Tristan Osborne

The government works with the Hospitality Sector Council to address challenges facing the sector, including community pubs. The Government’s £1.5 million Hospitality Support Scheme co-funds projects to help community pubs adapt to their communities’ changing needs. The Government is also conducting an exercise to understand potential market barriers for small brewers. Interested parties can contact beermarketreview@businessandtrade.gov.uk.

Tied tenant landlords of pub-owning businesses with 500 or more tied pubs in England and Wales are protected by the Pubs Code which ensures they are treated fairly and lawfully and are no worse off than if not subject to any product or service tie. The third statutory review of the Pubs Code and Pubs Code Adjudicator is underway and the call for inputs is open until 14 August 2025.

On 29 July 2024 the Secretary of State for Business and Trade announced the Government’s intention to deliver negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.

The Secretary of State has spoken to Minister Barkat a number of times since the July 2024 General Election, including on the Free Trade Agreement.

As outlined in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, AI datacentres are a potential new consumer of nuclear power. We see the potential benefits of nuclear-powered datacentres and are considering how to unlock this potential.

Regulatory processes involve multiple steps to demonstrate the nuclear power plant will be safe, secure and can manage its waste, non-proliferation, and environmental obligations. There are multiple variables that drive timelines and costs.

The Department undertakes regular modelling on future energy scenarios, including on demand changes driven by new technology and plans for generating assets. This forms part of the considerations on the wider AI sector.

While there are legitimate reasons for using VPNs, services that deliberately target UK children and promote VPN use to circumvent online safety measures could face enforcement action under the Online Safety Act. Some VPNs may present security or privacy risks, so users are advised to exercise caution when using VPNs.

Government and Ofcom will monitor the impact of potential circumvention techniques on the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act and will consider further options if necessary.

UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act impose obligations on data controllers – including third-party providers - to process data fairly, lawfully, and transparently.

The OSA also requires all providers to give particular regard to the importance of protecting users’ privacy rights when implementing measures to comply with their new safety duties, including age assurance and any content moderation measures.

The ICO has responsibility for monitoring and enforcing the application of data protection legislation in the UK. It has a range of tough criminal and civil enforcement tools at its disposal, including powers of prosecution and powers to issue substantial monetary penalties for serious breaches of the data protection legislation.

The upcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen our defences and ensure that more essential and digital services are protected than ever.

The Bill will require regulated entities to take proportionate steps to address vulnerabilities in our digital economy and protect our essential services against cyber attacks. We will work closely with industry, public sector organisations and regulators to support organisations in complying with their new obligations under the Bill.

By safeguarding our nation's essential services and digital infrastructure, we will create a stable environment in which investment and innovation can thrive.

The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s existing cyber regulatory framework (the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations 2018) by protecting more digital and essential services, putting regulators on a stronger footing, and increasing reporting requirements.

The NIS Regulations covers five sectors (transport, energy, drinking water, health, digital infrastructure) and some digital services (online marketplaces, online search engines, cloud computing services). Where a public body delivers these services, such as NHS Trusts, they are in scope of the NIS Regulations.

The Bill will include powers that will enable more services and sectors to be brought into scope of regulation in the future, where this is considered necessary to address emerging risks.

The Government recently announced £5.5 million funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) for the financial year 2025/26 to support early-stage games studios and talent. This funding will support all existing strands of the UKGF, including the Tranzfuser programme.

The UKGF is administered by UK Games Talent and Finance Community Interest Company which works closely with DCMS on the fund’s design and delivery.

The process to agree the heads of terms for the site for the Leigh Academy Birchwood School in Swanley are ongoing. Work to progress the site for the proposed special free school at Whitstable is awaiting the outcome of a village green application (VGA). In addition to the VGA, local residents have applied to have the site registered as an asset of community value, which Kent County Council would also like to consider.

The government wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. That is why we set out a clear ambition to improve inclusivity in mainstream schools while ensuring that special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

As with all government investment, special and alternative provision free-school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the special educational needs system.

