Capture Redress
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas)
I am today delivering on the Government’s commitment to provide an update on the form, scope and eligibility criteria of the redress scheme for postmasters negatively affected by the Capture software.
This follows the Government accepting the findings of the independent investigation by Kroll Associates, which concluded that there was a reasonable likelihood that Capture could have created financial shortfalls for postmasters.
Our approach to redress
Over the past months, we have been working with stakeholders, including postmasters, the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, the National Federation of SubPostmasters, and others to develop a fair and sound approach to redress. In doing so, we have drawn on lessons from other Government schemes to ensure that this one delivers timely, accessible support, recognising both financial losses and wider personal impact.
Unlike the Horizon schemes, Capture presents a different set of challenges due to time elapsed and a lack of documentation that still exists. To accommodate this, the scheme is being designed to provide a practical and fair way to recognise harm, even where records are limited.
The scheme has two clear stages to make the process as simple as possible: first, an eligibility review to confirm who can access redress; and secondly, a panel review to ensure that each claim is independently assessed.
Eligibility Review
To be eligible for redress, claimants must demonstrate that they:
were a postmaster between 1992 and 2000;
used the Capture system in their branch; and
suffered a financial shortfall related to a Capture software error.
Eligibility will be determined based on the claimant’s statement and available supporting documents. We will also work with the Post Office to source any additional information where it exists. The scheme will also accept applications from relatives of deceased postmasters or those who need additional support.
All claims will undergo an initial eligibility review by trained caseworkers. In recognition of the time many postmasters have already spent waiting for resolution, those deemed eligible will promptly receive a preliminary payment. This ensures early acknowledgement of loss, ahead of a further assessment by an independent panel.
Independent panel and appeals
The panel will take a holistic view of each claim, including assessing the credibility and strength of evidence provided.
Claims will be assessed on the balance of probabilities, using a guided scoring and banding model that reflects both financial and non-financial loss. This allows consistency in awards, while remaining flexible and fair—an approach informed by other Government schemes, such as the infected blood compensation scheme.
The panel will recommend an appropriate payment for each eligible claimant. Claimants will also have the right to appeal the panel’s recommendation in certain circumstances, in line with similar redress schemes.
To ensure impartiality, the panel will operate entirely independently of Government and will be composed of experts across relevant fields.
Separate consideration for convicted individuals
This scheme is specifically for those without a criminal conviction related to Capture. For those who may have criminal convictions related to Capture, the appropriate route is through the Criminal Cases Review Commission or its Scottish equivalent. The Government remain committed to supporting the CCRC in its ongoing investigations. If any convictions related to Capture are identified and overturned, we are committed to ensuring that appropriate redress is provided for those affected.
Next Steps
As this approach departs from the structure of existing Horizon redress schemes, we want to ensure it is fair, proportionate and accessible. To support this, we will launch with a phased roll-out for an initial 150 claimants. Lessons from this first phase will inform any refinements needed ahead of wider roll-out.
We expect the scheme to open for applications in autumn 2025. Over the coming months, we will finalise guidance and publish further details on applying. We urge those who believe they are eligible to begin searching for evidence that they may hold and to prepare their case for once applications open.
We remain committed to delivering swift and fair redress —recognising the enduring hardship, and the need for a trusted, transparent process ensuring that those affected by the Capture system receive what they deserve
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UK Infrastructure: a 10-year Strategy
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Darren Jones)
The Government have today laid the “UK Infrastructure: A 10 Year Strategy” [CP 1344] which restores confidence and drives economic growth by funding at least £725 billion for infrastructure over the next decade and transforming how infrastructure projects are planned and delivered.
Better infrastructure has a vital role to play in delivery of all of the Government’s missions, creating and connecting people to good jobs, supporting new housing and neighbourhoods, ensuring people can depend on vital public services and providing resilience in response to a changing world.
Delivering this requires a new approach. Infrastructure investment has been too erratic and too low in the UK, hampering productivity and wages and making delivery slow and costly. Across policy and delivery, there has been insufficient co-ordination, across sectors and between Government and industry.
