Tim Loughton

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.

This issue cuts across multiple departmental responsibilities, as is the case for many complex concerns, and therefore engages various Ministers including in DfE, DHSC and DWP.

Details of Ministerial responsibilities can be found on GOV.UK.

The previous Leader of the House, Andrea Leadsom, laid out the recommendations of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Early Years on 16 July 2019. This Government is fully committed to supporting working families, and their children. Relevant Secretaries of State will take into account the work of the Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Early Years as the government moves forward with this agenda.

The National Academies, including the British Academy, are an integral part of the UK’s R&D landscape and provide an important contribution to securing the UK’s status as a global science superpower. In 2018 a grant of £14m was provided to the British Academy to support the extension of the lease on their premises. This also enabled a private donation of £10m, which was conditional on the capital investment. The funding secured the Academy’s long-term future in Carlton House Terrace, close to the other National Academies, providing an intellectual and cultural hub of world-leading knowledge and expertise. In line with usual practice, the government does not publish detailed commercial terms and conditions of grant agreements with individual organisations.

The following table provides a list of heritage assets recorded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, alongside valuation and income data where available:

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is advised on the management of designated heritage assets in its portfolio by Historic England’s Government Historic Estate Unit. Further details can be found here:

https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/our-planning-services/advice-for-government-historic-estates/.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy does not collect or collate data on the value or income data for these assets.

The Government appreciates the great work of the UK’s many great Learned Societies, including those located at Burlington House. They have made vast contributions to their respective fields over their long histories, and are vital to the networking, visibility, and overall health of the disciplines they represent.

We recognise the proposed rent increases do introduce a challenge to their current level of operations. Learned Societies are independent of government and will be best placed to make decisions on how they can best move forward and adapt to changing circumstances. We hope they will continue to make the contributions that they do to STEM skills, Scientific Research, and International Collaboration. I am aware that the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, along with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, are exploring whether there is a solution that can deliver value for taxpayers and help the Learned Societies to remain at New Burlington House.

The Government has provided extensive guidance for businesses and employers on how to conduct a Covid-19 risk assessment and the steps that should be taken to make the working environment Covid-secure for employees or volunteers that cannot work from home.

Under existing health and safety laws, employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and other people who might be affected by their business. Employers must do whatever is reasonably practicable to achieve this.

If workers think their employer is exposing them to risks or is not carrying out their legal duties with regards to health and safety, they can report this to their local authority or the Health and Safety Executive who can take a range of actions.

‘Heritage asset’ is a broad term used in planning policy. The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for the statutory heritage protection system, including the designation of Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments and Protected Wreck Sites. Details of these assets can be found online in the National Heritage List for England, hosted by Historic England on behalf of the Secretary of State.

The circa 400,000 Listed Buildings, Scheduled Monuments and Protected Wreck Sites in England or UK territorial waters adjacent to England have intrinsic value to our cultural heritage. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) does not collect or collate data on the value (property value) or income data for these sites.

DCMS and its arms length bodies produce data on the economic impact of the heritage sector; this is published within DCMS Sectors Economic Estimates and Historic England's Heritage Economic Estimate Indicators. DCMS’s Culture and Heritage Capital Programme is looking to develop broader measures of value for heritage assets.

Following a grant competition in March 2021, the UK Youth Parliament grant for 2021/22 was awarded to the British Youth Council. This decision was communicated to the British Youth Council on 6 April 2021, and the total grant budget allocated by DCMS was £233,300.

The Government monitors vessel movements in relation to selected heritage assets in the UK Marine Area if there is good reason for doing so. In addition, Historic England - Government's statutory adviser on the historic environment - maintains a National Record of the Historic Environment. Through the implementation of its Heritage Information Access Strategy, Historic England is in the process of building on this by creating a National Marine Heritage Record that will collate details of heritage assets located in the region between Mean High Water and the 200 nautical mile sea limit.

No such formal assessment has been made, however the advice provided over a number of years by the marine archaeology community, generally and in relation to specific wreck sites, has been invaluable to decision making and understanding these sites. There are no plans at this time to meet with representatives of the marine archaeology community.

The Department has no current plans. Her Majesty The Queen surrenders the revenue from The Crown Estate (which she owns as reigning Monarch) to the Government. As a result, over the last ten years, The Crown Estate has returned a total of £2.9 billion to the Exchequer. The Crown Estate revenues are not hypothecated and have been invested in vital public services such as the NHS, transport, schools and defence, which benefit the UK as a whole.

Under customary international law, naval warships, state vessels, aircraft and associated artefacts enjoy protection through Sovereign Immunity wherever in the world they lie. This means that they are not subject to the jurisdiction of any other State. Sovereign Immune vessels cannot have salvage services conferred upon them without the consent of the Flag State. The UK is of the view that Sovereign Immune wrecks should be left in situ and undisturbed.

Where applicable, some wrecks are afforded additional protection through the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986

In order to sustain these particular wrecks, the Government is monitoring all three sites.

The policies relating to heritage assets that are set out in the UK Marine Policy Statement apply equally to those located in UK Territorial Waters and those located beyond UK Territorial Waters but within the UK Marine Area. These policies inform delivery of the Marine Management Organisation’s responsibilities - including the development of Marine Plans and the determination of applications for marine licences. The Marine Management Organisation routinely consults Historic England.

I indicated to my honourable friend in my response to his letter of 8th February that my officials have discussed the Galloper wreck site with their counterparts at the Ministry of Defence and Historic England. Consequently, the Government is monitoring the site and understands that vessel traffic monitoring occurs as part of conventional site security.

I am also content that steps have been taken to facilitate management of the site through the action taken by Galloper Wind Farm Ltd to engage with other maritime authorities - including the Royal Navy, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Management Organisation.

Though Historic England has no remit to impose requirements on future development proposals relating to the Galloper wreck site, the Marine Management Organisation routinely consults it on applications for marine licences. DCMS are not routinely part of such discussions, however Historic England do provide information and advice on request.

Regarding the guidance published by DCMS and the Ministry of Defence in 2014 on how existing policies and legislation apply to historic military wreck sites (‘Protection and Management of Historic Military Wrecks outside UK Territorial Waters’), I can confirm that this remains in place. I can also confirm that DCMS would give due consideration to any proposals by developers or other parties to undertake detailed investigations of the Galloper site. However, Government funding to undertake these investigations would need to be considered alongside other priorities.

I indicated to my honourable friend in my response to his letter of 8th February that my officials have discussed the Galloper wreck site with their counterparts at the Ministry of Defence and Historic England. Consequently, the Government is monitoring the site and understands that vessel traffic monitoring occurs as part of conventional site security.

I am also content that steps have been taken to facilitate management of the site through the action taken by Galloper Wind Farm Ltd to engage with other maritime authorities - including the Royal Navy, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Management Organisation.

Though Historic England has no remit to impose requirements on future development proposals relating to the Galloper wreck site, the Marine Management Organisation routinely consults it on applications for marine licences. DCMS are not routinely part of such discussions, however Historic England do provide information and advice on request.

Regarding the guidance published by DCMS and the Ministry of Defence in 2014 on how existing policies and legislation apply to historic military wreck sites (‘Protection and Management of Historic Military Wrecks outside UK Territorial Waters’), I can confirm that this remains in place. I can also confirm that DCMS would give due consideration to any proposals by developers or other parties to undertake detailed investigations of the Galloper site. However, Government funding to undertake these investigations would need to be considered alongside other priorities.

I indicated to my honourable friend in my response to his letter of 8th February that my officials have discussed the Galloper wreck site with their counterparts at the Ministry of Defence and Historic England. Consequently, the Government is monitoring the site and understands that vessel traffic monitoring occurs as part of conventional site security.

I am also content that steps have been taken to facilitate management of the site through the action taken by Galloper Wind Farm Ltd to engage with other maritime authorities - including the Royal Navy, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Management Organisation.

Though Historic England has no remit to impose requirements on future development proposals relating to the Galloper wreck site, the Marine Management Organisation routinely consults it on applications for marine licences. DCMS are not routinely part of such discussions, however Historic England do provide information and advice on request.

