Tonia Antoniazzi

The Government is committed to ensuring energy bills are affordable for all consumers, especially the most vulnerable. The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to eligible low-income households.

I recently met with suppliers and encouraged them to build on the Voluntary Debt Commitment from last year and go further in supporting vulnerable customers this winter.

The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund for an additional six months until 31 March 2025 with an extra £500 million in funding, and I encourage any vulnerable individual who is struggling to pay their bills contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.

The Warm Home Discount is a rebate on energy bills received by over 3m households where an eligible individual, their partner or their legal representative is named on the energy account. To provide support on this scale, it is paid directly into energy accounts in the majority of cases. Those who are not eligible for the Warm Home Discount may be eligible for support from other government schemes or the wider support offered through the Warm Home Discount.

The Warm Home Discount is a rebate on energy bills, usually paid into the bill payer’s account. Where an individual is not named on the bill, the rebate may still be paid if their partner or legal representative is named. The scheme also funds wider support, including a grant scheme for occupiers of park homes and programmes providing energy efficiency advice and measures. Those not benefiting from the rebate may be eligible for other government programmes, current schemes include the Energy Company Obligation, the Great British Insulation Scheme, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and the Home Upgrade Grant.

The Online Safety Act imposes duties on user-to-user services and publishers of pornography to prevent children encountering pornographic content online.

Ofcom can enforce duties on publishers of pornography from early 2025. The age assurance duties for user-to-user services will come into effect by summer 2025.

Additionally, the Independent Pornography Review will assess the effectiveness of pornography legislation, regulation and enforcement, including online and offline regulation. We expect that the independent review will finalise towards the end of this year.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

The government will provide an update on the independent review of pornography regulation, legislation, and enforcement in due course.

The Online Safety Act 2023 has duties for providers to tackle illegal content online and prevent children from accessing pornography online. The government is committed to tackling violence against women and girls, and violent and misogynistic content online.

Independent and effective self-regulation of the press empowers the public to have trust in what is reported, which is vital to a strong and functioning democracy.

We are in the early stages of the new Government and are still considering the full range of gambling and lotteries policy.

We are in the early stages of the new Government and are still considering the full range of gambling and lotteries policy.

Society lotteries are a vital fundraising tool for many charities, community groups, sports clubs and other non-commercial organisations.

In 2020, the annual sales limit was increased from £10 million to £50 million as part of a wider package of changes to society lottery limits.

My department continues to work closely with the Gambling Commission to monitor society lotteries and the charities they support.

His Majesty’s Government recognises the changes to the gambling landscape since 2005 and that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.

As stated in the Government's manifesto, we are absolutely committed to reducing gambling-related harm. We will ensure responsible gambling and strengthen protections for those at risk.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) advises customers to use GOV.UK as the official and only website when seeking information or completing applications.

All DVLA literature directs customers to the official GOV.UK website. The DVLA also uses its external communication channels, including social media, to publish advice and to remind motorists that GOV.UK is the only website for government motoring services. Since April 2024, the DVLA has issued guidance to the public via X and Facebook, directing them to GOV.UK services, on sixteen occasions.

The DVLA investigates reports of organisations which act illegally or are actively misleading users about their services. Where appropriate such sites can be and are taken down promptly.

The decision taken in 2017 to not electrify the railway between Cardiff and Swansea was based on it not delivering significant journey time savings and this remains the case. Enhancements to the railway in Wales that deliver passenger benefits, including proposed electrification, are considered by the Wales Rail Board.

Improving health and good work outcomes for the 20 million people in the United Kingdom who live with musculoskeletal l conditions forms a key part of the Government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and build a National Health Service fit for the future.

The Government is currently exploring options to support these missions and those who experience musculoskeletal conditions. Decisions on the scaling up of musculoskeletal hubs will be taken as the work of the missions progresses and through the usual Spending Review processes.

Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population, now standing at 2.8 million. The two main causes contributing to sickness absence are mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, with the latter responsible for an estimated 23.4 million days of sickness absence in 2022.

Improving health and good work outcomes for people who live with musculoskeletal and mental health conditions forms a key part of the Government’s missions to kickstart economic growth and build a National Health Service fit for the future.

The Government is committed to supporting disabled people and people with health conditions, with a range of support available to enable individuals to get into and remain in work. Measures include joining up health and employment support around the individual through WorkWell, Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, and Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, as well as support from Work Coaches, Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres, and Access to Work grants.

We have made no assessment. It is critical that medicines used in the United Kingdom are safe and effective and as such, medicines cannot be marketed in the UK without a marketing authorisation. These are granted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which assesses all medicines with regard to their quality, safety, and effectiveness. Proleukin (interleukin-2, Aldesleukin) has not been licensed by the MHRA as a treatment for motor neurone disease. It is the responsibility of the company to apply to the MHRA for a relevant marketing authorisation. Should an application for it be received, the MHRA will consider this accordingly.

In England, newly licensed medicines are also appraised by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to determine whether they represent a clinically and cost-effective use of National Health Service resources. If the manufacturer of Proleukin seeks a licence from the MHRA for the treatment of motor neurone disease, then the NICE may consider it through the Technology Appraisal programme.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service in England independently on the basis of the available evidence of costs and benefits and through engagement with the NHS, manufacturers, patient groups and other interested parties.

The Department regularly meets with colleagues in NICE to discuss a range of issues, including Enhertu for patients with HER2-low breast cancer. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Constitution and Functions) and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (Functions) Regulations 2013 provide that Ministers must not direct NICE as to the substance of its recommendations. These are very difficult decisions to make. NICE recognises that its decisions have important implications for patients and their families and only publishes final guidance on the use of a drug after a very careful consideration of the evidence and extensive engagement with interested parties including patients and clinicians. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for Ministers to intervene.