In the 10-year strategy, the Government are doing things differently to fix the failures of the past, prioritising long-term outcomes over short-term announcements, providing the certainty and stability needed to attract investment, boosting British supply chains and jobs, and taking a joined-up view to improve planning and delivery across all types of infrastructure
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Publication of Environmental Guidance
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
Today the Government are publishing new guidance relating to offshore environmental impact assessments. The guidance sets a world-leading example by ensuring the full effects of fossil fuel extraction on the environment are recognised in consenting decisions. The ruling means that North sea developers must, for the first time, consider the impact of burning the extracted oil and gas in their environmental impact assessments.
The Government have acted decisively to respond to the independent Supreme Court, which ruled before this Government took office that the global environmental effects of burning oil and gas are an inevitable consequence of extraction projects. Offshore developers will, from now, be able to submit their applications for consent to develop already licensed fields, a process which has been on pause since the Supreme Court ruled in the Finch case.
The reopening of the consenting regime brings greater clarity for Britian’s oil and gas sector, as the Government continue their work with the industry to build a clean energy future for the North sea. It comes as last week’s spending review confirmed £9.1 billion for carbon capture and storage projects, marking a major step forward in the Government’s mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower that will drive economic growth, create jobs and deliver the Government’s plan for change.
We have moved as quickly as possible to finalise this guidance, while taking the time necessary to carefully account for the substantial amount of feedback we received in consultation with a range of stakeholders, including industry, NGOs, academia and members of the public.
The new guidance is aimed at applications for projects in North sea oil and gas fields that are already licensed. As with the nationally significant infrastructure projects regime, Ministers will, on the advice of officials, consider the significance of a project’s environmental impact while taking into account and balancing relevant factors on a case-by-case basis, such as the potential economic impact and other implications of the project. Developers should therefore consider their projects in the context of the Government’s overarching objectives, including the objectives for the North sea’s energy future, which were set out in the consultation on building the North sea’s energy future.
The North Sea Transition Authority’s independent consenting role is unchanged by the publication of this guidance. It will continue to evaluate consent applications on their individual merits in accordance with relevant regulatory requirements. Licensing is similarly unaffected by the publication of this guidance. The Government have consulted separately on their commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields as part of their consultation on the North sea’s energy future. A Government response to that consultation will be issued later this year.
This Government are determined to secure a prosperous future for the North sea and we are working in lockstep with industry to unleash private investment, helping to create thousands of jobs in clean energy to boost our energy independence as part of a phased and responsible transition.
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Statutory Learning Disability and Autism Training
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)
Today I am pleased to lay in Parliament the Oliver McGowan draft code of practice on statutory learning disability and autism training. The launch of this code represents a significant moment in the journey towards improving the care and treatment of people with a learning disability and autistic people. With its clear focus on ensuring that people receive tailored and compassionate support, it is especially fitting to be launching this code after recently celebrating World Autism Awareness Day in April and during Learning Disability Week, which this year is focusing on ensuring that people are seen, heard and valued. An easy-read version of the code is also available.
The purpose of the code is to ensure that service providers registered with the Care Quality Commission have the necessary guidance to meet the legal requirement introduced in the Health and Care Act 2022. The effect of the requirement is that, from 1 July 2022, CQC-registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. To aid those who need to comply with the training requirement, the Secretary of State is obliged by the 2022 Act to issue a code of practice. Therefore, this code sets out the standards that training needs to meet to comply with the legislation and guidance on what providers need to do to meet those standards.
As set out in the code, the Oliver McGowan mandatory training on learning disability and autism is the Government’s preferred and recommended training package to support CQC-registered providers to meet the new requirement. The training is named after Oliver McGowan, a young autistic teenager with a mild learning disability, who very sadly died after having a severe reaction to medication given to him against his and his family’s strong wishes. Oliver’s parents, Paula and Tom McGowan, have tirelessly campaigned for better training for health and care staff to improve understanding of the needs of people with a learning disability or autistic people. The training has been trialled with over 8,000 participants and independently evaluated to ensure that the final package is robust and high quality. A long-term, independent evaluation on its delivery and impact is also now under way.
People with a learning disability and autistic people experience disparities in the quality of care they receive. Research indicates that a lack of understanding and knowledge of learning disability and autism likely contributes to this. This government have set out three big shifts needed to make our health service fit for the future, including shifting from treatment to prevention and from hospitals to communities. Ensuring that health and care staff have the right knowledge and skills to provide informed care for people with a learning disability and autistic people will help to meet these goals and improve health outcomes.
