British Steel
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Chris McDonald)
The Government committed to updating Parliament on British Steel every four sitting weeks for the duration of the period of special measures being applied under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. In addition to today’s statement, on 23 October my ministerial colleagues Baroness Lloyd of Effra and Baron Stockwood of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes led a debate in the House of Lords entitled “Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025”.
The Government’s priority remains to maintain the safe operation of the blast furnaces at British Steel. Government officials are continuing to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe, ensuring uninterrupted domestic steel production and monitoring the use of taxpayer funds.
On funding, the position remains that all Government funding for British Steel will be drawn from existing budgets, within the spending envelope set out at the spring statement 2025. To date, we have provided approximately £274 million for working capital, covering items such as raw materials and salaries, and addressing unpaid bills, including for small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26.
I visited British Steel on 6 November to meet with the company’s UK management and trade unions. The visit was in the same week as the 50th anniversary of the Queen Victoria blast furnace disaster, which occurred in Scunthorpe in 1975, which British Steel employees and the local community commemorated on 4 November. The loss of life and the profound impact of that event on the local community remain a stark reminder of the critical importance of health and safety standards across all industrial operations. I laid a wreath at the memorial to the disaster in remembrance to those who had lost their lives.
Work continues to develop an impact assessment, which will be published in due course following Regulatory Policy Committee scrutiny. We are also continuing work on the introduction of a compensation scheme for steel undertakings in scope of the Act.
We continue to work with Jingye to find a pragmatic, realistic solution for the future of British Steel. As we have stated previously, our long-term aspiration for the company will require co-investment with the private sector to enable modernisation and decarbonisation, to safeguard taxpayers’ money and to retain steelmaking in Scunthorpe. Once a solution is found, we will terminate the directions issued to British Steel under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 and make a statement on the need to retain, or repeal, the legislation.
[HCWS1030]
Impact Economy Partnerships
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (Darren Jones)
The social impact investment advisory group’s final report was published on 3 November 2025 and sets out recommendations on how the Government could better partner with the impact economy to contribute billions to national priorities, such as supporting early years and health. A key recommendation from the report was to create an office at the heart of Government to drive this change.
In response to the social impact investment advisory group’s final report, the Government are launching the Office for the Impact Economy. Strategically housed within the Cabinet Office, this new team will report to me, as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, as I serve as the ministerial lead.
The Office will function as a clear front door to enable the Government to partner more strategically and effectively with the impact economy, including philanthropists, social and impact investors, purpose-driven business and civil society. The office will help ensure that every pound of public funding works harder, and that impact capital and purpose-driven business are harnessed and grown in support of national renewal.
The Office for the Impact Economy will employ a hub-and-spoke operating model to facilitate cross-governmental collaboration. The office will bring together Departments across Government, including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, HM Treasury, the No. 10 partnerships unit, and the Department for Business and Trade, all of which will continue to hold their established policy and delivery relationships. The Office for the Impact Economy will work closely with the Office for Investment, which works with large pools of impact aligned investment and with the Office for Responsible Business Conduct.
[HCWS1041]
Intergovernmental Relations Engagement Dashboard
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Chris Ward)
This Government came to office with a clear commitment: to reset relationships with the devolved Governments, working in genuine partnership to deliver change in every part of the United Kingdom.
Between July 2024 and March 2025, we held 357 ministerial meetings with our counterparts in Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast. This engagement continues to be more frequent than under the previous Administration. While political differences will always exist between different parties, the increased engagement between Governments across the United Kingdom is a positive development for devolution and brings benefits for citizens in all parts of the country.
However, this reset is about more than numbers. It represents a meaningful shift in how we govern to deliver shared ambitions. This Government recognise devolution as a strength to be embraced and a means of delivering for everyone across the UK, wherever they live.
This reset is reflected in the composition of the ministerial team itself with Scottish and Welsh politicians serving at the very highest levels of the UK Government, bringing their experience, their insights and their commitment to every corner of our country. This recognises that the best solutions come when we draw on talent from across the United Kingdom.
We have delivered record funding settlements for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland—providing the resources our devolved Governments need to deliver for their communities while we work together on our shared priorities.
This partnership approach is already delivering tangible results.
