixed ethnicity backgrounds will be placed on a continuity of carer pathway by March 2022. This will ensure that thousands of women receive safe and personal maternity care, improving outcomes for both mother and baby and reducing health inequalities.

No equality impact assessment has been completed. Public Health England, in collaboration with stakeholders, is currently developing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the routine commissioning of the HIV prevention drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). This will use established surveillance systems and include measures of PrEP need and use among key population groups to inform equitable delivery and access. The provision of PrEP, including the settings in which PrEP should be made available outside of specialist sexual health services, will be considered as part of the development of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021.

Discussions are ongoing with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee about additional funding for costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of its ongoing assessment of COVID-19 costs incurred by the sector the Government will take account of the £370 million increased advance payments paid to community pharmacies.

The support package for community pharmacy also included general COVID-19 business support, funding for Bank Holiday openings, social distancing measures and the medicine delivery service to shielded patients, free personal protective equipment and non-monetary support including the removal of some administrative tasks, flexibility in opening hours and the delayed introduction of new services.

We are developing a Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021. We will consider issues relating to the role and future need for HIV support services in England as part of the process to develop both the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan.

In March 2020, we announced that the HIV prevention drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would be routinely available across England in 2020/21. This year we provided £11 million to local authorities for routine commissioning of PrEP and this is now in place in the majority of areas in the country. Routine commissioning of PrEP, alongside other measures, will take us closer to our ambition of zero new HIV transmissions in England by 2030.

Provision of PrEP, including the settings in which PrEP should be made available outside of specialist sexual health services, will be considered as part of the development of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021.

In March 2020, we announced that the HIV prevention drug pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) would be routinely available across England in 2020/21. This year we provided £11 million to local authorities for routine commissioning of PrEP and this is now in place in the majority of areas in the country. Routine commissioning of PrEP, alongside other measures, will take us closer to our ambition of zero new HIV transmissions in England by 2030.

Provision of PrEP, including the settings in which PrEP should be made available outside of specialist sexual health services, will be considered as part of the development of the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021.

HIV Prevention England (HPE) is the national HIV prevention campaign funded by Public Health England and currently delivered by the Terrence Higgins Trust. One of HPE’s core aims is to reduce levels of HIV related stigma within black African communities for both men and women, men who have sex with men and in the community more widely. As part of the Government’s commitment to end new HIV transmissions in England by 2030, we will be developing a Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021. We will consider issues related to HIV stigma as part of this process.

We will be considering the recommendations set out in the HIV Commission to help shape our upcoming Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan on reaching the zero new transmissions by 2030 target, which we plan to publish in 2021.

The Government has committed to developing a Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan, which we plan to publish in 2021. We will consider issues related to health inequalities experienced by people living with HIV, tackling stigma and discrimination and other relevant issues as part of the process to develop the Sexual and Reproductive Health Strategy and HIV Action Plan.

The Government has expanded eligibility for the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme to include a parent or guardian who has to stay off work to look after a child who is self-isolating. We are working closely with all 314 local authorities in England to implement this change as quickly as possible, including establishing the best way in which that parent or guardian can prove that their child has been told to self-isolate if they are not informed by NHS Test and Trace.

No such assessment has been commissioned.

No such assessment has been commissioned.

Access to regular testing for personal assistants in England began on 17 February 2021. Personal assistants are responsible for ordering test kits every 28 days or an employer can order test kits for them. Detailed guidance on testing for personal assistants is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-personal-assistants

Public health teams have access to vaccination event data for the sustainability and transformation partnerships (STP) for their local authority. This is presented in the validated vaccination events dashboard and the COVID-19 vaccination equalities tool.

The dashboard provides views of all vaccination activity at all sites within a STP by delivery model, site, dose, vaccine type and vaccination uptake across ethnicity, age and other key Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation cohorts. The tool allows local authorities to track age cohort by ethnicity and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) compared to a national average and an adjustable uptake target. It also identifies gaps between uptake targets and current vaccinations in each age cohort, both by ethnicity and IMD group. Additionally, local authorities can access a daily dataset to view testing and case data. This data is only available for age cohorts over 70 years of age and for lower tier local authorities includes data by detailed ethnic group.

