Theresa Villiers

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.

This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.

The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.

The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation.  The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.

This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.

The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.

The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation.  The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.

The Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill currently in Parliament will put an end to ground rents for new residential leasehold properties as part of the most significant changes to property law in a generation. The Bill’s provisions will lead to fairer, more transparent homeownership for thousands of future leaseholders. Leaseholders pay ground rent on top of their property purchase price and service charges, yet there’s no clear service provided in return.

This will be the first part of seminal two-part reforming legislation in this Parliament. In January 2021, the Government announced a package of reforms on enfranchisement valuation. The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. Our reforms to enfranchisement valuation ensure that sufficient compensation is paid to landlords to reflect their legitimate property interests.

The Ground Rent Bill is focused entirely on the issue of ground rents. Service and management charges are beyond the scope of this Bill. The role of ensuring that the fabric of the building is maintained and safe for residents is an essential part of the relationship between freeholder, leaseholder and in some cases a managing agent. The cost of complying with these obligations is usually recoverable from the leaseholders through the service charge fund. In most cases the lease will allow the freeholder to recover the actual costs of the works, and the freeholder may also pass on the cost of managing or overseeing the works.

The Government is committed to bringing about the biggest improvement in building and fire safety for a generation.  The Building Safety Bill contains measures to protect leaseholders by providing a legal requirement for building owners to prove they have tried all routes to cover the cost of essential safety works, along with evidence that this has been done. If this does not happen, leaseholders will be able to challenge these costs in the courts.

Following a full discussion at its meeting on Monday 8th March, the House of Commons Commission published on its website a roadmap on the plans for easing restrictions: The roadmap is available at the link below:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/348/house-of-commons-commission/news/150524/commons-roadmap-out-of-lockdown/

At this present time the priority of the Commission continues to be the safety of all Members and staff and the continuation of Parliamentary business. Any decisions relating to non-passholder access is a matter for the Commissions of both Houses and will be reviewed at a later point based on the current public health advice at that time.

Following a full discussion at its meeting on Monday 8th March, the House of Commons Commission published on its website a roadmap on the plans for easing restrictions. The roadmap is available at the link below:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/348/house-of-commons-commission/news/150524/commons-roadmap-out-of-lockdown/

In line with Government advice and regulations, it is expected that the majority of people should continue working from home.

Following a full discussion at its meeting on Monday 8th March, the House of Commons Commission published on its website a roadmap on the plans for easing restrictions: The roadmap is available at the link below:

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/348/house-of-commons-commission/news/150524/commons-roadmap-out-of-lockdown/

It was agreed by the Commission that, where a Member is satisfied that a relevant exemption exists in addition to a wellbeing need, a limited number of Members’ staff may return from 9th March. This position will be reviewed at a later point based on the current public health advice at that time.

The Government carried out a detailed examination of the business which demonstrated a rational commercial case for investment. As my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State set out, even with substantial cuts to OneWeb's base case financial projections, the investment would have a positive return.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirmed that the Government will invest $500 million and take a significant equity share in OneWeb. This investment is made alongside Bharti Global Ltd. Bharti will provide the company commercial and operational leadership and bring OneWeb a revenue base to contribute towards its future success.

The Government announced the introduction of the Small and Micro Business Assessment (SaMBA) in June 2013. It requires that Impact Assessments provide clear evidence of the potential impact of regulations on small and micro businesses.

The default assumption under SaMBA is that there will be a legislative exemption for small and micro businesses where a large part of the intended benefits of the measure can be achieved without including them. As a result of this policy, small firms can have confidence that future regulation will be more manageable for them and that they will not face disproportionate regulatory burdens.

The Department is currently reviewing the way we account for regulatory impacts on business and considering options for future policies, and more detail will be announced in due course.

The Government is leading efforts to find and manufacture a vaccine, working with industry and experts, both here in the UK and internationally?to?ensure?we are in the best position possible to support the discovery, manufacture and mass-deployment of a successful vaccine?should a candidate prove successful. A number of?agreements to procure millions of doses of vaccines have been made, ensuring the greatest possible chance of securing access to a safe and effective vaccine.?The UK has now secured access to 6 different candidates, across 4 different vaccines types, including University of Oxford’s vaccine being developed with AstraZeneca and agreements with?BioNTech/Pfizer alliance, Valneva, Novavax, Janssen and GSK/Sanofi Pasteur.

Opening up more of Britain in a COVID-Secure way is only possible if everyone continues to stay alert to the risks of Coronavirus by keeping 2m apart where possible (or 1m with precautions if not), washing their hands regularly, following the rules when they are visiting businesses and, crucially, getting a test immediately if they develop symptoms and self-isolating if they are instructed to by NHS Test and Trace.

Government has set out COVID-Secure guidance to help businesses – like pubs – take the measures that will protect themselves and their customers.

We are taking a phased approach to further reopening of sectors in the economy, in line with prevailing public health conditions. Our approach is guided by the scientific and medical advice, and every step is weighed against the evidence.

The Government has had regular engagement with a wide range of stakeholders from across the hospitality industry, including the pub sector. The Department will continue to engage with a variety of representatives from the sector to discuss how to support pubs through this challenging period.

The Government will not be publishing additional guidance in relation to this. However, the Government is reviewing existing guidance in light of the updated information from Public Health England.

Employers proposing to make 20 or more employees redundant from one establishment are required to consult employees or their representatives:

- at least 45 days before the first dismissal takes effect where 100 or more redundancies are proposed.

- at least 30 days before the first dismissal takes effect where 20 or more redundancies are proposed.

The consultation must include consultation on ways to avoid redundancies, reducing the numbers of redundancies, or mitigating their impact. Where an employer has failed to adequately consult with their employees about impending redundancies, those employees may apply to an Employment Tribunal for a Protective Award.

Within the same timescales, the employer must notify my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of the proposed collective redundancies. Failure to notify is an offence.

If special circumstances exist making it unreasonable for the employer to comply with the consultation or notification obligations, the employer must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to comply.

The Pubs and Restaurants taskforce is considering a range of measures to support the reopening of this sector as soon as it is safe to do so.

The taskforce consulted with a cross-section of the sector to develop guidance, with representation from trade bodies to small and medium sized operators, unions, as well as the supply chain. We consulted these stakeholders due to their expertise and real-life knowledge and experience of the challenges faced by the industry during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The guidance will be published in due course.

The Government recognises the significant impact on pubs caused by the COVID-19 outbreak and has announced measures, included in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, to prevent landlords from using aggressive debt recovery tactics.

These measures include a temporary ban on statutory demands and winding up orders where a company cannot pay its bills due to coronavirus, to ensure they do not fall into deeper financial strain. Government is also laying secondary legislation to provide tenants with more breathing space to pay rent by temporarily preventing landlords using Commercial Rent Arrears Recovery.

However, while landlords are urged to give their tenants the breathing space needed, the Government calls on tenants to pay rent where they can afford it, or what they can, in recognition of the strains felt by commercial landlords too.

A working group has been established by the government with the commercial rental sector to develop a code which encourages fair and transparent discussions between landlords and tenants over rental payments during the coronavirus pandemic and guidance on rent arrear payments.

On 11^th May we published our COVID-19 recovery strategy, which sets out a roadmap to a phased recovery. Over the coming months, the Government will introduce a range of adjustments to current social distancing controls, timing these carefully according to both the current spread of the virus and the Government’s ability to ensure safety. Each step may involve adding new adjustments to the existing restrictions or taking some adjustments further.

The ambition at step three of the roadmap is to?open at least some of the remaining businesses and premises that have been required to close, including personal care?(such as hairdressers and beauty salons), and we will work with the sector to develop safe ways for them to open at the earliest point at which it is safe to do so. The Government’s current planning assumption is that this step will be no earlier than 4 July.

The Government has published guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic. If businesses are not required to close at this time, they can use this guidance to consider how they can operate to keep employees and customers safe.

Businesses should carry out a risk assessment to identify sensible measures to control risk in the workplace, wherever that might be. General guidance on how to complete risk assessments is available on the Health and Safety Executive website, and the guidance we published on 11 May sets out the steps employers should consider in relation to the risks of COVID-19. The guidance can be accessed at www.gov.uk/workingsafely.

Although the UK has left the EU, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU State Aid rules continue to apply in the UK until the end of the Transition Period.

It is not possible for the UK (or indeed any EU Member State) to unilaterally suspend the EU State aid rules.

However, it should be noted that the European Commission has introduced some flexibilities into the rules to deal with the impacts of the Coronavirus, in the form of a Temporary Framework.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) is a State Aid approved scheme under the Temporary Framework. Companies that are in difficulty are eligible for support, in recognition of the impact of Coronavirus, unless they were in difficulty on 31 December 2019, prior to the outbreak.

CBILS does include a provision enabling banks to make the facility available on a de minimis basis to businesses that would not otherwise be eligible, for example because they were in difficulty as at 31 December 2019.

However, the British Business Bank is establishing a new Future Fund to support the UK’s innovative businesses currently affected by Covid-19. This will launch in May and is intended to help businesses that have been unable to access other government business support programmes, such as CBILS, because they are either pre-revenue or pre-profit and typically rely on equity investment. The £500m scheme will deliver an initial commitment of £250m of new government funding which will be match funded by private investment.

Although the UK has left the EU, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU State Aid rules continue to apply in the UK until the end of the Transition Period.

Although the European Commission declined to suspend the State aid rules because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Commission introduced flexibilities into the rules to deal with the impacts of the Coronavirus, in the form of a Temporary Framework. This facilitates aid going to the companies who need it most, quickly and with more efficiently.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme was approved by the Commission (on 25th March) under this Temporary Framework. No exemption from the State Aid rules is required.

Since the launch of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, the Government has received a lot of helpful feedback on how the scheme has been working. We have been working with the financial services sector to ensure that companies feel the full benefits from this support. The Government will continue to seek to identify new areas for improvement across the scheme as a whole.

The successful delivery of COP26 will require widespread diplomatic engagement with our international partners at all levels. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, along with the Prime Minister and Cabinet colleagues, will meet a number of international leaders at key moments throughout the year in order to encourage greater climate ambition and achieve an ambitious, shared outcome at COP26.

Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.

On Monday 22 February, the Prime Minister announced a roadmap out of the current lockdown in England. The approach focuses on data, not dates. Each step has a “no earlier than” date, 5 weeks later than the previous step, to allow time to assess the impact of the previous step and provide a week’s notice before changes occur.

Step 2 will take place no earlier than 12 April and as part of this indoor sport facilities including gyms for individual use will reopen. Group exercise and indoor adult sport will be allowed as part of Step 3 of the roadmap which will take place no earlier than 17 May. This will be subject to social contact limits.

We are aware of the concerns which have been raised about the potential challenge of securing insurance for live events including festivals.

Understandably, the bar for considering Government intervention is set extremely high, especially in light of other support available including the considerable extension to the furlough. Officials have been working closely with the affected sectors over the last few months to understand the challenges and to keep the situation under review.

Evidence of market failure specific to DCMS sectors must be clearly demonstrated and robust for us to explore whether this is the right vehicle for support at this time.

We recognise that these are extremely challenging conditions for businesses in the tourism sector, including travel management companies. We continue to closely monitor
the situation.

Travel management companies have been able to access the Government’s comprehensive economic support package, including the Coronavirus Jobs Retention Scheme, VAT deferrals, as well as various generous loan schemes. We are continuing to engage across Government and with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support the recovery of travel and tourism across the UK.

The government has announced that people can now go outside more than once a day for exercise, alone, with members of their household, or with one person from outside their household, as long as they are following social distancing guidelines.

One to one training outside can take place, provided social distance is maintained and all current hygiene advice is adhered to.

The Department recognises the significant benefits that summer camps and other forms of education outside the classroom can have on children’s academic development as well as their mental health and wellbeing.

