To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received data from the Scottish Government on the average waiting time for a child autism assessment in (a) Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency, (b) Lanarkshire and (c) Scotland in the last 12 months.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has received data from the Scottish Government on the average waiting time for a child autism assessment in (a) Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency, (b) Lanarkshire and (c) Scotland in the last 12 months.
The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) form the UK’s data protection regime. The legislation sets out the responsibilities of:
It also details the rights that people have - for example, a right to access to their personal data.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) oversees and enforces the law.
As Members of Parliament are “controllers”, they must comply with the 2018 Act and the UK GDPR. The ICO has published Guidance for the use of personal data by elected representatives in carrying out constituency casework (updated September 2023).
The Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) form the UK’s data protection regime. The legislation sets out the responsibilities of:
Major central banks around the world tightened monetary policy in response to rising inflation, initially caused by higher goods and energy prices, as well as bottlenecks in global supply chains. Some are now beginning to cut rates.
On 7 November, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point to 4.75%. The MPC vote was eight members in favour of the cut and one in favour of leaving rates unchanged. The MPC last cut rates in August.
The MPC’s previous cycle of rate increases – from 0.1% in December 2021 to 5.25% in August 2023 – came in response to high inflation, which peaked at 11.1% in October 2022. Since then, inflation has fallen, and was 1.7% in September 2024 on the CPI measure – slightly below the MPC’s target of 2%. The Bank of England expects the inflation rate to rise to 2.8% by the third quarter of 2025 before easing.
The results of the next scheduled MPC meeting will be announced on 19 December.
The MPC is reducing the size of its asset purchase – or quantitative easing, QE – programme from its peak value of £895bn to £655bn on 30 October 2024. It is doing this by letting some of the government bonds it holds mature and by actively selling some of the bonds it holds to the market. At its September 2024 meeting, the MPC said it planned to reduced the size of the assets it holds by a further £100bn over the next year.
QE consists of the Bank creating new money electronically (as central bank reserves) and then using it to purchase financial assets, mostly government bonds.
In March 2020 the Bank introduced measures in response to Covid-19. Interest rates were cut to 0.1% - the lowest they have ever been. They remained at this level until December 2021. The MPC also expanded its quantitative easing (QE) programme by £450bn in 2020 and 2021, taking the total value of assets it owned to a peak of £895bn. For more, see section 4.2 of the Library briefing paper, Coronavirus: Economic impact.
Interest rates were cut by 0.25 of a percentage point to a range of 4.50% to 4.75% by the Fed at its policy meeting ending 7 November. Inflation was 2.4% in September, with the Fed saying progress toward its 2% target had been made but that inflation “remains somewhat elevated”. The Fed slowed the pace it reduces the assets it holds in its Quantitative Easing programme from $95bn to $60bn per month from June 2024.
The Fed's next scheduled policy meeting ends on 18 December.
Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed had by 15 March 2020 cut interest rates to close to 0% from 1.5%‑1.75% prior to the pandemic. On 23 March 2020, the Fed announced a wide range of measures designed to support the economy. This included buying debt from the government, corporations and purchasing other securities (such as those backed by mortgages and other assets). The Fed began to raise rates again in March 2022, taking them from 0-0.25% to 5.25-5.50% in July 2023.
At its 12 December 2024 meeting the ECB cut its main interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point, with the deposit rate lowered from 3.25% to 3.0%. This was the fourth time the ECB has cut rates since its cycle of rate rises ended in September 2023 (the first cut was in June 2024). Further rate cuts are expected in 2025.
The ECB, since March 2023, is unwinding one of its main quantitative easing programmes, with reductions to the overall size of its pandemic-related QE programme in the second half of 2024.
The ECB's next scheduled policy meeting ends on 30 January.
The ECB launched its pandemic response on 12 March 2020 and expanded it significantly on 18 March and 4 June. The ECB has also made cheap loans available to banks to encourage them to lend to businesses.
In July 2022, the ECB announced the creation of a new bond purchase programme, the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI). The TPI is designed to be used, if needed, to lower government borrowing costs in individual countries, if these costs are rising due to “unwarranted, disorderly market dynamics”.
This briefing is part of our Economic Indicators series. Visit the main Economic Indicators page to see data on other parts of the economy.
Major central banks around the world tightened monetary policy in response to rising inflation, initially caused by higher goods and energy prices, as well as bottlenecks in global supply chains. Some are now beginning to cut rates.
On 7 November, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee...
On 4 December 2023 the Conservative Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced some changes to visa rules in what he described as a “five-point plan” to reduce immigration. The Home Office released more information later that month, including some adjustments to what had initially been announced.
The changes came into force in accordance with two sets of revisions to the Immigration Rules released on 19 February and 14 March. The Labour government which took office in July 2024 supports most of the new rules, although it is reviewing the policy on the minimum income to sponsor a spouse/partner visa.
No. Revision of visa regulations is done through statements of changes to the Immigration Rules. The government laid two statements before Parliament to implement these changes, one on 19 February 2024 (care worker dependants) and another on 14 March 2024 (family and work visa income thresholds).
Statements of changes take effect automatically unless either the House of Commons or House of Lords actively votes to annul them within 40 days. Usually there is no vote and the Government is not obliged to make time for one in the Commons even if MPs table motions against the changes (as Alison Thewliss of the Scottish National Party did: Early Day Motions 573 and 574).
There were non-binding Westminster Hall debates in April 2024 and November 2024. These did not involve a vote. Another non-binding debate is scheduled for 20 January 2025.
Conservative ministers felt that immigration is far too high. Net migration (the number of immigrants minus the number of emigrants) has been at record levels, now estimated at 866,000 in 2023.
International students, social care workers and their immediate family members (dependants) were the main contributors to the recent increase in net migration, along with humanitarian visa schemes and people claiming asylum.
The changes announced in December 2023 followed restrictions on student dependant rules announced separately in May 2023 and in force since the start of 2024. The Home Office said that 300,000 of the people who moved to the UK in 2023 would not have been able to come had all these changes been in place then.
Labour agrees that immigration is too high and should be reduced.
Only to first-time applicants. A Government spokesperson initially said the higher threshold would apply to visa extensions, but the Home Office later announced that it will not. The notes accompanying to the Immigration Rules published on 14 March explain:
There are transitional arrangements for those who, before 11 April, already have a Family visa within the fiancé(e) or proposed civil partner or five-year partner route, or who applied before 11 April and are being granted. Once a minimum income requirement (MIR) has been met, the same MIR must be met through to settlement on the route, provided the applicant is applying to stay with the same partner.
This means that someone whose fiancé(e), partner or spouse applied for a visa before 11 April 2024 will only need to demonstrate a minimum income of £18,600 per year. This transitional exemption will apply to their initial visa application, future visa extension applications, and future applications for settlement (also known as indefinite leave to remain).
When applying for the initial visa from outside the UK, only the sponsor’s income can be counted towards the minimum income threshold. For extensions and permanent residence, both incomes count. People generally need to provide evidence of having earned that income for the past six months (although the exact rules are complicated).
There are also some options for people who do not earn the minimum income, allowing them to qualify for the visa by other means such as by using savings above £16,000 or in exceptional circumstances.
None of this changed in 2024.
Yes. The basic rule is the same as before: only savings above £16,000, divided by 2.5, count towards the threshold.
Usually people will add savings to the sponsor's income to get to the threshold, although they are also allowed to use only savings. A couple with no relevant earnings who are looking to meet the threshold entirely through savings now need a lump sum of £88,500.
As with the main income rule, people generally need to have had the required amount of savings in their account(s) for six months before applying.
Yes, but only to £23,496, the armed forces minimum wage.
Many countries require proof of sufficient economic resources. The way the requirement is expressed and assessed varies, making exact comparisons difficult.
Where countries do express the requirement as a minimum income, such as in Belgium or Norway, Library research did not find any examples of the threshold being set above or close to £38,700 (the level the Conservative government ultimately intended to reach). The UK’s rules on what income sources count towards the threshold are also stricter than in other countries, according to the Migration Observatory at Oxford University.
Opponents of the minimum income policy often cite a ranking called the Migrant Integration Policy Index or MIPEX. In 2020, the UK was placed second from bottom among 56 countries for ease of family reunion. The family reunion ranking takes minimum income-style rules into account, along with various other factors, in comparing the various countries.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour Home Secretary, says she will keep the threshold at £29,000 until the Migration Advisory Committee has reviewed the whole issue. The committee might recommend that the threshold go up, go down or stay the same. The Home Secretary does not have to accept the committee’s recommendation, but it will be very influential.
The committee has been asked to report in June 2025. Any changes are only likely to affect first-time applicants.
No. The Minister for Legal Migration announced in December 2023 that “those already in the Skilled work route, and applications made before the rules change, will not be subject to the new £38,700 salary threshold when they change employment, extend, or settle”.
The revised Immigration Rules confirm that someone who had a Skilled Worker visa before 4 April 2024, and applies to extend it or for settlement before 4 April 2030, does not need to meet the thresholds now in place for first-time applicants. They only need to be paid whichever is the higher of £29,000 (rather than £38,700) and the 'lower going rate' for that job (rather than the 'standard going rate').
People applying for their first Skilled Worker visa after 4 April 2024 can still be paid less than the new salary thresholds in some circumstances. This includes people at the start of their career, such as those aged under 26 or on a Graduate visa. There are also different salaries for NHS staff and education workers, based on national pay scales. Social care workers are a special case and can be paid £23,200.
On 4 December 2023 the Conservative Home Secretary, James Cleverly, announced some changes to visa rules in what he described as a “five-point plan” to reduce immigration. The Home Office released more information later that month, including some adjustments to what had initially been announced.
The changes came into force in accordance with two sets of revisions to the...
From 8 October 2023, Hezbollah, a non-state group based in Lebanon that the UK has proscribed as a terrorist organisation, launched missile attacks against Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched air strikes in response. In September 2024, a strike killed Hezbollah’s leader. Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon on 1 October 2024. A ceasefire was agreed between Israel and Hezbollah on 26 November 2024.
This briefing provides information on the Israel-Hezbollah conflict since October 2023, and on the UK and international response. This includes the ceasefire agreement of November 2024. The Commons Library collection, Middle East instability in 2024, has more research on the region.
