Tom Gordon

We are taking a strategically planned approach to build a larger, modern and efficient energy grid. We will use a holistic design coordinating and balancing on and off grid infrastructure.

Support is currently available for off-grid households which provides energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating measures to low-income households.

Our Warm Homes Plan will go further to transform homes across the country.

We are committed to reviewing the best available evidence from a wide range of sources and working with all stakeholders in order to support the sector and ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk. We will provide further updates to the House soon.

The Gambling Commission is responsible for the implementation of a number of the regulatory reforms set out in the white paper, such as introducing new regulations to make online games safer and financial vulnerability checks aimed at reducing cases of unaffordable losses. It has consulted on and implemented the majority of these reforms.

The Harrogate College project was awarded funding from the further education capital transformation fund (FE CTF), and the college capital loans scheme (CCLS), to improve the condition of the building. Under the terms of the FE CTF grant, projects needed to be completed by December 2024, and for the loan, final drawdowns were required by March 2025. We understand that the project will now not be able to meet these terms due to unforeseen planning delays.

The department’s capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed at the 30 October Budget. Capital funding beyond this period is subject to a multi-year spending review which will conclude in spring 2025.

Payment of grant and drawdown of loan funding is done in arrears, based on evidence of spend submitted by the college, so disbursement of the funding to colleges awarded grants through the FE CTF or loans through the CCLS does not begin until works start on their capital projects.

All bids to the FE CTF were assessed against a range of criteria, including whether they would support delivery of both national and local skills priorities, aligning with the local skills improvement plans.

Departmental officials have regular discussions with Luminate Education Group about their capital projects, including Harrogate College, to keep the department appraised of developments.

The Harrogate College project was awarded funding from the further education capital transformation fund (FE CTF), and the college capital loans scheme (CCLS), to improve the condition of the building. Under the terms of the FE CTF grant, projects needed to be completed by December 2024, and for the loan, final drawdowns were required by March 2025. We understand that the project will now not be able to meet these terms due to unforeseen planning delays.

The department’s capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed at the 30 October Budget. Capital funding beyond this period is subject to a multi-year spending review which will conclude in spring 2025.

Payment of grant and drawdown of loan funding is done in arrears, based on evidence of spend submitted by the college, so disbursement of the funding to colleges awarded grants through the FE CTF or loans through the CCLS does not begin until works start on their capital projects.

All bids to the FE CTF were assessed against a range of criteria, including whether they would support delivery of both national and local skills priorities, aligning with the local skills improvement plans.

Departmental officials have regular discussions with Luminate Education Group about their capital projects, including Harrogate College, to keep the department appraised of developments.

The Harrogate College project was awarded funding from the further education capital transformation fund (FE CTF), and the college capital loans scheme (CCLS), to improve the condition of the building. Under the terms of the FE CTF grant, projects needed to be completed by December 2024, and for the loan, final drawdowns were required by March 2025. We understand that the project will now not be able to meet these terms due to unforeseen planning delays.

The department’s capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed at the 30 October Budget. Capital funding beyond this period is subject to a multi-year spending review which will conclude in spring 2025.

Payment of grant and drawdown of loan funding is done in arrears, based on evidence of spend submitted by the college, so disbursement of the funding to colleges awarded grants through the FE CTF or loans through the CCLS does not begin until works start on their capital projects.

All bids to the FE CTF were assessed against a range of criteria, including whether they would support delivery of both national and local skills priorities, aligning with the local skills improvement plans.

Departmental officials have regular discussions with Luminate Education Group about their capital projects, including Harrogate College, to keep the department appraised of developments.

The Harrogate College project was awarded funding from the further education capital transformation fund (FE CTF), and the college capital loans scheme (CCLS), to improve the condition of the building. Under the terms of the FE CTF grant, projects needed to be completed by December 2024, and for the loan, final drawdowns were required by March 2025. We understand that the project will now not be able to meet these terms due to unforeseen planning delays.

The department’s capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed at the 30 October Budget. Capital funding beyond this period is subject to a multi-year spending review which will conclude in spring 2025.

Payment of grant and drawdown of loan funding is done in arrears, based on evidence of spend submitted by the college, so disbursement of the funding to colleges awarded grants through the FE CTF or loans through the CCLS does not begin until works start on their capital projects.

All bids to the FE CTF were assessed against a range of criteria, including whether they would support delivery of both national and local skills priorities, aligning with the local skills improvement plans.

Departmental officials have regular discussions with Luminate Education Group about their capital projects, including Harrogate College, to keep the department appraised of developments.

This government believes all young people and adults should have access to high-quality training that meets their needs and provides them with opportunities to thrive. T Levels are high-quality qualifications which provide young people with a firm foundation for their future. The industry placement of at least 315 hours (approximately 45 days) is a key part of T Levels and helps open the door into skilled employment, further study or a higher apprenticeship.

The department provides a programme of support for colleges and other T Level providers to help them to deliver high quality industry placements. This includes workshops, webinars, continuing professional development support and online guidance. Providers also receive £550 per industry placement student as part of their wider 16 to 19 funding allocation to support the costs of sourcing and setting up industry placements. Providers are also able to use their 16 to 19 bursary funding to support disadvantaged students to access placements.