Since 17 May 2021, out of school settings, including outdoor education centres, have been able to operate in groups of any size for both indoor and outdoor provision. It remains important to continue minimising mixing between children where possible.

Since 21 June, out of school settings have been able to undertake residential visits and overnight stays with groups of up to 30 children. The Department has provided updated guidance which sets out how this can be operated safely. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-holiday-and-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, the Government has listened to the views of the scientific community, in particular the information from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies and its sub-groups when taking decisions on the best way to tackle COVID-19.

Education and childcare settings continue to be supported with appropriate guidance on safety measures, and the Department is committed to ensuring that out of school settings are able to effectively manage risks, create an inherently safer environment and maximise face to face education wherever possible. As new evidence or data emerges, the Government will act accordingly to ensure that all out of school settings have the right safety measures in place and that measures remain proportionate to the threat posed by COVID-19. The advice on residential visits and the need for protective measures will be reviewed again in advance of Step 4.

The Department is also working closely with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Youth Agency to ensure we have full awareness of the effect the COVID-19 outbreak has had on the youth sector. In response to youth sector engagement, dedicated youth sector COVID-19 guidance has been developed by the National Youth Agency in collaboration with DCMS, the Department, youth sector organisations and public health experts.

We do not prescribe in detail how local authorities should allocate their high needs funding, including how top-up funding should be used for children with education, health and care (EHC) plans. However, local authorities and schools have statutory duties under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Paragraph 94 of the operational guide on high needs funding arrangements (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2021-to-2022) says that: “Many local authorities have systems which indicate the range of top-up funding that might be provided for children and young people with a particular complexity of need (sometimes referred to as ‘banded’ funding systems). These can be helpful in providing clear and transparent funding arrangements for many types of need that may be met in a range of different institutions. Where a local authority makes a large number of placements at an institution or range of institutions, a system for the local authority and institutions to agree levels of top-up funding in advance can be a very efficient way of allocating this funding. However, the final allocation of funding must be sufficient to secure the agreed provision specified in any EHC plan.”

However, the department does not play a part in local authorities’ decisions on whether to follow such banded funding systems or not.

The government is committed to delivering real improvements to the SEND system, which will be taken forward through the SEND review, which has sought views from family representative groups and partners across education, health and care. We share a common ambition to reform the SEND system so that children and young people can have the support they need at the earliest possible point, whilst streamlining the EHC planning process, so that we can both improve these children’s outcomes and make the system more sustainable. We will consult publicly on the review’s proposals, so that everyone with an interest can have their say on the system of the future.

Local authorities are statutorily responsible for securing the special educational provision specified in a child or young person’s education, health and care (EHC) plan.

The department’s published high needs operational guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/high-needs-funding-arrangements-2021-to-2022.

It states that: “While we expect commissioning local authorities to work constructively with institutions to agree the levels of top-up funding required, local authorities where the student is ordinarily resident bear the ultimate responsibility for decisions on top-up funding, as they are accountable for spending from their high needs budgets… Where a local authority makes a large number of placements at an institution or range of institutions, a system for the local authority and institutions to agree levels of top-up funding in advance can be a very efficient way of allocating this funding. However, the final allocation of funding must be sufficient to secure the agreed provision specified in any EHC plan.”

It is intended that Ofsted will step up its inspections over the summer term, with a view to returning to its full programme from September 2021. Inspections will resume in the summer term in a way that is fair and proportionate. Ofsted has published details of its summer inspection programme for schools, which can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ofsted-coronavirus-covid-19-rolling-update, and is piloting some changes to its inspection guidance to take account of the challenges raised by COVID-19. It will publish updated inspection handbooks with full details of these changes later this month.

The Government will not publish any school or college level educational performance data based on tests, assessments or exams results for 2020 or 2021 in performance tables. Further information on the current accountability arrangements can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-and-college-performance-measures/coronavirus-covid-19-school-and-college-accountability-2020-to-2021. Announcements on performance data arrangements for future years will be made in due course.

Since January, we have been delivering the same programme of rapid asymptomatic testing for the primary school, secondary school and further education college workforce and for children, young people and students in year 7 and above in all schools, including secondary schools, special schools, alternative provision, and colleges.

Testing is voluntary but staff, pupils and students are strongly encouraged to participate as testing regularly helps to reduce the spread in school and college settings through asymptomatic transmission.

It is important to continue to test pupils and staff to manage the spread of COVID-19 and encourage staff, pupil and students to get into a regular habit of testing themselves twice every week and 3 to 4 days apart. NHS Test and Trace will be supplying sufficient test kits to schools and colleges to enable this to happen.

From 25 March 2021, independent training providers and adult community learning providers have been able to order home test kits for their students and staff. Staff and students attending these providers should conduct testing at home, twice every week and 3 to 4 days apart.

Staff and students are strongly encouraged to participate in twice weekly testing, helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in education settings by identifying those that may be carrying the virus unknowingly. However, testing is voluntary and individuals should be allowed to attend school, college or work even if they decide not to take part in testing.

Since January, we have been delivering the same programme of rapid asymptomatic testing for the primary school, secondary school and further education college workforce and for children, young people and students in year 7 and above in all schools, including secondary schools, special schools, alternative provision, and colleges.

Testing is voluntary but staff, pupils and students are strongly encouraged to participate as testing regularly helps to reduce the spread in school and college settings through asymptomatic transmission.

It is important to continue to test pupils and staff to manage the spread of COVID-19 and encourage staff, pupil and students to get into a regular habit of testing themselves twice every week and 3 to 4 days apart. NHS Test and Trace will be supplying sufficient test kits to schools and colleges to enable this to happen.

From 25 March 2021, independent training providers and adult community learning providers have been able to order home test kits for their students and staff. Staff and students attending these providers should conduct testing at home, twice every week and 3 to 4 days apart.

Staff and students are strongly encouraged to participate in twice weekly testing, helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in education settings by identifying those that may be carrying the virus unknowingly. However, testing is voluntary and individuals should be allowed to attend school, college or work even if they decide not to take part in testing.

Dance and drama schools are considered Independent Training Providers (ITPs). As part of this, from 25 March home test kits for students and staff can be ordered from here: https://request-testing.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/.

Tests will be delivered based on student and staff numbers and will provide three and a half weeks’ worth of testing. Once test kits have arrived on site and a collection point has been set up, students and staff can be offered home test kits for regular twice weekly testing. Testing remains voluntary but strongly encouraged.

Test kits can be reordered every 10 working days.

Former teachers returning to the classroom are an important component of the Department’s recruitment strategy, and we continue to prioritise initiatives that capitalise on any potential increased interest in the profession from former teachers. This includes former teachers who wish to provide support with the recovery phase of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The Department is using a Return to Teaching Adviser Service to support these efforts. This service provides one-to-one support to former teachers interested in returning to teach mathematics, physics and modern foreign languages. Through the Return to Teaching Adviser Service, the Department has also encouraged former teachers to support wider pupil catch up efforts, such as the National Tutoring Programme.

In addition, throughout the recovery phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, volunteers may be used to support the work of the school as would usually be the case, in appropriate roles and subject to proper support, assessment and checks, as set out in the Department’s guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2.

I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for Chipping Barnet, to the answer I gave on 25 February 2021 to Question 156401.

Schools have continued to receive their core funding throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, regardless of any periods of reduced attendance, with this year marking the first year of a three-year increase to core funding - the biggest in a decade. This will ensure they can continue to pay their staff and meet other regular financial commitments.

In February 2021, the Department appointed Sir Kevan Collins as Education Recovery Commissioner to advise on the approach to education recovery and the development of a long-term plan to help pupils make up their lost education over the course of this Parliament. As an immediate step, we have made available a further £700 million to support education recovery measures. This builds on the £1 billion from last year and brings the total available to £1.7 billion. Funding will support pupils in nurseries, schools and colleges and provides an additional ‘Recovery Premium’ to schools, expansion of tutoring in schools and colleges, summer schools in 2021 and early language support.

At each stage of the Department's response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have listened to the latest medical and scientific advice. The Department has worked closely with other Government departments, including Public Health England (PHE) and the Department of Health and Social Care, as well as stakeholders across the sector, to ensure that our policy is based on the latest scientific and medical advice, and to continue to develop comprehensive guidance based on the PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ and to understand the impact and effectiveness of these measures on staff, pupils and parents.

It is important to ensure that schools are well ventilated and that a comfortable teaching environment is maintained.

Current evidence recommends that the way to control COVID-19 is the same, even with the current new variants. The PHE-endorsed ‘system of controls’ which have been in use throughout the COVID-19 outbreak set out in our published guidance, which includes ventilation, continue to be the right measures to take. These measures create an inherently safer environment for children, young people, and staff where the risk of transmission of infection is substantially reduced. PHE keeps all these controls under review, based on the latest evidence. Schools therefore need to continue to implement these controls to the fullest extent. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.

Our guidance signposts to further advice from the Health and Safety Executive on air conditioning and ventilation during the COVID-19 outbreak. The guidance can be found here:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/coronavirus/equipment-and-machinery/air-conditioning-and-ventilation.htm.

Written exams scheduled in February and March should not go ahead unless they are taken to demonstrate occupational competency. Alternative arrangements will be needed to award qualifications that are taken instead of, or alongside, GCSEs and AS/A levels, including many BTECs used for progression to further or higher education, where the primary method of assessment is written exam(s). Our joint consultation with Ofqual proposed this is also the case for April onwards.

We sought views through the consultation on the detail of these alternative arrangements and the qualifications that should be in scope of this approach. The department’s joint consultation with Ofqual closed on 29 January. The department and Ofqual will work together to publish our decisions by the end of February, once the consultation responses have been analysed. Further information on this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-alternative-arrangements-for-the-award-of-vtqs-and-other-general-qualifications-in-2021.

Written exams scheduled in February and March should not go ahead unless they are taken to demonstrate occupational competency. Alternative arrangements will be needed to award qualifications that are taken instead of, or alongside, GCSEs and AS/A levels, including many BTECs used for progression to further or higher education, where the primary method of assessment is written exam(s). Our joint consultation with Ofqual proposed this is also the case for April onwards.

We sought views through the consultation on the detail of these alternative arrangements and the qualifications that should be in scope of this approach. The department’s joint consultation with Ofqual closed on 29 January. The department and Ofqual will work together to publish our decisions by the end of February, once the consultation responses have been analysed. Further information on this is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-alternative-arrangements-for-the-award-of-vtqs-and-other-general-qualifications-in-2021.

The Department is continuing to work closely with colleagues across government and local authorities to secure the most effective approach to asymptomatic testing for the whole of the early years sector.

We are rolling out our asymptomatic testing programme to primary schools with deliveries of test kits which started from 18 January 2021. This programme will offer all primary school, schools based nursery and maintained nursery school staff home Lateral Flow Device test kits for twice weekly testing. This will help to break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 in nurseries and schools by identifying asymptomatic positive cases. Those who test positive will then self-isolate, helping to reduce transmission of the virus.

Community testing programmes are currently being rolled out across the country. These are led by local authorities and provide asymptomatic testing through testing sites based in the local community. This testing is primarily focused on those who must leave home to work during lockdown.

Early years staff, as critical workers, continue to have priority access to DHSC-led symptomatic PCR testing via the online portal: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested.

The Department is continuing to work closely with colleagues across government and local authorities to secure the most effective approach to asymptomatic testing for the whole of the early years sector.

We are rolling out our asymptomatic testing programme to primary schools with deliveries of test kits which started from 18 January 2021. This programme will offer all primary school, schools based nursery and maintained nursery school staff home Lateral Flow Device test kits for twice weekly testing. This will help to break the chains of transmission of COVID-19 in nurseries and schools by identifying asymptomatic positive cases. Those who test positive will then self-isolate, helping to reduce transmission of the virus.