The Armed Conflict and Location Data Project (ACLED) estimates that there were 7,000 cross-border attacks between Israel and Hezbollah from October 2023 to June 2024. These actions caused large-scale displacement of civilians in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon.
Since 2023, the Israeli Government has said that it is seeking the return of Israeli civilians to the north by diplomatic means, but would use military means if other alternatives were exhausted. The Lebanese Government had argued an end to the Israel-Hamas conflict would likely bring an end to Hezbollah attacks. Hezbollah long said it would only support a ceasefire in Lebanon if one was held in Gaza (though following the Israeli offensive in October 2024 it said it was open to a ceasefire in Lebanon first).
On 17 and 18 September 2024, pager explosions in Lebanon killed a reported 27 people and injured around 4,450 people, including some children, according to the Lebanese Government. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. Lebanon’s Government has blamed Israel.
On 1 October 2024, the IDF said it entered southern Lebanon to conduct “limited” military operations against Hezbollah members and infrastructure. On 8 October, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to the “people of Lebanon […] free your country from Hezbollah so that this war can end”. The United States said it supported “limited ground incursions” targeting Hezbollah as a means to achieve Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the border and the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006) (see below).
As of 26 November 2024, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that in Lebanon (based on Lebanese Government statements) there had been at least 3,961 conflict-related deaths since 8 October 2023, with at least 16,520 injured. The Lebanese Government also reported that around 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, with 90% displaced in the last week of September 2024 as a result of fighting and Israeli air attacks. Around 469,000 were estimated to have been displaced to Syria. The UN Human Rights Office estimated that on 7 October a quarter of Lebanese territory was under “Israeli military displacement orders”.
The Israeli Government says around 60,000 Israelis were evacuated from the north, and 45 civilians and 75 IDF soldiers killed, to November 2024.
When the ceasefire was agreed in November 2024, the IDF said it had destroyed 70% of Hezbollah’s stockpile of unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) and cruise missiles and killed between 2,500 and 3,500 Hezbollah operatives (its total number of fighters is estimated to be around 40,000 to 50,000). In October 2024 then Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Hezbollah was no longer an effective proxy for Iran to threaten Israel.
The United States and others, including the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, called for negotiations to end the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. They said negotiations should be held in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). This, among other elements, requires Hezbollah to disarm, for there to be no foreign troops in Lebanon without the government’s permission, and for the Lebanese Armed Forces to have full territorial control of Lebanon, including the southern areas bordering Israel.
Two proposals for a ceasefire, of 21 days, and 60 days, made in September and October 2024 respectively, were considered.
On 26 November 2024 President Biden announced that a ceasefire was agreed, and was intended to be “permanent”. This will include the withdrawal of the IDF from southern Lebanon over a 60-day period and the deployment of Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL to these areas. Israel retains the right to target Hezbollah in self-defence. The US and France would monitor its provisions. There have been some attacks and fighting into December 2024.
Since October 2023, the government has advised against all travel to Lebanon. It says that all Britons should leave while commercial flights remain available. Those in Lebanon should register their presence with the UK Government for updates. The government has deployed Border Force, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials and around 1,200 troops to Cyprus to assist UK nationals. It also has aircraft and transport helicopters on standby if necessary. The most recent government-charted flight was on 6 October. More will be organised if demand increases.
In September 2024 Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the UN General Assembly that Hezbollah and Israel should “step back from the brink [and] we need to see an immediate ceasefire”. In a statement to the Commons in July 2024, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, told MPs that a “widening of the conflict is in nobody’s interest” and the government would continue to press for a solution based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006). The UK Government welcomed the ceasefire of November 2024.
The UK provided £854 million in humanitarian aid to Lebanon from 2009 to 2022 to support stability and the 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In 2024/25, it plans up to £31 million in humanitarian aid.
It has provided £100 million in support to the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2009. In October 2024, ration packs and medical equipment was sent.
UNIFIL is mandated by the UN Security Council to monitor the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon following the 2006 conflict and support the Lebanese Armed Forces to extend Lebanese government control throughout the country. In 2024, it has reported attacks on its positions by the IDF, Hezbollah and groups not-yet determined. The IDF says it “takes every precaution” to minimise harm against peacekeepers. The Israeli Government has called on UNIFIL to withdraw from some areas of fighting.
The UK has joined with statements from the UN Security Council, France, Germany and other G7 members in support of UNIFIL and its role in Lebanon. The UK Government says it has raised the need to protect UNIFIL forces with the Israeli Government and called on Israel and Hezbollah to refrain from attacks against the force.
On 6 October 2024 then Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell said the “right approach is not a ceasefire” and that Hezbollah could end the conflict by withdrawing from southern Lebanon in line with the UN Security Council Resolution. Liberal Democrat Foreign Affairs spokesperson Calum Miller has backed the government’s call for a ceasefire. The party has criticised the fall in UK aid to Lebanon in recent years due to reductions in the UK aid budget from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5% from 2021.
From 8 October 2023, Hezbollah, a non-state group based in Lebanon that the UK has proscribed as a terrorist organisation, launched missile attacks against Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched air strikes in response. In September 2024, a strike killed Hezbollah’s...
HS2 is a project to build a high-speed rail line in England. HS2 was originally planned to connect London to Birmingham, Manchester, East Midlands Parkway, Leeds and York.
However, in October 2023 then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that HS2 would only run from London to the West Midlands. The Prime Minister highlighted cost overruns, delays and changes to post-covid travel as key reasons why he cancelled the line north of the West Midlands. In October 2024, the Labour government confirmed it would not resurrect the cancelled phases.
In addition to confirming that it would not resurrect the cancelled phases of HS2, the Labour government also announced that it would take urgent action to tackle the “spiralling” costs and launch an independent review into the oversight of HS2.
In the October 2024 Budget, the government also confirmed that it would provide funding for the HS2 tunnels to London Euston and was looking for private funding for the HS2 station at Euston and the surrounding area. The original plan was for HS2 to run to Euston, but in October 2023 the Conservative government announced plans to for this to be funded by the private sector. This led to uncertainty about whether the HS2 station at Euston and tunnels from Euston to Old Oak Common would attract sufficient private investment.
The case for a high-speed railway running through the centre of Britain was first formally made by the Labour government in 2010 to address capacity constraints on the existing north-south rail links in England. Proponents of the project also say it will reduce journey times, create jobs and help the country's economy. The government has seen investment in HS2 – and wider transport investment – as an opportunity to drive growth in regional economies and create opportunities for regeneration.
Following the 2023 announcement of the cancellation of the HS2 line north of the West Midlands, the Conservative government argued that there will still be an increase in capacity on the busiest part of the West Coast Main Line due to the construction of Phase 1, and that trains will be able to continue on the existing rail network to serve destinations in the north west, Scotland and other locations. However, critics have questioned whether capacity constraints on the existing network will mean that the full benefits of Phase 1 will not be realised.
The line was originally planned in three phases:
Following the then Prime Minister’s announcement in October 2023, only Phase 1 will now go ahead. When complete, Phase 1 will be the country's second high-speed line, the first being High Speed 1, which connects London to the Channel Tunnel.
A hybrid bill for the western leg, the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill, was introduced to Parliament on 24 January 2022. On 24 April 2022, the House agreed a motion to suspend proceedings and the bill was carried over to the 2022–23 and then the 2023–24 Session.
In March 2024, the government announced its intention to re-purpose the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill for the construction of the part of the route that will be used by Northern Powerhouse Rail. Following the 2024 general election, the High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill was re-introduced on 25 July 2024.
The cancellation of HS2 north of the West Midlands has resulted in uncertainty for related projects, in particular Northern Powerhouse Rail, which was intended to use HS2 tracks between High Legh (near Manchester Airport) and Manchester Piccadilly Station.
With the potential exception of the HS2 station at Euston, the government is directly funding HS2. In 2012, it was estimated that HS2 Phase 1 would cost £20.5 billion (in 2019 prices). Since then, forecast costs have grown, and the most recent estimate (January 2024) was £49 billion to £56.6 billion (in 2019 prices). This has led to some to question whether Phase 1 should also be cancelled.
Cost increases have been driven by high inflation, as well as scope changes, worse ground conditions than expected, and optimism bias.
When proposed in the 2010 white paper, work on Phase 1 was expected to start in January 2013, with an opening date of December 2026 (PDF). Since then, the project has been delayed. The most recent six-monthly report to Parliament (November 2023) gives an estimated opening date between 2029 and 2033, and HS2 Ltd has a target date of 2030. This excludes the HS2 station at Euston and the tunnel between Euston and Old Oak Common.
Delays have been caused by several factors. These include:
The Minister for Rail has committed to providing a six-monthly progress report to Parliament. The latest six-monthly progress report was made on 15 November 2023. Both the Public Accounts Committee and the Transport Committee have undertaken inquiries into HS2. As a project in the government’s Major Project Portfolio, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority also provides annual updates on the status of HS2.
Following the cancellation of the HS2 line north of the West Midlands, the mayors of Manchester and the West Midlands commissioned a report which recommended the construction of a cheaper alternative, the Midlands-North West Rail Link (PDF) (sometimes called “HS2-Light”). This would consist of a new railway line between the northern end of the HS2 Phase 1 route, Crewe, and the proposed new railway line between Warrington, Manchester and Yorkshire.
The report also recommended leveraging private sector investment, with central and local government partnering to fund the balance.
In response, the government has said it is considering this plan. It has also said it will not dispose of any land already purchased for HS2 until it has considered whether the land would be needed for this proposed railway line.
More information on HS2 is given in the following Library briefings:
HS2 is a project to build a high-speed rail line in England. HS2 was originally planned to connect London to Birmingham, Manchester, East Midlands Parkway, Leeds and York.
However, in October 2023 then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that HS2 would only run from London to the West Midlands....
On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, with forces crossing into the country from Belarus in the north, Russia in the east and Crimea in the south. After failing to take the capital, Kyiv, in 2022, fighting is now focused in south and eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s military actions forced many Ukrainians to leave the county and have resulted in significant damage to Ukrainian infrastructure and public services, creating a substantial level of humanitarian need and reconstruction costs.