Regarding the guidance published by DCMS and the Ministry of Defence in 2014 on how existing policies and legislation apply to historic military wreck sites (‘Protection and Management of Historic Military Wrecks outside UK Territorial Waters’), I can confirm that this remains in place. I can also confirm that DCMS would give due consideration to any proposals by developers or other parties to undertake detailed investigations of the Galloper site. However, Government funding to undertake these investigations would need to be considered alongside other priorities.

I indicated to my honourable friend in my response to his letter of 8th February that my officials have discussed the Galloper wreck site with their counterparts at the Ministry of Defence and Historic England. Consequently, the Government is monitoring the site and understands that vessel traffic monitoring occurs as part of conventional site security.

I am also content that steps have been taken to facilitate management of the site through the action taken by Galloper Wind Farm Ltd to engage with other maritime authorities - including the Royal Navy, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Marine Management Organisation.

Though Historic England has no remit to impose requirements on future development proposals relating to the Galloper wreck site, the Marine Management Organisation routinely consults it on applications for marine licences. DCMS are not routinely part of such discussions, however Historic England do provide information and advice on request.

Regarding the guidance published by DCMS and the Ministry of Defence in 2014 on how existing policies and legislation apply to historic military wreck sites (‘Protection and Management of Historic Military Wrecks outside UK Territorial Waters’), I can confirm that this remains in place. I can also confirm that DCMS would give due consideration to any proposals by developers or other parties to undertake detailed investigations of the Galloper site. However, Government funding to undertake these investigations would need to be considered alongside other priorities.

The British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) age ratings are currently used by a number of video on demand providers and, although adoption is voluntary, we welcome their use. We were particularly pleased to see Netflix announce on 1 December 2020 that they have become the first platform to achieve complete coverage of their content under the BBFC’s ratings. We will continue to engage with industry to encourage platforms to use age ratings, and will keep the evidence for legislation in this area under review.

The video sharing platform regime, for which Ofcom is the regulator, came into force on 1 November 2020. UK-established video sharing platforms must now take appropriate measures to protect the public, including minors, from illegal and harmful material. Video sharing platforms are not currently mandated to adopt BBFC ratings, nor is it expected that they will be mandated to do so under Ofcom’s regulatory regime for video sharing platforms. In order to comply with the video sharing platform regime, age assurance measures may be adopted by video sharing platforms along with other measures such as age ratings and parental controls. Age assurance measures comprise a broad range of technical measures which can be used by a service to establish the age of their users. Under the video sharing platform regime, services must take into account freedom of expression and should consider what measures are most appropriate and proportionate prior to introducing them.

Ofcom and the BBFC have a strong collaborative relationship when working on audience protection issues. The BBFC is engaging actively with both Ofcom and video sharing platforms to share their expertise on emerging technologies and the applicability of content ratings.

Protecting children is at the heart of our online harms agenda, and wider government priorities. Where sites host user-generated content or facilitate online user interaction such as video and image sharing, commenting and live streaming, then that content will be subject to the new duty of care. The government is working at pace to prepare online safety legislation, which will be ready this year.

Old Royal Naval College (formally called The Greenwich Foundation for the Old Royal Naval College) was established as a charity to conserve the Baroque buildings and grounds for present and future generations and to provide opportunities for wide and diverse audiences to enjoy and share its significance.

The Dame Jennifer Jenkins Report, completed in 1996, was the main assessment undertaken when the Royal Navy had vacated the site and discussions about its future took place. This report considered the public value benefit of transforming the site into a commercial space that allows visitors to experience and enjoy the historic assets located on the site, such as the Painted Hall and Chapel. The report concluded that the creation of a Trust to manage the site would bring considerable scope to enhance public enjoyment and understanding of the site, as well as the opportunity to generate independent commercial income which would be used for the benefit of the site.

Government recognises the value of Learned Societies and the cultural and heritage contributions of their collections which are housed at New Burlington House.

Government is working with the Learned Societies to enable them to remain at the site. The current rent agreement was put in place following a legal decision by the High Court in 2005 and subsequent arbitration in 2015. The Learned Societies agreed to the current rent agreements which allow them to pay discounted rents over the next 80 years.

Both DCMS and MHCLG understand the societies’ position and are working closely together to explore whether there is a solution that can deliver public value and help the Society to remain in situ at New Burlington House

The notebook which contains “In Excelsis” was issued by the Governor of Wormwood Scrubs prison to Lord Alfred Douglas while he was in custody there in 1924. As such the notebook was then, and is now, property of the Crown. As a Public Record in line with the provisions of the Public Records Act 1958, it is permanently preserved as a public record at The National Archives and it would not be appropriate to de-accession it.

The original text of ‘In Excelsis’ by Lord Alfred Douglas (file reference EXT 11/75) has been available to the general public for viewing under supervision at The National Archives since 27 November 1997.

The National Archives’ reading room service is currently suspended, in line with the new national restrictions in England, although it continues to provide access to its collections and a range of services online.

Guidance for both individual metal detectorists and organisers of events operating during the covid-19 lockdown was published on the gov.uk page Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 on 9 July 2020. The guidance points organisers to directions on operating inside and outside events and also advises organisers and finders what to do if they discover a new archaeological site. The page also directs finders and organisers to the National Council for Metal Detecting guidance on best practice when detecting.

Rallies and club events are legally permitted and take place on private property with the landowner’s consent, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not currently monitor or record activities at these events.

Responsibility for reporting possible treasure finds and arranging for an export licence lies with the finder and owner of the cultural object. Guidance on reporting treasure and applying for an export licence during the present situation is included on the gov.uk pages Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 and Export art, antiques and cultural goods: special rules. Anyone not reporting a potential treasure find or not obtaining an export licence where necessary can be subject to legal sanctions.

Guidance for both individual metal detectorists and organisers of events operating during the covid-19 lockdown was published on the gov.uk page Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 on 9 July 2020. The guidance points organisers to directions on operating inside and outside events and also advises organisers and finders what to do if they discover a new archaeological site. The page also directs finders and organisers to the National Council for Metal Detecting guidance on best practice when detecting.

Rallies and club events are legally permitted and take place on private property with the landowner’s consent, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not currently monitor or record activities at these events.

Responsibility for reporting possible treasure finds and arranging for an export licence lies with the finder and owner of the cultural object. Guidance on reporting treasure and applying for an export licence during the present situation is included on the gov.uk pages Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 and Export art, antiques and cultural goods: special rules. Anyone not reporting a potential treasure find or not obtaining an export licence where necessary can be subject to legal sanctions.

Guidance for both individual metal detectorists and organisers of events operating during the covid-19 lockdown was published on the gov.uk page Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 on 9 July 2020. The guidance points organisers to directions on operating inside and outside events and also advises organisers and finders what to do if they discover a new archaeological site. The page also directs finders and organisers to the National Council for Metal Detecting guidance on best practice when detecting.

Rallies and club events are legally permitted and take place on private property with the landowner’s consent, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not currently monitor or record activities at these events.

Responsibility for reporting possible treasure finds and arranging for an export licence lies with the finder and owner of the cultural object. Guidance on reporting treasure and applying for an export licence during the present situation is included on the gov.uk pages Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 and Export art, antiques and cultural goods: special rules. Anyone not reporting a potential treasure find or not obtaining an export licence where necessary can be subject to legal sanctions.

Guidance for both individual metal detectorists and organisers of events operating during the covid-19 lockdown was published on the gov.uk page Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 on 9 July 2020. The guidance points organisers to directions on operating inside and outside events and also advises organisers and finders what to do if they discover a new archaeological site. The page also directs finders and organisers to the National Council for Metal Detecting guidance on best practice when detecting.

Rallies and club events are legally permitted and take place on private property with the landowner’s consent, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport does not currently monitor or record activities at these events.

Responsibility for reporting possible treasure finds and arranging for an export licence lies with the finder and owner of the cultural object. Guidance on reporting treasure and applying for an export licence during the present situation is included on the gov.uk pages Guidance on searching for archaeological finds in England during COVID-19 and Export art, antiques and cultural goods: special rules. Anyone not reporting a potential treasure find or not obtaining an export licence where necessary can be subject to legal sanctions.