Community testing programmes are currently being rolled out across the country. These are led by local authorities and provide asymptomatic testing through testing sites based in the local community. This testing is primarily focused on those who must leave home to work during lockdown.

Early years staff, as critical workers, continue to have priority access to DHSC-led symptomatic PCR testing via the online portal: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested.

Getting the fundamentals right at an early age is vital for success at secondary school and in later life. It is important, therefore, to gauge standards at an early but appropriate age, identify those pupils who need extra help, and then ensure they receive it. Once pupils can decode, using consistent synthetic phonics, they are able to focus on their wider reading skills and develop a love of reading.

The phonics screening check is considered essential to support the Department’s wider aim to help address any lost time in education during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is a short, light-touch assessment, to confirm whether individual pupils have learnt phonic decoding to an expected standard.?The aim is simply to identify the pupil’s decoding ability, so that those who need help can be identified and supported by the school.

The Department is enabling a more flexible approach in schools in 2021, accommodating those absent on the scheduled date for the phonics screening check by extending the existing timetable variation window by a further week, until 25 June 2021.

The Spending Review announcement allows us to carry on delivering on our £1 billion catch up package, including £350 million on the National Tutoring Programme, and extending the success of this ambitious programme for another year. This will ensure that a pupil’s circumstances are not a barrier to getting the support they need to unlock their potential. Our £1 billion catch up package helps schools to address the learning loss their pupils are facing due to the COVID-19 outbreak and also includes a £650 million Catch-up Premium which schools can use based on their pupils’ specific needs.

Maintained nursery schools (MNS) are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities, to enable them to continue protecting the funding of MNS during the summer term in 2021.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of MNS, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

The department has secured a continuation of around £60 million of supplementary funding for MNS in the 2021-22 financial year, as part of this Spending Review. The department continues to consider what is required to ensure a clear, long-term picture of funding for all MNS, including those in Barnet. We will say more about this soon.

Maintained nursery schools (MNS) are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities, to enable them to continue protecting the funding of MNS during the summer term in 2021.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of MNS, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

The department has secured a continuation of around £60 million of supplementary funding for MNS in the 2021-22 financial year, as part of this Spending Review. The department continues to consider what is required to ensure a clear, long-term picture of funding for all MNS, including those in Barnet. We will say more about this soon.

Maintained nursery schools (MNS) are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities, to enable them to continue protecting the funding of MNS during the summer term in 2021.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of MNS, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

The department has secured a continuation of around £60 million of supplementary funding for MNS in the 2021-22 financial year, as part of this Spending Review. The department continues to consider what is required to ensure a clear, long-term picture of funding for all MNS, including those in Barnet. We will say more about this soon.

Getting all children and young people back into school for the new academic year has been a national priority. To support schools with this, they have continued to receive their core funding allocations throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. Following last year’s Spending Round, school budgets are rising by £2.6 billion in the 2020-21 financial year, £4.8 billion in 2021-22 and £7.1 billion in 2022-23, compared to 2019-20. On average, schools are attracting 4.2% more per pupil in 2020-21, compared to 2019-20. As stated in our guidance, schools should use these existing resources when making arrangements for this term. The full guidance on the reopening of schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools have also been able to claim additional funding for exceptional costs incurred due to the COVID-19 outbreak between March and July 2020, such as additional cleaning required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, and increased premises costs to keep schools open for priority groups during the Easter and summer half-term holidays. The guidance about claiming additional funding for exceptional costs associated with COVID-19 is available through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-financial-support-for-schools/school-funding-exceptional-costs-associated-with-coronavirus-covid-19-for-the-period-march-to-july-2020.

The Department’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. 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 ITT trainees, or volunteers, as would usually be the case. This guidance can be found: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Schools have continued to receive their budgets as usual, which has ensured they have been able to continue to pay for staff and meet their other regular financial commitments. 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 for Education and Crown Commercial Service’s agency supply deal, as this offers a list of preferred suppliers that must be transparent about the rates they charge.

We continue to work with stakeholders and representative bodies to understand the staffing capacity pressures that schools are facing and how we might best support them.

It continues to be the Department’s aim that all pupils, in all year groups, remain in school full-time. The Government has taken a national decision to prioritise education during the current period of national restrictions in order to avoid any further reduction in face to face education for children and young people.

Returning to school full time has been vital for children’s education and wellbeing. Time out of school is detrimental for children’s cognitive and academic development, particularly for disadvantaged children. This impact can affect both current attainment and children’s future ability to learn.

The risk to children of becoming severely ill from COVID-19 is low and there are negative health impacts of being out of school. Senior clinicians, including the Chief Medical Officers of all four nations, still advise that school is the very best place for children to be, and so they should continue to go to school.

The Department published ‘Guidance for full opening: schools to support schools’ to welcome back all pupils from the start of the autumn term and schools have implemented a range of protective measures to minimise risk of transmission. The full guidance can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

It is important that children are in school, for their education and wellbeing, and to help working parents and guardians. The Department does not currently have plans to ask schools to change their Christmas holidays or close early this term.

Being in nursery, school and college is vital for children and young people’s education and for their wellbeing. Time out of nursery, school and college is detrimental for children’s cognitive and academic development.

Children and young people who live with someone who is confirmed clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should still attend education or childcare even during this period of national restrictions.

Nurseries, schools and colleges have implemented a range of protective measures recommended by the Public Health England endorsed guidance published by the Department which, when followed, creates an inherently safer environment for pupils, staff and their families.

The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#res.

If parents or carers are anxious about their child attending education, we recommend that they discuss this with their school leadership to understand their concerns and provide reassurance regarding the protective measures that have been put in place to reduce the risk of transmission in the setting.

Where children are not able to attend school as they are following clinical or public health advice related to COVID-19, we expect schools to be able to immediately offer them access to remote education. That absence will not be penalised.

Being in nursery, school and college is vital for the education of children and young people, and for their wellbeing. Time out of nursery, school and college is detrimental to the cognitive and academic development of children.

Children and young people who live with someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, but who are not clinically extremely vulnerable themselves, should still attend education or childcare during this period of national restrictions.

Education settings have implemented a range of protective measures recommended by the Public Health England endorsed guidance published by the Department for Education, which, when followed, create an inherently safer environment for pupils, staff and families. The guidance can be found through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#res.

If parents or carers are anxious about their child attending education, the Department recommends that they discuss this with their school leadership, who will understand their concerns and provide reassurance regarding the protective measures that have been put in place to reduce the risk of transmission in educational settings.

Where children are not able to attend school as they are following clinical or public health advice related to COVID-19, we expect schools to be able to immediately offer them access to remote education. Such absences will not be penalised.

On 2 July, the Department published guidance to help schools prepare for all pupils, in all year groups, to return to school full-time from the beginning of the autumn term. This includes guidance for how schools should manage cases of COVID-19 amongst the school community. The guidance can be viewed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

Anyone with any of the three main COVID-19 symptoms should self-isolate and access a test as soon as possible. Where a pupil or member of staff receives a test which delivers a negative result, and they feel well and no longer have symptoms similar to COVID-19, they can stop self-isolating. Other members of their household can also stop self-isolating.

If a pupil or member of staff is self-isolating because they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, including if they are part of a class or group that has been asked to self-isolate, and they develop symptoms themselves within their 14-day isolation period, they should follow guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19 infection and get a test. Where the test delivers a negative result, the individual must remain in isolation for the remainder of the 14-day isolation period as they could still develop COVID-19 within the remaining days.

The guidance for households with possible or confirmed COVID-19 can be viewed at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance.

We recognise that breakfast and after-school provision are important sources of additional childcare for working parents and carers. It is for this reason that, as of 4 July, all providers offering before or after-school care and other out-of-school activities to children have been able to open with protective measures in place.

As outlined in guidance for the full opening of schools, we are encouraging schools to resume offering breakfast and after-school provision, where possible, from the start of the autumn term. Schools should also work closely with any external wraparound providers which their pupils may use, to ensure as far as possible, children can be kept in a group with other children from the same bubble they are in during the school day. The full opening of schools guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools.

We have published further updated guidance for providers who run before and after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school settings for children on the protective measures that should be put in place from the start of the autumn term. This is to ensure they are operating as safely as possible when all children return to school. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

We allocate £600 million per year to ensure that 1.4 million infants enjoy a free, healthy and nutritious meal at lunchtime following the introduction of the universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) policy in 2014. Now that schools are reopen to all children, those in reception, year 1 and year 2 in England’s state-funded schools will receive a free meal. During the period in which schools were largely closed, the government continued to provide support to those eligible for benefits related free school meals (FSM) through the National Voucher Scheme.

Now that schools and their kitchens are open again, we expect them to provide free school meals to all those entitled to benefits related FSM and UIFSM to those children attending school. If a child needs to miss school for COVID-19 related matters, such as self-isolation due to a case of COVID-19, then we have asked schools to provide meals to those entitled to benefits related FSM.

Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities to enable them to continue protecting the funding of maintained nursery schools during the summer term in 2021. This provides maintained nursery schools with certainty about funding for the 2020-21 academic year. It is a one-term continuation of current maintained nursery school supplementary funding; it is not a new transitional fund.

What happens after the 2020-21 academic year will be determined by the Comprehensive Spending Review in the context of our priorities across early years as a whole. Future arrangements will be for all maintained nursery schools, including those in Barnet.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of maintained nursery schools, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

We want students who wish to sit autumn exams to be able to do so at the earliest opportunity following the cancellation of exams in the summer. A level exams will be sat in October so that students receive results before Christmas and can use them to progress to their next step as soon as possible.

In most cases, students will have received grades in the summer which will enable them to move onto their next step. Students who were unable to receive grades or are not happy with their grades are able to take exams in the autumn if they choose. If a student wants to sit an exam, we expect the school or college that entered them in the summer to enter them in autumn. Schools are able to provide additional support to students sitting their exams in the autumn if they have capacity to do so. The Department is offering an Exam Support Service to help all schools and colleges run the autumn series. Schools and colleges will be able to book fully funded space for the exams if they need it to avoid disruption to teaching. They will also be able to claim funding for autumn exam fees and invigilation costs if these exceed the savings they have made in the summer.

We are committed to supporting schools and children so that they are able to benefit from our breakfast club programme. The department is investing up to £35 million into the National School Breakfast Programme, using funds from Soft Drinks Industry Levy revenues. We have also announced that the programme will be extended by a further year, until March 2021, with up to an additional 650 schools being supported.

Many schools operate their own breakfast and after school clubs, and from the start of the autumn term should be working to resume this provision. As part of our guidance to schools on full opening, we have provided guidance to schools to help them in reopening this valuable support, more information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools#wraparound-provision-and-extra-curricular-activity.

We have also published updated guidance for providers who run before and after-school clubs, tuition and other out-of-school settings for children on the protective measures that should be put in place from the start of the autumn term, to ensure they are operating as safely as possible when all children return to school. The guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-measures-for-holiday-or-after-school-clubs-and-other-out-of-school-settings-for-children-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/protective-measures-for-out-of-school-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak.

Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities to enable them to continue protecting the funding of maintained nursery schools during the summer term in 2021. This provides maintained nursery schools with certainty about funding for the 2020-21 academic year.

What happens after the 2020-21 academic year will be determined by the Comprehensive Spending Review in the context of our priorities across early years as a whole. Future arrangements will be for all maintained nursery schools, including those in Barnet.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of maintained nursery schools, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

Maintained nursery schools are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. The government announced on 24 August that up to £23 million of supplementary funding will be provided to local authorities to enable them to continue protecting the funding of maintained nursery schools during the summer term in 2021. This provides maintained nursery schools with certainty about funding for the 2020-21 academic year.