The current conflict has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis that has been ongoing in eastern Ukraine since 2014. In that year, Russia annexed Crimea. Two regions in the Donbas, controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces, also declared independence.
The briefing describes the humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the number of displaced people, and what aid the UK and others have pledged from 2022.
The Commons Library’s Conflict in Ukraine hub page provides more analysis on the conflict, including sanctions and meeting the costs of reconstruction.
The situation in eastern Ukraine since 2014 caused the country’s humanitarian needs to grow. To January 2021, over 3,000 civilians were killed (PDF) and the UN estimated around 2.9 million people were in need of humanitarian aid (such as support to access shelter or health services) (at February 2022).
Between February 2022 and November 2024, more than 12,340 civilians have been killed (note this is a likely underestimate, according to UN monitors) and the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance stands at 14.6 million (Ukraine has an estimated population of 34 million).
In February 2024, the Government of Ukraine, the European Union and UN estimated the cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery stood at US$486 billion. The World Bank also estimates Ukraine’s gross domestic product fell 29% in 2022 and poverty also increased from 6% to 25% of the population.
Around 6 million refugees from Ukraine are recorded across Europe, and an additional 3.7 million are displaced within the country. Russia currently hosts the highest number of Ukrainian refugees (1.2 million), followed by Germany (1.2 million) and Poland (981,000). Around 252,000 refugees are in the UK.
From 2010 to 2021, the UK provided a total of £204 million in bilateral aid (aid given for a specific programme or purpose) to Ukraine to improve Ukrainian governance and address humanitarian needs. In 2022, the UK provided £342 million in bilateral aid; this fell to £250 million in 2023. Data reported to the Development Assistance Committee, which includes the world’s major aid donors (except China) shows the UK was the seventh-largest donor of aid to Ukraine in 2022.
Specific UK aid pledges include:
In September 2024 Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed the plans of the Conservative Government to provide £242 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine in 2024/25. This will provide emergency assistance, support the Ukrainian energy sector, and fund investigations into potential war crimes.
From December 2021 to February 2024, the UK has announced £6.5 billion of fiscal support to Ukraine via World Bank loan bank guarantees and grants.
G7 members are the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, the United States, and Japan, as well as the European Union. At the G7 summit in May 2023, the group said it would increase its commitment of budget and economic support for Ukraine for 2023 and early 2024 to US$44 billion. At the June 2024 G7 meeting, G7 leaders said that they would launch ‘extraordinary revenue acceleration loans’ for Ukraine, to make available US$50 billion in additional funding by the end of 2024.
Together with donors, the World Bank has mobilised US$47 billion in finance for Ukraine from February 2022 to September 2024 (around £37 billion).
In March 2023, the IMF also announced a US$15.6 billion programme (£12.8 billion) for 2022 to 2027 as part of its wider package of support for Ukraine.
Update log
December 2024: Added new statistics on FCDO spending and international comparisons
On 24 February 2022 Russia invaded Ukraine, with forces crossing into the country from Belarus in the north, Russia in the east and Crimea in the south. After failing to take the capital, Kyiv, in 2022, fighting is now focused in south and eastern Ukraine.
Russia’s military actions forced many...
In 2020, the UK Government announced it would reduce its aid spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI), in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK’s economy and public finances. Spending is not expected to return to 0.7% during the 2024 to 2029 parliament.
Additional pressure on the UK’s reduced aid budget has come from the requirement to meet existing commitments to international organisations, international climate finance spending, and hosting an increased number of refugees and asylum seekers from 2022.
This briefing explains the international rules that apply on reporting aid spending on refugees in aid-donor countries, the patterns of past UK aid spending on refugees, the significance of this to spending from 2022, and how the Conservative and Labour Governments have responded.
Under international aid rules, many of the costs of hosting refugees can count towards the aid budget for the first 12 months refugees are in the UK. This includes basic subsistence costs, such as food and accommodation.
A growing amount of UK aid has been spent on UK-based refugees, with spending increasing from £410 million in 2016 to £4,273 million in 2023 (rising from 3.2% of the aid budget to 28%). The Home Office was responsible for £2,936 million of this aid spending in 2023. Most support for refugees went towards providing food and shelter.
Other aid, such as on scholarships and administration, is also spent in the UK. In 2023, this totalled £833 million.
The Conservative Government acknowledged that the costs of supporting those arriving from Ukraine, the resettlement of Afghans, and other asylum applications put a pressure on the overseas aid budget.
In March 2023, while acknowledging the aid budget can meet these needs, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), an official body charged with monitoring UK aid spending, argued the UK was not adopting a conservative approach to its reporting, in comparison to many other European countries (see below).
Both the ICAI and Commons International Development Committee recommended the government introduce a funding floor or ring-fence to ensure a proportion of the UK aid budget is spent overseas.
In response to the committee’s recommendation, in May 2023 the Treasury rejected it as “unaffordable” in current circumstances. The government instead announced an additional £2.5 billion in aid for 2022 to 2024 to help restrict the impact of in-donor refugee costs. This funding was classed as aid spending, and resulted in aid spending rising to 0.58% of GNI in 2023.
While welcoming the funding, the ICAI said it would not cover all the costs.
The Labour Government, in office from July 2024, has not announced additional spending to compensate for spending on refugees in the UK in 2024/25. In its Autumn 2024 budget, the Treasury said that the Home Office would take further steps to control the asylum budget. The Minister for International Development, Annelise Dodds, said that the Home Office is “committed to bringing order to the asylum system and has taken steps to unblock the backlog of claims, which will help reduce costs”.
International Development Committee Chair Sarah Champion said the government should have gone further to control asylum spending. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats criticised the lack of additional funding.
In May 2024, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) published a report on how members of the Development Assistance Committee (which includes most major donors, save for China) had used their aid budgets to support Ukrainian refugees (PDF). Spending across DAC countries has increased since 2020, but not as large as the UK.
The report said that the “vast majority” of donors were using funds additional to their originally planned international aid budgets. Some, including Australia and Hungary, did not count the costs towards their aid budgets at all, or only some limited spending (the case in Belgium and Netherlands, for example).
July 2024: Updated with ICAI and OECD reports
December 2024: updated with new FCDO statistics on spending and Labour Government policy
In 2020, the UK Government announced it would reduce its aid spending from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income (GNI), in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the UK’s economy and public finances. Spending is not expected to return to 0.7% during the 2024...
A ‘tourist tax’ (or ‘transient visitor levy’ or ‘occupancy tax’) comprises a levy on the occupation of hotel beds in a local authority area. It normally takes the form of a charge per occupied bed or room per night, levied on short-term accommodation providers. Charges may be set at a flat rate or a percentage of the price of the bed or room.
This research briefing explains how tourist taxes work, and looks at recent debates on their introduction at the UK level. It explains the Scottish Government’s introduction of powers for Scottish local authorities to introduce tourist taxes, and the Welsh Government’s bill to introduce similar powers in Wales. It also explains how some English cities have introduced forms of ‘tourist tax’ using Business Improvement Districts (BIDs).
The briefing also describes alternative forms of tourist tax, including cruise passenger levies, day visitor taxes, and taxes on visitors arriving or departing a state or locality. It provides some detail of commentary, industry views and research on tourist taxes.
A ‘tourist tax’ (or ‘transient visitor levy’ or ‘occupancy tax’) comprises a levy on the occupation of hotel beds in a local authority area. It normally takes the form of a charge per occupied bed or room per night, levied on short-term accommodation providers. Charges may be set at a...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 1 August 2024 from the hon. Member for Yeovil on the closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s hyper acute stroke unit.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the letter of 1 August 2024 from the hon. Member for Yeovil on the closure of Yeovil District Hospital’s hyper acute stroke unit.
I replied to the hon. Member’s letter on 11 December 2024. I apologise for the delay in responding.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will widen the eligibility of free school meals to all children whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will widen the eligibility of free school meals to all children whose parents are in receipt of Universal Credit.
The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps for children eligible for free school meals and their peers. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty, by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025. The taskforce will consider a range of policies in assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to free school meals under review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help ensure that people with Down Syndrome can receive direct payments from local councils.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to help ensure that people with Down Syndrome can receive direct payments from local councils.
Under the Care Act 2014, local authorities should allow those drawing on care to receive their personal budget as a direct payment, where they are satisfied this would be suitable to meet their eligible care needs, and where they have capacity under the conditions of the 2005 Mental Capacity Act to make this request, and manage the direct payment either themselves, with aide from an authorised person, or through an authorised person acting on their behalf.
Additionally, under the Down Syndrome Act 2022, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is required to give guidance to the relevant authorities in health and social care on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. Officials are taking forward, as a priority, development of Down Syndrome Act guidance. We expect to publish the draft guidance for public consultation in the new year.
This Government acknowledges the historic policy prohibiting homosexuality in the Armed Forces was regrettable, wrong and completely unacceptable. Following the publication of Lord Etherton’s Review into the experience of LGBT veterans between 1967-2000, the intent behind all 49 recommendations were accepted by the previous Government and now backed by this...
This Government acknowledges the historic policy prohibiting homosexuality in the Armed Forces was regrettable, wrong and completely unacceptable. Following the publication of Lord Etherton’s Review into the experience of LGBT veterans between 1967-2000, the intent behind all 49 recommendations were accepted by the previous Government and now backed by this...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13775 on Hospices: Children, what his timescale is for announcing funding arrangements for the Children's Hospice Grant for 2025/26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 13775 on Hospices: Children, what his timescale is for announcing funding arrangements for the Children's Hospice Grant for 2025/26.
We are aware that clarity on the 2025/26 funding arrangements is needed to help children’s hospices, as they confirm their budgets. I have met NHS England, Together for Short Lives, and one of the co-chairs of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children Who Need Palliative Care, Lord Balfe, and discussed these issues at length.
The Department is working to confirm funding arrangements as a matter of urgency.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the cost of childcare for everyone.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help reduce the cost of childcare for everyone.
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity, which starts by ensuring every child has the best start in life. It is our ambition for all families to have access to high quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, improving life chances for children and work choices for parents.