Officials regularly engage with UK Research and Innovation including with Innovate UK as the delivery partner for some of our most significant research programmes.

The Farming Innovation Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, provides grants to support industry-led R&D to develop technologies and innovative practices to drive innovation in agriculture and increase productivity, sustainability and resilience in our farming sectors.

Examples of other collaborative programmes include the Defra co-funded Innovation in Environmental Monitoring programme. This programme has connected industry and research to the growing UK environmental monitoring sector, ensuring that the public and private sectors work in partnership to develop and test new sensing capabilities that can be commercialised, helping to boost the UK’s economic growth.

This programme has supported technologies in fields such as environmental DNA, artificial intelligence, remote sensing and acoustic monitoring.

Under Simpler Recycling, local authorities and other waste collectors are required to collect the following recyclable waste streams from all households and workplaces in England: glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, food waste (and garden waste from households only). These measures apply from 31 March 2025 from workplaces, 31 March 2026 from households and 31 March 2027 from micro-firms (with less than 10 FTEs).

In May 2024, Parliament made the Simpler Recycling Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 [1] and Government published guidance [2] that included a description of the materials in scope of collection within each of the recyclable waste streams required for collection under Simpler Recycling in England.

During our call for evidence on bio-based, biodegradable and compostable plastics, concerns were highlighted by the waste and recycling industry over the suitability for recycling biodegradable and compostable plastics. Consequently, the guidance set out that packaging labelled ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’ cannot be recycled with food waste, nor be collected within the plastic recycling waste stream.

Biodegradable and compostable plastics will also not be included as a separate recyclable waste stream in the amended Environmental Protection Act 1990, and we do not propose to include these materials in any of the other recyclable waste streams. Plastic packaging materials labelled as “compostable”, or “biodegradable” are not generally collected for recycling as these materials can contaminate mechanical recycling streams; therefore, should be placed in the residual waste stream. However, we do recognise the valid role compostable plastics play in some applications and closed-loop contexts (e.g. where they are able to be collected and processed correctly at an industrial composter).

[1] The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024

[2] Simpler recycling: workplace recycling in England - GOV.UK

Defra has not carried out a specific assessment of soft plastic recycling schemes offered by supermarkets.

Under Defra’s Simpler Recycling reforms, The Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2024 require flexible plastics to be collected from kerbside from 31^st March 2027. We are aware of the delivery challenges surrounding the collection of flexible plastics and recognise that stakeholders need more time to address these. This is why the requirement to collect flexible plastics will not come in until 31st March 2027. Ahead of the requirement coming into effect, existing kerbside, front of store and postal take back of plastic films will continue and are expected to increase in response to certainty over the timing of the introduction of this new collection requirement.

To help support these delivery challenges, Defra has also provided financial support for the multi-million-pound FlexCollect project, launched in May 2022, funding Local Authorities to roll out kerbside plastic film collection trials. The FlexCollect final report was published on 1 September 2025. Defra will analyse the results of the trials, alongside wider evidence, to ensure we make the implementation of flexible plastics a success. We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure issues surrounding end markets and reprocessing are taken into account and addressed in the lead up to the 2027 implementation date.

Fisheries Management Plans are evidence-based plans developed in accordance with the Fisheries Act 2020. They set out short, medium and long-term actions to restore or maintain fish stocks at sustainable levels and meet the requirements of Article 6.3.

To date, Defra has developed and published six FMPs which are available at www.gov.uk/government/collections/fisheries-management-plans#published-fmps which we are now beginning to implement. For example, last year we introduced legislation to better manage fly seine fishing in the English Channel, increased the minimum conservation reference sizes for brill, lemon sole, turbot and crawfish to protect the juveniles of these species.

We are working closely with regulators and enforcing authorities, including trading standards, to ensure that they are prepared for the introduction of the single-use vapes ban on 1 June 2025 and to ensure that relevant information is shared.