Our communications include targeted information and advice via TV, radio and social media. This has been translated into 19 languages including Bengali; Chinese; Filipino; Gujarati; Hindi; Mirpur; Punjabi; Urdu; Turkish; Tagalog; Spanish; Somali; Romanian; Polish; Nepali; Kurdish; Farsi; Arabic; and Albanian. Public Health England has also published British Sign Language, braille, and large print versions. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-what-to-expect-after-vaccination

Print and online material, including interviews and practical advice has appeared in over 600 national, regional, local and specialist titles including media for Asian, Bangladeshi, Bengali, Gujarati and Pakistani communities.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are currently publishing weekly vaccinations by ethnicity. This includes a ‘Not stated/Unknown’ category. We do not collect data on those who refuse to state their ethnicity.

The Department does not collect data on people who refuse COVID-19 vaccinations.

This data is not held in the format requested.

This information is not held centrally.

The latest data shows that 215,127 heart operations were carried out between March and December 2020.

Vaccinators have received the appropriate training to make sure everyone feels safe. The process is overseen by clinicians who if required would be able to provide further assistance. We recommend that individuals with a needle phobia contact the vaccination centre directly prior to attendance to determine what mitigations they have for relevant patients and if any special arrangements could be identified to help the recipient feel more comfortable.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent body made up of scientists and clinical experts who advise the Government on prioritisation of vaccines at a population level. At present, there is very limited data on vaccination in adolescents, with no data on vaccination in younger children. The JCVI advises that only those children at very high risk of exposure and serious outcomes, such as older children with severe neuro-disabilities that require residential care, should be offered vaccination as part of phase one.

The Public Health England Green Book, which provides guidance for health professionals and immunisation practitioners, also sets out that children under 16 years of age, even if they are clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV), are at low risk of serious morbidity and mortality, and given the absence of safety and efficacy data on the vaccine, are not recommended for vaccination.

Parents and carers of children who are CEV will be prioritised for vaccination if they are frontline health or social care workers, or if they are an unpaid carer who is in receipt of carers allowance or are the sole or primary carer for a child who is particularly vulnerable to COVID-19. All other parents and carers will be vaccinated alongside other adults of the same age, or earlier if they have an underlying health condition themselves which makes them particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.

Discussions with the Department for Education on the student finance equivalent or lower qualification rules for paramedicine are ongoing. A decision will be dependent on business planning for the 2021/22 financial year following the outcome of Spending Review 2020.

The Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels in 2020 and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to their grades. This ensured a place in 2020 or 2021 for every eligible student and meant that the overall number of domestic training places available for those applying to a medical school for the 2021/22 academic year remains unchanged.

The Government currently has no plans to increase the number of places beyond this. However, we are committed to ensuring that the number of medical school places reflect England’s workforce requirements and continues to monitor the effectiveness of current arrangements.

Data from Skills for Care’s ‘Individual Employers and the Personal Assistant Workforce’ report estimates that in 2019/20, approximately 70,000 people in England employed their own personal assistant/s (PAs) with funding from social care direct payments, dispersed by local authorities. The Department does not hold data on numbers of individuals who employ PAs outside of social care direct payments.

Local authorities and employers are working together to identify and instruct frontline social care workers that are eligible to receive the vaccine, including personal assistants as outlined in the Government’s recently published Standard Operating Procedure.

On 23 November, we extended asymptomatic testing to all registered domiciliary care workers to help protect staff and people who receive care. Offering routine asymptomatic testing to directly employed or self-employed individual staff, such as personal assistants, presented additional logistical challenges which we worked to overcome.

Regular weekly polymerase chain reaction testing for personal assistants launched on 17 February 2021. Personal assistants can order four test kits every 28 days from the Government’s test portal.

On 23 November 2020, we began offering Care Quality Commission registered domiciliary care organisations access to regular, weekly COVID-19 testing for their carers looking after people in their own homes. We have also extended testing to personal assistants.

Agency staff working for care homes or domiciliary care organisations should access regular testing through the organisation they are working for. Agency staff working for an individual receiving care will be able to access testing in the same way as personal assistants.