By April 2020, an estimated 64.6 full-time equivalent youth workers contracted by the NCS network have been furloughed. This figure is based on self-reported data from NCS Providers to the NCS Trust.

The Department is working closely with the NCS Trust, the Government Arms’ Length Body commissioned to deliver the programme, to develop an alternative offer for this summer. The details of the alternative summer programme, and its financial implications, are being developed at pace between DCMS,the NCS Trust and their supplier network.

The table below shows the funding provided by Government to the National Citizen Service since the programme started in 2011. Please note that the NCS programme was sponsored by the Cabinet Office from inception until 2016/17.

As per the Main Estimates the total funding envelope for NCS Trust in 2020/21 (including depreciation) is £177.8m. A delegated budget to the NCS Trust will be agreed following a review of funding requirements for the 2020 Summer programme.

The spend per participant was £1,764 for financial year 2018/19, as noted in the 2018/19 NCS Annual Report. The 2019/2020 NCS Annual Report will include a best estimate unit cost and will be published in Q4 2020. The 2020/2021 Annual Report will be published after the end of the financial year.

The most recent publicly available figure from the NCS 2016 evaluation report show that for every £1 of taxpayer money spent on the 2016 summer programme, £1.79 is provided back to society by the NCS programme in terms of the economic benefit. For the 2016 Autumn programme for every £1 spend, £2.21 is provided back in terms of the economic benefits. The economic benefits relate to the identified impact the NCS programme has in respect to volunteering and leadership.

The NCS Trust is the Royal Chartered Arms-Length Body overseeing and implementing the programme, in line with the NCS Act 2017. The NCS Trust’s budget is reviewed and approved by DCMS on an annual basis in line with Managing Public Money standards. The National Audit Office audits the NCS Trust’s accounts each year.

Earlier this month we were made aware of an unacceptable exit package proposed for the outgoing NCS Chief Executive.

We have taken swift action on this issue, and are investigating wider issues around governance. We have made clear that every element of the outgoing Chief Executive’s departure must comply with HM Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money.

A new CEO has joined the NCS Trust this week and we are clear that we expect the organisation going forward to be completely focussed on helping level up the country with strong opportunities for young people from all backgrounds.

Our 15 national museums hold world-class collections in trust for the nation that are seen in their global context by over 40 million visitors each year. Decisions relating to museum collections are a matter for the trustees of each museum, who operate independently of government. UK law prevents some national museums from removing items from their collections. The two exceptions to this are human remains, under 1000 years old, and cultural property spoliated during the Nazi era.

We are committed to supporting our museums in dealing confidently with all aspects of restitution. Our national development agency for museums, Arts Council England, which is sponsored by my department, is currently working to refresh existing sector guidelines on restitution for UK museums.

In July 2019 my department commenced a review of the statutory guidance which sets out the statutory duty placed on Local Authorities to provide local youth services. Since July 2019 officials have held roundtables with the youth sector, consultations with young people, and ran a public call for evidence, which closed in December 2019. DCMS officials are currently reviewing responses to inform the next stage of the review.

This government has announced it will be investing £500 million over five years through the Youth Investment Fund to increase the availability of youth services. The fund will be used to build new youth centres across the country, refurbish existing youth facilities, provide mobile facilities for harder to reach areas, and invest in the youth work profession and frontline services. Government is also funding up to £7 million through the Youth Accelerator Fund that will expand existing successful projects delivering positive activities, and address urgent needs in the youth sector by delivering extra sessions in youth clubs.

The £300 million investment announced by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, will transform services for parents, carers, babies and children in half of council areas across England.

This package of support will provide funding for: the creation of a network of family hubs (£82 million), selected local authorities to co-design their Start for Life offer with parents and carers and publish it in an accessible format (£10 million), infant and perinatal mental health support (£100 million), breastfeeding support (£50 million) and parenting programmes (£50 million) in 75 areas. Trials of innovative workforce models for health visitors will also be funded in a smaller number of council areas to test approaches to improve the support available to new parents.

The Budget set out the 2024-25 financial year profile as follows: £18 million to create a network of family hubs to improve access to services for families; £20 million for parenting support; and £66 million for the Start for Life offer for families, including breastfeeding advice and parent-infant mental health support. The Budget is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-budget-and-spending-review-2021-documents. Further information on funding profiles will be published in due course.

The Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will work together to deliver this. The Department for Education will oversee the family hubs and parenting programmes, with DHSC overseeing the other components of the package.

We will set out more detail in due course on how this funding will be allocated.

The government has announced a £300 million package to transform services for parents and babies, carers and children in half of local authorities in England, helping to deliver our levelling up ambitions. £50 million will be available for parenting support. The department will set out more detail in due course, including on which parenting programmes will be available in the selected local authorities.

The contents of the Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements of Stonewall are a matter for the Trustees of Stonewall and its appointed auditors.

At present, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has no plans to expand the future use of Social Outcome Partnerships/Social Impact Bonds within the context of children who are Looked After.

The department has previously engaged with the model in 2018, as part of the government’s commitment to supporting care leavers to live independent lives. The department has commissioned three projects, as part of the Care Leavers Social Impact Bond programme, to deliver support to care leavers, aged 16-25. These projects are yet to receive a full evaluation.

In May 2021 a summary report was published by the department, which documents current experience with Social Outcome Partnerships/Social Impact Bonds: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1003308/CSC_Summary_report_20210629_TH.pdf.

At present, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has no plans to expand the future use of Social Outcome Partnerships/Social Impact Bonds within the context of children who are Looked After.

The department has previously engaged with the model in 2018, as part of the government’s commitment to supporting care leavers to live independent lives. The department has commissioned three projects, as part of the Care Leavers Social Impact Bond programme, to deliver support to care leavers, aged 16-25. These projects are yet to receive a full evaluation.

In May 2021 a summary report was published by the department, which documents current experience with Social Outcome Partnerships/Social Impact Bonds: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1003308/CSC_Summary_report_20210629_TH.pdf.

Please find attached an Excel file summarising payments that the Department for Education has made to Stonewall. The data has been provided on a financial year basis and covers 2017-18 through to 2020-21. The majority of the spend incurred was not by the Department for Education, but instead the Government Equalities Office.

Expenditure data for the 2016-17 financial year is subject to an ongoing data migration process from a previous service provider and is therefore not accessible at this time.

The Department for Education has an internal five year Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to create a department where everyone is able to bring their whole self to work and where honesty, challenge and innovation are encouraged and valued. By forming these relationships and spending, the department is helping to create an environment where all staff, regardless of their protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 (including but not limited to sexual orientation or gender identity), are supported and do not face discrimination, and supports the department to fulfil its requirements under the Public Sector Equality Duty.

The Department does not have properties classified as heritage assets.

The department does not hold information on the number of all children in England who are adopted. However, we hold information on children who have been adopted from care.

The latest information on children looked after in England is contained in the ‘Children looked after in England’ statistical release, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.

Figures for the numbers of children looked after who were adopted are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/bc87ab18-fc58-4c83-a12b-f65dbedbba9b.

Nothing is more important than the safety of children, which is why private tutors are already eligible to receive basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates, which parents and carers should ask to see to assure themselves of a tutor’s suitability. In addition to asking to see a private tutor’s basic DBS certificate, parents and carers might also consider what other information may be available to help them assess a tutor’s suitability to work with their children. It is recommended that parents confirm a tutor’s identity. Testimonials from parents and/or pupils themselves will help provide reassurance about the tutor’s teaching ability and about the way in which they interact with the pupil.

Parents and carers should also look to ensure that the home tutoring takes place in a room in the home that allows the parent access to enable them to supervise.

The Government is exploring ways to allow self employed people, including tutors, to access enhanced criminal records checks.

On 21 October 2020, the Department published ‘Keeping children safe during community activities, after-school clubs and tuition: non-statutory guidance for providers running out-of-school settings’. This guidance is for organisations or individuals who provide community activities, tuition or after school clubs for children, also known as out of school settings (OOSS) providers, as well as their staff and volunteers.