The department is working to raise awareness of T Levels amongst employers, and the benefits of industry placements to their organisations’ talent pipelines. The department has launched the new Skills for Life “It all starts with skills” campaign. This national campaign underpins its activities to raise awareness of T Levels, with TV and cinema advertising tailored to young people and employers, alongside billboards and posters. The department also offers guidance, workshops and webinars to help employers understand the benefits of offering placements and how to do this successfully. Over 600 members of the T Level Ambassadors Network work across the country in their industries to champion T Levels and placements, via events, webinars and social media.

More information on the support available can be found at: https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb and: https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb.

I have asked my officials to explore the feasibility of a range of technology options to improve passenger connectivity on the rail network. The Department is also measuring the strength of mobile signals along the rail network to fully understand where interventions are needed.

The Secretary of State and I are aware of the concerns about the current legislative and regulatory framework for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, and are looking at options to improve the current regulatory position.

Unpaid carers play a vital role in supporting elderly or disabled relatives or friends. Sometimes unpaid carers will need to turn to the benefit system for financial support, so it is right that we keep Carer’s Allowance under review, to see if it is meeting its objectives, and giving unpaid carers the help and support they need and deserve.

In addition to Carer’s Allowance, carers on low incomes can claim income-related benefits, such as Universal Credit and Pension Credit. These benefits can be paid to carers at a higher rate than those without caring responsibilities through the carer element and the additional amount for carers respectively. Currently, the Universal Credit carer element is £198.31 per monthly assessment period. The additional amount for carers in Pension Credit is £45.60 a week.

The Secretary of State undertakes a statutory annual review of benefit and pensions, and the level of Carer’s Allowance is protected by Up-rating it each year in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

The National Health Service is taking crucial steps to improve cancer outcomes for patients across England, including for bowel cancer. We will improve cancer survival rates and hit all NHS cancer waiting time targets, so no patient waits longer than they should.

The NHS will maximise the pace of roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing community diagnostic centres (CDCs) and ensuring timely implementation of new CDC locations and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics.

The NHS Bowel Cancer Screening program currently invites people aged between 56 and 74 years old for screening every two years. However, this age cohort is increasing to people aged between 50 and 74 years old by 2025 with the use of Faecal Immunochemical Test kits which can be sent directly to people's homes.

The Department is taking steps to improve the rate of early diagnosis for all cancers, including bowel and bowel-related cancers. We will support the National Health Service to transform diagnostic services by spending £1.5 billion on new surgical hubs and diagnostic scanners, to build capacity for over 30,000 more procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests.

Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. It is unacceptable that some patients are waiting over six weeks for a diagnostic test, including for a colonoscopy. To cut waiting lists for diagnostic tests, each integrated care board will have a recovery plan for diagnostic services, including endoscopy as needed.

NHS England is continuing to develop gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy networks across the country, which will address variations in care, including in the timely access to care. The Department is supporting NHS England in completing the rollout and expansion of the community diagnostic programme, including delivering additional endoscopy capacity closer to patients in the community. GI endoscopy training academies have also been established, with one per region, to enable the training and education of the required workforce.

The National Health Service is delivering on a number of specific steps to reduce waiting times for GI endoscopy services, including colonoscopy procedures. This includes the establishment of a national transformation project to enable and support the timely recovery of GI endoscopy services, and investment into an expected net increase of 80 additional dedicated endoscopy rooms to expand capacity, as well as a number of Community Diagnostic Centres offering endoscopy services.

Lord Darzi’s report has set out the scale of the challenges we face in fixing the National Health Service, and the need to improve cancer waiting time performance and cancer survival. In particular, he has highlighted the need to improve the number of patients starting their treatment within 62 days of referral, and increase the number of patients diagnosed at an earlier stage.

The NHS will maximise the pace of the roll-out of additional diagnostic capacity, delivering the final year of the three-year investment plan for establishing Community Diagnostic Centres (CDCs) and ensuring timely implementation of the new CDC locations, and upgrades to existing CDCs, with capacity prioritised for cancer diagnostics.

We are committed to transforming diagnostic services, and will support the NHS to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services through investment in new capacity, including magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanners. Furthermore, in 2024/25, we will continue to extend the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to additional cohorts, specifically to 50 to 52-year olds.

The Government is committed to ensuring that families have the support that they need. We want to ensure that people who care for family and friends are better able to look after their own physical and mental health and wellbeing.

People, including unpaid carers, with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they deserve, which is why we will fix the broken system to ensure we give mental health the same attention and focus as physical health. This includes recruiting 8,500 more mental health workers, introducing specialist mental health professionals in every school, rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, and modernising the Mental Health Act.

The Government recognises the important contribution of independent breweries to our economy and society.

Alongside the current alcohol duty freeze until 1 February 2025, the duty system gives specific support to small producers and products sold on draught:

• Small Producer Relief means that small brewers see reduced duty rates on all products below 8.5% alcohol by volume;
• and Draught Relief reduces duty on qualifying draught beers and ciders by 9.2%.