What happens after the 2020-21 academic year will be determined by the Comprehensive Spending Review in the context of our priorities across early years as a whole. Future arrangements will be for all maintained nursery schools, including those in Barnet.

This government remains committed to the long-term funding of maintained nursery schools, and any reform to the way they are funded will be accompanied by appropriate funding protections.

Eligibility for student finance is governed by a range of criteria, including residency, type of course, where and how a student is studying, previous study and whether or not the student holds a higher education qualification.

Generally, tuition fee support for full-time courses is available for the length of a student’s course, plus one extra year if needed, minus any years of previous study. Where a student has undertaken a previous full-time higher education course but has not achieved a qualification, previous study rules will generally apply to the calculation of tuition fee loan entitlement, apart from when the previous course was wholly self-funded (i.e. that the student received no public support from within the UK or elsewhere).

However, the regulations make provision for students to receive a year’s additional tuition fee support where Student Finance England is satisfied that the student has been unable to complete a year of study for compelling personal reasons. Maintenance loans and supplementary grants are generally available to eligible students until an honour’s degree has been achieved.

Student Finance England will assess students’ entitlement to funding in line with existing regulations and guidance. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, UK students who start studying in the US and later transfer to a UK higher education provider due to the COVID-19 outbreak may be able to access some student support for their new course.

Eligibility for student finance is governed by a range of criteria, including residency, type of course, where and how a student is studying, previous study and whether or not the student holds a higher education qualification.

Generally, tuition fee support for full-time courses is available for the length of a student’s course, plus one extra year if needed, minus any years of previous study. Where a student has undertaken a previous full-time higher education course but has not achieved a qualification, previous study rules will generally apply to the calculation of tuition fee loan entitlement, apart from when the previous course was wholly self-funded (i.e. that the student received no public support from within the UK or elsewhere).

However, the regulations make provision for students to receive a year’s additional tuition fee support where Student Finance England is satisfied that the student has been unable to complete a year of study for compelling personal reasons. Maintenance loans and supplementary grants are generally available to eligible students until an honour’s degree has been achieved.

Student Finance England will assess students’ entitlement to funding in line with existing regulations and guidance. Subject to meeting the eligibility criteria, UK students who start studying in the US and later transfer to a UK higher education provider due to the COVID-19 outbreak may be able to access some student support for their new course.

To be eligible for home fee status in England, a student must have ‘settled’ status or a recognised connection with the UK on the first day of the first academic year of their course. This includes those who are covered by EU law, have long residence in this country or who have been granted international protection by the Home Office.

Students must normally have been resident in the UK and Islands (Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) or, in some cases, the European Economic Area and Switzerland or UK/EU Overseas Territories, for the 3 years prior to that date.

Commonwealth citizens who have the right of abode in the UK are considered ‘settled’ and are eligible for home fee status on that basis.

On 19 June we announced a £1 billion COVID-19 “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time due to the pandemic.

Alongside a £650 million one-off grant to support pupils that recognises that all young people have lost time in education, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help to accelerate their academic progress and tackle the attainment gap between them and their peers.

We are working at pace to finalise the arrangements for both parts of the catch-up package and will publish guidance and allocations shortly.

This £1 billion package is on top of the £14.4 billion three-year core funding increase announced last year and the £2.4 billion pupil premium schools continue to receive to support their disadvantaged pupils.

The Government has committed over £100 million to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in England to access remote education and online social care services, including by providing laptops, tablets and 4G wireless routers.

We are providing laptops and tablets to vulnerable and disadvantaged children who would otherwise not have access and are preparing for examinations in Year 10, receiving support from a social worker or are a care leaver. Where care leavers, children with a social worker at secondary school and children in Year 10 do not have internet connections, we are providing 4G wireless routers for internet access.

On 24 April, local authorities (LAs) and academy trusts were invited to forecast the number of devices they needed to support children and young people that they are responsible for in the eligible categories. LAs are responsible for ordering devices for children with a social worker and care leavers, as well as disadvantaged Year 10 pupils in LA-maintained schools. Academy trusts are only responsible for disadvantaged Year 10 pupils in their schools.

After LAs and academy trusts completed their forecast, the Department for Education confirmed the number of devices and routers that they would receive. LAs and academy trusts were offered the option to request additional devices for eligible children where needed.

The Department invited LAs and academy trusts to order devices throughout May and June. All LAs and academy trusts can now order the devices they have forecast.

As of 30 June, over 200,000 laptops and tablets and over 47,000 4G wireless routers had been delivered or dispatched to local authorities and academy trusts. This information can be viewed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/laptops-tablets-and-4g-wireless-routers-progress-data.

This includes 20 devices for Queen Elizabeth’s Girls School, Barnet.

The Department has provided guidance explaining that the children of any parent who works in a critical sector or are critical to the COVID-19 response will be prioritised for education provision regardless of the year group they are in:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-educational-provision/guidance-for-schools-colleges-and-local-authorities-on-maintaining-educational-provision

It makes clear that, now that we have made progress in reducing the transmission of COVID-19, we are encouraging all eligible children to attend school (where there are no shielding concerns for the child or their household), even if parents are able to keep their children at home.

The Department has also published guidance for schools to prepare for wider opening of schools:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june

The planning guide for primary schools explains that if schools cannot reach an arrangement that enables all eligible children to attend consistently, schools should focus first on continuing to provide places for priority groups of all year groups (children of critical workers and vulnerable children).

The advice to secondary schools on preparing for wider opening from the 15 June states that children of critical workers and vulnerable children in all year groups should be encouraged to attend school full-time.

We want to get all children back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows. As set out in the guidance, we have asked primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. We are also asking secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges to offer some face-to-face support to supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 students and 16 to 19 learners in the first year of their course who are due to take key exams next year. This request applies to all schools, including in the independent sector, and including small schools and schools with alternative exam arrangements, transition years, curricula and pedagogy.

It is important that only the requested cohorts return at this time. As the guidance states, we are prioritising younger children in the first phases of wider opening, for several reasons. Firstly, because there is moderately high scientific confidence in evidence suggesting younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with COVID-19; and secondly because evidence shows the particularly detrimental impact which time spent out of education can have upon them. In addition, older children are more likely to have higher numbers of contacts outside of school so pose a greater transmission risk, and they are typically better able to learn at home. It is therefore important that schools adhere to the guidance to ensure that only students that have been prioritised return to school, in the numbers and groupings that have been considered, minimising risks for them and their wider social groups and households.

We want to get all children back into education as soon as the scientific advice allows. As set out in the guidance, we have asked primary schools to welcome back children in nursery, Reception, year 1 and year 6, alongside priority groups. We are also asking secondary schools, sixth form and further education colleges to offer some face-to-face support to supplement the remote education of year 10 and year 12 students and 16 to 19 learners in the first year of their course who are due to take key exams next year. This request applies to all schools, including in the independent sector, and including small schools and schools with alternative exam arrangements, transition years, curricula and pedagogy.

It is important that only the requested cohorts return at this time. As the guidance states, we are prioritising younger children in the first phases of wider opening, for several reasons. Firstly, because there is moderately high scientific confidence in evidence suggesting younger children are less likely to become unwell if infected with COVID-19; and secondly because evidence shows the particularly detrimental impact which time spent out of education can have upon them. In addition, older children are more likely to have higher numbers of contacts outside of school so pose a greater transmission risk, and they are typically better able to learn at home. It is therefore important that schools adhere to the guidance to ensure that only students that have been prioritised return to school, in the numbers and groupings that have been considered, minimising risks for them and their wider social groups and households.

On 28 May, my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister announced that the Government’s five tests had been met. Based on all the evidence, the decision was made to progress with wider opening of schools from 1 June.

The Department has been engaging with the National Education Union throughout the COVID-19 outbreak, including in relation to transmission rates, social distancing, testing, managing infection and protection for the most vulnerable.

Our guidance on protective measures sets out the steps schools should take to reduce the risk of transmission: 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 Department is currently working closely with the sector to determine the best way for schools to open for more pupils, in line with the five key tests set out by the Government. There continues to be extensive engagement with teaching unions, including the National Education Union, and other school stakeholders, both at a ministerial and official level.

Details of engagement:

• Weekly meetings with senior policy officials and key stakeholders along with other main teaching unions, governance, social care, school trusts and local government;
• A weekly meeting with wider stakeholders including support staff, further education and school business organisations;
• Weekly calls for evidence from key stakeholders on key policy questions to inform decision making on reopening;
• Weekly meetings between my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and the main teaching unions and stakeholder groups;
• Ad hoc additional stakeholder meetings to address key issues as and when they arise; and
• Weekly guidance update notifications are sent to stakeholders and school leaders.

On 4 May, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures, drawing on proposals from the universities sector, to ease pressures on universities’ finances, boost support for students, stabilise university admissions this autumn and ensure sustainability in higher education (HE) at a time of unprecedented uncertainty.

To stabilise admissions, temporary student number controls will be put in place for domestic and EU students for the academic year 2020/21.These measures mean that providers will be able to recruit students up to a temporary set level, based on provider forecasts, which allows additional growth of up to 5% in the next academic year, and ensures that the admissions process for students will be fair and orderly.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, will also have the discretion to allocate an additional 10,000 places on top of the controls, of which 5,000 will be allocated to students studying nursing or allied health courses, to ensure growing numbers that will support our vital public services. This measure will only apply to UK/EU domiciled full-time undergraduate students, with certain specified exemptions. These controls will not apply to international (non-EU) students.

The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator in England, will also consult on a new temporary condition of registration. The OfS’s proposed condition would prohibit registered providers from engaging in any form of conduct which, in the opinion of the OfS, could reasonably have a material negative effect on the stability or integrity of the English HE sector.

The government has reprofiled tuition fee payments, expected to be worth £2.6 billion, for providers so that they receive more cash in the first term of academic year 2020/21. The government has also announced that £100 million of public funding will be brought forward to the current academic year to help protect vital university research activities in England. Additionally, the government has confirmed that providers are eligible to apply for the government’s financial support schemes, which are estimated by the OfS to be worth at least £700 million to the sector.

Universities have an integral part to play in our economy, society and culture, which is highlighted now more than ever through their leading role in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak.

As part of the response to COVID-19, educational settings have and will continue to be asked to ensure vulnerable children and young people can attend. ‘Vulnerable children’ include those children and young people who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan. They are typically those with the most complex needs, including due to mental health and disabilities. They also include children and young people who do not have an EHC plan, who are assessed as ‘otherwise vulnerable’ and are, therefore, in need of continuing education provision.

Vulnerable children and young people across all year groups continue to be encouraged and expected to attend educational provision where it is appropriate for them to do so. This should remain a priority for educational providers and local authorities, including as more children and young people begin to return to on-site provision.

We are working hard to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on all parts of our society, including individuals and business. Childcare providers will have individual agreements with parents and therefore we urge all childcare providers to be reasonable and balanced in their dealings with parents, given the great uncertainty they will be facing too.

We acknowledge that in many cases, the insurance that early years providers have will not cover them for income lost during COVID-19-related closures. That is one of the reasons why we announced on 17 March that we will continue to pay funding to local authorities for the early years entitlements for 2, 3 and 4-year-olds and that funding would not be clawed back from local authorities due to closures or children being unable to attend.

We expect local authorities to follow the Department for Education’s position and to continue paying childminders, schools and nurseries for the early years entitlements – even if providers have suspended delivery of those entitlements due to COVID-19. This protects a significant proportion of early years providers’ income. In addition, the government has set out a range of support for businesses and workers to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on them. Many early years providers will qualify for this support.

This support being provided for individuals includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which means that for each employee not working but kept on payroll, the government will contribute 80% of their wages up to £2,500, backdated to 1 March 2020. Self-employed people may be eligible for taxable grants under the government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-employment Income Support Scheme. Further details of these schemes can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-for-wage-costs-through-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-grant-through-the-coronavirus-covid-19-self-employment-income-support-scheme.

