Adam Thompson

The Government is committed to ensuring LGBT+ people feel safe, included and are protected from discrimination.

Work is underway to fulfil the commitments set out in the Government’s manifesto, including the trans–inclusive ban on conversion practices and equalising all existing strands of hate crime.

DHSC also delivered legislation to end discrimination in fertility services for LGBT+ families, by removing additional screening costs for female same-sex couples undertaking reciprocal motherhood, and lifting the ban on people with HIV donating gametes.

Moving forward, we will continue to develop policies and initiatives that enhance the lives of LGBT+ people.

Justice and change that victims of the Windrush Scandal deserve has not been delivered.

Recently, I met with the WNO and Windrush Cymru Elders as part of this Government’s fundamental reset, and am proud that since taking office, we have re-established the Windrush unit in the Home Office; improved our caseworking with the introduction of a single named caseworker; committed to appointing a Windrush Commissioner; and are bringing in £1.5mil in grants to fund additional advocacy and support for claimants.

I am also pleased to hear about the excellent work of the Long Eaton Settlers Legacy Association in your constituency. Campaign groups like them do very important work in the local community, supporting victims of the Windrush Scandal to access the compensation they deserve. I will ensure that the Windrush Engagement Team is aware of their work as they continue reaching out to organisations and communities across the country.

This Government is determined to right the wrongs of the Windrush Scandal.

The Government encourages university-business collaboration through a range of incentives, funding and knowledge exchange. The Higher Education Innovation Fund, managed through Research England, providing £280m annually for knowledge exchange, including £20m specifically for business and commercialisation activity.

The Government has also established Skills England, which is tasked with identifying and articulating the skills needed while working with other actors in the skills system to ensure provision is aligned with our industrial strategy. We are building a flexible and high-quality system that breaks down the barriers to opportunity and drives growth.

The UKAEA has developed world-leading fusion expertise having hosted JET for 40 years. A decision was made to cease operations at the end of 2023 as major upgrades to JET’s ageing infrastructure would offer only limited scientific value.

Most of the staff linked to JET are now a part of JET decommissioning or other UKAEA programmes. JET decommissioning will provide a unique opportunity to develop knowledge in the decommissioning of a fusion device and will inform the design of STEP. Furthermore, the repurposing of the estate will support ongoing growth of the cluster of fusion organisations based at the Culham campus.

Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.

The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.

Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.

Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.

The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.

Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.

Companies raising revenue from online services should cover the costs of regulation to keep the online environment safe for users. The Online Safety Act allows Ofcom to charge providers above a revenue threshold a justifiable and proportionate fee.

The Secretary of State is considering the contents of Ofcom’s ‘Online Safety – fees and penalties’ consultation, which closes on 9 January 2025. Departmental officials have regular contact with Ofcom regarding respective responsibilities in implementing the fee regime.

Parliament will be responsible for approving key aspects of the fee regime including regulations defining Qualifying Worldwide Revenue and the revenue threshold.

The next Research Excellence Framework (REF) is currently being developed by Research England and the three Devolved higher education funding bodies, in collaboration with the higher education sector.

As development of REF 2029 proceeds, the funding bodies will continue to engage with the sector and assess the feedback and evidence received from stakeholders until final guidance for the next exercise is set in 2026.

The UKRI open access policy aims to make the results of publicly funded research immediately available so they can be accessed and built upon. UKRI encourages preprints across research disciplines and reserves the right to require preprints where necessary.

UKRI Open Access Block Grant Awards support institutions in meeting its policy requirements. Awards cover article publishing charges (APCs) only under certain value for money terms as well as the sharing of papers via repositories and improvements to digital research infrastructures. UKRI monitors progress on open access, as well as how best to increase the accessibility of the research it funds.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has announced five priorities to reform higher education (HE), with stronger contribution to economic growth as one of these priorities. As part of the work to develop a plan for HE reform, the department has been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, including mayoral strategic authorities. We are also engaging with HE mission groups and representative bodies on local growth plans and HE reform more broadly.

The department sees HE playing a key role in the government’s emerging vision for the wider skills system. HE is critical to the delivery of the industrial strategy and the government’s missions on opportunity and growth. Local Growth Plans will be locally owned, long-term strategic plans for how mayors will use devolved levers and powers to support the national growth mission and help deliver the Industrial Strategy. As the local leaders who know their areas best, they will be engaging relevant stakeholders as they develop and deliver their plans.

HE will also play a critical role in the wider vision for national renewal training our future workforce, including doctors, nurses, and teachers and playing a stronger civic role in local communities.

The UK welcomes international students, including from China, who make a very positive impact on the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, our economy and society as a whole. We will always protect our national security, human rights and values.