The legislative requirement and the code must be the catalyst for positive cultural change. With them we can help to deliver care and support that is tailored to the person, making sure that staff have the right attitudes, skills and behaviours to support people with a learning disability and autistic people safely, confidently and respectfully.
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Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
The Government have today introduced the Deprivation of Citizenship Orders (Effect during Appeal) Bill to the House of Commons.
Removing someone’s British citizenship—also known as deprivation of citizenship—is a vital tool that is used to preserve the UK’s national security. It is used against those who obtained citizenship by fraud and against the most dangerous people, such as terrorists, extremists, and serious organised criminals.
The power to deprive a person of their British citizenship on “conducive to the public good” grounds is used sparingly, complies with the UN convention on the reduction of statelessness, and always comes with a right to appeal. The Home Secretary decides each case personally.
Bill proposals
This Bill is extremely narrow in its scope and intent, focusing solely on closing a loophole in the existing deprivation of citizenship process. The Bill does not change any existing right of appeal or widen the reasons for which a person could be deprived of their citizenship.
In the recent case of N3 and ZA v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, the Supreme Court decided that if an appeal against a deprivation decision is successful or if a deprivation of citizenship order is withdrawn, the initial order will have had no effect and the person will be considered as having continued to be a British citizen. This means that people who have been deprived of British citizenship will automatically regain that status before further avenues of appeal have been exhausted.
This Bill will amend section 40A of the British Nationality Act 1981 in order to protect the UK from people who pose a threat to national security by preventing those who have been deprived of British citizenship and are overseas from returning until all appeals are determined. It will also prevent a person who has been deprived of citizenship on the grounds that it is conducive to the public good from seeking to undermine deprivation action while an appeal in their case remains ongoing, such as by renouncing their other nationality and putting themselves in a position whereby a deprivation order would render them stateless.
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Local Government Best Value: Thurrock Council
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon)
As I have previously stated when updating the House, this Government are committed to resetting the relationship with local and regional government, and to establishing partnerships built on mutual respect, collaboration and meaningful engagement. Local councils must be fit, legal and decent, and this Government are taking the action necessary to fix the foundations of local government. I am today updating the House on the steps that we are taking to support Thurrock council to recover and reform.
I am today publishing the commissioners’ most recent report, which I received in May. It is clear that the council is in a very different place from where it was when the previous Government first appointed commissioners to it in September 2022. I want to commend the council’s members and officers and the commissioners for the improvements that they, together, have made; and I am pleased that the commissioners consider that the council
“continues to own the recovery agenda”.
However, the issues that the council faced at the start were both broad and deep, and the commissioners’ fifth report makes it clear that the recovery remains fragile, as the improvements still need to be embedded across the organisation.
While progress has been made to address its historical financial accounts and governance, the council still relies on Government support to set a balanced budget and there remains an annual structural deficit. The council’s general fund debt position is estimated at £800 million by the end of 2025-26. The Government have indicated that we will provide an initial tranche of financial support for debt repayment for Thurrock council in 2026-27, ahead of local government reorganisation. We will continue to work with the council to ensure that any support represents value for money for local and national taxpayers.
The council still needs to evidence deliverable plans to make corporate transformational savings to secure sustainable services, and there remains a need for it to strengthen its internal controls, especially across internal audit and risk management. A robust transformation plan is needed to deliver the council’s proposed operating model and meet savings targets. Organisational capacity challenges remain and the commissioners consider that the council has not yet
“demonstrated that it has the capacity and capability to sustain its own journey of continuous improvement”.
Having considered the report carefully, I am satisfied that the council is not yet meeting its best value duty.
While proposals for local government reorganisation and devolution present the council and its residents with real opportunities, it is vital to ensure that the council has the capacity and capability to continue to drive its own recovery and reform alongside the implementation of either or both of these substantial change programmes.
Proposed package
I am minded to exercise powers of direction, under sections 15(5) and 15(6) of the Local Government Act 1999, to issue new directions to Thurrock council extending the intervention at the council until 30 April 2028. These would require the council to take actions to address the outstanding issues and priorities, as well as continuing to engage with commissioners who would be able to exercise specific council functions. The commissioner team, if appointed, would continue to consist of a lead commissioner, a finance commissioner and a managing director commissioner.