Details of further assistance and benefits available for individuals can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19/support-for-those-affected-by-covid-19.

We will be keeping under close review what further support businesses and workers may require.

Guidance on closures of childcare and early years settings is available: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

The government has set out specific measures to support childcare providers during the COVID-19 outbreak:

• Funding for the government’s early years entitlements will continue during any periods of nursery, preschool or childminder closures or when children cannot attend
• To support private nurseries at this time, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also announced that they will be eligible for a business rates holiday for one year from 1 April

Childcare providers will also benefit from the wider measures the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced to support the people and businesses of the UK:

• A three-point plan announced in the Budget providing £12 billion of support for public services, individuals and businesses whose finances are affected by the outbreak
• A package to provide additional support for businesses and individuals totalling £350 billion
• The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to help firms continue to keep people in employment. This means that businesses can put workers on temporary leave and the government will pay them cash grants of 80% of their wages up to a cap of £2,500, providing they keep the worker employed
• A scheme to help the UK’s self-employed who are affected by the coronavirus outbreak. The new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme will enable those eligible to receive 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
• On 28 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Alok Sharma, announced that the government will also temporarily suspend the wrongful trading provisions to give company directors greater confidence to use their best endeavours to continue trading during this pandemic emergency, without the threat of personal liability should the company ultimately fall into insolvency

The government is also providing the following additional support:

• deferral of Self-Assessment income tax payments due in July 2020 and VAT payments due between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020
• grants for businesses that pay little or no business rates
• increased amounts of Universal Credit
• the Coronavirus Bussiness Interruption Loan Scheme

The latest guidance from the department for early years and childcare providers can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures/coronavirus-covid-19-early-years-and-childcare-closures.

Surfaces such as artificial grass are, on their own, of no value for biodiversity.

We currently have no plans to ban or restrict the use of artificial grass. We prefer to help people and organisations make the right choice rather than legislating on this matter. As with all single-use plastic products, we will continue to review the latest evidence on impacts and take a systematic approach to reducing unnecessary use.

Research has shown that gardens and public spaces can be very important habitats, for example for pollinating insects. Working with a range of partners, Defra has established a ‘Bees’ Needs’ campaign including advice on providing habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, including in gardens.

Local authorities should comply with the legal and policy safeguards in place to protect biodiversity and ensure sustainable drainage. The strengthened biodiversity duty being introduced through the Environment Bill should also serve to encourage public authorities to consider more sustainable alternatives.

The Government continues to use its influence to support national clear-up days, which help to empower and engage communities in tackling litter and to change attitudes towards littering.

I recently spoke at the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s 2021 Great British Spring Clean, encouraging as many people and businesses as possible to participate in the Great British Spring Clean, and committed to volunteer during the event. By doing so, we are setting the tone for the summer ahead, by showing that litter is not acceptable, and that people care deeply about protecting their local environment.

We have published specific advice on our gov.uk website which states that voluntary litter picking can be carried out, and that groups must follow government guidance on staying safe outside the home. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-disposing-of-waste#litter-picking-during-coronavirus

Volunteers are always advised to use safety equipment, including thick gloves, litter-pickers and heavy-duty bags.

The Government continues to use its influence to support national clear-up days, which help to empower and engage communities in tackling litter and to change attitudes towards littering.

I recently spoke at the launch of Keep Britain Tidy’s 2021 Great British Spring Clean, encouraging as many people and businesses as possible to participate in the Great British Spring Clean, and committed to volunteer during the event. By doing so, we are setting the tone for the summer ahead, by showing that litter is not acceptable, and that people care deeply about protecting their local environment.

We have published specific advice on our gov.uk website which states that voluntary litter picking can be carried out, and that groups must follow government guidance on staying safe outside the home. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-disposing-of-waste#litter-picking-during-coronavirus

Volunteers are always advised to use safety equipment, including thick gloves, litter-pickers and heavy-duty bags.

Enforcement against littering and fly-tipping on the road network is a matter for the local authority.

The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system is used by the police to check the number plates of passing vehicles against police databases and can identify vehicles which are of interest to the police. Local authorities do not have access to the ANPR camera network.

The ANPR cameras are not suitable for use in gathering evidence of littering or fly-tipping in progress due to the system recording vehicle images and number plates only. In cases of serious waste crime where the police are involved in enforcement, vehicles involved may be considered of interest and would be captured on police databases.

With effect from April 2018, we have introduced new powers enabling councils in England (outside London) to issue civil fixed penalties of between £65 to £150 to the keepers of vehicles from which litter is thrown. Councils in London already had similar powers. This enables them to take enforcement action, even when the precise offender cannot be identified.

Councils can already take action based on camera footage as long as they are satisfied that, on the balance of probabilities, litter was thrown from that vehicle. It is for councils to decide whether they have sufficient evidence to take enforcement action in any given case.

Vehicles of those suspected of committing a waste crime, including fly-tipping, can be searched and seized. Guidance available to local authorities recommends that when investigating a fly-tipping incident information such as the description of any vehicles involved should be gathered. This guidance is available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fly-tipping-council-responsibilities.

The Litter Strategy sets out how we intend to work with the relevant industries to tackle certain types of problematic litter, such as fast food packaging, and our Resources and Waste Strategy set our strategic approach to prevent, detect and deter waste crime, including fly-tipping.

The Resources and Waste Strategy commits us to introducing mandatory electronic waste tracking, subject to consultation. This will help to ensure that waste is dealt with appropriately and will reduce the incidence of waste crime and fly-tipping.

No formal assessment has been made of the potential merits of introducing auditable tracking for packaging. However, exploratory discussions suggest that the burden on businesses and enforcement bodies, along with data protection issues, would mean the costs could outweigh the benefits of such a policy.

We are exploring other measures to tackle littered packaging. Our recently published consultation on extended producer responsibility for packaging proposes that producers who make or handle consumer-facing packaging should fund the full net-costs associated with the packaging they place on the market once it becomes waste, including litter-related costs. We have also recently launched our consultation on the deposit return scheme, which will incentivise proper disposal of in-scope material by consumers. We will continue to engage with producers as these measures come forward.

In recent years, to support local authorities in their enforcement, Defra has bolstered local authorities’ powers to tackle fly-tipping, such as by introducing the power to issue fixed penalty notices (including to householders who pass their waste to an unlicensed waste carrier) and to stop and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. We have also introduced new powers to allow penalties to be issued to the keeper of a vehicle from which litter is thrown (recognising that it is often difficult to identify the individual who threw the litter), and published guidance on the use of enforcement powers for littering and related offences.

Defra has spent the following amounts externally on communications to discourage litter and fly-tipping. The cost of other activities, such as social media messaging, cannot be separated. Likewise, spend on Defra staff cannot be disaggregated.

The Environment Agency has also contributed funds in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 to the ‘right waste, right place’ information campaign, managed by the Environmental Services Association, which aims to help small businesses and establishments meet their Duty of Care obligations, and seeks to deter fly-tipping incidents.

In the last five years, no funding has been specifically allocated to Keep Britain Tidy, but it has successfully bid for a number of litter-related contracts:

Keep Britain Tidy has also been awarded the following grant funding towards delivery of national clear-up days and campaigns:

Defra has an annual contract with Keep Britain Tidy to host the National Fly-tipping Prevention Group’s (NFTPG) website: http://www.tacklingflytipping.com/

*Awarded but not yet paid

In 2017, under the £450,000 Litter Innovation Fund, Keep Britain Tidy was awarded £39,717 across 4 grants. Full details are available at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/litter-innovation-fund

We consulted on recycling consistency reforms in 2019 and following support for these measures, the Environment Bill states that waste collection authorities in England must arrange for the collection of a core set of materials (glass; metal; plastic; paper and card; food waste; and garden waste) from households for recycling.

We will be seeking further views in an upcoming second consultation on recycling consistency, which will be published in spring 2021 and will include detail on transition timelines for local authorities. We want to implement recycling consistency as soon as is practically possible, taking into account factors including lead-in times for local authorities to procure vehicles and other capital goods and any existing contractual arrangements.

The number of cats entering Great Britain under the Pet Travel Scheme in each month of 2020 is as follows:

The UK has successfully applied for authorisation (known as ‘listing status’) to export animal products and live animals to the EU from 1 January 2021.The legal instruments giving effect to our listing were published in the EU’s Official Journal on 28 December and will apply from 1 January 2021.

We are aware of the concerns around the use of glue traps and are engaging with key stakeholders about the issue.

This Government remains committed to high standards of animal welfare. We are in the process of developing a range of important animal welfare and animal-related measures to strengthen our position as a world leader in this field. This includes delivering our manifesto commitments to introduce new laws on animal sentience, to ban live exports, restrict the imports of trophies from endangered species and ban keeping primates as pets.

As stated previously in the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113020 on Plastics: Pollution, our priority is to prevent plastic entering the environment at all, including through littering, with a focus on upstream measures to turn off the tap on plastic pollution. The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy sets out our plans to move away from a take, make, use, throw society to one where materials are kept in circulation for longer. It also commits to eliminating avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Our Litter Strategy sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering behaviour within a generation. Littering of any materials, including biodegradable plastics, is a criminal offence, and councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders.

The Government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a Government response shortly.

As stated previously in the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113020 on Plastics: Pollution, our priority is to prevent plastic entering the environment at all, including through littering, with a focus on upstream measures to turn off the tap on plastic pollution. The Government’s Resources and Waste Strategy sets out our plans to move away from a take, make, use, throw society to one where materials are kept in circulation for longer. It also commits to eliminating avoidable plastic waste over the lifetime of the 25 Year Environment Plan. Our Litter Strategy sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering behaviour within a generation. Littering of any materials, including biodegradable plastics, is a criminal offence, and councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders.

The Government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a Government response shortly.

It is current practice in science for research to be published in international peer reviewed journals. The peer review process is central to quality assurance and ensures reliable and reproducible research findings enter the public domain and inform debate.

We would be happy to review the data once it has undergone peer review and has been published.

My answer was given in response to my Rt Hon Friend’s question about European Standard EN 13432, PQ UIN 113024.

As stated in the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113023, the Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence further considered existing standards, which includes BS EN13432, BS 8472, and ASTM D6954. We are currently analysing the responses received to inform future policy and will publish a response to the call for evidence shortly.

As I outlined previously, I appreciate the engagement of industry in our call for evidence and welcome further engagement in future consultations and policy development as our work develops.

In January 2017, the European Commission asked the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to prepare an Annex XV restriction dossier concerning the placing on the market and use of oxo-degradable plastics. However, ECHA withdrew its intention to prepare the dossier in May 2019, on request from the European Commission, following the inclusion of oxo-degradable plastics in the Single-Use Plastics Directive.

This information can be found at: https://echa.europa.eu/registry-of-restriction-intentions/-/dislist/details/0b0236e18244d9bb.

This decision was a matter for the European Commission and it would not be appropriate to comment on an investigation which was not completed.

As stated in the Answer of 12 November 2020 to Question 113024 on plastics recycling, the Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence further considered existing standards including BS EN13432. We are currently analysing the responses received to inform future policy and will publish a response to the call for evidence shortly.

EN 13432:2000 is an industry-derived harmonised EU standard which lays down minimum requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation. It is a standard that has been adopted by national standards bodies in many of the EU Member States. In the UK it is published as BS EN 13432 by the British Standards Institution. Only packaging which has passed relevant tests and assessments can carry the standard. It has not been adopted into UK legislation.

Turning to standards and biodegradability more broadly, we are concerned that, in the absence of robust standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal. Furthermore, concerns persist that plastics which are claimed to be biodegradable, if littered or otherwise released into the environment in an uncontrolled way, may not degrade quickly or at all, and they can only be composted if they meet relevant standards.