As this is live planning application that is yet to be decided, unfortunately I cannot comment in detail at this time. The Secretary of State will assess all evidence provided to her, by the applicant, the Examining Authority, and any parties who chose to make written representations. This will include information on economic impacts. Once the decision is made, the decision letter will set out the full rationale.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests and has announced further measures to review the driving test booking system.

On the 18 December 2024, a call for evidence was launched, seeking views on the current rules to book tests. This will lead to consultation on improving processes, with potential future legislative changes. On the 23 April the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced, amongst other measures, that this consultation has been fast-tracked to May 2025.

On 6 January 2025, DVSA introduced new terms and conditions for use of the service driving instructors and trainers use to book and manage practical driving tests for their pupils. Since this change DVSA has issued 25 warnings, 4 suspensions, and closed 90 business accounts.

My Department is working with Southeastern, Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail to address reliability issues on the Rainham route, particularly following a rise in cancellations since the beginning of the year driven by employee sickness and training demands linked to new technology.

Higham station currently has two Thameslink services per hour with additional Southeastern services at peak times. Station coverage is monitored to ensure a minimum service of one train per hour in each direction and Southeastern services can be scheduled to make additional stops at Higham if required.

The Blue Badge scheme is primarily about helping people with a long-term disability, that affects their capacity to access the goods and services they need to use. Anyone may be entitled to a badge if they meet the eligibility criteria. The Department has no plans to amend the current eligibility criteria.

The Department has previously issued local authorities with advice on how they could use existing powers to provide locally determined parking concessions within their areas. For example, some local authorities grant parking concessions to assist their elderly residents. The same powers could be used to help those with temporary mobility problems or conditions.

Kent County Council plans to submit an Outline Business Case to the Department in summer 2026. If this is approved, under current arrangements the Department’s maximum funding contribution would be up to a maximum of 85% of the total estimated cost at Outline Business Case stage. This would be conditional on approval by government to a Full Business Case. The Council currently forecasts works starting in spring 2029.

We have committed to introduce a new requirement that claimants must score a minimum of four points in at least one daily living activity to be eligible for the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The PIP assessment considers the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability, not the health condition or disability itself. Therefore, the impact in each case will depend on an individual’s circumstances. For those already on PIP, the changes will only apply from November 2026 at their next award review, subject to parliamentary approval. People will be reviewed by a trained assessor or healthcare professional and assessed on individual needs and circumstance. More information on the impacts and equality analysis for these changes published on 26 March can be found: Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper - GOV.UK .

In the Green Paper, Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, we have committed to exploring ways to improve the PIP assessment. We are exploring digitalising transfer of medical information, using evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for people with very severe health conditions to undergo functional assessments, and improving communication with people receiving awards who are expected to remain on disability benefits for life. We have also committed to a full review of the PIP assessment.

Alongside this, the Green Paper also includes plans to improve trust in the process. These plans include reviewing our approach to safeguarding, recording assessments to increase transparency, and moving back to having more face-to-face assessments while continuing to meet the needs of people who may require different methods of assessment.

The Government is committed to innovation in drones and other growth sectors, and work is ongoing across Government, including between the Department of Health and Social Care and the Civil Aviation Authority, to support the safe and effective introduction of drones into medical logistics.

Last year, the Department of Health and Social Care, working in collaboration with the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, and UK Research and Innovation, supported five pilot projects, allocating them a total of £500,000 to explore the use of drones in the National Health Service. Given the potential of drones to improve how the NHS delivers patient care, the Department of Health and Social Care is supportive of trials that explore the use of drones in medical logistics.