In Port Talbot, we worked hand-in-hand with the Welsh Government to secure the future of steelmaking in Wales, with a £500 million UK Government support package to protect jobs. At Grangemouth, we worked in partnership with the Scottish Government to support workers and communities facing transition, ensuring Scotland remains at the forefront of our industrial future. In September, we announced that Northern Ireland will benefit from one of the first defence growth deals, helping to boost local economies by bringing together leaders across industry, politics and academia to make sure that local potential is realised.
Through our UK-wide industrial strategy, we are working with all devolved Governments to build an economy that works for every community. With Scotland and Wales benefiting from the designation of AI growth zones, we are ensuring all parts of the UK benefit from co-ordinated technological advancement that means we can compete globally.
These examples demonstrate what we can achieve when Governments work together, rather than at cross purposes.
As part of the Government’s ongoing commitment to open collaboration with the devolved Governments, the Cabinet Office has published an intergovernmental relations engagement dashboard. This provides transparent information on ministerial meetings between the UK Government and devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The publication of this dashboard shows this partnership in action. It demonstrates the breadth and depth of ministerial engagement across a range of policy areas, and our commitment to working together on the issues that matter most to people’s lives.
[HCWS1033]
UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)
The hon. Member for Llanelli (Dame Nia Griffith) has been appointed as a full representative of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly in place of the hon. Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes).
The hon. Member for Bath (Wera Hobhouse) has been appointed as a full representative of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly in place of the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary).
[HCWS1036]
Contingent Liability Notification
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
The independent Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England decided at its meeting ending on 3 February 2022 to reduce the stocks of UK Government bonds and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bonds held in the asset purchase facility—the APF—by ceasing to reinvest maturing securities. The Bank ceased reinvestment of assets in this portfolio in February 2022 and commenced sales of corporate bonds on 28 September 2022, and sales of gilts acquired for monetary policy purposes on 1 November 2022. The sales of corporate bonds ceased on 6 June 2023, with a small number of outstanding corporate bonds reaching maturity on 5 April 2024. Therefore, the APF is now comprised solely of gilts.
The Chancellor at the time agreed a joint approach with the Governor of the Bank of England, in an exchange of letters on 3 February 2022, to reduce the maximum authorised size of the APF for asset purchases every six months, as the size of APF holdings reduces.
Since 13 May 2025, when the maximum authorised size of the APF was last reduced, the total stock of assets held by the APF for monetary policy purposes has fallen further, from £619.7 billion to £555 billion. In line with the approach agreed with the Governor, the authorised maximum total size of the APF has therefore been reduced to £555 billion, comprising entirely of gilts.
The risk control framework previously agreed with the Bank will remain in place, and HM Treasury will continue to monitor risks to public funds from the APF through regular risk oversight meetings and enhanced information sharing with the Bank.
There will continue to be an opportunity for HM Treasury to provide views to the MPC on the design of the schemes within the APF, as they affect the Government’s broader economic objectives and may pose risks to the Exchequer.
The Government will continue to indemnify the Bank, the APF and its directors from any losses arising out of, or in connection with, the facility. Provision for any payment due under the liability will continue to be sought through the normal supply procedure.
A full departmental minute has been laid in Parliament providing more detail on this contingent liability.
[HCWS1040]
Restoration of War Memorials
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)
I am repeating the following written ministerial statement made on 10 November 2025 in the other place by my noble Friend, the Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling, Baroness Twycross:
As we mark 80 years since the end of the second world war, the Government are providing £2 million funding to support the conservation and repair of war memorials across the UK.
The nation’s war memorials stand as enduring symbols of the sacrifice made by servicemen and women in conflicts past and present. In communities across the country, they are central to acts of remembrance and connect us to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy today.
The War Memorials Trust has identified that there is a backlog in the conservation of our war memorials. Addressing this will enhance local neighbourhoods and give communities a focal point for commemorations. It will support pride in place and improve the local environment for everyone.
This new funding will be made via an investment in the National Heritage Memorial Fund endowment. The memorial fund has been safeguarding the UK’s most important heritage for 45 years, and exists to form a UK-wide memorial in honour of those who have given their lives to the country.
NHMF will work with the War Memorials Trust, Historic England and other partners across the UK to protect and repair their local war memorials through grants, expert advice and guidance, ensuring these historic monuments can continue to serve as places for remembrance and education.
We expect to announce further details of the fund in due course.
