Jamie Stone

Public engagement and participation are vital to the health of our democracy, and the Government will continue to support the public to make their voices heard.

Engagement with the political process must be built on trust. The Government is committed to returning to a politics of service.

As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official ministerial meetings with external organisations and individuals will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on the GOV.UK website.

Post Office Ltd operates at arm’s length from Government and is responsible for its own operational matters, including commercial agreements with partners and remuneration for specific services.

Government is, however, providing funding to Post Office to help deliver its Transformation Plan, including up to £483 million in FY 2026/27 and 2027/28. The savings created by that plan will help put Post Office in a stronger position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. While there is more to do, it is encouraging that between December 2024 and April 2026, Post Office increased postmaster remuneration by £92 million.

To ensure service access for rural and other communities, we will continue to monitor Post Office's performance against Government-set network requirements. These requirements mean, for instance, that 99% of the population must live within three miles of a post office.

Post Office Ltd operates at arm’s length from Government and is responsible for its own operational matters, including commercial agreements with partners and remuneration for specific services.

Government is, however, providing funding to Post Office to help deliver its Transformation Plan, including up to £483 million in FY 2026/27 and 2027/28. The savings created by that plan will help put Post Office in a stronger position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. While there is more to do, it is encouraging that between December 2024 and April 2026, Post Office increased postmaster remuneration by £92 million.

To ensure service access for rural and other communities, we will continue to monitor Post Office's performance against Government-set network requirements. These requirements mean, for instance, that 99% of the population must live within three miles of a post office.

Post Office has not provided the department with estimates of the average annual financial impact of the June 2026 remuneration changes on individual postmaster incomes. Postmaster remuneration is an operational matter for Post Office. Government is providing funding to Post Office to help deliver its Transformation Plan, including up to £483 million in FY 2026/27 and 2027/28. The savings created by that plan will help put Post Office in a stronger position to increase remuneration for postmasters across the UK. While there is more to do, it is encouraging that postmaster remuneration increased by £92 million since December 2024.

People may lawfully use smart glasses and other wearable recording technologies in public spaces, in line with rights to freedom of expression as set out in Human Rights law. However, we recognise the potential privacy and safeguarding implications of the increasing availability of wearable recording devices. If wearers of the technology use it in harmful ways, such as to cause alarm or distress or for the purpose of sexual gratification, they may be guilty of criminal offences such as harassment, stalking or voyeurism.

If recorded images are uploaded to the internet, online services that process them will be subject to the UK's data protection legislation. For example,organisations may need to respond to requests from members of the public to have their images removed.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent regulator for data protection, has recently published guidance on consumer Internet of Things products and services: Guidance for consumer Internet of Things products and services | ICO. It makes it clear that manufacturers, developers and providers of connected devices have responsibilities to make sure that there is sufficient transparency around how the technology is used. This includes making any recording obvious to users and bystanders through visible indicators or alerts, and warning users of risks of recording children or vulnerable people.

The UK does not manufacture ammonia in significant volumes. CF Fertilisers made the commercial decision to switch to an import model of ammonia in 2022. Whilst there has been a significant increase in ammonia costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Gulf, there has been no assertion yet that supply is not secure.

Recent market volatility has seen an increase in fertiliser prices, reflecting global conditions rather than any immediate supply disruption to the UK. The government is in close contact with domestic fertiliser suppliers and is monitoring overall supply and pricing in the UK.

Ministers commissioned GBE N's study of Scotland's potential for new nuclear last autumn.

The study indicates that Scotland has land areas with high potential for future development. We remain open to discussions with the Scottish Government regarding opportunities for new nuclear in Scotland.

GBE N's study of Scotland's potential for new nuclear indicates that it has land areas with high potential for future development.

New nuclear projects can deliver billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality jobs to a region.

While Scottish Government policy currently does not enable new nuclear power stations in Scotland, UK Ministers remain open to discussions regarding opportunities for new nuclear in Scotland.

Great British Energy – Nuclear's assessment concluded that parts of Scotland, including areas around Dounreay, have technical potential for future new nuclear development. However, planning policy is devolved to the Scottish Government. Their current policy does not enable the building of new nuclear power stations in Scotland.

New nuclear projects can deliver billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality jobs, and UK Ministers remain open to discussions with the Scottish Government regarding opportunities to deploy new nuclear technologies in Scotland.

The government has tasked Great British Energy – Nuclear (GBE-N) with identifying suitable sites, including those in Scotland, that could host a potential large-scale new nuclear project.

