Anna Dixon

This Government is committed to ending pay discrimination at work. The plan to Make Work Pay includes clear action to strengthen the right to equal pay. We will put in place measures to ensure that outsourcing of services can no longer be used by employers to avoid paying equal pay, and improve enforcement by establishing an Equal Pay Regulatory and Enforcement Unit. As set out in the King’s Speech in July, the upcoming Equality (Race & Disability) Bill will also extend the right to make equal pay claims to ethnic minority people and disabled people. These steps will apply across both the public and private sectors.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has responsibility for the Aerosols Dispensers Regulations 2009 which sets out the requirements for the safety of aerosol cannisters. The Regulations specify the manufacturing, labelling and transport requirements ensuring the safety of aerosol cannisters. DBT has made no assessment regarding point-of-sale labelling for aerosol cannisters containing nitrous oxide as this is not pertinent to the safety of the cannister.

The government expects people who provide goods, services, and facilities to members of the public, to anticipate the requirements of disabled customers and the adjustments that may have to be made for them, in line with the Equality Act 2010.

In April, the Minister of State for Social Security and Disability and the Economic Secretary to the Treasury jointly wrote to UK Finance, the leading trade association for the UK banking sector, to urge further progress on ensuring touchscreen card terminals remain accessible for blind and partially sighted consumers. As well, the British Standards Institution has developed and published a British Standard that provides guidelines for the adoption of an inclusive approach to the design of products.

The Consumer Protection Act, which contains our product liability legislation, has been in place since 1987 and my department is indeed undertaking a review of it, during which we will consider all aspects, including those claim limits my Honourable friend mentions. Following this review, should we believe changes are needed, we will bring forward the necessary primary legislation to ensure our laws remain up to date and fit for the future.

I pay tribute to the vital efforts of foster carers, who carry out a challenging role that requires skill, dedication and love. The government will ensure more children can receive loving care in foster families.

We will work with councils and fostering services to ensure foster carers receive the support they need and deserve, but there are no plans to give worker status to foster carers.

The Government is investing £1.14 billion over 30 years (£38 million annually) towards West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority’s local economic priorities, including business support. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund also provides £83 million for West Yorkshire, including support for rural businesses in Shipley.

For small businesses across the country, we will deliver on commitments to boost exports, improve access to finance, stamp out late payment practices and open up competition for public procurement contracts. The department also provides support through Help to Grow Management, the Business Support Service and network of Growth Hubs – including the West Yorkshire Business Support Service.

For schemes such as the Winter Fuel Payment, which helps pensioner households with heating costs, and the Cold Weather Payment, which offers additional support during periods of very cold weather to those on certain income-related benefits, households do not need to be connected to the gas or electricity networks.

To be eligible for the Warm Home Discount a consumer must be named on an energy account with an obligated supplier and be in receipt of a relevant means tested benefit. In February 2025 the Government consulted on broadening the scheme to include households without a direct relationship with an energy supplier, however it was not feasible to take this forward without increasing the cost of the scheme for all consumers.

We will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all sectors of the economy later this month. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 on a pathway to net zero.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State regularly engages with the Climate Change Committee (CCC). This year, the CCC published their independent advice to government on Carbon Budget 7 (2038-2042) and their annual progress report to government, which found that the government has made “bold policy decisions” in the last year to deliver progress in key areas to reduce emissions. We are considering their independent advice to government and will respond in due course.

Revised sustainability criteria for large scale biomass generators, such as Drax and Lynemouth, were published on 10 February 2025 following a consultation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transitional-support-mechanism-for-large-scale-biomass-electricity-generators

These criteria will apply to any potential contracts awarded under this mechanism.

Revised sustainability criteria for large-scale biomass electricity generators, such as Drax and Lynemouth, were published on 10 February 2025 following a consultation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/transitional-support-mechanism-for-large-scale-biomass-electricity-generators

These criteria will apply to any potential contracts awarded under this mechanism.

More broadly, the Government plans to consult later this year on the development of a Common Biomass Sustainability Framework. The timeline for publication and implementation of the framework will depend on the outcomes of that consultation.

The Government is committed to improving mobile coverage across the UK. Ofcom’s recent coverage reporting shows that 99% of Shipley has 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators. Non-standalone 5G is available from at least one mobile operator outside 99% of premises.

I am aware that Ofcom’s coverage data does not always reflect consumers’ experience of mobile networks at a local level, and I am intent on ensuring Ofcom takes all necessary steps to improve its accuracy.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have high-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition.

The Government supports the Arts Councils of each UK nation and Ireland and the British Film Institute in launching All In, a free, UK wide arts access scheme. This scheme will help remove barriers for disabled, deaf and neurodivergent people in music venues, festivals, theatres, museums, galleries, libraries and more. It will introduce the UK and Ireland’s first set of industry standards to improve access to arts and culture as well as launch new digital tools to support accessible ticket booking. Work so far has included consultation with potential users, as well as feasibility studies to inform how the scheme can address access barriers faced by disabled audience members.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity has also appointed David Stanley as Disability and Access Ambassador for arts and culture - to drive improvements in the accessibility and quality of services and facilities in the sector for disabled people, helping to ensure businesses are doing all they can to support disabled customers.

We are continuing to support Arts Council England’s (ACE’s) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF), which as well as aiming to bolster the grassroots music ecosystem, aims to promote inclusivity within the sector. For example, through support from the SGMF, a music venue in Bristol has become the first grassroots music venue in the country to secure an Attitude is Everything Gold Award, a widely-coveted Industry award, given only to those that show a significant and ongoing commitment to improving accessibility.

Young Futures Hubs will build on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, with the government establishing a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. The multi-year Spending Review set overall resource departmental budgets until 2028/29 and overall capital departmental budgets until 2029/30. Departments are now working to determine allocations and further details will be provided in due course.

Young Futures Hubs will be co-designed using local knowledge to best serve their communities and will serve a core age range of 10-18, but with flexibility to support young people at each end of this age range in line with local needs.

Young Futures Hubs will build on the success of existing infrastructure and provision, with the government establishing a number of early adopter hubs, the locations of which will be determined by where they will have the most impact. The multi-year Spending Review set overall resource departmental budgets until 2028/29 and overall capital departmental budgets until 2029/30. Departments are now working to determine allocations and further details will be provided in due course.

Young Futures Hubs will be co-designed using local knowledge to best serve their communities and will serve a core age range of 10-18, but with flexibility to support young people at each end of this age range in line with local needs.

The 37 academy trusts listed in the October 2024 publication on GOV.UK were engaged with on executive pay to ensure compliance with the Academy Trust Handbook.

The Academy Trust Handbook requires that:

• An academy trust’s board of trustees ensures its decisions, when setting levels of executive pay (including salary and any other benefits), follow a robust evidence-based process.
• Academy trusts’ decisions on pay must be a reasonable and defensible reflection of the individual’s role and responsibilities.
• No individual can be involved in deciding their remuneration.
• Academy trusts must be transparent on pay and publish the number of employees whose benefits exceed £100,000 on their websites in £10,000 bandings. Where employees are also trustees, this information must be disclosed in £5,000 bandings.

Following provision of evidence from the academy trusts, all 37 were found to be compliant with the Academy Trust Handbook.

No claims to the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) were rejected as a result of the total fund limit being reached in 2024/25.

Applications exceeding £3,000 were made for 4,832 children in 2024/25. This figure may include some double counting, if more than one application exceeding £3,000 was made for the same child, as could be the case if an application for match-funding was being made.

However, the department’s systems do not enable it to make an accurate calculation of the number of children for whom two or more separate applications under £3,000 were made, but which together totalled more than £3,000. This could, as a result, lead to some under-counting of children in this category.

The scheme administrator has made significant progress to reduce the backlog of Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) figures that built up whilst the necessary guidance was developed following the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy taking effect.