The government is committed to delivering a modern childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, providing every child with a firm foundation which sets them up for life and ensures parents are able to work the jobs and hours they choose, breaking down the barriers to opportunity for every family.
From September 2024, eligible working parents of children aged nine months and above have been able to access 15 hours of government funded childcare per week (over 38 weeks a year), and from September 2025 working parents will be able to access 30 hours per week (over 38 weeks a year) for children from aged nine months to when they start school.
As announced at the Autumn Budget 2024, we expect to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements in 2025/26, which is around a 30% increase compared to 2024/25, as we continue to deliver the expansion to eligible working parents of children aged from nine months.
The new government is improving access to high quality childcare and early education and will be allocating funding for the first phase of new or expanded school-based nurseries, with 300 ready for September 2025.
To support working families with primary-school-aged children, the National Wraparound Childcare programme is improving the availability of before and after school childcare to ensure that parents have the flexibility they need to care for their children, delivering 200,000 additional childcare places. The government is going further to deliver universal free breakfast clubs in every primary school starting with 750 early adopter schools from April 2025, to ensure children are set-up for the day and ready to learn, whilst supporting parents to have greater work choices.
In addition to the entitlements, parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare. Parents can check what childcare support they are entitled to via the Childcare Choices website, which can be accessed here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times in Cornwall.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve ambulance response times in Cornwall.
The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.
As a first step, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter, sent to all integrated care boards including those in Cornwall, is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce ambulance hand over times at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce ambulance hand over times at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.
Ambulance services experiencing long delays when handing over patients to hospitals is a priority for the National Health Service to address, because it holds up ambulances that could be responding to further 999 calls.
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Cornwall Hospital are working on improving ambulance handover times by supporting patients flow through the health and care system.
To support longer term urgent and emergency care performance, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to change how her Department assesses proposals for funding local authority road improvement projects.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to change how her Department assesses proposals for funding local authority road improvement projects.
The Department’s transport business case guidance forms the basis of our assessment of transport investment projects. It follows HM Treasury’s Green Book five case model which is the government’s best practice model for spending and investment decisions. The guidance is kept under review and is used alongside the well-established Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG). TAG is kept under constant review in line with good practice, the latest evidence, and method enhancements.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the professional services sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the professional services sector.
On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This is available at:http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors including retail, infrastructure sectors such as transport and storage, and some consumer goods manufacturing (e.g. food-items) will benefit the most from the Bill. Our assessment suggests that the Professional Services sector is unlikely to be disproportionately impacted by the Bill.
The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the infrastructure sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the infrastructure sector.
On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This is available at:http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors including retail, infrastructure sectors such as transport and storage, and some consumer goods manufacturing (e.g. food-items) will benefit the most from the Bill. Our assessment suggests that the Professional Services sector is unlikely to be disproportionately impacted by the Bill.
The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging for disabled people.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve access to electric vehicle charging for disabled people.
To address the specific barriers disabled EV drivers face when using public chargepoints, the Government co-sponsored the publication of the Publically Available Specification (PAS) 1899:2022 standard, which provides specifications on designing and installing accessible public EV chargepoints and considers chargepoints in the context of their wider built environment. The Government continues to work with industry and other parties to ensure effective implementation of PAS1899 and to support the 24-month review of the PAS, which is being led by the British Standards Institution (BSI) and concludes early in 2025. The Government will continue to monitor progress to assess whether further intervention is needed on accessibility over time.
My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Douglas Alexander MP) has today made the following statment.
The smooth functioning of the United Kingdom’s internal market is vitally important to achieving economic growth. People and businesses depend on being able to buy and sell goods, provide services,...
My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security (Douglas Alexander MP) has today made the following statment.
The smooth functioning of the United Kingdom’s internal market is vitally important to achieving economic growth. People and businesses depend on being able to buy and sell goods, provide services,...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS long-term health plan complements the National Cancer Strategy in the context of the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of (i) radiographers and (ii) radiologists.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the NHS long-term health plan complements the National Cancer Strategy in the context of the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of (i) radiographers and (ii) radiologists.
The 10-Year Health Plan will deliver three big shifts in the focus of healthcare, from hospital to community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention.
The Department will also refresh the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan to fit the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, so the National Health Service has the staff it needs to treat patients on time again. NHS England continues to lead on a range of initiatives to boost retention of existing staff and ensure the NHS remains an attractive career choice for new recruits.
The Government recognises that a cancer-specific approach is needed to meet the challenges in cancer care, and to improve outcomes for people living with cancer. Following publication of the 10-Year Health Plan, we will publish a new national cancer plan, which will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients. We will continue to ensure that we train the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it, and the cancer plan will reflect this.
We are now in discussions about what form that plan should take, and what its relationship to the 10-Year Health Plan and the Government’s wider Health Mission should be, and will provide updates on this in due course.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent defending Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme appeals linked to Covid-19 vaccinations since 2021; and how many Vaccine Damage Payment Schemes appeals linked to Covid-19 vaccinations have been escalated to tribunal since 2021.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent defending Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme appeals linked to Covid-19 vaccinations since 2021; and how many Vaccine Damage Payment Schemes appeals linked to Covid-19 vaccinations have been escalated to tribunal since 2021.
Between 1 November 2021 and 1 December 2024, the total spent by the NHS Business Services Authority on behalf of the Department to defend against appeals within the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme was £104,005.05. As of December 2024, 49 appeals linked to COVID-19 vaccinations have been escalated to a tribunal.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of community accessible covered tennis courts in underserved communities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the provision of community accessible covered tennis courts in underserved communities.
The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone from all backgrounds have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.
Sport England, the Government’s arm’s length body for grassroots sport, provides long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the National Governing Body for tennis in Britain. The LTA is receiving up to £10.2 million for five years, to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people, women and girls and older people.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 5.20 of the Spring Budget 2024, published on 6 March 2024, HC 560, what her policy is on building 15 new special free schools.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 5.20 of the Spring Budget 2024, published on 6 March 2024, HC 560, what her policy is on building 15 new special free schools.
This government is clear it wants to make sure all children with special educational needs and disabilities receive the support they need to achieve and thrive. That is why we have set out a clear ambition to improve inclusivity in mainstream schools, while ensuring that special schools cater for those with the most complex needs.
The window for trusts to apply to run these schools closed on 19 July. The department will provide an update in due course.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what procedure central government funding is allocated to institutions providing hospice care.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, by what procedure central government funding is allocated to institutions providing hospice care.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
Most hospices are charitable, independent organisations which receive some statutory funding for providing NHS services. The amount of funding each charitable hospice receives varies both within and between ICB areas. This will vary depending on the demand in that ICB area, but will also be dependent on the totality and type of palliative and end of life care provision from both NHS and non-NHS services, including charitable hospices, within each ICB area.
From 2007/8 until 2023/24, children and young people’s hospices received funding via the Children’s Hospice Grant. While 2023/24 marked the final year of the Children’s Hospice Grant in its previous format, in 2024/25, NHS England provided £25 million of funding for children and young people’s hospices, maintaining the level of funding from 2023/24. For the first time, this funding was distributed to hospices by ICBs, on behalf of NHS England, rather than being centrally administered as before. Since 2022/23, individual allocations of this funding have been determined using a prevalence-based model, enabling allocations to reflect local population need.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of children who are (a) irregular migrants and (b) were on school rolls on 4 December 2024 broken down by age.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of children who are (a) irregular migrants and (b) were on school rolls on 4 December 2024 broken down by age.
The information requested is not held centrally.
All children of compulsory school age living in England, including foreign national children, are required by law to receive a suitable full-time education. As such, the department does not collect, or hold, information on the migration status of school pupils.
Guidance on school access rights for foreign national students is published on GOV.UK and can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children.
The guidance sets out how local authorities and admissions authorities in England should process applications from families living outside of England and foreign national families.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Climate Change education in schools.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of Climate Change education in schools.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) is currently reviewing the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England, to ensure they are fit for purpose and that the curriculum is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative. The review group will publish an interim report early in 2025, setting out their interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work. The final report, with recommendations, will be published in autumn 2025.
Topics relating to climate change and the environment are currently included within geography, science and citizenship in the current national curriculum, with an environmental science A level also available. At a primary level, pupils are given a foundation of climate science which can be built on in secondary school. Teachers also have the flexibility to plan their own lessons, which enables them to adapt and consider new developments, societal changes, or topical issues. As a result, the department is seeing excellent work in climate education at all levels in many schools and multi-academy trusts.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme on small-scale craft production.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Spirit Drinks Verification Scheme on small-scale craft production.
HM Revenue & Customs’ Spirits Drinks Verification Scheme (SDVS) conducts assurance of spirit producers wishing to apply for Geographic Indication status, ensuring their processes and products comply with established standards. As the SDVS is not limited to craft producers and engagement with the scheme is voluntary, no assessment of the impact on small scale craft producers has been undertaken.
However, the government recognises the importance of protecting and promoting the unique status of the UK’s traditional spirit drinks industry. That is why at Autumn Budget we announced an investment of up to £5m to improve the SDVS and ensure the fees HMRC charge producers for its verification service are as low as possible.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the amount of health-related content in the national curriculum.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the amount of health-related content in the national curriculum.
Health education has been compulsory in all state-funded schools in England since 2020, as part of statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE).
The RSHE curriculum, which is currently being reviewed, includes a wide range of health-related topics, including healthy eating, physical fitness, mental wellbeing and first aid, as well as the risks of smoking, drugs and alcohol.
Separately, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will consider how RSHE fits into the wider curriculum.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
The number of settlement agreements issued by the department in the last five years are listed below:
2020 - 0
2021 - 0
2022 - 0
2023 - 0
2024 - fewer than 5
Due to the low number of settlement agreements issued by the department we cannot disclose the total value to ensure individuals are not identifiable.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on taking steps to prevent people being sexually exploited on websites advertising prostitution in Gower constituency.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on taking steps to prevent people being sexually exploited on websites advertising prostitution in Gower constituency.
The trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is a truly horrific crime. This Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and we will use all the levers available to us to deliver this.
We continue to work closely with law enforcement to ensure there is a relentless pursuit of prolific perpetrators, including through operational intensification initiatives.
