Mental Health Conditions, Autism and ADHD
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)
I am announcing today the launch of an independent review into the prevalence of, and support for, mental health conditions, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism.
Over the past decade there has been progress in reducing stigma and an increase in public awareness of mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, and the importance of psychological wellbeing. Yet the prevalence of common mental health conditions for adults has increased to one in five, and many people who are autistic or have ADHD are struggling to access the right support. This Government have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve NHS services, but there is much more to do.
I am deeply concerned that many adults, young people and children with mental health conditions, ADHD and autism have been let down by services and are not receiving tailored, personalised or timely support and treatment.
That is why I am announcing this independent review to understand the rises in prevalence and demand on services to ensure that people receive the right support, at the right time and in the right place.
The review will look to understand the similarities and differences between mental health conditions, ADHD and autism, regarding prevalence, prevention and treatment, the current challenges facing clinical services, and the extent to which diagnosis, medicalisation and treatment improves outcomes for individuals. This will include exploring the evidence around clinical practice and the risks and benefits of medicalisation. The review will also look at different models of support and pathways, within and beyond the NHS, that promote prevention and early intervention, supplementing clinical support.
I have asked Professor Peter Fonagy to chair this review with the support of two vice chairs, Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Professor Gillian Baird. They each have specific expertise on mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions and extensive clinical and academic experience.
The review will appoint an advisory working group, which involves a multidisciplinary group of leading academics, clinicians, epidemiological experts, charities and people with lived experience, to directly shape the recommendations and scrutinise the evidence.
I have asked the chairs to provide a short report within six months setting out conclusions and recommendations for responding to the rising need, both within Government and across the health system and wider public services.
The terms of reference will be published on gov.uk.
[HCWS1132]
Biometrics, Facial Recognition and Similar Technologies in Law Enforcement: Legal Framework
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)
The Government are committed to giving the police the tools, clarity and confidence they need to keep the public safe in a fast-changing world. Facial recognition technology is one such powerful and effective tool, and the Government want to support its adoption with a clearer legal framework.
Over the past year, we have taken time to listen carefully to all sides of the debate about facial recognition and evaluate the available evidence. We have heard how this can be a valuable tool in tackling serious crime. However, we have also heard legitimate concerns about this powerful technology. There are questions we must address about the state’s powers to process its citizens’ biometric data proportionately, maintaining public confidence, and how we balance this with ensuring the police are able to utilise technology within a clear, easy-to-understand framework.
That is why I am pleased to announce that the Government are today launching a public consultation titled, “Consultation on a new legal framework for law enforcement use of biometrics, facial recognition and similar technologies”.
The consultation seeks views on a wide range of issues, including which technologies should be covered by the new framework—such as biometric, inferential, and object recognition tools—and which organisations it should apply to. It also explores when and how these technologies should be used, what safeguards are necessary to protect privacy and other rights, and how to ensure their use is demonstrably proportionate to the seriousness of the harm being addressed.
Throughout the consultation, we hope to hear a broad range of views from the public, experts, and stakeholders to help shape a legal framework that will enable confident, safe, and consistent use of facial recognition and similar technologies at significantly greater scale.
This consultation will play an essential role in helping the Government design a framework that means law enforcement can properly harness the power of this technology while maintaining public confidence over the long term.
The consultation will run for 10 weeks and provides a valuable opportunity for the public to have their say. A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on gov.uk.
[HCWS1129]
FIFA Men's Football World Cup 2026: Licensing Hours
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)
I am pleased to launch a consultation on extending licensing hours in England and Wales for the semi-finals and final of the FIFA men’s football world cup next summer, contingent on any of the home nations teams—England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland—reaching those stages of the tournament. The consultation is aimed at members of the public, local licensing authorities, licensed premises, and other interested parties in England and Wales where these proposals apply.
Depending on the outcome of the consultation, the Government propose to make a licensing hours order under section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003 that would contingently extend opening hours for matches that kick-off at 9pm or earlier on the days of the semi-finals (14 and/or 15 July) and/or final (19 July), so that they would end at 1am at the latest—i.e. early in the morning following the match, rather than 11pm on the day of the kick-off in the UK—for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises in England and Wales.
