Helen Maguire

The Government is committed to supporting women to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Supporting women into leadership is vital to the economy. This is why the government has recently refreshed the Women’s Business Council (WBC) which works to maximise women’s potential in the workplace. It is a government-backed, business-led initiative which reports to the Minister for Women and Equalities. The WBC’s members are senior leaders who strive to boost women’s representation in the workplace, helping to boost productivity, innovation and leadership.

The Government also backs the independent, business-led FTSE Women Leaders Review which sets recommendations for Britain’s biggest companies to improve the representation of women on their boards and leadership teams. The scope of the Review covers the FTSE 350 and 50 of the UK’s biggest private companies. The FTSE Women Leaders Review report for 2025 shows that women now occupy 1,275 or 43% of roles on company boards and 6,743 (35%) of leadership roles at the 350 FTSE companies. This marks a year-on-year increase and means the target of 40% women’s representation by the end of this year continues to be achieved by FTSE350 businesses

The government is committed to commencing the Equality Act 2010’s provision requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections. We are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106. Officials are also engaging with civic society on how to improve the participation of women and girls in politics.

The Government is committed to supporting women to thrive in all areas of their lives.

Supporting women into leadership is vital to the economy. This is why the government has recently refreshed the Women’s Business Council (WBC) which works to maximise women’s potential in the workplace. It is a government-backed, business-led initiative which reports to the Minister for Women and Equalities. The WBC’s members are senior leaders who strive to boost women’s representation in the workplace, helping to boost productivity, innovation and leadership.

The Government also backs the independent, business-led FTSE Women Leaders Review which sets recommendations for Britain’s biggest companies to improve the representation of women on their boards and leadership teams. The scope of the Review covers the FTSE 350 and 50 of the UK’s biggest private companies. The FTSE Women Leaders Review report for 2025 shows that women now occupy 1,275 or 43% of roles on company boards and 6,743 (35%) of leadership roles at the 350 FTSE companies. This marks a year-on-year increase and means the target of 40% women’s representation by the end of this year continues to be achieved by FTSE350 businesses

The government is committed to commencing the Equality Act 2010’s provision requiring registered political parties to publish anonymised data relating to the diversity of their candidate selections. We are currently exploring when and how to commence the provision under section 106. Officials are also engaging with civic society on how to improve the participation of women and girls in politics.

Under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) protection is available where a worker or job applicant’s condition fits the definition of a disability set out in section 6 of the Act.

Under the Act, a person meets the definition of disability if they have ‘a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. The Act defines long-term in this context as having lasted, or being likely to last for at least 12 months, or likely to last for the rest of the life of the person.

Where a person meets the Act’s definition of disability, the employment provisions make it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against such employees and applicants. The Act also places a duty on employers to make reasonable adjustments to any element of a job, job application or interview process, which may place disabled people at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.

The Minister for Women and Equalities is considering the EHRC’s updated draft Code. If the Minister approves the draft Code, it will be laid before both Houses over a period of 40 sitting days.

Domestic Abuse (DA) causes severe and lasting harm to victims. Bringing perpetrators of these crimes to justice is a top priority for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In partnership with the National Police Chiefs Council, the CPS launched the Domestic Abuse Joint Justice Plan (DA JJP) in November 2024 to improve their collective response to the investigation and prosecution of DA cases.

The DA JJP sets out how the police and CPS will strengthen joint working – from building stronger cases from the outset to improving victim safeguarding to deliver more timely justice for victims. This coordinated approach is key to breaking cycles of abuse, securing prosecutions, and ensuring that victims are heard, protected, and supported throughout the justice process.

The focused work within the DA JJP has already had a positive impact on most CPS performance metrics. For example, referral volumes from police to CPS have increased by 14% since the DA JJP was launched. Charging pilots have also been launched to improve timeliness, with national rollout set for the end of 2025.

The forthcoming CPS VAWG Strategy, due for publication later this year, recognises the link between DA and VAWG related offending. Through the strategy, the CPS will further strengthen its response to DA through updated prosecution guidance, enhanced training modules and an improved services to victims of DA.