As a consequence of these concerns, the Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on 14 October 2019 and we are grateful for the responses submitted to us by industry and others. We are currently analysing the responses received to inform future policy and will publish a response to the call for evidence by the end of the year.

We appreciate the engagement of industry in the call for evidence and welcome further engagement in future consultations and policy development as our work develops.

The Hazardous Substances Advisory Committee is an independent scientific advisory committee. We tasked them to conduct a literature review of the published scientific literature. Stakeholder engagement was therefore not part of this process.

EN 13432:2000 is an industry-derived harmonised EU standard which lays down minimum requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation. It is a standard that has been adopted by national standards bodies in many of the EU Member States. In the UK it is published as BS EN 13432 by the British Standards Institution. Only packaging which has passed relevant tests and assessments can carry the standard. It has not been adopted into UK legislation.

Turning to standards and biodegradability more broadly, we are concerned that, in the absence of robust standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal. Furthermore, concerns persist that plastics which are claimed to be biodegradable, if littered or otherwise released into the environment in an uncontrolled way, may not degrade quickly or at all, and they can only be composted if they meet relevant standards.

As a consequence of these concerns, the Government published a call for evidence in July 2019 to help consider the development of standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on 14 October 2019 and we are grateful for the responses submitted to us by industry and others. We are currently analysing the responses received to inform future policy and will publish a response to the call for evidence by the end of the year.

We appreciate the engagement of industry in the call for evidence and welcome further engagement in future consultations and policy development as our work develops.

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. Our priority is preventing plastic from entering the marine or terrestrial environment, and our focus is on creating a circular economy. The UK is recycling more than ever, achieving a 46% plastic packaging recycling rate in 2017, and the Government is committed to minimising the movement of waste for disposal elsewhere. Through our Resources & Waste Strategy we have committed to take action to help stimulate investment in domestic reprocessing and recycling infrastructure. This includes through new policies such as extended producer responsibility and deposit return schemes for drinks containers (subject to further evidence and analysis); raising recycling targets for packaging across a number of materials and waste streams to increase the amount and quality of recycling and improve environmental outcomes.

The Government does not hold data that differentiates between non-biodegradable and biodegradable plastic litter. However, the UK does collect data on the quantity and type of marine litter in our waters, including data on seafloor litter, floating litter and beach litter, following methods agreed through the OSPAR Convention’s monitoring and assessment programmes. Data is available through the Marine Online Assessment Tool: https://moat.cefas.co.uk/. This data is used to help us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution and inform our decisions on how to tackle marine litter.

We also published the Litter Strategy for England in April 2017, setting out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. The Litter Strategy brings together communities, businesses, charities and schools to bring about real change by focusing on three key themes: education and awareness; improving enforcement; and better cleaning and access to bins. A copy of the Litter Strategy can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england.

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste. Our priority is preventing plastic from entering the marine or terrestrial environment, and our focus is on creating a circular economy. The UK is recycling more than ever, achieving a 46% plastic packaging recycling rate in 2017, and the Government is committed to minimising the movement of waste for disposal elsewhere. Through our Resources & Waste Strategy we have committed to take action to help stimulate investment in domestic reprocessing and recycling infrastructure. This includes through new policies such as extended producer responsibility and deposit return schemes for drinks containers (subject to further evidence and analysis); raising recycling targets for packaging across a number of materials and waste streams to increase the amount and quality of recycling and improve environmental outcomes.

The Government does not hold data that differentiates between non-biodegradable and biodegradable plastic litter. However, the UK does collect data on the quantity and type of marine litter in our waters, including data on seafloor litter, floating litter and beach litter, following methods agreed through the OSPAR Convention’s monitoring and assessment programmes. Data is available through the Marine Online Assessment Tool: https://moat.cefas.co.uk/. This data is used to help us monitor the levels and trends of plastic pollution and inform our decisions on how to tackle marine litter.

We also published the Litter Strategy for England in April 2017, setting out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. The Litter Strategy brings together communities, businesses, charities and schools to bring about real change by focusing on three key themes: education and awareness; improving enforcement; and better cleaning and access to bins. A copy of the Litter Strategy can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england.

The UK is rejoining the International Organisation of Vine and Wine in January 2021 after an absence of approximately 16 years. This will give the UK international influence over decisions on wine practices and processes and continued credibility in the international trade in wine. UK membership of other international organisations, including the World Wine Trade Group, is being kept under review.

The Government will legislate for a temporary easement of the requirement for VI-1 certification for imports of EU wine. Wine imports from the EU will not require VI-1 certification until 1 July 2021 and sensible exemptions will be made, including for shipments of less than 100 litres.

The Government recognises that the VI-1 requirement will be a new cost to EU operators. However, despite VI-1 certification being an existing requirement for non-EU wines they remain competitive at retail. There are a number of practical exemptions from the requirement, including for shipments of less than 100 litres.

The government recognises that innovation into biodegradable plastics could help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics if they are disposed of in the right way. However, this is often not the case. We are concerned that, in the absence of robust and comprehensive standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal.

In 2015, a government report concluded that existing biodegradable standards are only applicable to very specific conditions such as industrial composters. ?A review of oxo-biodegradable plastics has also conducted by the Hazardous Substance Advisory Committee in 2019. This can be found on their website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee

As a consequence of these concerns, the government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on the 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a government response before the end of the year. You can find out more information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence

The government recognises that innovation into biodegradable plastics could help reduce the environmental impacts of plastics if they are disposed of in the right way. However, this is often not the case. We are concerned that, in the absence of robust and comprehensive standards, claims about the biodegradability of plastic-based products cannot be verified leading to potential confusion in the market place, possible increased levels of consumption and potential environmental harm at the point of disposal.

In 2015, a government report concluded that existing biodegradable standards are only applicable to very specific conditions such as industrial composters. ?A review of oxo-biodegradable plastics has also conducted by the Hazardous Substance Advisory Committee in 2019. This can be found on their website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/hazardous-substances-advisory-committee

As a consequence of these concerns, the government published a call for evidence last year to help consider the development of product standards or certification criteria for bio-based, biodegradable, and compostable plastics as well as to better understand their effects on the environment and our current waste system. The call for evidence closed on the 14 October 2019 and we are currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a government response before the end of the year. You can find out more information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/standards-for-biodegradable-compostable-and-bio-based-plastics-call-for-evidence

We recognise that in the current circumstances local authorities may have more challenges than usual, including when collecting waste. The Government has responded with an unprecedented £4.3 billion support package for local authorities. This includes £3.7 billion of un-ringfenced grants which can be used by councils to meet local priorities including, should they see fit, cleaning up litter. Defra has also published guidance for local authorities on the prioritisation of waste collection services.

Defra has also supported, and provided funding for, Keep Britain Tidy's Love Parks campaign, which encourages people to treat our parks with respect this summer. Further information about the campaign is available at:

www.keepbritaintidy.org/news/new-campaign-launched-face-littering-epidemic-parks.

Defra has also launched a 'Respect the Outdoors' campaign this summer. This has been promoted both online and in locations near to urban parks, beaches and national parks to further highlight the impacts of littering, as well as unauthorised barbeques and campfires, and breaches of the countryside code.

It remains an offence to drop litter, and councils have legal powers to take enforcement action against offenders. Anyone caught littering may be prosecuted in a magistrates' court, which can lead to a criminal record and a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction. Instead of prosecuting, councils may decide to issue a fixed penalty of between £65 and £150.

We have a manifesto commitment to end excessively long journeys for live animals going for slaughter and fattening, which is an opportunity we have gained through leaving the EU. We intend to issue a consultation on how we deliver on that commitment in due course.

We have always acknowledged the special status held by the island of Ireland as a single epidemiological unit. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) this will require changes to provide for agri-food checks and assurances. The NIP calls for shipments of animals and animal products to meet the EU’s sanitary and phytosanitary standards. Movements of these goods from Great Britain to Northern Ireland may therefore require an export health certificate, dependent on negotiations.

The conditions for which composite products (such as a food product containing cheese and potato) require an EHC are outlined by the Commission. The conditions include, but are not limited to, the type of composite product and the amount of animal origin product in the composite.

As the Government has set out in the recent Command Paper on the UK’s approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol, we have always been clear that it makes sense to protect supply chains and that there will need to be some checks to help movements of agri-food from Great Britain (GB) into Northern Ireland (NI), supported by relevant electronic processes. This may include GB organic food producers needing to provide certificates for inspection for their goods on entry into relevant NI ports, dependent on negotiations.

The process by which controls are conducted for GB-NI movements, and their frequency, will need to be discussed with the EU in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee. This will be done within the context of limiting additional controls at NI ports as far as possible. We will actively seek to simplify and minimise electronic documentary requirements where possible.

The Government remains fully committed to ending the wasteful discarding of fish and working closely with the UK fishing industry and other stakeholders to address this issue.

Since publishing the 2018 Fisheries White Paper, Defra has held a number of workshops with industry and other stakeholders, including NGOs, on how the rules on fish discards can be reformed so that they are tailored to our industry and our marine environment. This engagement will continue throughout the development of our future policy.

In the 2018 Fisheries White Paper Defra stated that we would consider a targeted scientific trial using an effort (days at sea) based regime in place of a quota regime for some low impact inshore fisheries.

In summer 2019, Defra ran a call for evidence on developing a new approach for allocating additional fishing quota in England. This included a question on trialling effort for some low impact fisheries, to determine whether fishing can be carried out sustainably under an effort based regime.

For 2020, we will continue to work with industry and other stakeholders to develop our approach for allocating and managing any additional quota in England. This includes whether we should trial an effort based approach. We plan to consult on this later this year.

We have developed Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and accompanying Notes for Guidance for exports from GB to NI in preparation for the end of the Transition period. These shall be available publicly before the end of year.

The physical inspection of goods entering Northern Ireland is devolved and the devolved competent authority is DAERA. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU reserves the right to supervise these inspections.

We will inform industry later this year about actions they need to take to ensure they can continue trading after the transition period has ended.

We have developed Export Health Certificates (EHCs) and accompanying Notes for Guidance for exports from GB to NI in preparation for the end of the Transition period. These shall be available publicly before the end of year.

The physical inspection of goods entering Northern Ireland is devolved and the devolved competent authority is DAERA. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU reserves the right to supervise these inspections.

We will inform industry later this year about actions they need to take to ensure they can continue trading after the transition period has ended.

As an independent coastal state, the UK will have full responsibility over how it ensures compliance in its fisheries at the end of the transition period. As control and enforcement is a devolved matter, Defra, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive continue to work together to share information and ensure a coordinated approach to monitoring, compliance and enforcement across UK waters.

In England, our robust enforcement system is delivered by several agencies working in partnership, in particular the Marine Management Organisation, the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities and the Royal Navy. Since 23 July 2019 we have taken significant steps to ensure authorities can enforce fishing regulations through securing a sizeable increase in control and enforcement capability. This includes an increase to the number of frontline warranted officers, increased aerial surveillance and additional vessels to enhance patrolling capacity at sea.

Further details of the increase in fisheries control and enforcement capacity can be found in the answer given to the hon. Member for Edinburgh North and Leith on 7 January 2020, PQ UIN 145, and the answer given to the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on 13 February 2020, PQ UIN 14762.

[www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-12-19/145]

[www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-02-10/14762]

The updated UK Marine Strategy Part One, published in October 2019, provides an assessment of the state of UK seas and shows the progress made towards achieving Good Environmental Status (GES).

The assessment showed that we have made progress towards GES for UK seas and that some marine species, including grey seals, have achieved GES in UK seas. However, the assessment identified other areas, including some bird species and seabed habitats, where more needs to be done.