The extension would enable communities to come together to celebrate this achievement and support their national team, as well as provide a welcome boost to pubs and other on-trade businesses. The tournament will be held across several US states, Mexico, and Canada, which are 5-8 hours behind UK time, and matches could continue well into, or not kick off until, the early hours of the morning. In those cases, licensed premises will be able to use the temporary event notice process to extend beyond 1 am, should they wish to do so. The TENs process allows police to object or place conditions on a notice, thus ensuring additional safeguards for the public where venues may wish to stay open later.
The extension would be contingent on one or more of the home nations reaching those stages of the championship, and would not take effect should none of these teams reach those stages of the tournament.
I am seeking to use a contingent order to extend licensing hours for the semi-finals and the final to ensure that there is sufficient time to consult publicly on the proposed extension and follow the required parliamentary procedure.
A copy of the consultation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on gov.uk. The consultation will run until 15 January 2026.
[HCWS1130]
Devolution Priority Programme
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Steve Reed)
Devolution is a critical lever for delivering growth and prosperity for local communities, through bringing local transport back into public control, making people’s daily commute easier, tailoring local skills training to local employer’s needs, so people can get a good job, and driving regeneration of local areas, so people feel proud of the place they live in.
For too long decisions have been made centrally in Whitehall, away from the places and communities those decisions impact. Mayors and other local leaders are best placed to identify and invest in the projects and infrastructure that reflect the needs of local people and drive growth, but they need long-term funding certainty to harness their region’s potential.
Today, I am therefore pleased to confirm the long-term funding offer to the six areas on the devolution priority programme. Once mayors are in post, the six mayoral strategic authorities will receive close to £200 million collectively per year for 30 years through their investment funds. These funds will be split equally between capital and revenue, and they will be un-ringfenced, so local areas can choose how they want to invest this money in local priorities. This investment will promote growth in the six areas, and as the baseline of our funding commitment, it will be additional to devolved funding streams from other Government Departments, such as adult skills funding and transport funding.
Each area’s individual yearly investment fund allocation, based on their populations, are as follows:
Cheshire and Warrington combined authority: £21.7 million per year
Cumbria combined authority: £11.1 million per year
Greater Essex combined county authority: £41.5 million per year
Hampshire and the Solent combined county authority: £44.6 million per year
Norfolk and Suffolk combined county authority: £37.4 million per year
Sussex and Brighton combined county authority: £38 million per year
Beyond the allocations based on population, each new mayoral strategic authority will be supported to build core capacity to ensure they can deliver for local people. All six areas will receive £3 million each as a minimum flat payment over the next three financial years, in addition to an initial payment of £1 million each when the statutory instruments are laid in Parliament, to help with the costs of establishing the new authorities.
The Government recognise that mayoral strategic authorities are most successful when they are built on a strong history of partnership and joint delivery. Moving forward, we will therefore seek to facilitate the establishment of foundation strategic authorities in areas without a foundation of collaboration, to build local capacity ahead of areas accessing mayoral powers. These foundation strategic authorities will be empowered to deliver for their residents in the interim. The Government plan to engage with local leaders about creating a new wave of foundation strategic authorities to ensure more residents can see the benefits of local control.
For devolution priority programme areas, as they have already made great progress towards the establishment of their mayoral strategic authorities, the Government ambition to foster collaboration ahead of implementing mayoralties will be facilitated by allowing for a meaningful period of time between the mayoral strategic authorities’ establishment and inaugural elections.
Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria have previously requested a delay of their inaugural elections to May 2027, to align with the majority of planned local elections, which could help voter turnout and enable further local savings. These areas have both successfully established unitary authorities.
The Government are also minded to hold the inaugural mayoral elections for Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex in May 2028, with areas completing the local government reorganisation process before mayors take office. This is because devolution is strongest when it is built on strong foundations; therefore, moving forward we will ensure strong unitary structures are in place before areas take on mayoral devolution.
The Government intend to establish mayoral strategic authorities in all the devolution priority programme areas as soon as possible, to ensure sufficient time for meaningful preparatory work and to continue to build local collaboration. We will provide each devolution priority programme area with a proportion of their investment funds to ensure they can start delivering on key local priorities and deliver the benefits of devolution on the ground ahead of the mayors taking office. Cheshire and Warrington and Cumbria will therefore receive half of their annual investment funds in 2025-26, while Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Greater Essex will receive a third of their annual investment funds in both 2026-27 and 2027-28.