Recent drone trials in the NHS have included pathology deliveries in Cornwall, blood deliveries in London, and the transport of chemotherapy to the Isle of Wight, where drone use reduced journey times from four hours by road and sea to a 30-minute flight

The National Institute for Health and Care Research has also funded a study into the use of drones to deliver defibrillators in emergency simulations, with more information available at the following link:

https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/drones-could-deliver-defibrillators-cardiac-arrest-patients-uk

Currently, there are no plans to deploy drone technologies carrying defibrillators outside of trials. The Department of Health and Social Care continuously reviews the available evidence surrounding the use of drones in medical logistics and is supportive of new trials, including those involving defibrillators, to further build this evidence base.

Referral to Treatment data published by NHS England shows that the waiting list at the Medway NHS Foundation Trust was 43,722 at the end of July 2024.

Official statistics have not yet been released for June 2025, though the latest published data shows the waiting list was 40,087 at the end of May 2025. This marks a reduction of 3,635 in the waiting list from July 2024.

Provisional management information published by NHS England estimates the waiting list to be 39,980 in the week ending 29 June 2025.

Official statistics containing data for June will be published on 14 August.

Referral to Treatment data published by NHS England shows that the waiting list at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was 45,074 at the end of July 2024.

Official statistics have not yet been released for June 2025, though the latest published data shows the waiting list was 46,988 at the end of May 2025. This marks an increase of 1,914 from July 2024.

Provisional management information published by NHS England estimates the waiting list to be 48,944 in the week ending 29 June 2025.

Last year, we provided technical support to Medway Community Healthcare to help the organisation respond to and recover from a cyber incident. In the past year we have invested £37.6 million across health and social care, building on the £338 million invested since 2017. Through our ambitious Cyber Improvement Programme, we are tackling the changing cyber risk head-on, expanding protection and services to better protect the health and care system.

The Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) online self-assessment tool allows organisations to measure their performance against national expectations. Guidance and regular webinars are available via the DSPT website. Further guidance and cyber alerts are published on the NHS England cyber and data security website and via the National Cyber Security Centre. Organisations can report urgent cyber security issues to the National Health Service data security helpline, which is available 24/7. We are currently reviewing our national policy on cyber security for social enterprises and community interest companies.

The Department does not hold data at the requested granularity. Tackling waiting lists remains a top priority for the Government. We are working to cut National Health Service waiting lists and to ensure people have the best possible experience during their care. As a first step, we have exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over three million more appointments. We have seen a reduction in the national list of over 219,000 since July 2024.

The UK's clear position on illegal Israeli settlements is set out on the Overseas Business Risk website. We advise British businesses to bear in mind the British Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region.

Border crossings out of Gaza have been closed to civilians and general traffic since the Israeli military took control of the Rafah crossing on 6 May 2024. We are working with authorities in the region to help British nationals leave Gaza. We are also able to try to help Palestinian nationals to leave where they have a spouse or partner, or a child aged 17 or under currently living in the UK, and they hold valid permission to enter or remain in the UK for longer than 6 months.

The Government is committed to supporting the UK’s world-leading asset management sector.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK to benefit from increased marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients.

Semi-transparent and non-transparent ETFs which are domiciled in Europe can list in the UK and market to retail investors, following the UK’s recognition of certain retail funds from the EEA states, under the Overseas Funds Regime.

At present no non-transparent or semi-transparent ETFs have sought to be established in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority, as the relevant regulator, would deal with any such applications on a case-by-case basis.

The UK is home to the world’s second largest investment management sector, with over £10.9 trillion of assets under management (11% of global assets). The UK has historic expertise in portfolio management, a crucial part of the Financial Services ecosystem. The UK Government is committed to supporting this important sector and in the recently published Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy committed to be one of the most competitive places globally to manage investments.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK for a range of reasons including marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients.

The Government has undertaken a wealth of work to enhance the UK’s fund domicile offering, including as part of the recent review of the UK funds regime. This has led to the introduction of new UK fund structures focused on enhancing real-economy investment including the Reserved Investor Fund, the Long-Term Asset Fund and Qualifying Asset Holding Companies.