We are taking action to address those areas where we have not yet reached GES, and intend to publish an update to the UK Marine Strategy Part Three, outlining the programmes of measures that will continue to move us towards GES, in 2021.

The preparations we made for the possibility of a no deal exit mean that we are well placed to be ready with our own independent regulatory regime for 1 January 2021. At the end of the Transition Period the UK will have its own independent chemicals regulatory framework, UK REACH. We will bring REACH in to UK law and put in place the systems and capacity to ensure the effective management and control of chemicals which safeguard human health and the environment, and that we can respond to emerging risks. UK REACH will retain the principles and fundamental approach of the EU REACH system, with its aims of ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment, as well as enhancing innovation and competitiveness.

Lockdown started towards the end of the 2019/2020 tree planting season and under normal conditions we would not expect planting to start again until the autumn.

The Forestry Commission and the Rural Payments Agency have remained open for new woodland creation applications and continued to process those applications subject to the restrictions imposed by Government guidance on COVID-19.

The following schemes have remained open for woodland creation applications: Countryside Stewardship, Woodland Carbon Fund, Woodland Carbon Guarantee, Woodland Creation Planning Grant and the HS2 Woodland Fund. The second application window of the Urban Tree Challenge Fund opened during lockdown and was subsequently extended to give applicants more time to apply.

Claims for tree planting under existing grant agreements have continued to be paid, with additional measures being put in place by the Forestry Commission and the Rural Payments Agency to support claimants under lockdown restrictions.

Officials have remained in regular and close contact with the forestry sector, which has continued to operate, where and when it has been safe to do so, throughout lockdown. For example, tree nurseries have responded by amending working practices to ensure social distancing can be maintained while ensuring that plants are available for next year’s tree planting season.

The Government is working to consider options to facilitate the movement of mixed loads. We will inform industry later this year about actions they need to take to ensure they can continue trading after the transition period has ended.

Our aim has been to support the market in meeting likely demand for Certifying Officers to certify export health certificates. We provided funding for training of veterinarians to become Official Veterinarians (OVs) which enables them to certify exports of products of animal origin. In addition, we have created a Certification Support Officer role freeing up certifier time and increasing capacity. As of May 2020 1,217 OVs have completed this training.

The timeline for ELM will remain unchanged. The National Pilot is due to commence in late 2021 and run to 2024. Full ELM scheme rollout will be from 2024.

The timeline for ELM will remain unchanged. The National Pilot is due to commence in late 2021 and run to 2024. Full ELM scheme rollout will be from 2024.

Clause 41(c) excludes ‘Buildings and other structures’ from the definition of the ‘natural environment’ in the Bill. However, individual types of buildings and structures are not specified on the face of the Bill. It will be for the Secretary of State and the Office for Environmental Protection to interpret this definition for the purposes of implementing Chapters 1 and 2 of the Bill respectively, based on the details of the specific issue before them and the clause which they are implementing through any particular decision. If a dispute arises about the interpretation of these provisions, the courts may ultimately provide a judgment on the matter.

I continue to have regular conversations with retailers and the wider supply chain so that we can take the action required to make sure that everyone can get the food and groceries they need.

We have put in place measures to ensure that those identified by the NHS as being extremely clinically vulnerable and who are without a support network of friends and family receive basic food and essential supplies. Packages of essential groceries are being delivered across England to people in this category, which should arrive within seven days after support is requested via the online NHS webportal or via the phone.

In addition, we have worked with supermarkets to place these customers at the front of the queue for online delivery slots.

We are working quickly to support people who do not fall into the category of being clinically vulnerable, but still need help getting essential food supplies. I regularly speak to other departments, industry, charities and local authorities, working together to make sure that the non-shielding vulnerable have access to food.

Many people are already being well supported by their friends, families, neighbours and local communities. We are working with retailers and the voluntary sector to ensure that people are supported to shop for others safely.

Over 750,000 people across England signed up as NHS Volunteer Responders via the mobile app GoodSam. Over 600,000 volunteers have been verified as NHS Volunteer Responders via the Good Sam platform, and can now receive tasks to help those in their communities. These volunteers will help vulnerable people in England who are at most risk from coronavirus to stay well, including through shopping for vulnerable people for food and essential supplies.

The Government cares very much about the welfare of animals and is examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals and considering the options.

We have been clear it is our ambition that farrowing crates should no longer be used for sows. Indeed, the new pig welfare code clearly states that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets”. I am pleased to confirm the UK is already ahead of most pig producing countries in terms of non-confinement farrowing, with around 40% of our pigs housed outside and not farrowed with crates.

The Government is examining the future use of cages for all laying hens and I welcome the commitment from our major retailers, with positive support from our egg producers, to stop retailing eggs from enriched colony cage production systems by 2025. I am pleased to state that the UK already has a much larger free range sector by far than any EU country, with over 50% of our hens kept in free range systems.

The Government cares very much about the welfare of animals and is examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals and considering the options.

We have been clear it is our ambition that farrowing crates should no longer be used for sows. Indeed, the new pig welfare code clearly states that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets”. I am pleased to confirm the UK is already ahead of most pig producing countries in terms of non-confinement farrowing, with around 40% of our pigs housed outside and not farrowed with crates.

The Government is examining the future use of cages for all laying hens and I welcome the commitment from our major retailers, with positive support from our egg producers, to stop retailing eggs from enriched colony cage production systems by 2025. I am pleased to state that the UK already has a much larger free range sector by far than any EU country, with over 50% of our hens kept in free range systems.

The Government cares very much about the welfare of animals and is examining the evidence around the use of cages for farm animals and considering the options.

We have been clear it is our ambition that farrowing crates should no longer be used for sows. Indeed, the new pig welfare code clearly states that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets”. I am pleased to confirm the UK is already ahead of most pig producing countries in terms of non-confinement farrowing, with around 40% of our pigs housed outside and not farrowed with crates.

The Government is examining the future use of cages for all laying hens and I welcome the commitment from our major retailers, with positive support from our egg producers, to stop retailing eggs from enriched colony cage production systems by 2025. I am pleased to state that the UK already has a much larger free range sector by far than any EU country, with over 50% of our hens kept in free range systems.

The Government has committed to bringing in new laws on animal sentience. Any necessary changes required to domestic legislation will be made in a rigorous and comprehensive way after the transition period and will be brought forward when Parliamentary time allows. Defra is currently assessing how best to support Government departments in considering the welfare needs of sentient animals when they are developing and implementing Government policy.

Defra engages with a wide range of stakeholders on a number of animal welfare issues, including animal sentience.

The Government will be required to set at least one target for each of the four priority areas: air quality; biodiversity; water; and waste reduction and resource efficiency. The power to set targets will not be limited to these four priority areas. Long-term targets could be set in respect of any matter which relates to the natural environment, or people’s enjoyment of it, in order to drive significant improvement of the environment.

The Office of Environmental Protection (OEP) will be established with the principal objective of contributing to environmental protection and the improvement of the natural environment. The OEP will have powers that will enable it to hold all public authorities to account for their implementation of any legislative provisions that fall under the definition of environmental law as set out in the Environment Bill. In this context, the OEP’s remit is not defined by reference to specific subjects such as litter, but rather by reference to the question of whether legislation is mainly concerned with environmental protection. The OEP will also need to consider the seriousness of any alleged breach, and whether there are more appropriate avenues to resolve the matter, in determining where and how to act in relation to any specific case.

Legal duties in relation to litter, or indeed any other subject, would therefore need to be considered against the definition of environmental law in the Environment Bill in order to determine whether the OEP has powers to act. This will be for the OEP to assess in the first instance.

Sir Ian Cheshire’s report on global supply chains is due to be published on 30 March this year.

The Mayor of London is responsible for air quality in the capital and has reserve powers under Part IV of the Environment Act (1995) to reflect this. Under the Environment Act the Mayor may direct the boroughs in the Greater London area concerning how they should assess and prioritise action in their areas.

London received funding for air quality as part of the 2015 £5.7 billion Transport for London funding settlement and has also received further funding for specific projects totalling almost £147 million.

Transport in London is devolved and the responsibility of the Mayor and Transport for London (TfL). It remains the responsibility of the Mayor to make planning decisions, including on station car parks, as part of his wider transport strategy.

The Prime Minister recently announced that new buildings with associated parking such as homes, supermarkets and workplaces, as well as those undergoing major renovation, will be required to install electric vehicle charge points from next year under new legislation to help ensure a smooth transition to electric vehicles.

We expect that the cost of installing a chargepoint in the first instance will fall on the property owner or developer. In order to ensure developers do not incur excessive costs for installing chargepoints, we have introduced an exemption for new residential properties where the installation of a chargpoint would increase grid connection costs by more than £3,600 (although cable routes will still be required). We expect developers will be able to benefit from economies of scale by purchasing charging infrastructure in bulk. This policy will reduce the overall costs of installing chargepoints in homes and avoiding potentially costly retrofitting in the future for consumers and developers.

Under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999, Transport for London is able, with the consent of the Secretary of State, to dispose of any of its property which in the opinion of the Mayor is not required by Transport for London for the purposes of discharging any of its functions. It is not for the Department for Transport involve itself in local planning decisions.

In the last five years, the Secretary of State for Transport has consented to applications submitted by Transport for London under section 163 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 to dispose of operational land at Arnos Grove Underground Station in the London borough of Enfield (2020 - 2021); and at Canons Park Underground Station, Rayners Lane Underground Station and Stanmore Underground Station in the London borough of Harrow (2019).

The Secretary of State is currently reviewing an application submitted by Transport for London relating to Cockfosters Underground Station (application submitted in May 2021).

This policy applies not only to new homes but also to new or existing buildings undergoing major renovation. This will help ensure drivers without off-street parking at home charge have access to a range of charging options and can charge conveniently as they go about their lives at offices and shops.

Alongside these regulations the Government is investing over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and supporting the installation of chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging easier than refuelling a petrol or diesel car. This includes the £20m per year On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. The ORCS has so far awarded funding to over 135 different local authorities, to install more than 4,600 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking.

Government and industry have supported the installation of over 26,000 publicly available charging devices, including more than 4,900 rapid devices – one of the largest networks in Europe.

This requirement is triggered by building notices under the Building Regulations regime rather than planning permission. Properties which have their initial building notices or full plans deposited by the coming into force date will not be legally required to meet the new regulations. However, they must begin building work by no later than 12 months after the coming into force date, otherwise the new regulations will need to be met. This applies to all work under the same building notice/plans. This is the typical way that transitional arrangements have been applied in the past.

This policy will ensure that new and existing buildings undergoing major renovation which have associated parking within the site boundary will have a chargepoint. Alongside these regulations the Government is investing over £1.3 billion to accelerate the roll out of charging infrastructure, targeting support on rapid chargepoints on motorways and major A roads to dash any anxiety around long journeys, and supporting the installation of chargepoints near homes and workplaces to make charging easier than refuelling a petrol or diesel car. This includes the £20m per year On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) which is available to all UK local authorities to provide public chargepoints for their residents without access to private parking. The ORCS has so far awarded funding to over 135 different local authorities, to install more than 4,600 chargepoints for residents who do not have off-street parking.

The requirements to be set out in law that all new homes must include electric charging points will be a requirement for England, including London.

The requirements to be set out in law that all new homes must include electric charging points will be a requirement for England, including London.

As set out in Lord Frost’s letter of 16 September, and his statement to the House of Lords on the same date, the Government welcomed the report of the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform (TIGRR), and the transport regulatory reform recommendations that it contained.

Space Industry Regulations were approved by Parliament in July this year, paving the way for the first space launch from the UK next year and tackling the challenge of liability identified by TIGRR.

Our Future of Transport Regulatory Review consultation – which closed on 22 November – also sought views in relation to a number of the recommendations. We are currently analysing the responses to this consultation and will publish a response in due course.