[HCWS1029]
Veterans Strategy
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)
The Minister of State in the House of Lords, my noble Friend Lord Coaker, made the following statement on 10 November 2025:
Today, this Government are pleased to take another step towards renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve and have served in the armed forces, demonstrating that this Government are on their side. The country’s near 2 million veterans are a national asset, and our new veterans strategy proudly sets the narrative about them, their service and the role they can play in our national prosperity.
Veterans not only remind us of the challenges we have overcome; they also play a vital role in strengthening the fabric of our communities. Their contributions enhance the resilience and effectiveness of our defence, support critical industries and bolster the wider economy. Many veterans have benefited from a military career that provided them with unique skills, experience, confidence and opportunities that they took forward into civilian life. For many, a career in the armed forces continues to be a powerful driver of social mobility.
The new veterans strategy sets the long-term outcomes that the Government want veterans to achieve, grounded in three core themes that challenge the whole of society to think differently about those who have served in the armed forces and their ongoing potential.
Celebrate
We want society to respect those who serve and have served, ensuring that the benefits of military service for individuals are recognised, and that their role in defending our freedoms and society is celebrated.
Contribute
We want to ensure that the unique skills, experience and personal values of veterans are appreciated and understood, including how they contribute to our national security, our economy and our communities.
Support
For the overwhelming majority, veterans’ lives are better for having served. However, some veterans continue to need access to timely, appropriate and effective support that meets their needs following service. To meet this need, we have also launched VALOUR, which will transform the way we provide support to veterans who need it.
Together, these themes represent a powerful new approach to recognising veterans as one of the UK’s great assets, aligned in its approach with the strategic defence review and the plan for change, and underpinned by this Government’s commitment to bring the armed forces covenant fully into law.
Like the armed forces covenant, this strategy applies equally across the UK. While its vision, themes and outcomes are a shared endeavour, effective implementation will vary according to local needs and context. This strategy recognises the rich and varied contributions of those who have long supported the armed forces community.
We will work closely with partners in the public, private and third sector to drive progress against the outcomes, establish a new governance framework, and continue investment in data and insights on veterans and their experiences.
As a key element of the veterans strategy, this Government are also taking the next steps in delivering VALOUR, with applications now open for organisations to bid for funding for VALOUR-recognised centres, backed by £27 million of funding.
This is alongside an extension of the nuclear test medal eligibility criteria. This Remembrance, we are making the medal available to even more veterans. Personnel who served on operations to monitor French atmospheric nuclear tests until 1974, and Chinese tests until 1980, will now be eligible. These personnel carried out air sampling missions from airfields in Peru, the USA, the Aleutian islands, and the Midway islands near Hawaii, and conducted monitoring operations at sea.
This Government are committed to renewing the nation’s contract with those who serve. The veterans strategy will be a critical step in dedication to honouring and supporting our veterans.
[HCWS1039]
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: UK Delegation
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)
The right hon. Lord Jones of Pennybont has been appointed as the Leader of the UK delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in place of the right hon. Lord Touhig.
The hon. Member for Gedling (Michael Payne) has been appointed as a full member of the United Kingdom Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in place of the hon. Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson).
[HCWS1038]
Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)
The right hon. Member for Sheffield Heeley (Louise Haigh) has been appointed as a full representative of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in place of the hon. Member for High Peak (Jon Pearce).
The hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) has been appointed as a full, representative of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in place of the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Mike Martin).
The hon. Member for Newton Abbott (Martin Wrigley) has been appointed as a substitute member of the United Kingdom delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe in place of the hon. Member for Lewes (James MacCleary).
[HCWS1035]
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria: 2026-28
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Chris Elmore)
My right hon. and noble Friend, the Minister of State for International Development and Africa, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, has today made the following statement:
I wish to update the House on the Government decision on investment in the eighth replenishment of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria—the Global Fund—which covers 2026 to 2028.
Diseases such as HIV, TB and malaria are not only preventable and treatable, but disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalised. Over the past two decades, the Global Fund partnership has helped to save over 70 million lives, ensure equitable access to health services, and build stronger, more resilient health systems in more than 100 countries. Despite this remarkable progress, 4,000 adolescent girls and young women per week still contract HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, TB remains the world’s single deadliest infectious disease, and malaria still kills a child under five nearly every minute.
