Amanda Hack

Following the publication of the Inquiry’s Additional Report, the UK Government has announced further interim payments of £210,000 for eligible estates of someone registered with an IBSS or predecessor scheme (on or before 17 April 2024) who sadly passed away.

This is in addition to the £100,000 interim payments to the estates of deceased infected beneficiaries which opened in October 2024. Since then, 600 interim payments of £100,000 have already been paid to estates.

On 26 September, the Government announced that applications for these interim payments will open on 23 October.

The Government expects the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to begin making payments to the estates of deceased infected people this year.

The Warm Homes Plan will help cut household bills for families and slash fuel poverty. The Government has committed £13.2 billion to upgrade millions of homes across the country.

The Government is working to ensure that homes are fit for the future and the Department has been carrying out research to respond to the relevant climate change adaptation risks identified by the third Climate Change Risk Assessment, including to health and wellbeing. This work is informing the development of the Warm Homes Plan.

Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower is one of the five Missions set out by the government: aiming for clean power by 2030 and accelerating to net zero. Delivering the Warm Homes Plan is central to the clean energy mission. Targeting decarbonisation of heat in buildings will account for around 75% of reduction in all building emissions as well as reducing demand.

Decarbonising buildings will support 175,000 jobs by 2030 and 240,000 by 2035 – resulting in £6 billion additional GVA by 2030. It is the only certain way to permanently lower bills (through energy efficiency), protecting the UK against price shocks, reducing demand and therefore preserving energy security and helping the UK become energy independent.

As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. Officials are exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners with the upfront costs.

The government is committed to protecting homeowners across the UK, further details for improved consumer protection will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan.

The government also recognises the importance of access to trusted and impartial information, the retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers and is supported by a call centre.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.

As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.

The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.

As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.

The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

The Government engages regularly with communications providers to ensure that the industry-led switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) proceeds safely and with minimum inconvenience for end users. For many users, the upgrade will only involve unplugging their existing landline phone from the wall and plugging it into the back of their broadband router.

As part of the migration to VoIP, current landline-only consumers do not need to purchase a general broadband connection if they do not want one. Most users can retain the same telephone devices after the migration, but in scenarios where this is not possible, they will receive a replacement device for free. Existing contracts will not increase in price when customers are migrated to VoIP.

The Department does not hold data on the number of landline-only VoIP products but is working with stakeholders to identify those that require additional support during their PSTN migration, including consumers who are dependent on their landline.

Everyone, including children and young people, should have the opportunity to play sport and do regular physical activity. The Government has committed to continued funding for grassroots facilities which will ensure that communities have access to high-quality, inclusive facilities, no matter where they live.

The Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment, so that sites can provide a more inclusive and sustainable offer throughout the year, including the school holidays.

More widely, the Government has confirmed more than £200 million of funding for the Holiday, Activities and Food (HAF) programme over the 2025/26 financial year. The HAF programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families over the school holidays, benefiting their health, wellbeing and learning.

The department recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. This is reflected in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, which supports early years practitioners to design a rich curriculum that includes regular opportunities for play-based learning.

Governing bodies (for maintained schools) and academy trusts (for academies) are responsible for deciding when sessions should begin and end on each school day. They are also responsible for deciding the length of each lesson and the timings for the morning session, the midday break and the afternoon session. The department does not collect data on the number of breaks, including lunch time, that schools schedule into their daily and weekly timetable.

Government guidance sets out the expectation that a school week is a minimum of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks. However, the department does not collect data on the amount of time provided.

The department recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. This is reflected in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, which supports early years practitioners to design a rich curriculum that includes regular opportunities for play-based learning.

Governing bodies (for maintained schools) and academy trusts (for academies) are responsible for deciding when sessions should begin and end on each school day. They are also responsible for deciding the length of each lesson and the timings for the morning session, the midday break and the afternoon session. The department does not collect data on the number of breaks, including lunch time, that schools schedule into their daily and weekly timetable.

Government guidance sets out the expectation that a school week is a minimum of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks. However, the department does not collect data on the amount of time provided.