In addition, we are exploring Parliamentary vehicles and potential funding mechanisms to deliver further measures arising from the recommendations.

Decisions on Red, Amber or Green List assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) risk assessments of countries and territories, alongside wider public health factors. Key factors in the JBC risk assessment of each country and territory include genomic surveillance capability, COVID-19 transmission risk and variant of concern transmission risk. A summary of the JBC methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions

Testing remains a vital part of our borders regime to protect public health and prevent the importation of variants of concern. As only PCR tests can be used to identify variants of concern, they are required for tests on arrival in the UK. However, lateral flow tests can be used for pre-departure testing if they meet minimum performance standards.

The government keeps all measures under the review and the next formal review will take place by 1 October.

The Government continues to explore expanding our approach of opening up to other countries, where it is safe to do so and will work with international partners as we progress towards a safe, sustainable and robust return to international travel.

The government keeps all measures under the review and the next formal review will take place by 1 October.

At the G7 in Carbis Bay, the Prime Minister and President Biden made clear the importance of bringing about the return of safe trans-Atlantic travel as soon as possible.

The UK/US Experts Working Group (EWG) has ambitious objectives and has established a productive dialogue. It will continue to meet regularly to develop meaningful options to ensure the return of safe and sustainable international travel.

The reopening of transatlantic travel to vaccinated US passengers reflects the impact of the US-UK EWG’s extensive activity to work through the detail of our respective inbound systems and provide the platform to kickstart the economy as we recover from the pandemic.

Current legislation provides local authorities with the means to tackle abuse of the Blue Badge scheme locally, such as the power to retain and cancel badges found to be stolen. The Department for Transport continues to work closely with local authorities aiming to improve the consistency of local enforcement to tackle fraud and misuse of the Blue Badge Scheme by acting swiftly and sharing best practice. The Department keeps the Blue Badge scheme under review and is always looking to identify potential ways to develop and improve the scheme over time to make it better for the user.

Some local authorities also offer Blue Badge holders living and working in their area the option to apply for a local disabled driver parking permit, meaning the Blue Badge is not on display while the motorist is parked in their local area.

At present, a Blue Badge can be used in any vehicle in which the badge holder is travelling and must only be displayed where the parking concessions are being used or while the badge holder is travelling in the vehicle, ensuring that enforcement officers can carry out their duties. This is a requirement of the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000.

Current legislation provides local authorities with the means to tackle abuse of the Blue Badge scheme locally, such as the power to retain and cancel badges found to be stolen. The Department for Transport continues to work closely with local authorities aiming to improve the consistency of local enforcement to tackle fraud and misuse of the Blue Badge Scheme by acting swiftly and sharing best practice. The Department keeps the Blue Badge scheme under review and is always looking to identify potential ways to develop and improve the scheme over time to make it better for the user.

Some local authorities also offer Blue Badge holders living and working in their area the option to apply for a local disabled driver parking permit, meaning the Blue Badge is not on display while the motorist is parked in their local area.

At present, a Blue Badge can be used in any vehicle in which the badge holder is travelling and must only be displayed where the parking concessions are being used or while the badge holder is travelling in the vehicle, ensuring that enforcement officers can carry out their duties. This is a requirement of the Disabled Persons (Badges for Motor Vehicles) (England) Regulations 2000.

We are working with the travel industry and private testing providers to see how we can further reduce costs for the British public while ensuring travel is as safe as possible. We are considering a range of options including cheaper tests being used when passengers return home. The price of tests has reduced significantly in recent weeks, with some providers offering testing packages for green arrivals starting at £43.

The government introduced a travel ban for Madeira, along with mainland Portugal and the Azores, on 15 January 2021 and since 15 February individuals who have been in Madeira in the 10 days before they arrive in the UK must quarantine in a government approved hotel.

The decision to introduce additional measures for arrivals who have been in Madeira and other countries on the red list in the 10 days before they arrive in the UK, is in direct response to scientific and medical data, which represents an increased risk to UK public health and an increased risk of community transmission of the new COVID-19 variants identified in other countries.

The government has made it consistently clear that it will take decisive action to contain the virus, including imposing travel bans if the public health risk of people returning from a particular country without self-isolating becomes too high.

On 16 December 2020 the Supreme Court overturned the earlier Court of Appeal decision and declared that the Airports National Policy Statement is lawful. We are carefully considering the Court’s judgment.

The Government have always been clear that Heathrow expansion is a private sector project which must meet strict criteria on air quality, noise and climate change, as well as being privately financed, affordable, and delivered in the best interest of consumers.

The Government has agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.

As part of this deal, by 11 January 2021 TfL will produce a single, comprehensive management plan with options as to how a trajectory to financial sustainability by 2023 can be achieved, including their contribution to capital projects within London. As transport in London is devolved, it is for the Mayor and TfL to assess the merits of capital projects in which they wish to invest, and their capacity to deliver such projects.

The Government has agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.

As part of this deal, by 11 January 2021 TfL will produce a single, comprehensive management plan with options as to how a trajectory to financial sustainability by 2023 can be achieved, including their contribution to capital projects within London. As transport in London is devolved, it is for the Mayor and TfL to assess the merits of capital projects in which they wish to invest, and their capacity to deliver such projects.

In a number of local areas across the country, trials of rental e-scooters are underway. They will run for 12 months and the results will be closely scrutinised to inform future policy. In all trial areas, e-scooter rental operators provide digital training to users as well as in person training at events. E-scooter operators use geofencing technology to limit the speeds e-scooters can reach and the areas they can operate in. They also incentivise considerate parking of vehicles, for example, by rewarding users who utilise parking bay zones. In order to register to use a trial e-scooter, a form of driver licence is required, therefore, no one under 16 years of age is legally able to use a rental e-scooter.

The Government has agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.

As part of this deal, the Mayor has chosen to make £160 million in savings over the next 6 months to move TfL onto a more financially sustainable footing.

Matters relating to the Mayor’s plans for housing development in London are devolved and subject to local planning consents.

The Government has agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.

As part of this deal, the Mayor has chosen to make £160 million in savings over the next 6 months to move TfL onto a more financially sustainable footing.

Matters relating to the Mayor’s plans for housing development in London are devolved and subject to local planning consents.

Matters relating to the Mayor’s plans for housing development in London are devolved and subject to local planning consents.

The Government has agreed a further extraordinary funding and financing package for TfL of up to £1.7bn to ensure the continuation of public transport services in London.

Matters relating to the Mayor’s plans for housing development in London are devolved and subject to local planning consents.

We are currently in discussions with Transport for London and the Mayor on a further extraordinary funding agreement. The Mayor has many choices to make to balance the books of Transport for London over the long term. When he has made those choices, they will become conditions attached to support from the UK taxpayer. It would be inappropriate to disclose any further details while those discussions are ongoing.

In May the Government agreed a £1.6 billion funding and financing package for Transport for London to enable them to continue operating essential services. Matters relating to the Mayor’s plans for housing development in London are devolved and subject to local planning consents.

My Rt Hon Friend, the Secretary of State, and I have regular meetings with the Chair and Chief Executive of the Office of Rail and Road to discuss a wide range of issues, but we have not recently discussed the provision of car parking at stations.

The Government has regular discussions with countries on a range of issues.

Our approach to travel corridors has been guided by the science and we have worked closely with health and policy experts from across government to ensure the steps we are taking will minimise the risk of importing COVID-19 cases, while helping to open our travel and tourism sector.

Although Bulgaria was not included in the travel corridors announced on 3 July, the Health Regulations relating to the self-isolation requirements remain under constant review. The next formal review will be on 27 July 2020.

The Government has regular discussions with countries on a range of issues.

Our approach to travel corridors has been guided by the science and we have worked closely with health and policy experts from across government to ensure the steps we are taking will minimise the risk of importing COVID-19 cases, while helping to open our travel and tourism sector.

Although Singapore was not included in the travel corridors announced on 3 July, the Health Regulations relating to the self-isolation requirements remain under constant review. The next formal review will be on 27 July 2020.

The Williams Rail Review is funded from the Department for Transport’s existing budget. Neither Keith Williams nor the members of the Expert Challenge Panel are being paid.

The Department remains committed to delivering wholescale reform of the rail sector to put the priorities of passengers first.

The Williams Rail Review was in the final stages of drafting at the outbreak of COVID-19. The Government views the purpose of the reforms as important as ever, but further work needs to be done now to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. We are progressing with this work.

The Department remains committed to delivering wholescale reform of the rail industry to put the priorities of passengers first.

The Williams Rail Review was in the final stages of drafting at the outbreak of COVID-19. The Government views the purpose of the reforms as important as ever, but further work needs to be done now to reflect the impact of COVID-19 on the sector. We are progressing with this work.

On Wednesday 3 June, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport and the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, co-chaired a roundtable with the Local Government Association, London Councils, parking operators and other associations and organisations with an interest in parking and active travel. This was to encourage the parking sector to develop schemes that would enable commuters to park their cars and then cycle or walk the last part of their journey into town centres, easing the pressure on public transport. Department officials have worked closely with the LGA, London Councils and the British Parking Association throughout the Covid-19 emergency.

The Department’s guidance issued on 12 May refers to “Private cars and other vehicles” as an alternative to using public transport, and encourages the public to “consider all other forms of transport before using public transport”. This would include private vehicles such as motorcycles and mopeds where the journey to be made is appropriate.

In response to COVID-19, we are accelerating and expanding planned trials of rental e-scooters, allowing all areas that want to host trials to do so. We will introduce legislation in June to allow trials to begin.

Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport meet regularly with the Mayor’s office to discuss a range of matters relating to transport in London. The Government considers active travel to be key in allowing people to return to work in safety and I look forward to seeing the Mayor’s plans develop in this area.

Airlines and airports have implemented additional measures in response to COVID-19 in line with advice from PHE, SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer. Airports are displaying posters and digital signage relaying Government information about COVID-19. Passengers arriving into UK airports are being given a leaflet with information about the measures in place in the UK, and announcements are made on aircraft an hour before landing.

Targeted screening measures were carried out at UK airports for inbound passengers during the containment phase of the pandemic when the aim was to prevent the virus coming in to the UK.

Whilst there is community transmission within the UK, the role played by imported cases is less significant and so our focus in the current delay phase has not been on screening measures at the border.

As you would expect our approach is being kept under review as the pandemic develops. This may mean that measures and procedures change as we control the spread of, and understand more about, the virus. Any changes to our approach will be led by advice from SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer. Protecting the health of the UK public will always come first.

In responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is working to a scientifically-led, step-by-step action plan, focusing on taking the right measures at the right time.

Whilst there is community transmission within the UK, the role played by imported cases is less significant and so our focus in the current delay phase has not been on screening measures at the border. Additionally, it is vital that flights are still able to land in the UK in order to allow Britons who have been stranded abroad as a result of the pandemic to return home, and to allow key supplies to continue moving into and around the UK.

Airlines and airports have already implemented additional measures in response to COVID-19 in line with advice from PHE, SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer. Airports are displaying posters and digital signage relaying Government information about COVID-19. Passengers arriving into UK airports are being given a leaflet with information about the measures in place in the UK, and announcements are made on aircraft an hour before landing.

Government will keep this process under review as the pandemic develops. This may mean that measures and procedures change as we control the spread of, and understand more about, the virus. Any changes to our approach will be led by advice from SAGE and the Chief Medical Officer. Protecting the health of the UK public will always come first.

The Government has provided the following amounts to help reduce emissions from transport in London since 2011:

TfL also received £5.7bn over the period 2016 to 2021 for general transport funding, which included funding to cover the implementation of measures to address air quality.

The Government has provided the following amounts to Transport for London (TfL) to help reduce emissions from buses over the last 10 years: