Claire Hanna

No, estates of a deceased affected person who died prior to 21 May 2024 will not be eligible to make a claim on behalf of the estate. In its July 2025 Additional Report, the Inquiry recommended that the compensation scheme be amended so that the estate of a deceased affected person will be eligible to claim compensation where an affected person passed away between 21 May 2024 and 31 March 2029. This is to acknowledge that the passage of time in delivering payments to the affected community since the Compensation Scheme was announced has left some at a disadvantage.

Following the Inquiry’s recommendation, we have amended the scheme so that the estate of a deceased affected person is now eligible to claim compensation where an affected person passed away between 21 May 2024 and 31 March 2031. This date range is a further two years than the date range recommended by the Inquiry.

The Civil Service pension schemes are some of the most generous pension schemes available in the UK, utilising defined benefit arrangements and contractual enrolment to ensure those who dedicate their working lives to public service are rewarded appropriately in retirement. The vast majority of private sector employers utilise defined contribution arrangements and automatic enrolment therefore a comparative assessment of the gender pension gaps could be misleading as it doesn’t account for the overall generosity of the schemes.

The gender pension gap can be measured in different ways. Based on the latest data available, from 2024, the gap has reduced from 47% in 2016 to 42%. This is based on the difference in average pension in payment for men and women, expressed as a percentage of the average pension for men. We fully expect this position to continue to improve as the equality employment legislation reduces historical differences in both the gap in pay and pensions accruing.

The Cabinet Office will be commissioning the Government Actuary’s Department to carry out further analysis of the current position and will then consider next steps.

The Civil Service pension schemes are some of the most generous pension schemes available in the UK, utilising defined benefit arrangements and contractual enrolment to ensure those who dedicate their working lives to public service are rewarded appropriately in retirement. The vast majority of private sector employers utilise defined contribution arrangements and automatic enrolment therefore a comparative assessment of the gender pension gaps could be misleading as it doesn’t account for the overall generosity of the schemes.

The gender pension gap can be measured in different ways. Based on the latest data available, from 2024, the gap has reduced from 47% in 2016 to 42%. This is based on the difference in average pension in payment for men and women, expressed as a percentage of the average pension for men. We fully expect this position to continue to improve as the equality employment legislation reduces historical differences in both the gap in pay and pensions accruing.

The Cabinet Office will be commissioning the Government Actuary’s Department to carry out further analysis of the current position and will then consider next steps.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December.

The issues and delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

In response, we have set up a dedicated a surge team of 150 staff to work alongside the 500 Capita staff to clear the backlog. There is an agreed recovery plan in place that prioritises the most urgent cases including bereavements, ill health and hardship cases and has clear timelines and targets for full-service restoration for all members.

No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension and we are putting in place direct support for people facing delays in their first payments. We are also actively working with all partners to ensure affected members do not suffer permanent financial loss as a result of this issue.

The Cabinet Office has set out arrangements whereby employing departments are able to make interest-free hardship loans to those who are waiting for their pension benefits.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. Administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December.

The issues and delays facing some civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions is unacceptable.

In response, we have set up a dedicated a surge team of 150 staff to work alongside the 500 Capita staff to clear the backlog. There is an agreed recovery plan in place that prioritises the most urgent cases including bereavements, ill health and hardship cases and has clear timelines and targets for full-service restoration for all members.

No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension and we are putting in place direct support for people facing delays in their first payments. We are also actively working with all partners to ensure affected members do not suffer permanent financial loss as a result of this issue.

The Cabinet Office has set out arrangements whereby employing departments are able to make interest-free hardship loans to those who are waiting for their pension benefits.

The CMA is currently taking forward work as part of its Strategic Market Status investigations into Apple and Google’s mobile ecosystems. As the UK’s independent competition authority, it is for the CMA to determine the scope of its investigations and any potential interventions.

My Department is working with the Northern Ireland Government on the transposition of the new Product Liability Directive, which will include working with them to consider whether guidance may potentially be helpful to businesses in understanding the new product liability framework. However, it should be noted that the Directive does not impose any additional rules on businesses governing which products may be placed on the EU or Northern Ireland markets, or the safety requirements they must meet.

In December 2025 we agreed a landmark deal with the US that results in 0% tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US for 3 years – the lowest rate offered to any country. As you’d expect, there will now be further work to finalise underpinning details.

Costs will start smaller but will increase over time as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approves more life improving and lifesaving medicines. Total costs over the spending review period are expected to be around £1bn. The final costs will depend on which medicines NICE decides to approve and the actual uptake of these.

The UK government encourages regulators and industry bodies to engage with their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland to ensure professionals are able to practise in both jurisdictions. Independent UK regulators and industry bodies are responsible for agreeing recognition agreements with their overseas counterparts.

The Department for Business and Trade has not held discussions with the National Council for the Training of Journalists on establishing a mutual recognition of professional qualifications agreement with the Republic of Ireland.

The updated GPSR largely formalises the reality of how many businesses are already operating and the measures are therefore likely to have limited impact in practice. However, we understand that for some businesses, the regulation will require changes, and we take any concerns extremely seriously.

We have issued guidance, will keep this under review and continue to engage businesses directly to ensure we are supporting them to trade freely within the UK and with the EU. We have regular discussions with businesses and consumer representatives from across the UK to hear their concerns.

Responsibility for policy and financial support for renewable energy in Northern Ireland is largely devolved. The principal UK‑wide mechanism supporting renewable electricity in Northern Ireland has been the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation (NIRO), administered by Ofgem as part of the wider Renewables Obligation framework. NIRO support is funded through electricity suppliers rather than direct Exchequer spending, and therefore does not constitute a single, ring‑fenced UK Government funding allocation.

Information on accredited installations, certificates issued and scheme costs is published annually by Ofgem. Decisions on new support schemes for renewable energy in Northern Ireland rest with the Northern Ireland Executive.

Great British Energy (GBE) will operate in Northern Ireland (NI) as part of its commitment to deliver in all four nations of the UK. In line with its Strategic Plan, GBE will be taking forward the appropriate opportunities in Northern Ireland across all its activities. This includes onshore, offshore, local and supply chain.

GBE committed £1.62 million for community and public sector renewable projects in Northern Ireland. On 10 December, we announced that this funding will help Further Education Colleges to benefit from clean energy, through installation of Solar PV at a number of sites.

GBE are continuing to work with partners in Northern Ireland to inform the development of products and services, with further details to be processed later in the year as part of their LPP product portfolio.

On 11 December, GBE launched a £300m supply chain fund for offshore wind and networks. All areas of the UK will be eligible for funding, meaning projects may be located anywhere in the UK, including in Northern Ireland, subject to Windsor Framework considerations.

The UK has not endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, but we will keep the potential for such initiatives under review. We are committed to working with all alliances where our interests align in delivering the outcomes of the Paris Agreement.

The Government will soon publish a Circular Economy Strategy, which will include a Built Environment Roadmap setting out measures to promote reuse of building materials and reduce unnecessary demolition. This will support resource efficiency and help to reduce the overall carbon footprint of construction. In addition, the Warm Homes Plan will drive energy efficiency improvements through retrofit, helping to extend building lifespans and reducing waste. These initiatives will embed circular principles across the built environment and encourage recovery and reuse of materials from previous construction projects.

A 0% rate of VAT on the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers in domestic properties is already in place. Additionally, installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) can benefit from reduced VAT. VAT treatment is the responsibility of the Treasury, and they keep all taxes under review. The Treasury assesses ESMs based on energy efficiency, carbon emissions, cost-effectiveness and alignment with broader VAT principles.

There are also already a number of government schemes offering financial support to consumers looking to upgrade their homes. The Warm Homes Plan will be published shortly and will provide further information on the government’s approach to decarbonising our housing stock.

Ofcom has received approximately £281.3 million in online safety funding since 2020, including a projected £92 million for 2025/26, up from £71 million in 2024/25. This uplift reflects Ofcom’s increased duties as implementation of the Act progresses. In 2025/26, Ofcom has 556 Full-time equivalent staff working on online safety across its teams. Its staffing model allows resources to be deployed dynamically across teams to meet evolving demands.

On 20 January, the government announced a short, swift consultation on further measures to keep children safe online, building on the Online Safety Act. While there is consensus that more action is needed, there is not yet consensus on what form that action should take.

The consultation will be accompanied by a national conversation, putting children and parents at the heart of this issue. It will seek views on a range of measures, including what the right minimum age for children to access social media is, as well as explore a ban for children under a certain age. We will also look closely at Australia and their ban on social media for under 16s.

The government is clear that it will act quickly and robustly to deal with concerns that are being raised.

The Technology Secretary announced on 12 January that the offence criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images would be commenced as a matter of urgency. This offence will apply in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own, separate offences for dealing with image-based abuse.

It was also announced that the offence would be made a priority offence under the Online Safety Act (OSA), meaning that services will need to take steps to prevent this content appearing online and swiftly remove it if it does. The OSA applies to any relevant service that is ‘linked to the UK’.

For the 2024/25 Cyber Local pilot, regional steering groups were established to review expressions of interest from potential applicants. The Northern Ireland steering group comprised individuals from industry, academia, and the NI Executive, and was responsible for ensuring that proposals met a local need and did not duplicate existing interventions. Endorsement from the steering group was a prerequisite for accessing a Cyber Local grant via Innovate UK.

As of April 2025, the way that Devolved Administrations (DAs) receive funding for cyber security has changed. Previously ringfenced cyber budgets will be absorbed into departmental baselines and provided directly to DAs in their overall HM Treasury settlement.

The revised funding arrangements further support DAs, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to make their own choices about how to champion the cyber sector in each part of the UK. DSIT will continue to engage with the Northern Ireland Executive on how to assist the cyber sector, including through the Cyber Local programme.

DSIT continues to support the successful cyber ecosystem in Northern Ireland with key investments such as the Cyber AI Hub programme at Queen’s University Belfast.

Ensuring all children and young people can access high-quality creative education is a government priority. The Secretary of State and Ministers regularly engage with colleagues at the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the shared mission of breaking down barriers to opportunity.

The Government is committed to revitalising arts education through a reformed curriculum and support for teachers, including via the new National Centre for Arts and Music Education, due to be established by September 2026, and through continued investment in Music Hubs. To increase access to enrichment opportunities across culture, sport, and wider youth sectors for disadvantaged young people, the Every Child Can programme, backed by £132.5 million in dormant assets through the National Lottery Community Fund, will fund activities within school and in communities at weekends and in the holidays, ensuring enrichment is a common entitlement for all. In strategic partnership with DfE, we will also invest £22.5 million across 3 years to support up to 400 schools in the most deprived areas of England to provide a youth led, tailored enrichment offer, including culture.

In addition, to increase access to creative education, DCMS is providing at least £3.2 million in 2026/27 for the Museums and Schools Programme, Heritage Schools Programme, Art & Design National Saturday Club, and BFI Film Academy.

Making creative careers accessible is a key priority for this government.

We recognise that specialist creative training can be a popular pathway into a performing arts career, but the Government has not assessed the cost impact for individuals.

Forthcoming research, funded by DCMS and the Creative Policy and Evidence Centre, maps out the current access and demand for specialist creative education provision for 14-19 year olds in England, providing a foundation for future work in this area.

To support access to creative careers we have committed £9 million to a refreshed creative careers service, which breaks down barriers for young people. Additionally the Government recognises 12 World Leading Specialist Providers of Creative and Performing Arts, who in 2025/26 received a share of c.£45 million from DfE's Strategic Priority Grant to support the delivery of world-leading specialist teaching in creative subjects.

As set out in the Government response to the Independent Review of Arts Council England, The Department for Education and Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work in partnership to ensure there is strategic alignment across government funded programmes, including the Arts Council, to support arts education and enrichment – both in schools and communities.

Our immediate priority is delivering curriculum reform and the National Centre for Arts and Music Education. The Government will consider the advisory group’s role and membership in due course. The advisory group will be designed to complement and add value to existing work on arts education and enrichment.

DCMS works closely with the Creative Industries Council (CIC), and in particular its Talent and Skills working group, to support government and industry’s work to address skills shortages and develop creative education pathways, furthering our Sector Plan ambition to build a resilient and highly skilled workforce that is responsive to the needs of the sector.

Recent discussions with the CIC have focused on the forthcoming Creative Industries Jobs Plan. The Jobs Plan will comprehensively set out the scale of the workforce challenge in the sector and how government, business and trade unions will work together to address this over the next three years. It is informed by the Creative Industries Skills Audits recently published by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre and Work Advance, with funding from DCMS and the CIC.

The Creative Industries Sector Plan sets out the Government’s objective to build a resilient, skilled and diverse workforce fit for the future. To deliver this, we are working in partnership with the sector, including its trade unions, to create the conditions for sustained economic growth.

Recent discussions with trade unions have focused on the development of the Creative Industries Jobs Plan. The Jobs Plan will comprehensively set out the scale of the workforce challenge in the sector and how government, business and trade unions will work together to address this over the next three years.