The four United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers agree with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation that prioritising the first doses of vaccine for as many people as possible on the priority list will protect the greatest number of at risk people overall in the shortest possible time. It will have the greatest impact on reducing mortality, severe disease and hospitalisations and protect the National Health Service and equivalent health services.

On 11 January, NHS England set out operational guidance on the need to reschedule all appointments to receive the second dose in the twelfth week. This will help deliver the public health duties identified above and to vaccinate as many people, as quickly as possible, including frontline health and care workforce.

On 23 December we announced £149 million to support the rollout of lateral flow testing in care homes. On 15 January, we announced the details of how this additional grant can be used to cover expenditure from 2 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. The grant will be paid to local authorities in a single instalment in January 2021.

Local authorities should pass 80% of this funding to care homes within their geographical area on a ‘per beds’ basis. The remaining 20% can be allocated at the local authority’s discretion to support the care sector to implement increased lateral flow testing.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) advice on priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination is based on a range of evidence including a review of United Kingdom epidemiological data on the impact of the pandemic so far and data on demographic and clinical risk factors for mortality and hospitalisation from COVID-19. The JCVI takes account of a range of scientific information including modelling work and this is cited in the minutes and published statements from the Committee. These are available at the following link:

https://app.box.com/s/iddfb4ppwkmtjusir2tc

The modelling work by Warwick University which informed phase one advice is available at the following link:

http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/149402/1/WRAP-Modelling-optimal-vaccination-strategy-SARS-CoV-2-2021.pdf

The modelling work which informed the advice for extending the interval between the first and second dose is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prioritising-the-first-covid-19-vaccine-dose-jcvi-statement

The modelling work that informed the JCVI’s phase two interim advice is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/university-of-warwick-covid-19-vaccine-impact-forecast-13-january-2021

No vaccines should be wasted. All vaccination centres should have a backup list people in the cohorts currently being vaccinated, who can be called in case doses would be wasted. If no members of the currently vaccinated cohorts are available, it is recommended that members of the priority cohorts next in line be vaccinated.

In the unlikely case the above is not possible, and where the general practitioner practice can demonstrate exceptional circumstances showing that it is clinically appropriate and where resources would otherwise have been wasted, then individuals present on site should be vaccinated based on clinical judgement. This is in line with the Enhanced Service Specification for the COVID-19 vaccination programme 2020/21.

The Department of Health and Social Care is in discussions with the Department for Education about providing an exemption to the student finance equivalent or lower qualification rules for paramedicine. This would allow paramedic students with a degree to access both tuition fee and maintenance loan payments subject, as with all students, to the individual’s eligibility whilst undertaking a second degree.

Data on wastage of vaccination doses is not currently held centrally. Work is ongoing across the vaccination programme to standardise and increase the information available for management purposes. However, no vaccines should be wasted. All vaccination centres should have a reserve list of people in the cohorts currently being vaccinated who can be called in case doses would be wasted. If no members of the currently vaccinated cohorts are available, it is recommended that members of the priority cohorts next in line be vaccinated.

We are working to provide all Members and external correspondents with accurate answers to their correspondence, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hon. Member’s letter will be answered as soon as possible.

On 23 November 2020, we began offering domiciliary care organisations access to regular, weekly COVID-19 testing for their carers looking after people in their own homes from an online portal.

Domiciliary care workers are able to access weekly PCR tests to administer at home, which will help identify more asymptomatic cases and protect care recipients who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

The United Kingdom’s decision to delay the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine has been taken based on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination Immunisation (JCVI), as well as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

After studying the available data, it’s clear both vaccines provide substantial protection within two to three weeks of vaccination from severe COVID-19 disease. The Government is advised on the safety, efficacy and strategy for the vaccines by independent scientists including those from the JCVI and the Commission on Human Medicines Expert Advisory Group. While we are monitoring different countries’ vaccination plans and rollouts, the approach taken in the UK is based on the advice of the world’s leading clinicians and scientists.

We take parliamentary scrutiny incredibly seriously and it is fundamentally important that hon. Members are provided with accurate and timely information to enable them to hold the Government to account. We are working rapidly to provide all Members with accurate answers to their questions, as well as supporting the Government’s response to the unprecedented challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hon. Member’s question will be answered as soon as possible.