The first duty of the government is to keep the country safe, and we are committed to responding to foreign interference, including those actions which amount to transnational repression. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK, will not be tolerated. Anyone who thinks they might be a victim should report incidents or suspicious activity to the Police via 101, a local police station or 999 in emergencies. As autonomous institutions, the department also expects universities to have robust processes in place to prevent and tackle incidents of harassment and abuse on campus.

​The department is taking specific steps to ensure our world-leading universities remain free from foreign interference. This includes the implementation of the new complaints scheme in the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act 2023, which will offer a focussed route for concerns, including relating to foreign interference in academic freedom and free speech, to be escalated.

​The department is continuing to work closely with the sector to increase their understanding of the risks and their ability to respond. We are conducting an internal review, informed by engagement with the regulator, sector, academics impacted by foreign interference and international partners, to assess existing approaches to managing the risk of foreign interference and what more support they might need.

The latest figures for the 2023/24 academic year show there have been 44,060 apprenticeship starts at degree level, including 3,540 in the East Midlands.

Degree apprenticeships can provide school leavers and older learners alternative routes into degree level professions, which supports diversity and inclusion.

The department will work with Skills England to ensure that degree apprenticeships continue to offer good value for money and drive economic growth.

1102 private schools closed between 11 May 2010 and 5 July 2024.

The data in the attached table breaks this down into a) Parliamentary constituency and b) Upper tier local authority in England.

Defra is continuing to work with the police, local authorities and animal welfare groups to explore measures to reduce dog attacks and promote responsible dog ownership across all breeds of dog.

A call for evidence conducted from October to December 2023 was an opportunity for interested parties, including the construction industry, to present evidence, but it did not reveal significant new evidence supporting a change in policy.

The decision announced reflects the continuation of the existing policy, as set out in 2018, that the temporary weight exemption for VCMs will come to an end in 2028.

My Department engaged with hon. Members and industry stakeholders through correspondence prior to the publication of the outcome of the call for evidence.

Successive Governments have held the principle that the benefit system does not normally support full-time students. Rather, they are supported by the educational maintenance system. Part-time students can receive Carer’s Allowance if they meet the entitlement conditions. Certain students when they have additional daily living costs that are not met by the student finance system may be eligible for Universal Credit (UC) and carer element of UC.

If a student with the consent of the educational establishment ceases the course temporarily to care for someone and they are not eligible for a student grant or loan, they may be eligible for UC for that period.

The Department works very closely with other departments and stakeholders, to help ensure young carers get the help and support they need and deserve. How we can best identify and support young carers to combine study with their caring responsibilities where they can, including taking account of changes in the education system, will form an important strand of our future work.

Whilst students are not normally entitled to Universal Credit (UC), if they are responsible for a child, either as a single person or as a couple there is an exception. Depending on their circumstances, they may also be eligible for additional Universal Credit elements, including for children.

Special Support Loans or Grants may be awarded to lone parent students who are in receipt of benefits, this is disregarded in calculations for UC.  Where a student receives a grant only, some of the income may be disregarded over and above the £110 limit in each assessment period if the payment is for childcare costs.

The Government is committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive safe, personalised, equitable, and compassionate care. We are supporting NHS England as it delivers its three-year plan to improve maternity and neonatal care for women and babies. As part of this, all trusts are rolling out version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle which includes interventions for risk assessment, surveillance, and management of foetal growth restriction.

In 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) undertook an evidence review on routine third-trimester ultrasound for foetal growth. This concluded that there is no evidence of benefit to routinely scanning all women in the third trimester, compared to a more selective approach. Instead, the NICE recommends targeted scanning based on clinical need. Further information on the NICE’s evidence review is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng201/evidence/q-routine-third-trimester-ultrasound-for-fetal-growth-pdf-331305934364

There are no plans at this time to make a further assessment of the potential merits of expanding NHS England’s maternity care to include three ultra-sound scans.

We are committed to delivering a range of support, both clinical and non-clinical, to improve children and young people’s mental health. This includes recruiting an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult National Health Service mental health services, to reduce delays and provide faster treatment, helping to ease pressure on busy mental health services.

Nearly 500 NHS-funded mental health support teams were operational in approximately 8,500, or 34%, of schools and colleges across England as of the end of March 2024, covering 4.2 million, or 44%, of pupils or learners. These teams work with young people and parents to manage mild to moderate mental health conditions like anxiety and depression, while also assisting schools to develop a whole-school approach to positive mental health and wellbeing.