The department recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. This is reflected in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, which supports early years practitioners to design a rich curriculum that includes regular opportunities for play-based learning.

Governing bodies (for maintained schools) and academy trusts (for academies) are responsible for deciding when sessions should begin and end on each school day. They are also responsible for deciding the length of each lesson and the timings for the morning session, the midday break and the afternoon session. The department does not collect data on the number of breaks, including lunch time, that schools schedule into their daily and weekly timetable.

Government guidance sets out the expectation that a school week is a minimum of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks. However, the department does not collect data on the amount of time provided.

The department recognises that play is critical to children’s wellbeing, learning and development. This is reflected in the early years foundation stage statutory framework, which supports early years practitioners to design a rich curriculum that includes regular opportunities for play-based learning.

Governing bodies (for maintained schools) and academy trusts (for academies) are responsible for deciding when sessions should begin and end on each school day. They are also responsible for deciding the length of each lesson and the timings for the morning session, the midday break and the afternoon session. The department does not collect data on the number of breaks, including lunch time, that schools schedule into their daily and weekly timetable.

Government guidance sets out the expectation that a school week is a minimum of 32.5 hours, inclusive of breaks. However, the department does not collect data on the amount of time provided.

The department is committed to raising the healthiest generation ever. Giving children access to a nutritious meal during the school day leads to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes. We are extending free school meals to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026, meaning over 500,000 additional children will receive a free and nutritious lunchtime meal.

School governors and trustees have a responsibility to ensure compliance with the School Food Standards. To support governors, the department, along with the National Governance Association, launched an online training course on school food for governors and trustees.

To ensure quality and nutrition in meals for the future, the department is acting quickly with experts across the sector to revise the School Food Standards, so every school is supported with the latest nutrition guidance.

Local authorities are best placed to communicate specific new collection requirements with their residents when rolling out services. Defra and PackUK are working closely on opportunities to support local authorities with the communication of the changes to household recycling. To support local authorities, Defra has provided £79.5 million transitional resource funding for food waste including specific funding for communications. Under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging legislation, producers‘ disposal fees will contribute to the costs of public information campaigns by the scheme administrator to promote the correct recycling and disposal of packaging waste.

The Government’s message is clear – if you need to use wet wipes, dispose of them in the bin, not the loo, flushing wet wipes causes a number of environmental and drainage impacts.

We are considering if further action, including on product labelling, is required to tackle the issues caused by wrongly flushing wet wipes and other unflushables.

The Yellow fish campaign is a targeted community-led engagement initiative that raises awareness of water pollution caused by contaminants such as chemicals, oils, detergents, and litter entering road drains. Where drainage has been identified as a pollution source, this campaign offers a practical, visible solution to support pollution reduction efforts. It aligns with policy goals on clean water, community engagement and sustainable infrastructure and is a solution that should be encouraged in appropriate locations.

Defra works with other departments, regulators and devolved administrations to assess PFAS levels, their sources and potential risks, informing future policy and regulation.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has provided guidance on PFAS since 2007, most recently updated in August 2024 and consolidated in March 2025. The guidance uses a tiered system with graduated responses based on concentrations detected in raw water.

In 2021 a guideline value of 0.1 micrograms per litre (µg/L) was adopted. Since August 2024, water companies must monitor for 48 PFAS in supplies, agreed with the UK Health Security Agency as safe levels with an appropriate margin. Any exceedance must be reported to the DWI, with actions taken to reduce levels. No exceedances have been found in UK supplies.

The DWI continues to review advice from World Health Organisation and the UK’s Committee on Toxicity, acting on emerging science to safeguard public health.

The Government is committed to ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Drinking water quality in England is exceptionally high and among the best in the world; the UK was ranked in the top 8 countries globally for drinking water safety in the 2024 Environmental Performance Index.

Public drinking water compliance with the Water Supply (Water Quality) Regulations 2016 has been consistently high for years. The most recent published figures show 99.97% compliance rate compared with between 98-98.5% in the early 1990s.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) publishes advice on drinking water quality safety and standards online. In December 2024, the DWI published a report, with recommendations, on drinking water standards by an advisory group of specialists with wide-ranging technical expertise. Defra and the DWI will work together to consider potential regulatory updates to England’s drinking water quality legislation based on these recommendations.