We are also clear that online platforms are a significant enabler of sexual exploitation and must be responsible and accountable for content on their sites, including taking proactive steps to prevent their sites being used by criminals. The Online Safety Act 2023 sets out priority offences, including sexual exploitation and human trafficking offences, and companies will need to adopt measures and put in place systems and processes to identify, assess and address these offences based on a risk assessment, or face significant penalties.
Home Office Ministers regularly meet with ministerial colleagues from other departments, as well as stakeholders, including NGOs and law enforcement partners, to promote the better identification and prosecution of perpetrators who pose a risk to women and girls, and to enhance support for victims who are being sexually exploited.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that the National Wealth Fund is equipped to provide offtake finance and hedging instruments for the critical minerals industry.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take steps to ensure that the National Wealth Fund is equipped to provide offtake finance and hedging instruments for the critical minerals industry.
With additional capital to deploy against an expanded mandate, the National Wealth Fund stands ready to help the market invest with confidence in support of the Government's growth ambitions.
The National Wealth Fund will be empowered via new tools such as performance guarantees and blended finance solutions to make investments that maximise mobilisation of private finance. This includes investments in the critical minerals sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) his Department has had discussions with representatives of the vaping industry since the general election.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether (a) he and (b) his Department has had discussions with representatives of the vaping industry since the general election.
Since July 2024, no members of the Department have met with the vaping industry. This includes my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Details of ministerial meetings are updated quarterly in arrears, on the GOV.UK website.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the (a) economic impact and (b) fiscal multipliers of the corporate tax reliefs implemented by her Department; and what steps she is taking to monitor that impact.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the (a) economic impact and (b) fiscal multipliers of the corporate tax reliefs implemented by her Department; and what steps she is taking to monitor that impact.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assesses the economic and fiscal outlook, including the impact of policy decisions made by the Government.
The OBR regularly publish reports which include explanations of their methodology. The 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook published alongside the Autumn Budget is published here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/
In November 2023, the OBR published an article ‘Dynamic scoring of policy measures in OBR forecasts’ detailing how the fiscal multiplier framework is used to analyse the macroeconomic impacts of policy measures. Appropriate multipliers are applied to corporate tax reliefs and capital spending.
More recently, in August 2024, the OBR published a discussion paper ‘Public investment and potential output’ outlining further detail on how public investment, including capital spending, affects the macroeconomic forecast.
HMRC delivers proportionate and systematic monitoring and evaluation of tax reliefs to help provide evidence-based policy advice to Ministers.
Since 2020 HMRC have published 14 tax relief evaluations covering 19 different reliefs, and some of these evaluations cover economic impacts.
On 5th December HMRC published statistics covering the costs of non-structural and structural reliefs, this includes 46 costings that cover corporation tax reliefs.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the fiscal multipliers for (a) corporate tax reliefs and (b) capital spending authorised by her Department.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the fiscal multipliers for (a) corporate tax reliefs and (b) capital spending authorised by her Department.
The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) assesses the economic and fiscal outlook, including the impact of policy decisions made by the Government.
The OBR regularly publish reports which include explanations of their methodology. The 2024 Economic and Fiscal Outlook published alongside the Autumn Budget is published here: https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/
In November 2023, the OBR published an article ‘Dynamic scoring of policy measures in OBR forecasts’ detailing how the fiscal multiplier framework is used to analyse the macroeconomic impacts of policy measures. Appropriate multipliers are applied to corporate tax reliefs and capital spending.
More recently, in August 2024, the OBR published a discussion paper ‘Public investment and potential output’ outlining further detail on how public investment, including capital spending, affects the macroeconomic forecast.
HMRC delivers proportionate and systematic monitoring and evaluation of tax reliefs to help provide evidence-based policy advice to Ministers.
Since 2020 HMRC have published 14 tax relief evaluations covering 19 different reliefs, and some of these evaluations cover economic impacts.
On 5th December HMRC published statistics covering the costs of non-structural and structural reliefs, this includes 46 costings that cover corporation tax reliefs.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of which corporate tax reliefs have the largest positive impact on economic growth, ranked by scale of impact.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of which corporate tax reliefs have the largest positive impact on economic growth, ranked by scale of impact.
The government has committed to maintaining a range of generous investment incentives, including full expensing, R&D reliefs, and the Audio Visual Expenditure Credit.
While the government does not maintain a ranking of economic impact, we seek to regularly monitor and assess economic impacts and the independent OBR also publishes their assessments.
For example, the OBR's paper on the economic effects of full expensing sets out that they expect to increase business investment by £14bn over next five years.
Since 2020 HMRC have published 14 tax relief evaluations covering 19 different reliefs, and some of these evaluations cover economic impacts.
On 5th December HMRC published statistics covering the costs of non-structural and structural reliefs, this includes 46 costings that cover corporation tax reliefs.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans she has to help increase investment in the UK by UK-based pension funds.
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans she has to help increase investment in the UK by UK-based pension funds.
The Government published the Interim Report of its Pensions Investment Review at the Mansion House event on 14 November. This Report puts forward ambitious proposals to reform the UK pension system which could unlock around £80 billion of productive investment while boosting savers’ pension pots.
The consultations on the proposed measures will close on 16 January. The review will use its next stage to consider whether further interventions may be needed by the government to ensure that these reforms are benefiting UK growth. The final Pensions Investment Review report, including the final proposals to be legislated for, will be published in the Spring ahead of the introduction of the Pension Schemes Bill.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to ensure that the Lifelong Links programme can be extended to all children in care.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to ensure that the Lifelong Links programme can be extended to all children in care.
The department is committed to helping children thrive and wants the best for every child and family. We know that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and care leavers to thrive.
To support this, the department is currently funding 50 family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes, being delivered by 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable loving relationships. Of the 45 local authorities, 23 are delivering Lifelong Links as their family finding programme.
The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is being evaluated and this will inform decisions about the future of the programme.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of a (a) safe and (b) effective Group B Streptococcus vaccine.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of a (a) safe and (b) effective Group B Streptococcus vaccine.
The UK Health Security Agency’s Vaccine Development and Evaluation Centre (VDEC) has been supporting the creation of a safe and effective maternal vaccine for Group B Streptococcus (GBS).
A maternal vaccine for GBS, which protects infants from both the early and late onset of the disease, will have a positive impact on infant mortality and morbidity. It will also lead to a sharp reduction in the use of antibiotics in neonatal units worldwide. By focusing on effectiveness, through advanced immune response evaluations, these efforts are accelerating the development of a reliable GBS vaccine that can protect vulnerable populations worldwide. Further information on how VDEC is supporting a GBS vaccine to prevent newborn deaths is available at the following link:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 17511 on Living Wage: Part-time Employment, when he plans to publish that Impact Assessment.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 6 December 2024 to Question 17511 on Living Wage: Part-time Employment, when he plans to publish that Impact Assessment.
The Government publishes an Impact Assessment each year alongside the legislation that implements the increases to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates. The legislation for the 2025 rates is expected to be laid in Parliament early in the new year, with debates in both Houses expected in February or March, subject to Parliamentary timetable.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total annual budget for prisoner rehabilitation services; and how much of this is allocated to (1) family services, (2) employment training, (3) education and (4) other itemised rehabilitation activities.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total annual budget for prisoner rehabilitation services; and how much of this is allocated to (1) family services, (2) employment training, (3) education and (4) other itemised rehabilitation activities.
Reoffending costs society over £22 billion a year and we know that access to valulable rehabilitation is an important tool in reducing that reoffending.
The overall Prisoner Rehabilitation Service budget for FY 24/25 is £360 million.
Family Services - £12 million
Employment Training - £25 million
Education including Prisoner Education contracts - £191 million
Other itemised rehabilitation activities - £132 million
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fact that the carbon dioxide emission levels for 2030 specified in the fifth carbon budget are 33 per cent below those specified in the nationally determined contributions for 2030; and what steps they will take to address this...
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the fact that the carbon dioxide emission levels for 2030 specified in the fifth carbon budget are 33 per cent below those specified in the nationally determined contributions for 2030; and what steps they will take to address this...
The fifth carbon budget was set in 2016, when the UK’s legal target was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% on 1990 levels. The Climate Change Act 2008 was amended in 2019 to strengthen the 2050 target to net zero. The UK's 2030 nationally determined contribution to reduce emissions by at least 68% on 1990 levels was set in 2020 to align with the trajectory to achieve net zero by 2050.
The Government will publish a report setting out its plan to meet carbon budgets in due course. This will set out the policies and proposals needed to meet Carbon Budgets 4-6 and the 2030 and 2035 NDC targets.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 3 December (HL2700), whether they consider nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement to be legally binding targets in UK law.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 3 December (HL2700), whether they consider nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement to be legally binding targets in UK law.
The UK’s 2030 and 2035 nationally determined contributions are fair and ambitious contributions to global action on climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal. NDCs are international communications of ambition required to be communicated under the Paris Agreement, a treaty under international law. Alongside our international commitments, the UK was the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target under the Climate Change Act 2008. This framework includes the UK’s legislated 2050 net zero target, which the Climate Change Committee has confirmed is consistent with the trajectories of the UK’s 2030 and 2035 NDCs.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department’s firearms were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each month in 2023.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department’s firearms were (a) lost and (b) stolen in each month in 2023.
The security of firearms is taken very seriously within the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and we have robust procedures in place to deter and prevent loss and theft. All losses and thefts of firearms and ammunition are fully and rigorously investigated.
The below table details firearm losses and thefts from MOD Facilities in 2023 under the previous Government. This includes military establishments, ranges, training areas and on operations.
2023
December | Glock 19 Pistol | 1 | Stolen |
August | Deactivated WWI German Machine Gun | 1[1] | Lost |
July | SA80 Rifle | 1[2] | Lost |
June | Deactivated WWII Luger Pistol | 1 | Lost |
June | Deactivated WWII Sten Gun SMG | 1 | Lost |
[1] Weapon subsequently found.