The guidance aims to help providers of OOSS understand best practice for creating a safe environment for children in their care and give parents and carers confidence that their child is in a safe activity or teaching environment. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-out-of-school-settings-code-of-practice.

Alongside this, the Department has also published accompanying guidance for parents and carers to help support them when choosing OOSS providers for their children, including positive signs and red flags to look out for. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-parents-and-carers-on-safeguarding-children-in-out-of-school-settings.

Schools are advised against all educational visits at this time. The Department is working on advice for schools on the planning and booking of residential trips when it is safe to do so and in line with the Government’s roadmap to recovery, as set out in: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021. The advice will be published shortly.

I can confirm that a response has been sent to my hon. Friend, the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham.

Funding for the Adoption Support Fund will be continuing for the next financial year of 2021-22.

Our national voucher scheme launched on 31 March. Edenred, the supplier, has reported that over £380 million worth of voucher codes had been redeemed into supermarket eGift cards by families, as of 19 August, and over 20,350 schools had placed orders for the scheme as of 28 July. This covers both term time and holiday provision. Schools also had the option to order via local voucher schemes and claim costs back through the exceptional costs fund. The free school meal (FSM) voucher scheme has now closed. Schools and their kitchens are open, so normal FSM provision has resumed, enabling children to have a nutritious healthy meal at school. We do not hold data relating to the value of vouchers that have not been redeemed and such a figure would still be subject to change. The expiry date on an eGift card varies depending on the retailer (the shortest term being 12 months).

The Residential Care Leadership Board is no longer being convened because the board’s remit of responding to recommendations made in Sir Martin Narey’s 2016 Review of Residential Children’s Care, has been successfully completed. The department is taking steps to ensure that we draw on sectoral expertise through a range of different forums to address current issues affecting the sector, not least in our response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government has committed to undertaking a bold, broad and independently led care review. This will launch as soon as possible and will support improvements in the children’s social care system.

The department does not hold information on the number of all children in England who are adopted.

The latest figures on the number of children in England who have been adopted from care are published in table H1 of the statistical release, entitled ’National tables: Children Looked after in England including adoptions 2018-19’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019. Figures for the reporting year ending 31 March 2020 will be published later this year.

The department does not collect information on adoptions that were disrupted. National figures on numbers of children who started to be looked after, and who had a previous permanence arrangement, including adoption orders, are available in table C1 of the above release. However, these figures were collected for the first time in 2014 and should be treated with caution. The information is based on self-declaration and, for several children, the previous permanence arrangement is not known.

The department assess and address barriers to increasing adoption numbers on a regular basis. One barrier has been in recruiting the right adopters for the children waiting. To address this, the government is investing £1 million in adopter recruitment during the 2020-21 financial year, with a focus on generating an increase in people of all backgrounds coming forward to adopt children who wait the longest. This includes funding the cross-sector national recruitment campaign, #YouCanAdopt. Launched in September 2020, a key aspect of this campaign is its inclusivity. It aims to break down perceived barriers to adoption, encouraging more adopters of diverse backgrounds to step forward.

The COVID-19 outbreak has introduced new challenges for adoption. Early in the outbreak, we introduced regulatory flexibilities to ensure adoption processes could continue despite the lockdown restrictions and some of these changes remain in place. For example, this includes the flexibility relating to health assessments for prospective adopters. This allows agencies to proceed to stage 2 of the assessment process without a health check, as long as those checks are completed before the end of that stage. Where new challenges have arisen with the announcement of a second lockdown, further regulatory changes have been introduced. This includes exemptions to allow adoption introductions to continue during the new lockdown, alleviating delays for children moving to their new loving homes.

The COVID-19 outbreak has also introduced barriers in progressing adoption cases through the courts. However, adoption is included in the list of priorities for the courts, which have been encouraged to make use of hybrid courts (a combination of virtual and physical hearings) to progress cases where possible. The department continues to work closely with the Ministry of Justice, the judiciary, The Association of Directors for Children’s Services and Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service on these issues.

We know that some prospective adopters have concerns about what support will be available to them. The core Adoption Support Fund (ASF) has provided £177 million since 2015 to help pay for essential therapeutic services for over 62,000 adoptive and eligible special guardianship families. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Adoption and Permanence published a report in July 2019, and our own independent evaluations of the Fund have concluded that the ASF was having a positive transformative effect on the lives of children and families.

Higher education establishments are independent, autonomous organisations and the government does not collect data of this sort. A number of UK higher education providers host and publicise their Confucius Institutes and are responsible for ensuring their partnerships are managed appropriately with the right due diligence in place.

The government does not collect data on which education establishments host a Confucius institute.

The Department has always been clear that the reception baseline assessment (RBA) is not a diagnostic assessment and should not be used to track or group individual children or hold early years settings to account. Data gathered from the assessment will only be used to create a baseline for school-level progress measures and will not be shared with schools, teachers, or parents. However, teachers will receive a series of short, narrative statements on how each child did at that time, which can be used to inform teaching.

The latest data on the attendance of children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in educational establishments since 23 March was published on Tuesday 9 June and covers data up to Thursday 4 June. The data is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings.

The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published figures include estimates for non-response.

An estimate of the number of children with EHC plans who have a parent designated as a critical worker has not been made.

The latest data on the attendance of children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in educational establishments since 23 March was published on Tuesday 9 June and covers data up to Thursday 4 June. The data is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings.

The data is collected from individual education establishments and the published figures include estimates for non-response.

An estimate of the number of children with EHC plans who have a parent designated as a critical worker has not been made.

As part of the current consultation on reforms to unregulated provision for children in care and care leavers the department is considering equality implications of the proposals. An equality impact assessment will be published as part of the government’s response to the consultation.

As part of the public consultation on reforms to unregulated provision for children in care and care leavers, a task and finish group has been established. It is chaired by Sir Alan Wood and has been asked to:

1. Support the development and drafting of new national standards for semi-independent provision for children in care;

2. Further develop our evidence regarding the use of these placements for U16s; and

3. Advise on what should be taken account of when considering the implementation of the results of the consultation.

Those asked to attend the group represent some of those directly involved in the delivery of the proposed reforms – including providers, commissioners and inspectors as well as those who advocate for young people. This includes representatives from:

• Association of Directors of Children’s Services
• Independent Children’s Home Association
• Association of Chief Police Officers
• National Youth Advocacy Service
• Ofsted
• Commissioning Alliance
• Partners in Practice Local Authorities
• Local Government Association
• Providers of unregulated accommodation

Throughout the consultation we are seeking the views of as many people as possible who are affected by the proposed reforms. This group is one way of achieving that. We are continuing to work with children and young people, local authorities, social workers and providers to seek their views and discuss the proposals.

The consultation is open until 8 April 2020 and we welcome responses from anyone who wishes to contribute. The task and finish group’s work, including supporting development of new minimum standards, will be informed by consultation responses and it will report after the consultation has closed.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The number of women aged 60 and over that have started an apprenticeship from the 2014/15 academic year onwards is shown in the table below:

Notes:

1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten.

2) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

3) Age is calculated based upon age at start of the apprenticeship programme.

4) Numbers are counted for the full, final academic years from August to July.

5) Apprenticeship starts include all funded and unfunded learners reported on the ILR.

My Department takes the issue of livestock worrying very seriously, recognising both the distress this can cause farmers and animals, as well as the financial implications.

According to the National Sheep Association’s annual survey 94.85% of respondents had experienced sheep worrying by dogs on their farm, and SheepWatch UK estimate that 15,000 sheep are killed each year in dog worrying incidents.

Data on prosecutions relating to the offence of livestock worrying (which includes sheep worrying) are consolidated in the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly (England and Wales) under the broader category ‘other offences related to dogs’. We do not hold separate data on this.

Products containing aminopyralid are used to control weeds in cereals, oilseed rape and grassland. Before these products were authorised, risks to consumers were fully assessed by the UK regulator, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). HSE concluded that there were no concerns for consumers.

Aminopyralid does not break down rapidly in compost produced from treated plants or manure from animals that have grazed treated grassland. There is thus potential for residues to affect susceptible plants and so requirements are in place to ensure that contaminated materials do not go for use by gardeners and others. These arrangements are kept under review to ensure that they remain effective.

