Lord Evans of Watford

The Government has a long-established approach to identifying, developing and managing collaborative business relationships. For example, the Government recognises the importance of managing its relationships with strategic suppliers, on a cross-government basis, by observing their performance in the delivery of public services and monitoring financial health.

This year, the Government introduced a new approach to the monitoring and management of strategic suppliers through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the government and each of our strategic suppliers. The approach of using an MOU reflects the Government’s now well-developed relationships with, and understanding of, its strategic suppliers. Under this new approach, strategic suppliers will agree to provide the government with the information it needs to monitor and manage risks across its strategic supplier base, with the full cooperation of industry.

Ministers and officials have engaged extensively on EU exit with businesses, business groups and trade bodies across all regions of the UK. My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been meeting regularly with five of the biggest business groups, including the Federation for Small Business. We want to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership - one that works for UK businesses. We plan to be ambitious in these negotiations and will secure the best possible access for firms to trade with and operate in the European market.

Education on financial matters helps to ensure that young people are prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed. In 2014, financial literacy was made statutory within the national curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11-16 year olds. Pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the importance of personal budgeting, money management and the need to understand financial risk. We have also introduced a rigorous new mathematics curriculum, which provides young people with the knowledge and mathematical skills to make important financial decisions.

An understanding of consumer products and how they are advertised can be important in personal finances. In the statutory relationships, sex and health education guidance, to be implemented in all schools within England from September 2020, it states that pupils should be taught about how advertising is targeted at them, and how they should be discerning consumers of information online. The department has published further guidance on teaching online safety, to support schools in their delivery of online safety content within their curriculum and wider whole school approaches. This guidance is attached and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

The Government has had discussions across a wide range of stakeholders about the development of degree apprenticeships. However, it is the role of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education along with the trailblazer group to take forward the development of any apprenticeship.

The Institute ensures that trailblazer groups are made up of a range of employers and reflective of those who employ people in the occupation, including small employers.

The Government have already committed an additional £8 billion by 2020/21 to the National Health Service and now committed to backing the NHS in England further so that by 2019/20, it will have received an additional £2.8 billion for frontline services than previously planned over the period. This includes £335 million this winter to help trusts to increase capacity and £3.5 billion of new capital investment by 2022/23 to transform its estate and drive further efficiency savings.

In October 2016, NHS England announced a £130 million fund to modernise radiotherapy across England. Over the next two years, older Linear Accelerators radiotherapy equipment being used by hospitals will be upgraded or replaced; ensuring cancer patients have access to the latest, leading-edge technology.

In June the Ministry of Defence sent Counter Explosives Experts to survey parts of Azerbaijan worst effected by unexplored ordnance to understand how the UK can best support Azerbaijan in this area. The Minister for Europe and Americas announced in September that the UK had contributed £500,000 to a United Nations Development Programme initiative to take action on mines left in the region as a legacy of the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. These funds will assist with training and personnel to support de-mining in Azerbaijan.