[2] Weapon subsequently found.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Ministers from his Department have met representatives of the Maldives Government to discuss the future of the Chagos Islands since 4 July 2024; and which Minister met which representative of the Maldives on each such occasion.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Ministers from his Department have met representatives of the Maldives Government to discuss the future of the Chagos Islands since 4 July 2024; and which Minister met which representative of the Maldives on each such occasion.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is the lead Department for the international and community engagements in regards to the sovereignty negotiations. The Foreign Secretary met Maldives Foreign Minister Khaleel at the Commonwealth Heads of Government on 25 October. They discussed a range of issues, including matters relating to the British Indian Ocean Territory. Minister West also spoke with Foreign Minister Khaleel virtually on 14 October and met with the Maldivian High Commissioner on 30 September.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many operational missions involving the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been affected by the current pay dispute; and what contingency plans are in place to mitigate disruptions.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many operational missions involving the Royal Fleet Auxiliary have been affected by the current pay dispute; and what contingency plans are in place to mitigate disruptions.
The Royal Fleet Auxiliary remains essential in supporting operations alongside the Royal Navy and our global allies. They continue to meet their operational commitments, and we are dedicated to resolving this dispute through ongoing dialogue with their trade unions.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing national restrictions on pavement parking on pedestrians with a visual impairment.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of introducing national restrictions on pavement parking on pedestrians with a visual impairment.
In 2020, the Department undertook a public consultation on options for changing the way pavement parking is managed outside London. The consultation asked specific questions about impacts on people with protected characteristics and we will use the information to undertake an equality analysis of the chosen policy option, in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty. Our plan is to publish a formal response to the consultation, summarising the views received and announcing the Government’s next steps for pavement parking policy.
The formal consultation response will be available to view at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the retail sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the retail sector.
On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This is available at:http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors including retail, infrastructure sectors such as transport and storage, and some consumer goods manufacturing (e.g. food-items) will benefit the most from the Bill. Our assessment suggests that the Professional Services sector is unlikely to be disproportionately impacted by the Bill.
The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the consumer goods sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill on the consumer goods sector.
On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This is available at:http://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments.
The majority of employees will benefit from new protections in the Bill and our assessment finds that workers in the low-paying sectors including retail, infrastructure sectors such as transport and storage, and some consumer goods manufacturing (e.g. food-items) will benefit the most from the Bill. Our assessment suggests that the Professional Services sector is unlikely to be disproportionately impacted by the Bill.
The Bill will also deliver wider benefits for the business environment by improving wellbeing, incentivising higher productivity, and creating a more level playing field for good employers. This could have a positive knock-on impact on productivity and growth.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Ministers from his Department have met representatives of the Chagossian community since 4 July 2024; and which Minister met how many Chagossians on each such occasion.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Ministers from his Department have met representatives of the Chagossian community since 4 July 2024; and which Minister met how many Chagossians on each such occasion.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is the lead Department for the international and community engagements in regards to the sovereignty negotiations. The Minister for Europe, North America and the Overseas Territories has met with members of the Chagossian community twice since 4 July 2024. We always endeavour to invite all Chagossian groups and representatives with an interest to these meetings. Officials also routinely speak to Chagossians. Discussions covered a range of issues, including implementation of the agreement. There are a large number of Chagossian groups with a spectrum of views. We will continue efforts to engage the community.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for ambulances in the East Midlands.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for ambulances in the East Midlands.
The Government has committed to supporting the National Health Service to improve performance and achieve the standards set out in the NHS Constitution, including for ambulance response times.
As a first step, my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
Ahead of this winter, NHS England has set out the priorities for the NHS to maintain and improve patient safety and experience, including actions to support patient flow and ensure that ambulances are released in a timely way. NHS England’s winter letter, sent to all integrated care boards, including those in the East Midlands, is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/winter-and-h2-priorities
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient supplies of (a) lamotrigine, (b) Epilim Chronosphere and (c) other epilepsy medication.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure sufficient supplies of (a) lamotrigine, (b) Epilim Chronosphere and (c) other epilepsy medication.
The Department is working hard with industry to help resolve intermittent supply issues with some epilepsy medications. As a result of ongoing activity and intensive work, including directing suppliers to expedite deliveries, some issues, including with some carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine presentations, have been resolved.
There was a supply issue with all strengths of lamotrigine tablets, used to manage epilepsy, due to manufacturing issues. The supply issue has recently resolved, and supply is expected to return to normal levels through early December 2024.
We are aware of an ongoing supply issue with all strengths of topiramate tablets with the resupply date to be confirmed. Other manufacturers of topiramate tablets can meet the increased demand during this time. We have confirmed with the supplier of Epilim Chronosphere that there are currently no issues with supply.
The Department continues to work closely with industry, the National Health Service, and others to help ensure patients continue to have access to an alternative treatment until their usual product is back in stock.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a tracking coding system to record people in temporary accommodation that access health services.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a tracking coding system to record people in temporary accommodation that access health services.
There is no central requirement on what information is captured in local clinical or Patient Administration Systems about people’s housing status and whether they are in temporary accommodation.
The NHS Data Model and Dictionary, however, provides a reference point for approved Information Standards Notices to support health and care activities within the National Health Service in England. It is used for secondary use purposes and supports secondary use statistical reporting. The Model and Dictionary has codes for accommodation types that include temporary housing. This is used in the Improving Access to Psychology Therapies Data set and the Mental Health Services Data set. The Community Services Data Set also records the accommodation status code. It includes codes for: night shelter; emergency hostel or direct access hostel; and placed in temporary accommodation by a local authority.
There is no plan to assess the merits of tracking people in temporary accommodation accessing health services, using coded or other recorded information. However, the Department recognises the importance of reducing barriers to services for those experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping, and has supported the development of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline, Integrated health and social care for people experiencing homelessness. This provides recommendations on ways to improve access to, and engagement with, health and social care services for people experiencing homelessness, including those staying in temporary accommodation.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce medication wastage.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce medication wastage.
Medicine wastage can be reduced by ensuring that medicines are not overprescribed and those that are prescribed are taken as intended, resulting in the best outcomes for patients.
Overprescribing can be addressed by taking a shared decision-making approach and optimising a person's medicines, ensuring that patients are prescribed the right medicines, at the right time, in the right doses. The National Health Service is driving changes in this area by:
In addition, the New Medicines Service in Community Pharmacy supports patients with newly prescribed medication for long term conditions in understanding how to take the medication effectively, and improves adherence and health gains.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of shortages of building inspectors on (a) repairs and (b) maintenance projects across the NHS Estate.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of shortages of building inspectors on (a) repairs and (b) maintenance projects across the NHS Estate.
Building inspectors working on National Health Service estate repairs or maintenance projects may be employed by NHS trusts, local councils, private companies, or contractors working on behalf of the NHS. Their work ensures that buildings are safe for use, accessible, and in good condition.
While the Department has not made any specific assessment of the potential impact of shortages of building inspectors, NHS England is taking forward implementation of the Estates and Facilities Workforce Action Plan, which aims to strengthen the NHS estates workforce and its governance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with refence to the oral contribution of 6 November 2024 by the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Official Report column 70WH, how the solar stewardship initiative will support the delivery of the solar roadmap.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with refence to the oral contribution of 6 November 2024 by the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security, Official Report column 70WH, how the solar stewardship initiative will support the delivery of the solar roadmap.
The Solar Roadmap will set out the Government’s solar deployment ambitions as part of its mission to achieve Clean Power by 2030. It will outline the actions required to develop resilient, sustainable, innovative, and free from forced labour supply chains.
The UK’s main solar industry trade association – Solar Energy UK, who co-chair the Solar Taskforce - is leading the industry’s response on this matter by developing and launching the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI), in partnership with Solar Power Europe. Members of the SSI have committed to applying its traceability standards and audits, while encouraging its adoption throughout their supply chain.
The United Kingdom delegation to the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly is as follows:
Full Representatives
Marsha de Cordova MP (Leader and Co-Chair)
Catherine Atkinson MP
The Lord Bach
Alex Ballinger MP
Matt Bishop MP
Sarah Bool MP (Vice Chair)
The Baroness Bull
The Baroness Crawley
Stella Creasy MP
The Baroness Donaghy
Catherine Fookes MP
Sir Ashley Fox MP
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Frost
The...
The United Kingdom delegation to the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly is as follows:
Full Representatives
Marsha de Cordova MP (Leader and Co-Chair)
Catherine Atkinson MP
The Lord Bach
Alex Ballinger MP
Matt Bishop MP
Sarah Bool MP (Vice Chair)
The Baroness Bull
The Baroness Crawley
Stella Creasy MP
The Baroness Donaghy
Catherine Fookes MP
Sir Ashley Fox MP
The Rt. Hon. the Lord Frost
The...
The United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is as follows:
Full Representatives
Sharon Hodgson MP (Leader of the UK delegation)
The Baroness Blower
Colum Eastwood MP
The Lord Hannett of Everton
Sir Mark Hendrick MP
The Lord Smith of Hindhead
Dr Rupa Huq MP
Mike Martin MP
Anneliese Midgley MP
Jon...
The United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is as follows:
Full Representatives
Sharon Hodgson MP (Leader of the UK delegation)
The Baroness Blower
Colum Eastwood MP
The Lord Hannett of Everton
Sir Mark Hendrick MP
The Lord Smith of Hindhead
Dr Rupa Huq MP
Mike Martin MP
Anneliese Midgley MP
Jon...
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals on the prison estate are serving sentences for protest-related offences under (a) section (i) 12 and (ii) 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, as amended by section 75 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b)...
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals on the prison estate are serving sentences for protest-related offences under (a) section (i) 12 and (ii) 14 of the Public Order Act 1986, as amended by section 75 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b)...
The information requested can be found in the table attached.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many employee settlement agreements there were in his Department in each year since 2020; and what the total value of such agreements is.
DESNZ was formed on the 7th of February 2023. In the last year – 2023-24 – there was one settlement agreement of the type outlined. We are unable to disclose the amount given this is a single case.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is available for prison officers for dealing with people entering custody found to have a previously acquired brain injury.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is available for prison officers for dealing with people entering custody found to have a previously acquired brain injury.
All incoming prisoners must be medically examined to determine whether they have any physical or mental health needs, in order to identify any follow-up action that is needed and to ensure it is taken. This includes making sure that anyone who needs to know about an individual prisoner’s healthcare requirements is properly informed.