We will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community. The national network of Young Futures hubs is expected to bring local services together, and deliver support for teenagers at risk of being drawn into crime or facing mental health challenges. They will provide open access mental health support for children and young people in every community.

Ministers and Departmental officials meet regularly with voluntary, community, and social enterprise (VCSE) stakeholders in the mental health sector to discuss a range of mental health issues and current challenges.

In October 2024 we launched the 10-Year Health Plan for the National Health Service to gather views from members of the public, NHS staff, VCSEs, and other organisations on their experiences and ideas to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed, to move healthcare from the hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. We are working closely with VCSEs and other mental health stakeholders to ensure the unique challenges for mental health services across England are reflected in 10-Year Health Plan.

The Shared Outcomes Fund Early Support Hubs project aims to increase the Government's understanding of the effectiveness of early intervention and prevention support for children and young people's mental health delivered in a community setting and strengthen the evidence base for early intervention. By evaluating the Early Support Hubs as a delivery model for early intervention, the project aims to build a strong evidence base, assess the impact of these services, and inform potential future expansion of the model. The evaluation of the project aims to report its findings by Summer 2025.

There are currently approximately 65 locally funded early support hubs in England offering early easy access mental health interventions to thousands of children and young people aged 11 to 25 years old, including those from low-income families.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, we will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.

Additionally, Every Mind Matters is a campaign run by NHS England, which features the mental health tool My Mind Plan at the heart of their resources and advice for those facing mental health problems.

A National Institute for Health and Care Research-funded study has been commissioned to examine the effectiveness and the implementation of maternal mental health services, including the services’ provision of support for perinatal loss. The study will help identify the optimal service delivery models and context-specific barriers to implementation.

The research aims to understand how effective maternal mental health services are in improving mental health for women who have experienced trauma or loss related to childbirth, and the feasibility and effectiveness of maternal mental health services in providing trauma informed training across the maternity workforce.

To date, maternal mental health services have been implemented in 40 of the 42 integrated care system areas in England, and the last two are being supported by NHS England to ensure they are up and running as soon as possible.

We are committed to improving the mental health support available to those in the perinatal period. We know that the National Health Service has struggled to keep up with people’s greater awareness of the challenges of poor mental health, and that waiting lists for those referred for support are too high. We will reduce waiting times, intervene earlier, and increase the workforce as quickly as possible to meet the required needs.

The UK is committed to Media Freedom, and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. The Government takes allegations concerning the arbitrary detention of British nationals - including journalists - very seriously. We examine the circumstances of each case individually and develop tailored strategies based on careful judgements on what is likely to be most effective. Where appropriate, we seek to raise concerns with the local authorities and press for specific violations to be remedied or investigated. We expect all states to comply with their human rights obligations.

The government recognises the significant impact the collapse of BetIndex Ltd had on former customers.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has responded to the Financial Regulators Complaints Commissioner’s report on BetIndex Ltd, noting that it has already implemented a number of changes that address the Commissioner’s recommendations.

HM Treasury continues to engage with the FCA on issues relating to the FCA’s regulatory perimeter, including sports spread betting.

Within the current benefit in kind tax rules employers are able to provide their employees with a loan, which can be provided tax free, as long as the total value of the loan is below £10,000. This type of loan can be used to make purchases such as train season tickets, most of which are under £10,000, and the employee will then reimburse their employer out of their net salary.

The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review. Any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.

The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the UK is of the upmost importance. The UK will always stand up for the rights of the people of Hong Kong. Where we identify individuals at heightened risk, we are front footed in deploying protective security guidance and other measures as appropriate

We have a broad suite of powers available to counter transnational repression. This includes measures in the National Security Act 2023 which make the UK a harder target for those states which seek to conduct hostile acts.

On 4 March, I announced a new package of training for frontline police officers and staff to increase their understanding of foreign state threats. This training will improve law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate incidents which may be state directed.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce is also reviewing the UK’s existing response to transnational repression to ensure it is robust and joined across government and law enforcement.

The sinking of the HMT Lancastria remains the United Kingdom's worst maritime disaster. Although it occurred almost 85 years ago, the loss of several thousand servicemen and civilians, and the fortitude of those who were saved that day, must never be forgotten.

A number of memorials commemorate the sinking, and loss of life, most notably in England at the National Memorial Arboretum, at St Nazaire in France, and at the former Dalmuir shipyard at Clydebank, Scotland. The HMT Lancastria Association also has its own memorial in the Church of St. Katherine Cree in the City of London, which is the site of an annual memorial ceremony.

Unfortunately, it is impractical to commemorate the anniversaries of all wartime tragedies with a bespoke Government-led event and thus I have no plans to discuss further recognition.