The table below shows the number of full and provisional licence holders on 11 October 2025.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

As set out in DVSA’s 2024/25 business plan, DVSA is beginning the process of replacing it’s booking system. The system has many uses including:

• booking and scheduling of all practical driving and riding tests

• recording mandatory training taken by professional lorry and bus drivers

• administering the register of approved driving instructors (ADIs) and the compulsory basic training (CBT) scheme for novice motorcyclists

DVSA will start by replacing the test booking and scheduling service. This will allow better capture and meeting of customers’ requirements, including those with additional needs. DVSA will update the way it schedules tests using modern, flexible technology that makes better use of examiners’ time and reduces manual processes.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the DVSA continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests.

DVSA deploys bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly. These applications, however, are constantly evolving and changing, and DVSA’s work on this is ongoing.

The attached Excel document shows the percentage of car practical driving tests attended for the last ten full financial years.

To ensure fairness for everyone wanting to book a practical driving test, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) continues to work hard to combat the unscrupulous practice of reselling tests.

Between 28 May and 23 July 2025, DVSA ran a public consultation on improving the rules for booking car driving tests. Views were sought from the driver training industry, learner drivers and other interested parties on changes which aim to prevent learner drivers from being exploited by those who resell tests at a higher price.

In line with the consultation principles, DVSA will aim to publish a summary of responses, including the next steps, which might include new legislation.

While the selling of tests for profit is not illegal, DVSA deploys enhanced bot protection to help stop automated systems from buying up tests unfairly, but these applications are constantly evolving and changing. DVSA continues looking for ways to ensure the safest and fairest way to book a driving test is for a legitimate candidate to use its services. DVSA has zero tolerance for those who exploit learner drivers and is committed to tackling the reselling of driving tests.

The attached spreadsheet, WPQ00047632, shows the number bookings made* and the number of bookings ,including percentage, of practical driving test bookings where the initial test candidate’s driving licence number was subsequently changed to a different driving test candidate’s licence number in each month since January 2015.

* The number of bookings made does not equate to the number of practical driving tests conducted. Not all test bookings result in a test being conducted.

Government has regular discussions with local authorities about accessing the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund and has appointed a support body to assist local authorities with pre and post-application support.

In December 2024, following significant engagement with local authorities, the Government published cross-pavement guidance to help local authorities understand what they need to consider for the roll-out of cross-pavement solutions. This includes relevant planning permissions, minimum existing standards, responsibilities and case studies of trials.

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.

Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

It remains the department’s priority to ensure that those who can work are supported to enter the labour market and to sustain employment.

We acknowledge there is a challenge arising from the interaction between Universal Credit and Housing Benefit, particularly for working age customers residing in supported and temporary accommodation.

Currently, a broad spectrum of customers receive rent support through Housing Benefit. This includes pensioners, residents in Supported or Temporary Accommodation and customers who have not yet migrated to Universal Credit. Any amendment to the Housing Benefit taper rules would apply to all these groups.

We are considering options to improve work incentives for residents of supported housing and temporary accommodation, while taking into account the views of stakeholders. Any future decisions will be taken in the round and in the context of the current fiscal environment.

Following the period of public consultation on creosote, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is undertaking an in-depth assessment as part of the renewal process of creosote as a biocidal active substance under the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulation. This work is still under way, and is due to complete in Spring 2026.

A final decision on the renewal will be taken by the Secretary of State in 2026.

Work on the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Social Fund Annual Reports is underway, and these will be published as soon as possible. The 2023-24 Social Fund Annual Report will follow in due course.

Access to Work has a significant backlog of applications, with 62,000 outstanding applications in February 2025. This has resulted in significant delays and we are considering changes within the existing policy framework to reduce this.

To support customers with the application process, we have streamlined our delivery process and made all core parts of the Scheme, such as applying and requesting payment, fully digital. We recognise that significant delays can have adverse effects on customers, our Case Managers receive training in how to identify and support vulnerable customers during their application process and can provide advanced support to those whose wellbeing is affected during the application process.