To improve support for neurodivergent prisoners, a new role, the Neurodiversity Support Manager (NSM), has been created and implemented across the Prison Service. NSMs are responsible for implementing a whole-prisons approach to neurodiversity, including Acquired Brain Injury. Their responsibilities include improving processes to identify and support prisoner needs, and ensuring neurodivergent prisoners can access education, skills, and work opportunities within the prison. They also provide training and guidance for prison staff to equip them better to support neurodivergent individuals in their prison.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to provide transition pathways for oil and gas workers.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to provide transition pathways for oil and gas workers.
The Clean Energy Mission will create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. The UK has a highly skilled oil and gas workforce, with high transferability of skills to these new roles.
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions.
The OCEJ will also set out targeted interventions to support specific skills needs in the clean energy workforce. It recently announced support for the Energy Skills Passport to support oil and gas workers into new roles in the clean energy sector.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to retain the Acoustic Fish Deterrent aspect of the Development Consent Order to the Hinkley Point C (Nuclear Generating Station) Order 2013.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to retain the Acoustic Fish Deterrent aspect of the Development Consent Order to the Hinkley Point C (Nuclear Generating Station) Order 2013.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) Minister cannot enter into a discussion on this area. This will be a quasi-judicial decision to be taken by a DESNZ Minister under the Planning Act 2008, based only on the facts, evidence and arguments made in the case as presented to us once it has been through the formal planning process.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's timetable is for lowering energy bills for people in Bromsgrove constituency, in the context of the Great British Energy Bill.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's timetable is for lowering energy bills for people in Bromsgrove constituency, in the context of the Great British Energy Bill.
Great British Energy is a key part of the government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. This is a sustainable, long-term plan to protect billpayers. In an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy.
We are progressing the Great British Energy Bill through Parliament. By putting the company on a statutory footing and using the £100 million of capital funding announced at Autumn Budget, Great British Energy will be able to hit the ground running next year.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase the staffing budget for the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will increase the staffing budget for the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
The allocation of National Health Service funding, including local staffing budgets, is set by NHS England.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 13772 on Cardiovascular Diseases: Emergency Calls, if he will provide this data for the period between March 2015 and March 2021; and what assessment he has made of potential...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2024 to Question 13772 on Cardiovascular Diseases: Emergency Calls, if he will provide this data for the period between March 2015 and March 2021; and what assessment he has made of potential...
Information on ambulance service demand is published by NHS England, including, as of April 2018, the monthly total number of cardiac arrests responded to by ambulance services. The following table shows the total number of cardiac arrests each month from April 2018 to June 2024:
Month | Total cardiac arrests |
April 2018 | 6,345 |
May 2018 | 6,587 |
June 2018 | 6,005 |
July 2018 | 6,792 |
August 2018 | 6,136 |
September 2018 | 5,887 |
October 2018 | 6,761 |
November 2018 | 6,623 |
December 2018 | 7,225 |
January 2019 | 7,670 |
February 2019 | 6,522 |
March 2019 | 6,642 |
April 2019 | 6,345 |
May 2019 | 6,037 |
June 2019 | 5,724 |
July 2019 | 6,373 |
August 2019 | 6,100 |
September 2019 | 6,135 |
October 2019 | 6,783 |
November 2019 | 7,152 |
December 2019 | 8,737 |
January 2020 | 8,145 |
February 2020 | 7,008 |
March 2020 | 8,607 |
April 2020 | 10,208 |
May 2020 | 7,639 |
June 2020 | 6,838 |
July 2020 | 6,748 |
August 2020 | 7,168 |
September 2020 | 6,889 |
October 2020 | 7,727 |
November 2020 | 7,684 |
December 2020 | 9,259 |
January 2021 | 10,724 |
February 2021 | 7,699 |
March 2021 | 7,473 |
Source: the data is published by NHS England, and is available at the following link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ambulance-quality-indicators/
The increasing aging population and complexity that comes with more patients with multiple comorbidities may be reflected in the trend of rising in category 1 incidents.
This Government inherited a justice system in crisis with huge delays to hearings and victims left in limbo waiting to see justice done. We are committed to reducing the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and ensuring justice is delivered.
The first thing we had to do was understand the scale...
This Government inherited a justice system in crisis with huge delays to hearings and victims left in limbo waiting to see justice done. We are committed to reducing the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and ensuring justice is delivered.
The first thing we had to do was understand the scale...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the prior consultation on the Down Syndrome Act 2022; and when he plans to publish the statutory guidance.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the prior consultation on the Down Syndrome Act 2022; and when he plans to publish the statutory guidance.
The Down Syndrome Act 2022 started as a Private Members Bill, introduced into the House of Commons in summer 2021. As such, this specific assessment has not been made.
A national call for evidence was launched on 19 July 2022 to inform the development of the statutory guidance required under the Down Syndrome Act. The call for evidence remained open for 16 weeks and received over 1,500 responses, including responses from people with Down syndrome, their families and carers, professionals, organisations, and stakeholder groups representing people with genetic conditions.
Officials are taking forward, as a priority, development of the Down Syndrome guidance. We expect to publish the draft guidance for public consultation as soon as possible in the new year.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct a review of the funding model for school meals in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will conduct a review of the funding model for school meals in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.
An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.
To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the rates that will be paid to (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools for universal infant free school meals this academic year.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the rates that will be paid to (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools for universal infant free school meals this academic year.
An uplift to the per-meal rate for universal infant free school meals (UIFSM) and further education (FE) free meals was announced on 4 December 2024. The uplifted meal rate will be increased from £2.53 to £2.58 for 2024 to 2025, backdated to the start of the academic year.
To support the provision of benefits-related free school meals (FSM), the government provides funding at £490 per eligible FSM pupil per year as a factor value within the national funding formula. This value will be increasing to £495 per eligible FSM pupil in 2025/26. UIFSM and FE free meals are funded separately through a direct grant to schools and colleges. As with all government programmes, we will keep our approach, including for FSM, under continued review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody and are assessed for brain injury within seven days are found to have an acquired brain injury.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody and are assessed for brain injury within seven days are found to have an acquired brain injury.
The information requested is not held centrally. When children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 years old enter the secure estate, they receive the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) reception assessment within two hours. This is an evidence-based assessment tool for use with under 18-year-olds, and includes questions on traumatic brain injury. The questions included in the assessment ask whether they have ever experienced any loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and whether they have experienced repeated loss of consciousness on more than three occasions.
The child or young person will receive a further neurodisability assessment within ten days of admission as part of the CHAT. This also includes questions on traumatic brain injury. Clinicians would then determine the need for any ongoing referral as necessary.
Those over the age of 18 years old who are entering the adult estate receive the reception assessment within 24 hours. This includes questions on whether they have disabilities and specifically asks:
Practitioners are then asked to record whether a head injury is apparent or not and whether there is a history of loss of consciousness. Practitioners will also assess the severity of any potential head injury and whether any treatment is needed.
Within one week of entering the adult estate, a secondary assessment will be conducted. This includes questions about brain injury. As part of the secondary assessment, practitioners will:
It would then be the clinicians’ discretion as to whether to also carry out a validated acquired brain injury screening tool as required.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody and are screened for brain injury within 24 hours are found to have an acquired brain injury.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody and are screened for brain injury within 24 hours are found to have an acquired brain injury.
The information requested is not held centrally. When children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 years old enter the secure estate, they receive the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) reception assessment within two hours. This is an evidence-based assessment tool for use with under 18-year-olds, and includes questions on traumatic brain injury. The questions included in the assessment ask whether they have ever experienced any loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and whether they have experienced repeated loss of consciousness on more than three occasions.
The child or young person will receive a further neurodisability assessment within ten days of admission as part of the CHAT. This also includes questions on traumatic brain injury. Clinicians would then determine the need for any ongoing referral as necessary.
Those over the age of 18 years old who are entering the adult estate receive the reception assessment within 24 hours. This includes questions on whether they have disabilities and specifically asks:
Practitioners are then asked to record whether a head injury is apparent or not and whether there is a history of loss of consciousness. Practitioners will also assess the severity of any potential head injury and whether any treatment is needed.
Within one week of entering the adult estate, a secondary assessment will be conducted. This includes questions about brain injury. As part of the secondary assessment, practitioners will:
It would then be the clinicians’ discretion as to whether to also carry out a validated acquired brain injury screening tool as required.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody receive an assessment for previously acquired brain injury within seven days.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody receive an assessment for previously acquired brain injury within seven days.
The information requested is not held centrally. When children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 years old enter the secure estate, they receive the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) reception assessment within two hours. This is an evidence-based assessment tool for use with under 18-year-olds, and includes questions on traumatic brain injury. The questions included in the assessment ask whether they have ever experienced any loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and whether they have experienced repeated loss of consciousness on more than three occasions.
The child or young person will receive a further neurodisability assessment within ten days of admission as part of the CHAT. This also includes questions on traumatic brain injury. Clinicians would then determine the need for any ongoing referral as necessary.
Those over the age of 18 years old who are entering the adult estate receive the reception assessment within 24 hours. This includes questions on whether they have disabilities and specifically asks:
Practitioners are then asked to record whether a head injury is apparent or not and whether there is a history of loss of consciousness. Practitioners will also assess the severity of any potential head injury and whether any treatment is needed.
Within one week of entering the adult estate, a secondary assessment will be conducted. This includes questions about brain injury. As part of the secondary assessment, practitioners will:
It would then be the clinicians’ discretion as to whether to also carry out a validated acquired brain injury screening tool as required.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody receive a screening for previously acquired brain injury within 24 hours.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of people aged (a) 14-17, (b) 18-25 and (c) 26 and over who enter prison custody receive a screening for previously acquired brain injury within 24 hours.
The information requested is not held centrally. When children and young people between the ages of 14 and 17 years old enter the secure estate, they receive the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) reception assessment within two hours. This is an evidence-based assessment tool for use with under 18-year-olds, and includes questions on traumatic brain injury. The questions included in the assessment ask whether they have ever experienced any loss of consciousness for over 30 minutes and whether they have experienced repeated loss of consciousness on more than three occasions.