Our commitment to ensuring areas across England can access the growth benefits of mayoral devolution holds firm. We will continue to engage with local leaders across the devolution priority programme towards the establishment of these mayoral strategic authorities.
[HCWS1128]
Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Simon Lightwood)
I wish to provide the House with an update on further steps the Government are taking to implement the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 and kickstart economic growth. Self-driving vehicles have the potential to increase opportunities and break down barriers for how people and goods move around the country, making transport safer, greener, and more reliable. Strengthening road safety, improving accessibility, and ensuring safeguarding remain central to this vision.
The AV Act delivers one of the most comprehensive legal frameworks of its kind, with safety at its core. It sets out clear legal responsibilities, establishes a safety framework and creates the required regulatory powers. This includes measures designed to protect all road users—pedestrians, cyclists, disabled people, and vulnerable groups—through a consistent, evidence-based safety framework.
The AV Act implementation programme supports the Government-wide programme of work using artificial intelligence to deliver the plan for change, with AVs providing a core example of how AI could bring tangible benefits to the public. This technology has the potential to enable safer journeys, improve access to essential services, and enhance independence for people with accessibility needs.
Today, we have published an ambitious call for evidence on developing the AV regulatory framework. This call for evidence will help inform secondary legislation, guidance and policy development, ensuring the AV regulatory framework remains proportionate, forward-looking and responsive to emerging technologies while upholding strong safeguards for public safety, data protection, and responsible operation.
The call for evidence is split into two main chapters: “getting AVs on the road” and “once AVs are on the road”.
Chapter 1 seeks further evidence relating to:
Vehicle type approval: the assessment of whether the vehicle is technically safe before it is allowed on to the GB market; this is closely linked to the ongoing work at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe to develop automated driving systems regulations.
Authorisation: the new process of authorising a self-driving vehicle for use on GB roads without a driver, allowing legal responsibilities to shift to the authorised self-driving entity when the vehicle is driving itself.
User-in-charge: if a self-driving feature requires a responsible human inside the vehicle, that human is the driver while the feature is disengaged, and becomes a UIC when the self-driving feature is engaged. The UIC will not be responsible for the way the self-driving vehicle drives when the feature is engaged.
Transition demands: a time-bound demand for the UIC to take control of the vehicle when a self-driving vehicle needs to safely transfer control to a human driver.
Operator licensing: the use of vehicles with self-driving features that do not require a human driver to be present while active in vehicles which may have no human on board at all.
Insurance: AVs must be insured to legally drive on our roads, but motor insurance for AVs will be different from that for conventional vehicles. As a result, insurers will need timestamp data recorded by the vehicle, showing if the system was active, to determine liabilities.
Chapter 2 seeks further evidence relating to:
In-use regulation: ongoing monitoring to confirm that vehicles continue to meet the self-driving test requirements, and in particular, the requirement to be able to safely and legally drive themselves once on the road. In-use regulation will also monitor where authorisation requirements and operator licensing requirements continue to be complied with.
Sanctions: a new set of civil and regulatory sanctions available to Government. They include compliance notices, redress notices and fines as well as variation, suspension or withdrawal of an authorisation or a licence.
Incident investigation: a process for no-blame incident investigation involving AVs, similar to existing aviation and rail investigation branches, allowing for continuous improvement based on real-world evidence
Cyber-security: appropriate cyber-security controls must be in place throughout the vehicles service life; this extends to the security of the operation centre and includes cyber, personnel and physical security.
Questions relating to data, costs and benefits appear throughout the call for evidence, and there are stand-alone sections on accessibility and environmental impacts. While the focus of the call for evidence is on the safety framework, we are particularly mindful of potential accessibility benefits and so have included accessibility considerations.
We seek views from a broad range of respondents, including road users, industry, academics, road-safety experts, accessibility specialists, first responders, trade unions, and the wider public. Their insights will help ensure that as AV technologies develop, they do so in ways that strengthen safety, widen access, and safeguard the public.
A copy of this publication will be placed in the Library of each House and published on gov.uk.
[HCWS1131]