The UK takes seriously its obligations under the Withdrawal Agreement, including those set out in Article 23 on equal treatment of EU citizens and in Article 24 on the rights of workers. EU nationals with a status under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) are entitled to work in the UK and can access public services subject to relevant criteria depending on the service.

The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) provides legal protection for the protected characteristic of race, which includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins to everyone in the UK, including EU citizens. This means the Act provides protection against unlawful racial or ethnic discrimination in employment and in other areas covered by the Act such as services, transport, education and housing.

The CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre said this week that the gap between the rising pace of the cyber threat and the UK’s collective resilience against it continues to grow. Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact. The number of nationally significant cyber incidents has more than doubled in the last year, including the recent attacks against Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer and other major British businesses.

The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. I wrote to chief executives and chairs of the FTSE 350 this week asking them to make cyber security a top priority. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure. Our proposed legislative measures on ransomware - a targeted ban on ransom payments, a payment prevention regime and mandatory reporting - will build on the foundation that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will set. Together they form part of a series of cyber legislation that will secure the UK against cyber threats.

Early next year the Government will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan that will set out how we will respond to the growing threat and work with industry to raise resilience levels across the economy.

The CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre said this week that the gap between the rising pace of the cyber threat and the UK’s collective resilience against it continues to grow. Cyber attacks are increasing in scale and impact. The number of nationally significant cyber incidents has more than doubled in the last year, including the recent attacks against Jaguar Land Rover, Marks & Spencer and other major British businesses.

The Government is committed to strengthening cyber security across the UK. I wrote to chief executives and chairs of the FTSE 350 this week asking them to make cyber security a top priority. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will strengthen the UK’s cyber defences and ensure that critical infrastructure and the digital services that companies rely on are secure. Our proposed legislative measures on ransomware - a targeted ban on ransom payments, a payment prevention regime and mandatory reporting - will build on the foundation that the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will set. Together they form part of a series of cyber legislation that will secure the UK against cyber threats.

Early next year the Government will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan that will set out how we will respond to the growing threat and work with industry to raise resilience levels across the economy.

The Prepare website brings together advice and useful material from a range of sources into one place to help individuals, households and communities prepare for emergencies. The civil service hours were not recorded. The cost of creating the content for the campaign site was £60,000.

Of the unique users recorded between 22nd May 2024 and 13th October 2025, 327,555 were from the UK (92%) and 29,756 were from outside the UK (8%). These figures only include users who accepted GOV.UK cookies.

To date, no paid-for-marketing activity has taken place to promote prepare.campaign.gov.uk. The Government’s Resilience Action Plan has committed to do more to provide households with preparedness information. In September, the Prepare website was included in the message sent out to UK mobile phones as part of the Government’s test of the Emergency Alerts system.

We continue to work with our local and national partners, including organisations from the voluntary, community and faith sectors, to raise awareness of advice on the Prepare website and to seek feedback to inform updates to the content.

The Government is currently considering what further public communications activities might support improvements to public preparedness for emergencies. We published the first annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness in July 2025. The results will be used to inform the development of future public preparedness communications and to monitor trends.

The Prepare website brings together advice and useful material from a range of sources into one place to help individuals, households and communities prepare for emergencies. The civil service hours were not recorded. The cost of creating the content for the campaign site was £60,000.

Of the unique users recorded between 22nd May 2024 and 13th October 2025, 327,555 were from the UK (92%) and 29,756 were from outside the UK (8%). These figures only include users who accepted GOV.UK cookies.

To date, no paid-for-marketing activity has taken place to promote prepare.campaign.gov.uk. The Government’s Resilience Action Plan has committed to do more to provide households with preparedness information. In September, the Prepare website was included in the message sent out to UK mobile phones as part of the Government’s test of the Emergency Alerts system.

We continue to work with our local and national partners, including organisations from the voluntary, community and faith sectors, to raise awareness of advice on the Prepare website and to seek feedback to inform updates to the content.

The Government is currently considering what further public communications activities might support improvements to public preparedness for emergencies. We published the first annual UK Public Survey of Risk Perception, Resilience and Preparedness in July 2025. The results will be used to inform the development of future public preparedness communications and to monitor trends.

The battery sector currently employs 10,500 people across the UK and is one of the frontier industries highlighted in our Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

The Government recently made the UK's largest single commitment to battery R&D and commercialisation of £452 million to 2030 in the new Battery Innovation Programme (BIP).

BIP targets technical skills gaps to develop engineers and scientists of the future, connects academic researchers with UK industry, and funds investor partnerships that improve access to investment for innovative battery companies ready to commercialise and scale in the UK.

This sits alongside DRIVE35, our long-term £2.5 billion commitment to zero emission vehicle manufacturing which provides capital support and additional R&D funding for strategic vehicle technologies, like batteries, accelerating their commercial scale-up.

Government sets the approach to statutory sick pay (SSP), providing a vital safety net to workers. Through the Employment Rights Bill, Government is ensuring SSP is available from the first day of sickness. It is for employers to decide if they wish to provide an occupational sick pay scheme that goes beyond these requirements.

Employers play a vital role in addressing health-related economic activity. That is why we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working review, published 5 November. Following the review, Government has committed to testing new employer-led approaches to support individuals to remain in work.

No assessment has been made of the merits of increasing measures to stop underage sale of fireworks online. There are enforcement mechanisms in place to tackle situations when fireworks are unsafe, sold illegally, or misused. Sales offences in Great Britain are enforced by Local Authority Trading Standards, and the penalty for retailers who sell to children is a fine and/or three months in prison.

No assessment has been made of the potential the merits of giving local authority the powers to create fireworks control zones. Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with counterparts in Scotland to understand the impact Firework Control Zones have made before considering if similar changes are needed for England and Wales.

The Government launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign includes guidance for those running community events, which encourages the use of low-noise fireworks and social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.

At this time no assessment has been made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of banning fireworks. However, the Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting veterans, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action.

The Government has also launched a public campaign on fireworks safety for this year’s fireworks season. The campaign includes new guidance for those running community fireworks events, and new social media posts that emphasise the risks from the misuse of fireworks.

The taskforce aimed for maximum transparency, publishing its terms of reference and interim findings. Stakeholders were invited to submit evidence on a non-attributed basis, encouraging frank and open disclosure. The final report provides a clear summary of the process and sets out the evidence underpinning each recommendation.

The government will continue to provide financial support to households through our support schemes and by growing the market for green finance, and we will set out more details in the Warm Homes Plan.

The government is supporting supply chain growth through the reformed Clean Heat Market Mechanism, investing in manufacturing capacity through the Heat Pump Investment Accelerator, and helping installers train through the Heat Training Grant.

Our expectation is that the vast majority of heating system replacements will be with heat pumps and other low-carbon technologies, as these become the natural, affordable choice for consumers at the point of replacing an existing heating appliance at the end of its life.

Through the Warm Homes Plan, the Government is making the biggest ever capital investment in home retrofit with an additional £1.5bn of new funding announced in the budget to tackle fuel poverty, in turn exceeding our manifesto commitment of £13.2bn. Further details will be set out soon.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has a committed budget of £295 million for this financial year, and has been extended to 2030, with funding increasing each year.

On 18 November, the Government published its’ response to a consultation on potential changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, providing detail on amendments to the scheme which will be implemented from next year.

These changes are designed to increase access, stimulate further demand, and enhance existing consumer protections.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the costs of the UK’s transition to Net Zero are fair and affordable, and the potential impacts on consumers are being fully considered. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is not funded by a levy on energy bills and will be funded as part of the Warm Homes Plan. As set out in the Budget, the Government will provide an additional £1.5bn for those in fuel poverty, exceeding the £13.2bn commitment set out in the manifesto.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme has a committed budget of £295 million for this financial year, and has been extended to 2030, with funding increasing each year. Further details will be set out soon. On 18 November, the Government published the response to a recent consultation providing detail on amendments to the scheme which will be implemented from next year. These changes are designed to increase access, stimulate further demand, and enhance existing consumer protections

The UK is no longer adding to the inventory of separated civil plutonium through reprocessing spent fuel. The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP) at Sellafield is now closed, having ceased reprocessing operations in November 2018 and the Magnox reprocessing facility ceased reprocessing operations in 2022.