The child or young person will receive a further neurodisability assessment within ten days of admission as part of the CHAT. This also includes questions on traumatic brain injury. Clinicians would then determine the need for any ongoing referral as necessary.
Those over the age of 18 years old who are entering the adult estate receive the reception assessment within 24 hours. This includes questions on whether they have disabilities and specifically asks:
Practitioners are then asked to record whether a head injury is apparent or not and whether there is a history of loss of consciousness. Practitioners will also assess the severity of any potential head injury and whether any treatment is needed.
Within one week of entering the adult estate, a secondary assessment will be conducted. This includes questions about brain injury. As part of the secondary assessment, practitioners will:
It would then be the clinicians’ discretion as to whether to also carry out a validated acquired brain injury screening tool as required.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of General Practitioners in rural communities.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the number of General Practitioners in rural communities.
We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring that rural areas, including West Dorset, have the resources to continue serving their patients. To address this, we will increase capacity in general practice (GP) and ensure rural areas have the necessary workforce to provide integrated, patient-centred services.
We are committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, including in rural areas. We have also committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs. This will increase capacity, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and alleviate the pressure on those currently working in the system.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in relative poverty are not eligible for free school meals.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children living in relative poverty are not eligible for free school meals.
The new government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity for every child.
The government has inherited a trend of rising child poverty and widening attainment gaps between children eligible for free school meals (FSM) and their peers. Child poverty has increased by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family. The government is committed to delivering an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty by tackling the root causes and giving every child the best start at life. To support this, a new ministerial taskforce has been set up to develop a Child Poverty Strategy, which will be published in spring 2025. The taskforce will consider a range of policies in assessing what will have the greatest impact in driving down rates of child poverty.
A formal assessment has not been made of the number of children living in relative poverty who are eligible to receive FSM. As with all policies, the government keeps the approach to FSM under review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to dependant rules for health and social care visas on closures of care homes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to dependant rules for health and social care visas on closures of care homes; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing...
In December 2023, the Home Office published their estimated immigration impacts of the announced legal migration changes, including the restriction on bringing dependants for care workers and senior care workers. These are available at the following link:
This was followed by the 2024 spring Immigration Rules: impact assessment published in September 2024, which is available at the following link:
Operation STIFFTAIL, the UK’s deployment of the Sky Sabre Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) capability in Rzeszow, south-east Poland, has now concluded. Originally deployed in April 2022 and extended on four occasions at the request of the Polish government, this has been a hugely successful operation that has significantly benefitted...
Operation STIFFTAIL, the UK’s deployment of the Sky Sabre Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) capability in Rzeszow, south-east Poland, has now concluded. Originally deployed in April 2022 and extended on four occasions at the request of the Polish government, this has been a hugely successful operation that has significantly benefitted...
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle medication shortages.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to tackle medication shortages.
We have inherited ongoing global supply problems that continue to impact medicine availability. We know how frustrating and distressing this can be for patients, and we are working closely with industry, the National Health Service, manufacturers, and other partners in the supply chain to resolve issues as quickly as possible, to make sure patients can access the medicines they need.
Medicine supply chains are complex, global, and highly regulated, and there are a number of reasons why supply can be disrupted, many of which are not specific to the United Kingdom and outside of Government control, including manufacturing difficulties, access to raw materials, sudden demand spikes or distribution issues, and regulatory issues. There are approximately 14,000 licensed medicines and the overwhelming majority are in good supply.
While we can’t always prevent supply issues from occurring, we have a range of well-established processes and tools to manage them when they arise and mitigate risks to patients. These include close and regular engagement with suppliers, use of alternative strengths or forms of a medicine to allow patients to remain on the same product, expediting regulatory procedures, sourcing unlicensed imports from abroad, adding products to the restricted exports and hoarding list, use of Serious Shortage Protocols, and issuing NHS communications to provide management advice and information on the issue to healthcare professionals, including pharmacists, so they can advise and support their patients.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the hours lost to handover delays by South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the hours lost to handover delays by South Western Ambulance Service Foundation Trust.
Ambulance services experiencing long delays when handing over patients to hospitals is a priority for the National Health Service to address, because it holds up ambulances that could be responding to further 999 calls.
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Cornwall Hospital are working on improving ambulance handover times by supporting patients flow through the health and care system.
To support longer term urgent and emergency care performance, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, appointed Professor Lord Darzi to lead an independent investigation of the NHS’ performance. The investigation’s findings were published on 12 September and will feed into the Government’s work on a 10-Year Health Plan to radically reform the NHS and build a health service that is fit for the future.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take further steps to ensure that Government Food Standards are adhered to in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to take further steps to ensure that Government Food Standards are adhered to in (a) locally maintained and (b) Multi Academy Trust schools.
It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.
School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.
Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.
We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled School food standards: resources for schools, published on 26 March 2019, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that this guidance is being followed in all (a) locally maintained and (b) multi-academy trust schools.
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the guidance entitled School food standards: resources for schools, published on 26 March 2019, what recent steps her Department has taken to ensure that this guidance is being followed in all (a) locally maintained and (b) multi-academy trust schools.
It is important that children eat nutritious food at school and the department encourages schools to have a whole school approach to healthy eating. The School Food Standards regulate the food and drink provided at lunchtime and at other times of the school day.
School governors have a responsibility to ensure compliance and should appropriately challenge the headteacher and the senior leadership team to ensure the school is meeting its obligations.
To support governors in their role around compliance, the department, along with the National Governance Association, is running a pilot online training course on school food for governors and trustees. This launched on 4 November 2024 and will run until 1 April 2025. This will help governors to improve their understanding of the standards and give governing boards confidence to hold their school leaders to account on their whole school approach to food. The department will evaluate the training programme’s reception and effectiveness in the short term.
Additionally, the department and the Food Standards Agency, along with support from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, ran a pilot with 18 local authorities during the 2022/23 academic year to find out whether food safety officers were able to ensure the compliance of School Food Standards when carrying out routine food hygiene inspections in schools. Analysis of the final phase has now been completed, and the final report was published August 2024.
We will keep our approach to the School Food Standards and our approaches to compliance under continued review.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance contributions rise on the provision of fast-track care to patients applying for Continuing Healthcare funding.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the National Insurance contributions rise on the provision of fast-track care to patients applying for Continuing Healthcare funding.
The employer National Insurance contributions rise will be implemented in April 2025. The Department will set out further details on the allocation of funding for next year in due course.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP 1210, what energy infrastructure projects are under consideration; and whether the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid Upgrade project is included.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP 1210, what energy infrastructure projects are under consideration; and whether the Norwich to Tilbury Great Grid Upgrade project is included.
The Planning Inspectorate website states that the Norwich to Tilbury project is at the pre-application stage, and that the application is expected to be submitted for examination between June and August 2025. Information can be found here https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN020027. The Examining Authority’s Report should therefore come to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for decision in 2026. This project is therefore one of the Development Consent Order (DCO) decisions that would count towards the Prime Minister’s target of taking 150 DCO decisions in this Parliament.
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether ETSU-R-97 is (a) the only framework methodology used for the assessment of onshore wind turbines and (b) the most (i) effective and (ii) up to date guidance; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of...
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether ETSU-R-97 is (a) the only framework methodology used for the assessment of onshore wind turbines and (b) the most (i) effective and (ii) up to date guidance; what assessment he has made of the potential impact of...
ETSU-R-97 is the primary guidance used for the assessment of noise from onshore wind turbines across the UK. Government has contracted an external consultancy to update ETSU-R-97 following a 2023 scoping review which recommended targeted updates to ensure the guidance is in line with contemporary evidence and policy, and suitable for modern turbines. Government aims to publish the updated guidance in Spring 2025.
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making the UK's 2030 nationally determined contribution legally binding in UK law.
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to making the UK's 2030 nationally determined contribution legally binding in UK law.
The UK’s 2030 nationally determined contribution – to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by at least 68% on 1990s levels – is a fair and ambitious contribution to global action on climate change, in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal. NDCs are international communications of ambition under the Paris Agreement, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Alongside our international commitments, the UK was the first country to introduce a legally binding, long-term emissions reduction target under the Climate Change Act 2008. This framework includes the UK’s legislated 2050 net zero target, which the Climate Change Committee has confirmed is consistent with the trajectory of the UK’s 2030 NDC.
To ask His Majesty's Government what leadership training is routinely provided to officers moving up the ranks in the Prison Service.
To ask His Majesty's Government what leadership training is routinely provided to officers moving up the ranks in the Prison Service.
Officers have a wide range of leadership training available to them as they progress through the ranks.
All Ministry of Justice staff have access to a wide suite of cross-government training products available via Government Campus (part of Cabinet Office). These product topics include Coaching, Building your Team, and Career Development.
All Ministry of Justice staff also have access to two, four-day, intensive Leadership Schools per annum, focused on unlocking the potential to improve and transform their leadership capabilities. Leadership School provides keynote speeches, expert-led workshops, and in-depth peer reflection sessions, to ensure that leaders are equipped to use new capabilities in their roles.
In addition, MoJ HQ has developed a new HMPPS Leadership and Management Offer specifically for HMPPS staff (elements of this include the HMPPS People Manager Handbook and HMPPS People Manager Essentials Programme). HMPPS staff also have access to a wealth of free online resources on the myLearning Learning Management System.
There are several funded Leadership apprenticeships on offer for HMPPS staff, and a small number of leadership training interventions for HMPPS are provided by external providers.
The Spark Custodial scheme is an operational fast-track scheme for Public Sector Prisons, open to Operational Bands 2-4 and Non-Operational up to and including Band 6, that enables them to progress to Head of Function. The scheme lasts around 30 months for operational participants and 36 months for non-operational participants.
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made at the UNHCR regarding violations of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Government of China.
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made at the UNHCR regarding violations of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Government of China.
The environment for freedom of religion or belief in China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and the repression of Buddhists in Tibet. This Government stands firm on human rights, including the right to freedom of religion or belief. We continue to coordinate efforts to hold China to account through our position at the UN, for example, by joining a statement led by Australia on Xinjiang and Tibet at the UN General Assembly on 22 October, and joining a statement led by the USA on Xinjiang at the Human Rights Council on 24 September.
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