The UK is home to the world’s second largest investment management sector, with over £10.9 trillion of assets under management (11% of global assets). The UK has historic expertise in portfolio management, a crucial part of the Financial Services ecosystem. The UK Government is committed to supporting this important sector and in the recently published Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy committed to be one of the most competitive places globally to manage investments.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are often domiciled outside of the UK for a range of reasons including marketing access, and existing pockets of administrative expertise. However, many of these funds are still managed here - 49% of all assets managed in the UK are managed on behalf of overseas clients.

The Government has undertaken a wealth of work to enhance the UK’s fund domicile offering, including as part of the recent review of the UK funds regime. This has led to the introduction of new UK fund structures focused on enhancing real-economy investment including the Reserved Investor Fund, the Long-Term Asset Fund and Qualifying Asset Holding Companies.

The Plastic Packaging Tax provides a clear economic incentive for businesses to use recycled plastic in the manufacture of plastic packaging, thereby stimulating the collection and recycling of plastic waste and diverting it away from landfill or incineration. The government has no plans to review the definition of recycled plastic that is used for the tax.

The Government recognises the importance of the UK’s video games sector and the key role it plays in driving economic growth. As part of our modern Industrial Strategy, we are developing a creative industries sector plan with business, local leaders, and sector experts.

The Government supports the video games sector through the tax system and through funding. Video games companies already benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.

In addition, companies may benefit from the £5.5 million UK Games Fund for 2025/26, which helps high-potential start-ups scale-up.

When considering new tax reliefs, the Government has to balance a wide range of factors, including the fiscal position and complexity of the tax system.

We are ensuring the UK is a harder target for states that seek to harm our people and interests

We have established a cross-Whitehall Joint Unit for state threats, launched the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme on 1 July, placing Iran and Russia on the enhanced tier, and are taking forward recommendations from the comprehensive review of transnational repression.

The Prime Minister announced at the end of July that the UK will medically evacuate Gazan children for treatment in the UK. A cross-government taskforce is working urgently to get some of these sick and injured children out of Gaza, so that they can receive specialist treatment in NHS hospitals across the UK.

We are working at pace to do so as quickly as possible, and the first patients and their immediate family members are expected to arrive in the UK in the coming weeks. Visa applications will be dealt with in a timely and sensitive manner. Helping people leave a war-zone is a highly complex and dangerous process and their safety and wellbeing are our top priority, so we will not be providing a running commentary on the evacuation process.

The Government’s mission to halve knife crime over a decade will be delivered through tougher enforcement and stronger prevention, and we are actively considering a range of options to achieve those goals, further details of which will be set out in the normal way in due course.

The Crime and Policing Bill has already introduced a number of measures which will strengthen the management of sex offenders, including requiring registered sex offenders to provide notification in advance of changing their name and placing restrictions on certain offenders changing their name without seeking police authorisation.

In addition to the above measures, regulations will be made under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which expand the notifiable information that must be provided by registered sex offenders. The additional notifiable information will include:

• Change of gender;
• Changes in the cohabitants at their home address;
• Telephone numbers;
• Email addresses;
• Details of any employment, self-employment or voluntary positions;
• User-to-user internet service accounts (e.g., social media or dating app accounts); and
• Details of all identity documents held.

The changes to the notifiable information will allow the police to monitor registered sex offenders more closely and protect the public from the risk of sexual harm. We will continue to keep this area under review as we formulate our long term strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.

This government is taking significant steps to make sure violence against women and girls is treated as the national emergency it is. Already, in the first six months of this Government, that has included:

• Embedding the first domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms in five police forces under Raneem’s Law.
• Starting the long-awaited roll-out of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders.
• Giving the police new powers to disclose the identities of online stalkers.
• Bringing forward a new standalone criminal offence of spiking.
• And improving the management of perpetrators by ensuring that those convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour, and sentenced to 12 months or longer, are now automatically managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements.

These are just some of the crucial first steps we have taken as part of our unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.