The Secretary of State has not yet received this byelaw, given that all non-emergency IFCA byelaws are subject to a quality assurance process, undertaken by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on behalf of Defra, prior to being sent to the Secretary of State for confirmation. The MMO aims to return comments to IFCAs within 45 working days of submission. In respect of the Sussex IFCA Nearshore Trawling Byelaw, the MMO deadline for quality assurance is 17 June to respond to Sussex IFCA. The Secretary of State will consider the Sussex Nearshore Trawling Byelaw when the MMO’s quality assurance process is completed.

Attacks on livestock by dogs are unacceptable and Defra works with the relevant stakeholders to find ways to prevent them. This includes advice to owners to keep their dogs under effective control. In 2018 we wrote to all police forces and local authorities to explain the powers and initiatives available to help tackle irresponsible dog ownership, including attacks on livestock.

Details on the number of cases of dogs attacking livestock that have been reported to the police would be held by each separate police force and are not collated centrally. No data are collected centrally on the number of livestock lost. The attached table provides the numbers of prosecutions and convictions in each of the last five years for England and Wales for which figures are available.

Numbers of people prosecuted/convicted for allowing a dog to worry livestock under s1 of Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953

Attacks on livestock by dogs are unacceptable and Defra works with the relevant stakeholders to find ways to prevent them. This includes advice to owners to keep their dogs under effective control. In 2018 we wrote to all police forces and local authorities to explain the powers and initiatives available to help tackle irresponsible dog ownership, including attacks on livestock.

Details on the number of cases of dogs attacking livestock that have been reported to the police would be held by each separate police force and are not collated centrally. No data are collected centrally on the number of livestock lost. The attached table provides the numbers of prosecutions and convictions in each of the last five years for England and Wales for which figures are available.

Numbers of people prosecuted/convicted for allowing a dog to worry livestock under s1 of Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953

As inspections for imported wine are undertaken on a risk-based percentage, regardless of origin or import certification, no specific assessment has been made regarding additional costs of controls, although it is expected to be nil or negligible.

In 2019, the UK was the second-largest global wine importer by value and volume. Leaving the EU provides the opportunity for the UK to establish an independent wine regime tailored to its growing and vibrant domestic production while building further on the UK’s current position as a global hub for the international trading of wine.

The Government intends to prohibit the hunting of Greenland white-fronted goose by removing the species from schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The legislation will be laid by the spring.

The maximum duration of two years between passing the theory test and a subsequent practical test is in place for road safety reasons; to ensure that a candidate’s knowledge is current. This validity period is set in legislation and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it.

It is important that road safety knowledge and hazard perception skills are up to date at the critical point that they drive unsupervised for the first time. Those with theory test certificates expiring may have taken their test in early 2019. Since then, their lessons and practice sessions will have been significantly curtailed during recent lockdowns and it is likely that their knowledge base will have diminished. Research suggests that this would be particularly harmful for hazard perception skills, a key factor in road safety.

Ensuring new drivers have current relevant knowledge and skills is a vital part of the training of new drivers, who are disproportionality represented in casualty statistics. Taking all this into consideration, the decision has been made not to extend theory test certificates and learners will need to pass another theory test if their certificate expires.

The total cost for delivery of the A27 Arundel Bypass preferred route (Grey, Option 5BV1), which was announced on 15 October 2020, will be between £320 and £455 million, as set out at the further public consultation in 2019. This figure is subject to the development of the scheme through detailed design and ongoing commercial discussions.

Construction will commence in 2023/24 and will take approximately 36 months.

The Secretary of State’s decision to approve the A303 (Amesbury to Berwick Down) Development Consent Order was issued on 12 November 2020. The reasons for the decision are set out in the decision letter published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website at: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/south-west/a303-stonehenge/. It includes consideration of the representations made by archaeological groups and other Interested Parties.

The number of archaeologists required and consequently deployed will vary as the HS2 project moves forward. HS2 Ltd has estimated that they will need the skills of over 1,000 archaeologists and associated specialisms for the entire HS2 archaeology programme.

The second Road Investment Strategy will confirm the Government’s plans for the Strategic Road Network. We expect this to be published before the start of the second Road Period on 1 April 2020.

‘Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days’ recognised the importance of continuity of care to improve outcomes. The Government has announced £10 million to trial innovative workforce pilots in a small number of local authorities. Funding will be available to selected authorities to establish teams with a range of skills, under the clinical leadership of health visitors. As part of the design and evaluation of the trials, continuity of care will be considered to ensure there is a key point of contact for each family within the multidisciplinary team.

We are investing in developing a diverse and highly skilled workforce by trialing and evaluating innovative workforce models. Funding will be available to five local authorities to establish teams with a range of skills under the clinical leadership of health visitors. These new roles within teams will be provided with specialist training where specific needs have been identified, such as perinatal mental health needs. The investment in trialing, evaluating and testing the value of different approaches will identify best practice models and ensure families receive the support they need.

The workforce trials will run for two years. We will design a robust approach to evaluate the impact of this approach against key metrics, including the impact on the experience and wellbeing of families and babies. A range of areas will be selected to improve our understanding of what approaches work in different settings.

We are working with leading academics, clinicians, Health Education England and NHS England and NHS Improvement to determine how this funding should be invested to support existing services. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

We will work closely with selected local authorities to design a robust approach to implementing and evaluating workforce models for health visiting teams to enable them to better support the needs of all families. This includes tailoring approaches to engage with the most disadvantaged families. We will invest in testing and evaluating different workforce models to understand the impact on the wellbeing of families and children as well as the capacity of the workforce to identify best practice.

It is a legal requirement for all prepacked foods to be fully labelled with an ingredient list. Therefore, if yeast or yeast extract is used as an ingredient in a prepacked food at any level, it must be included in the ingredient list. If one of the 14 major allergens defined in legislation is present in a pre-packed food, it must be emphasised within the ingredient list to distinguish it from other ingredients. Yeast is not currently included in the 14 major allergens. Any additions to this list would only be made based on relevant scientific evidence and views gathered through public consultation.

For those who are hypersensitive to foods not in the major allergens list, the Food Standards Agency recommends that consumers check the ingredients list on prepacked food and speak to businesses when they purchase non-pre-packed food.

NHS England and NHS Improvement and Health Education England are working with the profession to increase the general practitioner (GP) workforce in England. This includes measures on recruitment, to address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.

The updated GP Contract Framework for 2020/21 announced a number of new retention schemes alongside continued support for existing schemes. These schemes include the GP Retention Scheme, the International Induction Programme, the Return to Practice Programme, the Fellowship Programme, the New to Partnership Payment and Supporting Mentors Scheme. Last year, 3,793 doctors started GP training and we are committed to increasing the number of training places available to 4,000 a year.

The information requested is shown in the following table.

As of February 2021, the Department’s membership with Stonewall has ended.

On 14 September 2021, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that individuals who were vaccinated in phase one of the COVID-19 vaccination programme should be offered a booster vaccine. This includes those in the chronic respiratory disease (CRD) clinical risk group. In phase one, those with asthma needing continuous or repeated use of systemic steroids or required hospital admission were included in the CRD risk group.

On 16 September, the Green Book definition of asthma was updated to state that those with ‘poorly controlled asthma’ would be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose. This includes individuals who have had two or more courses of oral corticosteroids in the preceding 24 months; or are on maintenance oral corticosteroids; or have had one or more hospital admission(s) for asthma in the preceding 24 months. A specific assessment of the impact of the revised definition of poorly controlled asthma has not been made.

The potential merits of using the influenza clinical risk groups as a potential way to identify and prioritise individuals for COVID-19 vaccination was assessed during the development of phase one recommendations for the primary COVID-19 vaccination programme. However, when evaluating the data, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation found that there were differences between those at high risk of severe flu and those at high risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

The COVID-19 booster vaccine programme follows the priority groups one to nine in phase one of the programme to be offered a third dose of vaccine six months after their primary course.

No specific research has been commissioned.

No recent assessment has been made.

The Department has, since 2018, owned a number of properties adjacent to the Barts Royal London Hospital Site, which are vacant or being vacated and held for redevelopment as a life science cluster. Of these, three properties are classified as heritage assets detailed in the following table along with the most recent estimate of the value of those properties where available and any annual income derived from those properties:

The information is not held in the format requested.

The Department does not hold the data requested.

The data requested is not collected centrally.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have worked closely with trusts to adopt the actions set out in the guidance and to remove barriers which prevent parental presence in neonatal units. The guidance is clear that parents of babies in neonatal critical care are partners in care and should not be considered to be visitors.

While we have no plans to implement the specific recommendations made by NHS Providers, we are working to the same aims as we focus on restoring services. These ambitions, to increase capacity, invest in diagnostics, achieve efficiency and productivity gains, improve pathways, and use technology to improve patient care, are reflected in the National Health Service priorities and operational planning guidance for this year.

We are supporting a series of innovation initiatives to help reduce waiting list backlogs, including a pathway improvement programme, community diagnostic hubs and an elective accelerator programme. These innovations will help speed up diagnosis, increase capacity and reduce the length of hospital stays, with the latest data suggesting that 86.9% of procedures are carried out without an overnight stay. We hope to see further innovation delivered rapidly across NHS services to increase treatment capacity and improve patient experience, for those with heart valve disease and other conditions.

In England, decisions about local fertility services are determined by clinical commissioning groups, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) fertility guidelines.

The NICE guidelines were updated in 2013 to include provision for same sex female couples, who have demonstrated their clinical infertility. The criteria in the guidelines were developed as a way of achieving equivalence between opposite-sex and same-sex couples in establishing clinical infertility and accessing National Health Service fertility treatment services. The guidelines are now due for review and the Department has started discussions with NICE about plans for such a review.

Current clinical commissioning policy is that mercaptamine hydrochloride eye drops are not recommended to be available as a treatment option through routine commissioning for corneal cystine deposits, following the prioritisation process undertaken by NHS England and NHS Improvement in July 2020. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement have determined that there is sufficient clinical evidence to consider commissioning mercaptamine hydrochloride eye drops. This treatment will therefore be considered at the Clinical Priorities Advisory Group prioritisation meeting in May 2021, along with a number of other treatments being considered for funding.

This funding will allow an additional 22,500 children and young people to access community mental health services and an additional 2,000 children and young people to able to access eating disorder services compared to what was planned as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, and will accelerate the roll-out of mental health support teams in schools so that we reach our target of 20-25% coverage a year earlier than planned.

The funding is being made available to support the 2021/22 National Health Service operational planning and contracting round which is ongoing. Through this process, local systems will work with their partner organisations, including clinical commissioning groups and local authorities, to agree their mental health finance planning for financial year 2021/22.

‘Implementing the Recommendations of the Neonatal Critical Care Transformation Review’ sets out an action for Local Maternity Systems (LMS) and Neonatal Operational Delivery Networks (NODN) to work together to profile the provision in local providers by reviewing the extent to which providers are integrating families into care, which should also include information on and access to emotional wellbeing and psychological support and the provision of resources and accommodation. NHS England and NHS Improvement asked LMS and NODNs to develop action plans to address any gaps.

The NHS Long Term Plan committed to enhance the experience of families with a child in neonatal critical care. From 2021/22, care coordinators will work with families within each of the clinical neonatal networks to support families to become more involved in the care of their baby.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, excluding staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

As at August 2019 there were 287,458 full time equivalent (FTE) nurse and health visitors working in the HCHS workforce, 322,810 headcount.

Data for March 2021 is not yet available. In November 2020, the latest period for which data for FTE and headcount is available, there were 307,227 FTE nurse and health visitors working in the National Health Service, or 343,240 headcount.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), but not staff working in primary care, local authorities or other providers.

The number of nurses and health visitors joining hospitals and CCGs between August 2019 and November 2020 was 50,904. This is based on headcount.

No funding has been specifically allocated to this age group.

The Pregnancy Loss Review Advisory Panel last met on 24 October 2018. The report is expected to be published in 2021.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will publish details of all suspected reactions reported in association with available COVID-19 vaccines shortly, including narrative assessment of the data and any issues identified on our website.

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

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

Local authority public health grant allocations for 2021-22 will be subject to a detailed financial planning exercise and finalised in due course.

Measures to limit the transmission of COVID-19 in hospitals should not lead to unnecessary separation of mother and babies.

The Department expects clinicians to provide care in keeping with clinical guidelines. Guidance on COVID-19 infection in pregnancy published by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Royal College of Midwives states that women and their healthy babies should be kept together in the immediate postpartum period if they do not otherwise require maternal critical care or neonatal care. Women with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 should be supported to remain together with their baby and to practice skin-to-skin/kangaroo care, if the newborn does not require additional medical care.

Guidance produced by the British Association of Perinatal Medicine sets out that a mother and her newborn should have unrestricted contact when admission to a neonatal unit is unavoidable.

Our ambition in the NHS Long Term Plan is to create a comprehensive offer for 0-25 year olds that reaches across mental health services for children, young people and adults.

Through the Plan we are increasing mental health funding by at least an additional £2.3 billion a year by 2023/24. This will see an additional 345,000 children and young people, and 370,000 adults, accessing specialist mental health care if they need it.

In addition, the Rt hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom MP) is leading a new review, commissioned by the Prime Minister, into improving health outcomes of babies and young children. The review will consider the barriers that impact on early-years development, including social and emotional factors and early childhood experiences.

She is expected to submit her findings and policy recommendations from the first phase of the Review into Early Years Health in January 2021. This will contribute to the Government’s vision for excellence in early-years health.

This information is collected by NHS Digital via the mental health services dataset. However, data cannot be provided in the format requested until an agreed methodology is in place based on recent changes to the way the data is collected.

The information is not available in the format requested.

‘The Independent Pregnancy Loss Review: Care and support when baby loss occurs before 24 weeks gestation’ was commissioned by the Department. The purpose of the review is to consider the impact on families of the current threshold of 24 weeks gestation before being able to formally register a miscarriage if they so wish, and whether it would be beneficial to look at legislative options to amend existing primary legislation to allow parents to register a miscarriage if they wish to do so.

Good progress has been made on the review, but work was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Work has resumed and the review now plans to report to the Secretary of State for Health in the new year.

Responsibility for commissioning of health visiting services transferred to local authorities in October 2015. Local authorities are best placed to respond to the needs of their local population through commissioning National Health Service trusts and private sector organisations to provide health visiting services.

There is no single source that counts health visitors across the whole public sector.

NHS Digital publishes Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS) workforce statistics. These include staff working in hospital trusts and clinical commissioning groups, but not staff working in primary care, general practitioner surgeries, local authorities or other providers.

The following table shows the number of HCHS health visitors as at September each year since 2010 and July 2020, the latest available data, full time equivalent (FTE).

Source: NHS Workforce Statistics

NHS Digital also collects and publishes data on staff, including health visitors, in some English independent sector healthcare organisations. These statistics do not represent the entire independent sector workforce as only 59 organisations provided data for September 2019.

The following table shows the number of FTE independent sector health visitors as at September each year since 2015 to 2019, this is the latest available data.

Source: NHS Digital. Independent Healthcare Provider Workforce Statistics

Public Health England does not collect health visitor redeployment data, decisions regarding deployment is locally determined.

Supporting babies and families has been a priority for local authorities, National Health Service community services and community restoration. Health visiting services have remained in contact with families during the pandemic and will continue to provide interventions and support through a mixture of face to face and virtual contacts prioritising very young babies and vulnerable families.

NHS England and NHS Improvement lead on the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. This information is not held centrally as it is a local commissioning decision.

We are aware that the adult social care insurance market is changing in response to the pandemic and recognise that some care providers may encounter difficulties as their policies come up for renewal. We have heard from a small number of charities working in the care sector about challenges with insurance and possible implications for their trustees. We continue to work closely with insurance representatives and care providers to better understand the breadth and severity of such issues, and whether there is any action the Government should take.

This information is not held centrally.

Health visitor service delivery metrics are collected and published on a quarterly basis by Public Health England. The latest figures relate to October to December 2019, the statistics relate to all children resident in a local area, characteristics of the child such as if they are on child in need or child protection plans are not recorded. Annual data for 2019/20 will be published in February 2021. The delivery metrics are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/health-visitor-service-delivery-metrics-2019-to-2020

No timescales for national data collection from local areas for 2020/21 activity have been established. Virtual contacts will be counted as valid, mandated service delivery for data for 2020/21 during the period of the pandemic response.

The data is published on Skills for Care’s website at the following link:

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/adult-social-care-workforce-data/Workforce-intelligence/publications/local-information/Local-authority-comparison.aspx

The ‘COVID-19 Prioritisation within Community Health Services’ guidance was published on 19 March and provides advice to National Health Service organisations and to local authorities on the provision of community services at this time.

Decisions regarding redeployment of staff during COVID-19 are for health organisations and local authorities.

The department does not hold the data requested.

The department does not hold the data requested.

On 18 April, the Government announced a further £1.6 billion to be made available to provide essential services and support to those who need it most.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working with local government to modify and prioritise community health services. This has been compiled in line with clinical advice, with community health services prioritising service delivery so that the most urgent needs continue to be met. Health visiting services are continuing to deliver the healthy child programme predominantly via virtual methods, with health visitors encouraged to identify children that require a home visit.

Mental health services are working around the clock to support people with mental health issues through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Providers are seeking to maximise the use of digital and virtual channels to keep supporting existing and new service users.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Department does not hold the information requested.

Work on the Pregnancy Loss Review is ongoing and we expect to publish a report in 2020.

The Healthy Child Programme is a universal offer for all children in England. The latest data, for the financial year 2018/19, shows that 77.6% (521,528) of children aged two to two-and-a-half years received their Universal Health Visitor Review. These data are available to view at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/child-and-maternal-health-statistics#health-visitor-service-delivery-metrics

Local authorities commission and monitor the provision of the Healthy Child Programme based on local population needs.

Public Health England is undertaking a systematic review and refresh of the Healthy Child Programme in England. The refresh will ensure that the future approach is both universal in reach and personalised in response to those families needing extra support. It is proposed that the programme will extend coverage from the pre-conception period until age 24 years.

The five mandated Universal Health Visitor Reviews (antenatal, new birth visit, six to eight week review, one-year review and two to two-and-a half year review) will remain a core element of the Healthy Child Programme.

As the Government has previously made clear, no decisions have yet been made about Government attendance at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.

As the Government has previously made clear, no decisions have yet been made about Government attendance at the Beijing Olympics in 2022.

Border restrictions are the prerogative of the receiving state. Norway will exempt travellers who are fully vaccinated with a European Medicines Agency approved vaccine from presenting evidence of a negative test on arrival, completing an entry registration form, being tested at the border or quarantining after arrival. As outlined on FCDO Travel advice, this can be evidenced by UK travellers through presenting the NHS COVID Pass with a verifiable QR code (or their Devolved Administration equivalents).

Those who have been vaccinated with one of the 5 million doses of AstraZeneca/Vaxzevria manufactured in India but deployed in the UK's rollout do not need to have their vaccine recognised separately. All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS COVID Pass as Vaxzevria. The European Medicines Agency has authorised Vaxzevria and we're confident that travel to Norway should not be affected. Where there have been instances of confusion about the vaccine used in the UK, our officials have worked to clarify those misunderstandings with the governments concerned.

As stated in my answer to Question 44163, Historic England's Government Historic Estate Unit holds all information on Heritage Assets owned by the UK Government. The FCDO does not collate or collect data on the value or income derived from these properties.

The FCDO is advised on the management of designated heritage assets in its portfolio by Historic England's Government Historic Estate Unit. Further details can be found here: https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/our-planning-services/advice-for-government-historic-estates/. The FCDO does not collect or collate data on the value (property value) or income data for these assets.

We expect the final report to be completed in the near future. We remain in close contact with our European partners and continue to press for completion and publication of the review as soon as possible. We will review the findings carefully before deciding on any next steps.

British diplomats last visited the Tibet Autonomous Region in July 2019, following a request for access by our Embassy in Beijing. We periodically request access to the Tibet Autonomous Region, but did not do so in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic and related reasons. A British Ambassador has not visited Tibet since 2017. Our Ambassador is the UK representative to the whole of China and we believe it is important she is able to visit all parts of the country. We have not requested access to Tibetans in detention. Our consular access is limited to British nationals. However, we continue to express our concerns about the human rights situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region with the Chinese authorities, and call on them to uphold the rights of all citizens guaranteed in international law and China's own constitution.

The UK Government is deeply concerned by all allegations that prisoners of war have been subjected to cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment. During my recent visits to Armenia and Azerbaijan, I urged both parties to ensure thorough investigations into all allegations, and welcomed those Azerbaijani investigations already underway. I also underlined the importance of returning all prisoners of war and urged both parties to work closely with the ICRC to expedite the returns where relevant. I also encouraged both sides to abide by the 10 November trilateral peace deal and settle all outstanding matters through talks under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. The UK Government welcomes the most recent exchange of prisoners of war on 10 February.

As noted, the Prime Minister announced on 19 February that the majority of any surplus COVID-19 vaccines would be shared with the COVAX international vaccine procurement pool. We cannot yet say when we will have a surplus, including because of uncertainty over how many doses will be needed to deal with new variants or to administer boosters. Funding mechanisms, including the implications for our commitment to spend 0.5% of GNI as Official Development Assistance in 2021, will be set out in more detail if and when a surplus has been identified.

Our Ambassador in Ankara has raised our concerns about this issue with the relevant authorities in the Turkish Government. We will continue to encourage best practice when it comes to preserving the collection.

The Government recognises that this is a very challenging time for businesses in a wide variety of sectors. Small businesses occupying properties for retail, hospitality or leisure purposes are likely to be particularly affected by COVID-19 due to their reliance on customer footfall, and the fact that they are less likely than larger businesses to have sufficient cash reserves to meet their high fixed property-related costs. The Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHLGF) is intended to help small businesses in this situation.

Local Authorities (LAs) can choose to make discretionary grants to businesses in supply chains, like the wholesale food and drink sector, if they feel there is a particular local economic need. The Government has allocated up to an additional £617 million to LAs to enable them to give discretionary grants. While food and drink wholesalers are not one of the priority groups which Government has asked LAs to focus on, LAs may choose to make payments to businesses outside of these priority groups if they feel there is a local economic need to do so, so long as the business was trading on 11th March, and has not received any other cash grant funded by central Government (with the exception of grants from the SEISS).

Small businesses which are not eligible for business grants should still be able to benefit from other elements of the Government’s unprecedented package of support. The Business Support website provides further information about how businesses can access the support that has been made available, who is eligible, when the schemes open and how to apply - https://www.gov.uk/business-coronavirus-support-finder.

The Government has provided enhanced support through business rates relief to businesses occupying properties used for retail, hospitality and leisure given the direct and acute impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on those sectors.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published guidance for local authorities on eligible properties. As set out in the guidance, support is targeted at premises that are wholly or mainly being used as shops, restaurants, cafes, drinking establishments, cinemas and live music venues; for assembly and leisure; or as hotels, guest and boarding premises, and self-catering accommodation. It is for local authorities to determine eligibility for reliefs, having regard to guidance issued by the Government.

A range of further measures to support all businesses, including those not eligible for the business rates holiday, such as wholesalers, has also been made available.

The UK and Switzerland have a strong and established relationship on financial services, with a large volume of cross-border financial services trade.

To ensure continuity in our relationship, the government has converted all equivalence decisions that the European Union currently has with Switzerland (with the exception of Central Clearing Counterparties equivalence), into UK domestic law. This means that they will continue to apply when the transition period ends.

The ability for HM Treasury to make equivalence decisions becomes active from the end of the Transition Period. After this time, HM Treasury will be able to grant equivalence to non-EEA jurisdictions. The UK is committed to maintaining an outcomes-based model of equivalence which recognises that a combination of different rules and supervisory practices may be used to achieve the same levels of resilient, market integrity, consumer protection, and financial stability.