The UK Government are proud to have supported the formation of the Global Fund partnership in 2002. We are continuing that leadership now by co-hosting the eighth replenishment of the Global Fund, working alongside South Africa in a truly modern development partnership. Today I am proud to announce that we will invest £850 million in the Global Fund for 2026 to 2028 to deliver lifesaving prevention, testing and treatment services. This is expected to save up to 1.3 million lives, avert up to 22 million new cases or infections of HIV, TB and malaria, and generate up to £13 billion in health gains and economic returns in the countries where the Global Fund works. In dollar terms, this is only 5% less than the amount we invested in the seventh replenishment, demonstrating how strongly we have prioritised global health and the Global Fund.
This commitment is not only a moral imperative, it is a strategic investment in global and national health security and in wider economic growth and stability. As replenishment co-hosts, we call on all our partners in the G20 and beyond to join us in continuing this investment in our shared future. The Global Fund plays a critical role in preventing disease outbreaks, strengthening surveillance, and building health systems that are robust enough to respond to emerging threats, including antimicrobial resistance and future pandemics. Communicable diseases know no borders; this investment in fighting them around the world complements our work to fight them here in the UK. It will also boost overall prosperity by enabling healthier people to contribute to the economies of our partner countries, and it will support jobs and economic growth here at home, with the Global Fund working in partnership with UK institutions and researchers, supporting innovations including dual active ingredient bed nets for malaria and long-acting prevention for HIV. Its work on market shaping and capacity building for regional manufacturing will continue to be a vital tool in scaling up access to these innovative new technologies.
As I set out in my statement of 26 June regarding our pledge to Gavi 6.0, multilateral health organisations must go further to maximise impact. As we pursue a modern approach to development, I welcome the Global Fund’s commitment to reform, becoming even more efficient and effective, focused on those most in need and with a simpler approach to delivery that puts country ownership at its heart. Looking beyond the Global Fund, we will go even further in reforming the multilateral health system to enable low and middle-income countries to make the most of all health investments, to incentivise domestic resourcing and to strengthen health systems so that we deliver for the health challenges of tomorrow. Partners such as South Africa are telling us how important these reforms are and we look forward to working with them to deliver this change.
The decision on the UK’s pledge to the Global Fund has been taken in the context of the difficult decision this Government have made to reduce spending on development assistance from 0.5% of GNI to 0.3% to fund increased spending on our defence and national security. As the Prime Minister noted, this Government are proud of the UK’s pioneering record on overseas development. Less money does not mean less action. Even in the context of a lower ODA budget we will continue to play a key role in global health. Alongside our continued strong commitment to multilateral organisations such as Gavi and the Global Fund, and to their ongoing reform in partnership with others, we will continue to make pioneering investments in research and development, in market shaping to drive down prices and increase access, and in strengthening the health systems needed to deliver universal health coverage.
The UK is committed to a safer, healthier and more prosperous world. Through our investment in the Global Fund, we are helping to build a future where no one dies from preventable diseases.
[HCWS1043]
NATO Parliamentary Assembly: UK Delegation
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)
The hon. Member for Enfield North (Feryal Clark) has replaced the hon. Member for Barking (Nesil Caliskan) as a member of the United Kingdom delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
[HCWS1037]
Social and Affordable Homes Programme
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)
At the spending review in June, the Government announced £39 billion for a new social and affordable homes programme over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36. The SAHP will give registered providers of social housing—both private registered providers and councils—a decade of certainty over the capital funding they will have available to build new, more ambitious housing development projects. It is integral to delivering the Government’s commitment to the biggest increase in social and affordable house building in a generation.
Today I am updating the House on the launch of the full details of the programme as part of the five-step plan we set out on 2 July to kick-start a decade of social and affordable housing renewal.
The core strategic objective of the new programme is to maximise supply—particularly of social rent homes. At least 60% of homes delivered through the SAHP will be for social rent. This reflects the priority this Government accord to social rented housing as the mark of a country that takes seriously its duty to house those for whom the market cannot cater; a platform for families to live, grow, and to build a better life; and as a public good that benefits the nation as a whole. Our ambition is to deliver around 300,000 affordable homes over the programme’s lifetime, with around 180,000 for social rent.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government policy statement on the social and affordable homes programme 2026-36 sets out the programme’s national architecture, which together with delivery partner prospectuses, details how RPs can access funding, the expectations placed on them, and the flexibilities built into the programme to support an ambitious and diverse pipeline of new affordable homes.
Oversight of programme delivery will remain with Homes England and—within London—the Greater London Authority. Up to 30% of the funding over the programme—up to £11.7 billion over 10 years—will be delivered by the GLA in London, with at least 70% available for the rest of England via Homes England.