This extension to April 2028 would give the council time to deliver further improvements and embed the necessary changes across the organisation, but it would also ensure that the intervention timetable reflects the broader context for the area and aligns it to the proposed timelines for local government reorganisation. This seeks to ensure that there is external oversight and assurance of the council’s improvement journey as it prepares for any future arrangements and provides flexibility to review the model of intervention throughout this period. It will be important that there are clear measurable milestones over the next phase of the intervention, and I would intend to review the proposed arrangements, if implemented, by summer 2026, when I would expect there to be further clarity on broader plans for devolution and local government reorganisation across greater Essex.
Representations
I am now inviting representatives from Thurrock council and any other interested parties on the proposed intervention package by 2 July. All representations will be carefully considered and any other evidence received, before I take a final decision about how to proceed.
Conclusion
I am committed to working in partnership to provide the necessary support to ensure Thurrock council’s compliance with the best value duty and the high standards of governance that local residents and service users expect.
I will deposit in the Library of the House copies of the documents referred to, which are being published on gov.uk today. I will update the House in due course.
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Social Housing Local Connection Test Exemptions
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Angela Rayner)
In his conference speech on 24 September 2024, the Prime Minister set out this Government’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable to access social housing.
To support the delivery of that commitment, I have today laid regulations to exempt certain victims of domestic abuse and young care leavers from any local connection tests for social housing applied by local councils in England in order to facilitate their access to social housing.
Victims of domestic abuse and young care leavers often have to leave their local area for their own safety or to receive suitable support and therefore struggle to meet local connection tests in places where they would best be able build a safe and stable life. We know that most councils use the flexibilities available to them to exempt care leavers and victims of domestic abuse from local connection tests, but we must ensure that these exemptions are consistently applied.
The regulations laid today will ensure that this potential barrier will be removed and that they will no longer need to meet a local connection test for social housing. The regulations will come into force on 10 July.
Statutory guidance will be updated to reflect these changes. This includes specific guidance on improving access to social housing for victims of domestic abuse to ensure that victims can rebuild their lives away from abuse and harm. Statutory guidance will also be updated to ensure that councils are giving appropriate priority for care leavers who wish to stay in the area where they were placed.
These regulations follow those made in December, which exempted all former members of the regular armed forces from any local connection test for social housing, regardless of when they last served.
The Government are committed to supporting vulnerable groups and veterans to access social housing more generally by increasing the supply of social and affordable homes to better meet demand. Over the past 11 months, we have taken decisive steps to prioritise investment in social and affordable housing. At the spending review, the Government confirmed £39 billion for a successor to the affordable homes programme over 10 years of starts from 2026-27 to 2035-36—the biggest boost to social and affordable housing investment in a generation.
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Veterinary Medicines: Northern Ireland
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Hilary Benn)
The Government are committed to safeguarding supplies of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland and to the protection of animal health and welfare. I therefore wish to update the House that today the Government have published a policy paper called “Protecting Animal Health: the Government’s Approach to Veterinary Medicines in Northern Ireland” and have deposited copies of the paper in the Libraries of both Houses.
Certain exemptions from EU law currently facilitate the supply of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland. These exemptions will end after 31 December 2025. Ensuring the supply of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland from 1 January 2026 is therefore of critical importance. We have seen significant progress to that end, as large sections of the pharmaceutical industry have taken and are taking the steps needed to continue to supply veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland. This means that, in the vast majority of cases, vets, farmers and pet owners will continue to have access to the medicines they need. But I recognise that even a small disruption could cause real difficulties, and that there are understandable concerns in those limited areas where supply may be disrupted and there are no alternative products authorised or available in Northern Ireland. Therefore, the Government are taking further measures to ensure access to veterinary medicines in such cases, as set out in the paper.
The Government have undertaken extensive engagement with the pharmaceutical industry, suppliers and retailers to understand the scale of any likely disruption to supply of veterinary medicines. Disruption is expected to be highly limited as a result of the pharmaceutical industry making the necessary changes to continue to supply Northern Ireland. We will continue to support industry in that endeavour in the coming months. Of the products that will be discontinued—which, on the basis of current analysis, we expect to be 10% to 15% of authorised products—most will have alternatives authorised in Northern Ireland or are not sold or only sold in limited quantities. Only a very small proportion, if discontinued, would be unlikely to have a suitable alternative and lack of access would have a significant adverse impact on animal health.
In line with the commitment in the “Safeguarding the Union” Command Paper, the Government will “deploy all available flexibilities to safeguard and sustain the supply of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland”. To that end, the Government are setting out steps in relation to the supply routes of veterinary medicines to Northern Ireland, making use of provisions within or consistent with EU law to improve access for veterinary surgeons, farmers and pet owners.
The Government are therefore launching two new schemes to ensure the needs of animal health and welfare can continue to be met. First, the veterinary medicines internal market scheme will allow veterinary surgeons to use their own judgment to determine whether to move veterinary products into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, where doing so is the only reasonable way of preventing unacceptable suffering of animals in their care, building on and simplifying existing processes. The requirement for a special import certificate will also be removed for Great Britain to Northern Ireland movements of therapeutic veterinary medicines, reflecting the importance of the UK internal market and recognising that this requirement exists for products entering the UK from outside the UK rather than movements within the UK internal market. Secondly, the veterinary medicines health situation scheme will allow the supply of alternatives to critical products in Northern Ireland, if these are not authorised and the situation of animal or public health so requires. These arrangements will last for as long as the animal or public health justification for it persists.
The combination of progress to date on the adaptation by industry and the measures set out in the paper means that the Government are confident that Northern Ireland will continue to enjoy access to the veterinary medicines necessary to protect the health and welfare of animals, and the livelihoods of farmers and veterinary surgeons.
Further guidance will be issued in due course, and we will continue to monitor emerging risks to animal health and veterinary medicine availability. Intensive engagement will continue through 2025 and beyond to address any gaps. Where they have yet to do so, we are encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to make any necessary changes as soon as possible. The Government will invite the veterinary medicines working group to continue to meet to provide a forum for discussion of both the implementation of the measures set out, and for the identification and escalation of issues to be addressed.
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House of Lords Appointments
(2 days, 10 hours ago)
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The Prime Minister (Keir Starmer)
I am today setting out the roles and responsibilities of all parties involved in making nominations to the House of Lords.
Role of party leaders
As democratically elected representatives, it is for political parties to decide who will best represent them when making nominations to the House of Lords. The Government announced in December 2024 that political parties must now provide citations that clearly set out to the public why an individual has been nominated to the House of Lords. I expect party leaders to take full responsibility for properly considering the suitability and quality of their nominations, including whether nominees have the skills, ability and willingness to contribute to the work of the House and have a commitment to high standards in public life.
The House of Lords works best when there is a diversity of perspectives represented, including from all the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. Party leaders should consider this when making nominations to ensure the second chamber better reflects the country it serves.
Role of the House of Lords Appointments Commission
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent advisory body, responsible for vetting all peers to the House for propriety and for nominating non-party political individuals to the Prime Minister of the day for appointment to sit as Cross-Bench peers in the House of Lords. Advice on propriety is separate from judgments about the suitability of candidates, which are for political parties.
The vetting process is the same for all nominations for life peerages, although the vetting for ministerial appointments to the House of Lords may be completed on an expedited timeline.
The commission can decline to support a nomination on propriety grounds and will inform the relevant political party if this is the case. It is a matter for the Prime Minister to decide whether to recommend an individual to the sovereign. In the unlikely event that I, as Prime Minister, were to proceed with a nomination against HOLAC’s advice on propriety I would write to the commission and this letter would be published on gov.uk. HOLAC would write to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee to notify Parliament that their propriety advice had not been followed.
The commission may also provide advice on whether there are any presentational risks associated with a nominee. The commission does not withhold support for a nominee due to presentational risks.
Appointments to the Cross Benches
I will continue to ask HOLAC to make nominations for individuals to sit as Cross-Bench peers. HOLAC invites applications from the public and assesses candidates against the criteria set out on its website. On my invitation, HOLAC will then put forward successful nominees to me, and I will recommend them to His Majesty the King for appointment.
In addition, as Prime Minister I will continue to recommend directly for appointment a limited number of candidates to sit as Cross-Bench peers based on their public service, including both distinguished public servants on retirement and individuals with a proven track record of service to the public. These nominations will continue to be vetted for propriety by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
This Government set out a commitment in our manifesto to reform the process of appointments to the House of Lords to ensure the quality of new appointments and to seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second Chamber. This statement is further evidence of our commitment to taking pragmatic and straight- forward steps to strengthen and clarify our existing arrangements in support of this commitment.
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