HMRC has published the number of CTF and contributions in the following publications for the years requested. The following links provide the last edition of these publications.

Link to “Child Trust Fund Statistical Report” – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255886/statistical-report.pdf

Link to “Child Trust Funds: detailed distributional analysis” - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255881/dda.pdf

HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the child or their parents is unaware of which firm is maintaining the account. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the contact for the account. However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if they don’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account.

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

HMRC estimates the market value of all Child Trust Funds (as at 2015-16), which will start to be eligible to be accessed by their beneficial holder from September 2020, to be £7,450 m. This estimate used the latest complete Child Trust Fund information available to HMRC – relating to 2015-16. This may not necessarily be reflective of the market value the accounts when they reach maturity.

A complete list of authorised Child Trust Fund Providers is held at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-authorised-child-trust-fund-providers/child-trust-fund-account-providers

HMRC has published the number of CTF and contributions in the following publications for the years requested. The following links provide the last edition of these publications.

Link to “Child Trust Fund Statistical Report” – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255886/statistical-report.pdf

Link to “Child Trust Funds: detailed distributional analysis” - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255881/dda.pdf

HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the child or their parents is unaware of which firm is maintaining the account. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the contact for the account. However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if they don’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account.

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

HMRC estimates the market value of all Child Trust Funds (as at 2015-16), which will start to be eligible to be accessed by their beneficial holder from September 2020, to be £7,450 m. This estimate used the latest complete Child Trust Fund information available to HMRC – relating to 2015-16. This may not necessarily be reflective of the market value the accounts when they reach maturity.

A complete list of authorised Child Trust Fund Providers is held at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-authorised-child-trust-fund-providers/child-trust-fund-account-providers

HMRC has published the number of CTF and contributions in the following publications for the years requested. The following links provide the last edition of these publications.

Link to “Child Trust Fund Statistical Report” – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255886/statistical-report.pdf

Link to “Child Trust Funds: detailed distributional analysis” - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255881/dda.pdf

HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the child or their parents is unaware of which firm is maintaining the account. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the contact for the account. However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if they don’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account.

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

HMRC estimates the market value of all Child Trust Funds (as at 2015-16), which will start to be eligible to be accessed by their beneficial holder from September 2020, to be £7,450 m. This estimate used the latest complete Child Trust Fund information available to HMRC – relating to 2015-16. This may not necessarily be reflective of the market value the accounts when they reach maturity.

A complete list of authorised Child Trust Fund Providers is held at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-authorised-child-trust-fund-providers/child-trust-fund-account-providers

HMRC has published the number of CTF and contributions in the following publications for the years requested. The following links provide the last edition of these publications.

Link to “Child Trust Fund Statistical Report” – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255886/statistical-report.pdf

Link to “Child Trust Funds: detailed distributional analysis” - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255881/dda.pdf

HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the child or their parents is unaware of which firm is maintaining the account. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the contact for the account. However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if they don’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account.

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

HMRC estimates the market value of all Child Trust Funds (as at 2015-16), which will start to be eligible to be accessed by their beneficial holder from September 2020, to be £7,450 m. This estimate used the latest complete Child Trust Fund information available to HMRC – relating to 2015-16. This may not necessarily be reflective of the market value the accounts when they reach maturity.

A complete list of authorised Child Trust Fund Providers is held at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-authorised-child-trust-fund-providers/child-trust-fund-account-providers

HMRC has published the number of CTF and contributions in the following publications for the years requested. The following links provide the last edition of these publications.

Link to “Child Trust Fund Statistical Report” – https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255886/statistical-report.pdf

Link to “Child Trust Funds: detailed distributional analysis” - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/255881/dda.pdf

HMRC does not have records of, nor have they made any estimations of, CTF accounts where the child or their parents is unaware of which firm is maintaining the account. CTF providers are required in legislation to send out regular statements to the contact for the account. However, although the primary relationship is between the account provider and the child’s parents, if they don’t know which provider is managing their child’s account, they can use the following online form to track the account.

https://www.gov.uk/child-trust-funds

HMRC estimates the market value of all Child Trust Funds (as at 2015-16), which will start to be eligible to be accessed by their beneficial holder from September 2020, to be £7,450 m. This estimate used the latest complete Child Trust Fund information available to HMRC – relating to 2015-16. This may not necessarily be reflective of the market value the accounts when they reach maturity.

A complete list of authorised Child Trust Fund Providers is held at the following webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-authorised-child-trust-fund-providers/child-trust-fund-account-providers

The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the number of returns and by nationality to EU Member States are published in table Det_D01 of the returns detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2020.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Providing the information requested on the number of those where removal did not proceed and the costs in each case would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office publishes data on returns in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.

Data on the number of returns and by nationality to EU Member States are published in table Det_D01 of the returns detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook. The latest data relates to the year ending June 2020.

Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.

Providing the information requested on the number of those where removal did not proceed and the costs in each case would require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

The fee for a statutory civil partnership formation is set in line with the fee for a statutory marriage ceremony, and is prescribed in the Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Fees) Regulations 2016.

Local authorities are required to offer a statutory civil partnership, where this fee will apply.

Local authorities may otherwise charge an additional fee for the civil partnership registrar’s attendance on approved premises. Guidance issued to local authorities sets out this additional fee should cover the cost of providing the service.

The failings of the Metropolitan Police Service in Operation Midland had devastating consequences for those falsely accused and also risked damaging the confidence of the public.

That is why the Home Secretary requested, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services conduct an inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service to ensure lessons have been learned.

We will continue to seek assurances from the Metropolitan Police that policy and practice is being changed so the failures are not repeated.

The leak of any Government information or material is not acceptable and the Government takes such incidents very seriously.

It has been the policy of successive Governments not to comment on security matters other than in exceptional circumstances.

The police are responsible for assessing the suitability of those applying for the grant or renewal of firearm, shotgun and some explosives licences, to ensure that they do not pose a danger to public safety. Consideration of an applicant’s medical suitability is part of the assessment.

The Government consulted last year on the introduction of new statutory guidance to the police on their firearms licensing functions. The consultation included proposals for revised medical arrangements to ensure a more consistent approach in which forces do not grant a licence without sight of medical information from the applicant’s GP. We will publish the statutory guidance in due course following consideration of the responses to the consultation.

At the end of the Transition Period, the UK will no longer be bound by the Dublin Regulation. Any Dublin family reunion cases, which have entered the system prior to completion day will continue to be processed.

The Government provides a safe and legal route to bring families together through its refugee family reunion policy under the Immigration Rules. This allows a partner and children under 18 of those granted protection in the UK to join them here, if they formed part of the family unit before the sponsor fled their country. This will not change at the end of the Transition Period.

Statistics on the number of firearm and shotgun certificates on issue are published annually but they do not identify whether a certificate holder is disabled or where a certificate is voluntarily given up by the holder.

Firearms controls in this country are among the toughest in the world. They are kept under review and strengthened whenever necessary to protect the public from the misuse of firearms. For example, the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 recently banned the manufacture and sale of rapid-firing rifles, owing to the serious threat they present should they fall into the hands of criminals or terrorists. Possession of such rifles will be banned following a surrender and compensation scheme later this year.

As the hon. Member was advised in my answer to Question 76548, it will take time to collate the information needed to produce the breakdown requested and I will write to you with an answer in due course. I hope to be able to do so later this month.

It will take time to collate the information needed to produce the breakdown requested and I will write to the hon. Member with an answer in due course.

No donations are made to the charity; however, the Ministry of Defence (MOD), the MOD Police, the Royal Navy, Army, and Royal Air Force are all members of Stonewall's 'diversity champions programme' for which membership costs an annual fee. In addition, a number of courses and professional development sessions are purchased on an ad-hoc basis, primarily by the LGBT+ networks.

Estimated total expenditure by the MOD can be found in the table below:

A list of the properties classified as heritage assets by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been placed in the Library of the House. There is a wide range of heritage assets, other than properties, including below ground archaeology, memorials, walls and milestones which have not been included in this list.

The MOD does not record the economic value of heritage assets. The annual income provided by these properties is not held centrally by the MOD.