As per the commitments we set out in the English devolution White Paper, we have worked closely with established mayoral strategic authorities to ensure they set the strategic direction of the programme in their areas. The priorities that each EMSA has identified to guide bids in their areas have been published as part of the Homes England prospectus, and RPs will be expected to demonstrate how they have incorporated these, including tenure preferences and priority sites, into their bids in EMSA areas. To support effective planning, we have also delivered on our commitment to set out up-front indicative spend per EMSA. These figures are intended to guide bids, but they are not a ringfence or a floor.
To increase the diversity of social and affordable housing supply, we have ensured that the programme has the necessary grant rate flexibility to support homes that require greater up-front investment, including council, supported, community-led and rural housing. As part of our commitment to reinvigorating council house building, we have also confirmed the following additional measures designed to support delivery of the SAHP by councils:
Establishing a new continuous market engagement “portfolio” route to assist councils to bid for grant at an earlier stage in the pre-development process and across several sites at once, thereby lowering pre-development risk and encouraging larger, more ambitious development pipelines.
Enabling councils to combine right-to-buy receipts with SAHP funding. No limit will be placed on the level of right-to-buy receipts that can be used and the option to mix receipts with grant will increase the viability of councils’ bids.
Awarding £5.5 million in grant funding to 29 councils through the inaugural round of our £5.5 million council house building support fund, to increase the speed and scale of bids into the SAHP to deliver new council homes.
We will also shortly be contacting councils to inform them of their initial offer under the fourth round of the local authority housing fund and provide guidance on how councils might apply for funding. The LAHF will enable councils to grow their stock of good-quality temporary accommodation, reducing the reliance on expensive and unsuitable nightly paid or B&B accommodation. The fund will also provide homes for some families arriving through the Afghan resettlement programme. In addition to relieving short-term housing pressures, the fund will provide councils with a long-term asset to the benefit of local communities and residents.
The SAHP will also make targeted improvements for those in shared ownership. We know that many shared owners have faced challenges they could not have foreseen, such as high and rising service charges. In the new programme, we will expect RPs to improve the experience for customers, including through giving greater consideration to long-term customer affordability, increasing transparency and fairness on costs, and giving customers the ability to opt out of fees for services that are optional.
Alongside the SAHP, we will also make available £2.5 billion of low interest loans to support the delivery of new social and affordable housing. The loans will be awarded through a bidding process that is closely aligned with the SAHP, and the loans will be administered by the national housing bank and by the GLA in London. The process will be open to private registered providers and will test the additionality that they can achieve with loans. A substantial allocation of the loans will be targeted at London in the light of the acute challenges facing private registered providers in the capital.
In the coming months, we will provide RPs with the remaining information they need to finalise their business and future supply plans—including how we will implement rent convergence at autumn Budget; and our response to recent consultations on a modernised decent homes standard and minimum energy-efficiency standards.
The launch of the full details of the SAHP represents a significant milestone. With the parameters for delivery now clear, we are calling on all RPs to start preparing large and ambitious proposals ready for when bidding opens in February 2026 and to then refine these in collaboration with Homes England and the GLA as the bidding window for strategic partnerships closes in April 2026.
Alongside bids to the SAHP, we are also calling on all RPs to support the effective delivery of section 106 homes. Section 106 agreements are, and will remain, an essential mechanism for delivering social and affordable housing, and it is essential that all parts of the system work in partnership to ensure it is operating as required.
I commend to the House the MHCLG policy statement, individual scheme prospectuses, and the revisions made to Homes England’s capital funding. Following bids, we will set targets for delivery under each partner to make sure delivery remains aligned with local housing needs and the programme’s national ambition.
[HCWS1027]
Standards for Local Authorities in England
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister for Local Government and Homelessness (Alison McGovern)
This Government are committed to greater devolution and determined to fix the foundations of local government and build a better future for local politics.
We want local and regional government in England to attract and retain the best possible talent, and for county, town and city halls across the country to promote fair and reasonable democratic discourse, without slipping into cultures which are toxic and intimidating.
In December 2024 the Government launched a consultation seeking views on proposals to strengthen the standards and conduct framework for local authorities in England.
This Government response, informed by the consultation and wider sector engagement, sets out our ambition to introduce a clearer and consistently applied conduct system that will help local elected Members to hold themselves and their colleagues to account in meeting the high standards and conduct their roles demand and the public have a right to expect.