The backlog of 3,062 at the end of October 2024 has been reduced to 472 as of 3 June. The current outstanding figure includes recent applications and as such there will always be a number of outstanding CETVs at any given time.

The scheme administrator is now working through the more complex cases for members who have not retired who have scheme flexibilities to take account of, which must be processed clerically as a result.

Addressing the remainder of the backlog remains a key priority for both the department and the scheme administrator and it is anticipated that these outstanding cases will be completed before October 2025.

The Government recognises well-managed grouse shooting can be an important part of a local rural economy, providing direct and indirect employment. We also appreciate that many people hold strong views on the issue of grouse shooting and there is evidence to suggest a link between it and crimes against birds of prey as well as potential risks to biosecurity. Work will continue to ensure a sustainable, mutually beneficial relationship between grouse shooting, biosecurity and conservation.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.

In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill, including giving environmental regulators powers to impose penalties on the civil standard of proof, in addition to new automatic penalties. The regulators will also be able to recover costs for a much greater range of enforcement activities.

In October 2024, the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the Welsh Government, also launched an Independent Commission on the water sector regulatory system. This is a wide-ranging review to fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Defra is continuing to work with His Majesty’s Treasury regarding continued reinvestment of the water company fines and penalties on water environment improvement.

The Government is aware of fake and fraudulent websites relating to Clean Air Zone payments and takes this matter very seriously. We continue to monitor this issue and take appropriate action. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) investigates reports of organisations which act illegally or are actively misleading users about their services. Where appropriate such sites can be and are taken down promptly. The DVLA uses its external communication channels, including social media, to remind motorists that GOV.UK is the only website for government motoring services and provide advice on how to report suspected scams.

The Water Restoration Fund, which launched under the previous Government in April this year, is currently being examined carefully by the relevant Ministers.

The Government remains firmly committed to delivering the benefits of airspace modernisation. The Department for Transport is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), NATS, and the airports across the north of England to develop a robust and credible plan to implement airspace change in the region. Progress is encouraging, and the airports involved are shortly expected to move forward to public consultation on their plans as the next stage of the CAA’s airspace change process.

Should local highway authorities see fit, they are free to adopt unadopted roads under sections 37, 38 and 228 of the Highways Act 1980.

The Government has already provided £500 million of additional funding for local highway maintenance this year, bringing the total to a record investment of almost £1.6 billion.

My department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more details in due course.

THINK!, the Government’s flagship road safety campaign, aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on the roads in England and Wales by changing attitudes and behaviours among those at most risk. The primary audience for THINK! is young men aged 17-24, who are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured on the road than drivers aged 25 and over. The campaign targets priority issues such as drink driving and speeding, as well as communicating key policy interventions.

The Secretary of State has made no assessment of the potential implications of motor insurance terms allowing providers to retain up to 90 percent of refunds on cancellation, or the potential merits of reforming this practice.

Motor insurers are responsible for setting the terms and conditions of the policies that they offer. The Government does not generally intervene or seek to control the market.

The UK motor insurance market is very competitive and shopping around for the best possible option before making decisions is likely to benefit customers.

The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to our consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.

The child maintenance calculation is designed to be fair and proportionate and broadly represent an amount that the paying parent would spend on the child as if they were still living with them. The calculation takes the paying parent’s gross income into account – regardless of whether that income comes from earnings or benefits. Where a paying parent earns under £100 per week, or receives certain benefits including Universal Credit, they pay a flat rate of £7 per week. In those few instances where someone is eligible for the flat rate but has other income, that can be captured by means of a variation.

The Department has recently conducted a programme of strategic work to review the child maintenance calculation. The focus of the review is to explore options to update the calculation to reflect modern societal and economic changes, with the aim of making it fair, affordable and responsive to parents’ circumstances, but importantly, to avoid introducing complexities to the system. A consultation on proposed changes is planned for late 2025.