This Government will carry out wholesale reform of the current standards regime, tackling head-on widespread concerns around the inconsistent use of rules on behaviour and the lack of effective sanctions for those who breach their codes of conduct, undermining people’s confidence in local government.
The reforms aim to ensure misconduct is dealt with swiftly and fairly across the country in every type and tier of local government—from the smallest town or parish council to the largest regional mayoral authority. We want to ensure that local government is empowered, fully accountable and deserving of people’s trust.
Councillors and mayors who repeatedly break the rules or commit serious misconduct will face tougher sanctions under proposals published today to clean up local politics and restore public confidence.
The Government response is being published on gov.uk today and will be deposited in the Library of the House.
[HCWS1032]
Building Safety Regulator
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Samantha Dixon)
In June 2025, my Department announced changes to the Building Safety Regulator. Today I am laying before the House draft regulations that will move the functions of the Building Safety Regulator out of the Health and Safety Executive and to an Executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
This change will position the BSR for the coming years. It will strengthen lines of accountability and give a dedicated focus to BSR operations, and it is an important first step towards establishing a single construction regulator, the lead recommendation of the Grenfell Tower inquiry phase 2 report.
I am grateful to the HSE for the leadership and experience it has brought to the establishment and early operations of the BSR, and for its ongoing support as this change is made.
[HCWS1042]
“Delivering the Best for Girls in Custody” Review: Government Response
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Jake Richards)
Today, I am pleased to announce the publication of the Government’s response to Susannah Hancock’s independent review, “Delivering the Best for Girls in Custody”. This marks a significant shift away from a system historically designed for boys, and towards one that recognises and addresses the distinct needs of girls.
This review has provided a vital opportunity to reflect on the experiences of some of the most complex and vulnerable children in our justice system. The Government welcome the review’s findings and are grateful to Susannah for her work, as well as all those who contributed, including the girls themselves, professionals, and stakeholders.
In March 2025, my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Sir Nicholas Dakin) took decisive action to end the use of young offender institutions for girls, ensuring that no girl is placed in a setting unable to meet her needs. This was the right decision and a vital first step in improving the experiences of girls in youth custody.
Our response, published today, sets out a comprehensive programme of reform. We are piloting an enhanced placement protocol, designed to provide registered managers of secure children’s homes with peer support and accountability in making placement decisions for girls. We are strengthening the national pathway for girls, with new training and guidance to equip staff to deliver the highest standards of care and support. I have also established, and will chair, the girls in youth justice advisory board, and appointed a strategic lead to ensure sustained progress in improving outcomes for girls across the youth justice system.
Beyond custody and more broadly, we are committed to expanding specialist youth justice intensive fostering, working with local authorities to develop remand fostering programmes. This will ensure that intensive fostering is more widely available to girls at risk of entering custody. My Department is running remand pilots in West Yorkshire, Kent, and Greater Manchester, trialling new approaches to remand funding and diverting children away from custodial remand. The Department for Education is also developing new accommodation for children at risk of being deprived of their liberty, which will create new community alternatives for children at risk of youth custody, including girls with the most complex needs.
The Government remain committed to continuous improvement, partnership, and delivering meaningful change for girls in the youth justice system. I commend the Government response to Parliament and encourage all interested parties to read the full document for further detail on our commitments and next steps.
The full Government response, which sets out our commitments, is available on gov.uk. I will place a copy of the Government response to “Delivering the Best for Girls in Custody: An independent review into the placement and care for girls in the Children and Young People Secure Estate” in the Library of the House.
[HCWS1034]
Animal Testing in Science: Alternative Methods
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Kanishka Narayan)
I am repeating the following written ministerial statement made today in the other place by the Minister of State for Science, Innovation, Research and Nuclear, my noble Friend Lord Vallance of Balham:
Today, the Government are laying before Parliament a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods to the use of animals in science.
The Government are proud to lead a new era in advancing innovative and effective approaches to scientific research and development. We are committed to delivering on our manifesto pledge to “partner with scientists, industry and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”. Not only that, but we aim to establish the UK as a world leader in developing and adopting alternatives to animal testing. This reflects not only our deep commitment to animal welfare, but our belief in the economic, scientific and societal benefits that come from investing in and phasing in modern alternatives. The Government recognise the urgency of this transition and are determined to drive meaningful change through co-ordinated, cross-governmental action.
Our vision is for a world where the use of animals in research and development is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances, achieved by creating a research and innovation system that replaces animals with alternative methods where scientifically possible. This will include a wide range of new and validated alternatives used in discovery and translational research, and new methodologies for chemical and environmental testing, and safety and toxicity testing of potential novel human and veterinary medicines. This strategy lays out the steps that we, the Government, will take over the next five years towards achieving this vision across the whole of the UK. We also highlight specific instances of animal use where we will take immediate and near-future action to ensure alternative methods are applied going forward.
The use of animals in science at present provides an important insight into human and animal biology and disease. Animals are also used in many sectors to test the safety and efficacy of chemicals in consumer products, and in new human and veterinary vaccines, medicines and medical devices before they are trialled in their intended populations or marketed. Enabling the properly regulated use of animals, while we move away from animal testing, is essential to improving the health and lives of humans and animals and to the safety and sustainability of our environment. We will continue to support the appropriate use of animals where reliable and effective alternatives are not yet available. But we will not accept a slow pace of change when and where scientific and technical advances mean that a faster transition away from animal use is possible.
Recent scientific advances have provided new impetus to the development of alternative methods that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research—the three R’s. There is also a rapidly accelerating global movement to adopt alternative methods in the life sciences, which we not only welcome but aim to accelerate further and seek to be a world leader in. The maturity of these methods differs across scientific and regulatory sectors, but alternative methods are being applied in a wide range of contexts across discovery research, veterinary science, drug and chemical discovery, toxicity testing and clinical investigations. We are at a tipping point where international regulatory and political commitment, technological capabilities and scientific advances are converging to create a system capable of delivering the scientific, commercial, societal, economic and animal welfare benefits offered by alternative methods.
The term “alternative methods” describes a broad range of tools and technologies that can reduce or replace animal use across the whole of the bioscience landscape. They are being applied in a wide range of contexts and have benefits including specificity, sensitivity, species relevance and speed, but also disadvantages, such as a current inability to fully replicate testing on a living animal. Only a few of these methods have, to date, been fully validated or qualified to replace animals for specific purposes, with insufficient funding to advance research from Government over the past decade, and therefore adoption for discovery research and uptake into policy and regulatory use has been patchy, with slower progress than many have desired. That is why more research and investment is urgently needed, and this Government, in our new strategy, are committing fully to both. This strategy covers the whole range of uses of animals in science and has been developed to accelerate the development, validation and adoption of scientifically evidenced alternative methods in discovery, applied, translational and regulatory research and testing.
The strategy will build on the UK’s well-established life sciences research system, enabling it to respond with greater agility to opportunities in the rapidly evolving alternative methods landscape. It has six objectives:
Accelerate the replacement of animals in science to phase out their use;
Achieve equal or better research and testing outcomes using alternative methods;
Drive private investment in alternative methods to boost innovation and growth;
Improve regulatory confidence and acceptance of alternative methods;
Create infrastructure and partnerships to unlock value from UK data; and
Position the UK as a global leader in alternative methods.
We, the Government, will deliver this by focusing on five key commitments:
Driving alternative method development and uptake in discovery research: We will incentivise the development and adoption of alternative methods. This will be delivered through (i) increased and sustained investment focused on animal replacement; (ii) better animal research approval and dissemination mechanisms to assess whether animal use is required or whether alternatives could be used; and (iii) a workforce with the necessary skills set to implement the uptake of new alternative methods quickly and effectively. We will establish a new pre-clinical translational research hub to bring together data, cell engineering, genomic technology and expertise to create a pipeline of novel translational medicine models. This will be an exciting step forward that will create more jobs in the alternative methods industry and help to position the UK as a world leader in developing alternatives and moving away from animal testing.
Accelerating alternative methods validation and uptake for regulatory decision making: We will establish a national approach to accelerating the validation and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods. At its core will be a new UK centre for the validation of alternative methods that will co-ordinate a cross-sector network of public and private laboratories and facilitate engagement between policy makers, regulators, industry end users and alternative method developers.
Delivering the transformative potential of our data assets: We will create national infrastructure, collaborations and regulatory frameworks to expedite equitable and secure access to high-quality datasets to enable data-driven innovation that reduces animal use and enables the use of alternative methods. This will include increasing investment in data-driven biology, establishing data sharing platforms to facilitate access to public and private data repositories, setting clear standards for data quality and interoperability, widespread adoption of AI methods to assess potential safety and toxicity profiles, and developing regulatory guidance to support data-driven and AI-informed decision making. We will be working with industry and regulators to make their historical data sets available for use.
International leadership and co-operation: We will establish the UK as a global leader in the regulation and science of alternative methods, ensuring our participation on key forums and international committees in this space. We will also expand existing and establish new partnerships with international regulators to identify internationally agreed priorities of mutual importance, explore data sharing possibilities and AI projects to assess toxicity, safety and efficacy from existing data sets, and accelerate the global acceptance of validated alternative methods.
Effective governance culture: We will establish governance structures with diverse stakeholder representation to oversee progress and delivery of the actions described in this strategy. This will include a set of key performance indicators with which to assess delivery of the strategy and forming a cross-governmental ministerial group on alternative methods, chaired by the Science Minister. We will have a publicly available dashboard of progress against key deliverables.
This strategy has been developed involving stakeholders from industry and regulatory agencies representing chemicals, agriculture, food and pharmaceutical sectors, and many of the actions and commitments we pledge are applicable across multiple sectors.
[HCWS1031]
Young People and Work
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)
I am pleased to make a statement today on the independent report into young people and on work I have commissioned, with support from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Education. This report forms part of the Government’s further action to maximise opportunities for young people.
This Government believe in opportunity for all, but too many young people are being denied the opportunity to further their education, skills or careers. Nearly 1 million young people—approximately one in eight young people aged 16 to 24—are not in education, employment or training. Over a quarter of NEET young people now cite long-term sickness or disability as a barrier to participation compared with just 12% in 2013-14.
This Government have already taken decisive action to address these challenges. We have committed to investing £25 million to double the number of youth hubs. We have launched eight youth guarantee trailblazers across England, backed by £90 million, to test new ways of improving co-ordination and accountability for young people’s opportunities at the local level.
We are developing a youth guarantee, which will ensure 18 to 21-year-olds are earning or learning. As part of that we are increasing skills training including short courses, expanding the number of youth hubs, and standing up a new jobs guarantee scheme to offer paid work for every eligible young person who has been on universal credit for 18 months without earning or learning.
For disabled people and those with health conditions we are introducing the pathways to work guarantee of work, health and skills support, but we know we must go further.
The report will examine the drivers behind the rise in NEET rates and economic inactivity among young people, including those with health conditions, and make recommendations for policy responses aimed at maximising opportunities. The report will be authored by right hon. Alan Milburn, former Secretary of State for Health and Chair of the Social Mobility Commission. He will be supported by a panel of labour market, health and clinical experts who will be announced in due course. This work will be grounded in evidence, shaped by the voices of young people, and informed by those who work with them every day.
I am determined to build a system that supports young people, not just in finding a job, but to build a better future—because when young people succeed, Britain succeeds.
The terms of reference will be published on gov.uk and placed in the Libraries of the Houses. The report will share its interim findings with Government in spring 2026, with final recommendations by summer 2026.
[HCWS1028]
Women's State Pension Age: PHSO Report
(1 day, 6 hours ago)
Written StatementsRead Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Pat McFadden)
I wish to update the House on the Government’s decision in response to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s investigation into women’s state pension age communication and associated issues. On 17 December 2024, my predecessor made an oral statement and deposited a copy of the Government’s detailed response in the House Library.
In coming to this decision, my right hon. Friend gave the ombudsman’s report full consideration and looked in detail at the findings, reviewing all the information and advice provided to her at the time by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Since then, as part of the legal proceedings challenging the Government’s decision, evidence has been cited about research findings from a 2007 report. This was a DWP evaluation of the effectiveness of automatic pension forecast letters. I am depositing a copy of this report in the Library of the House.
Had this report been provided to my right hon. Friend, she would of course have considered it alongside all other relevant evidence and material.
In the light of this, and in the interests of fairness and transparency, I have concluded that the Government should consider this evidence now. This means we will retake the decision made last December as it relates to the communications on state pension age.
As the House will be aware, the decision announced last December has been the subject of court action in recent months and we have today informed the court of the action we now intend to take.
We will approach this following proper process and in a transparent and fair manner. However, retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that the Government will necessarily decide that we should award financial redress.
The work will begin immediately, and we will update the House on the decision as a conclusion is reached.
[HCWS1044]