GBE-N will report to Ministers by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review and beyond.

Ammonia can serve as an essential feedstock across a wide range of industrial applications and could support decarbonisation in hard-to-electrify transport sectors, such as maritime. Ammonia can also be used as a ‘hydrogen carrier’ to store, transport and trade hydrogen.

However, the scale of future UK demand for ammonia is uncertain, with a key factor being the decarbonisation pathways chosen by sectors such as maritime. We will continue to review emerging evidence on UK supply and demand for ammonia and will consider the development of any further appropriate policy measures as needed.

The government recognises the harm associated with scam emails and is taking action to protect the public and businesses from fraud and cyber crime. We strongly encourage the public and businesses to follow the advice from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to protect themselves from cyber threats, including scam emails and business email compromise. The NCSC provides tailored advice for the public, sole traders and businesses of all sizes. The government also offers the highly effective Cyber Essentials scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common cyber attacks.

Scam emails can be reported to the NCSC's Suspicious Email Reporting Service, which has blocked billions of phishing attempts and removed 232,000 scams across 415,000 malicious web addresses. The NCSC offers guidance on how to spot and report scam emails at https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/phishing-scams. The police also offer advice on scam emails, including Action Fraud advice on payment diversion fraud and business email compromise, and the recent National Crime Agency campaign with the Law Society on payment diversion fraud in property sales. The government has committed to the publication of a new fraud strategy which will set out further details on how it will tackle fraud and protect UK residents and businesses.

While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.

I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.

Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.

While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.

I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.

Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.

While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.

I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.

Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.

While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.

I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.

Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.

While the Government recognises STV’s operational independence, it is important that they continue to provide for all audiences in Northern and Central Scotland.

I have recently engaged with STV senior leadership to communicate my disappointment with this outcome and to emphasise the importance of audiences across STV’s licenced areas being able to see the new stories that matter to their local community reflected on screen.

Any changes to STV’s Channel 3 licences are a matter for Ofcom who determine and enforce these licences. As part of their statutory monitoring role, Ofcom has confirmed it plans to monitor the impact of their changes through STV’s annual Statement of Programme Policy and their overall assessment of the public service broadcasters’ delivery of their remit.

As part of its delivery of the Third National Adaptation Programme, Defra has commissioned a wildfire and peatland study, which includes looking at the impact of peat restoration on building wildfire resilience into the landscape.

The Government recognises that nature-based solutions should be implemented alongside fuel and habitat management, particularly in the short and medium term. Defra is working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the lead department on wildfire, to improve cross-Government coordination across the full wildfire cycle, from risk assessment and prevention through to response and recovery.

Defra officials are closely engaging with the Environment Agency (EA) about the regulation of novel low-carbon ammonia technologies. EA colleagues are reviewing areas where further work is required to support permitting of these technologies and have been engaging with UK environmental regulators, expert groups and trade associations. Defra will continue to ensure EA work is appropriately resourced to develop guidance to give operators regulatory clarity while ensuring the environment and health are protected.

Defra's recent consultation on modernising environmental permitting for industry also included a number of proposals aimed at supporting innovation and which would enable R&D in this sector. The Government response for this consultation will be published at the earliest opportunity.

The Government recognises the vital role of domestic aviation in supporting economic growth and regional connectivity. The sector operates largely on a commercial basis, with airports and airlines best placed to determine capacity and routes. It is also the responsibility of industry to manage demand, including availability of aircraft, and ensure appropriate contingency plans are in place. We support this through a policy framework that enables sustainable growth, including the targeted use of Public Service Obligations where there is a clear case, and continue to engage closely with industry, including through the Aviation Council, to ensure policy reflects operational realities and supports connectivity across the UK.

We continue to engage with the Home Office and Border Force on planning ahead of the summer holiday period to ensure a smooth passenger experience over the summer, particularly given increased demand.

Finally, the Government is delivering the Future of Flight Programme in partnership with industry and the Civil Aviation Authority. This is putting in place the regulatory frameworks, standards and digital systems needed to safely integrate emerging aviation technologies, including drones and advanced air mobility, into UK airspace.

The personalised registrations scheme has been operated by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) since 1989 and has raised more than £3 billion for HM Treasury. The scheme is operated in line with the law and established terms and conditions, with the primary purpose of maximising returns for the Exchequer.

No specific assessment of trends relating to the immediate resale of registration numbers purchased from auctions has been carried out. Around 30 per cent of registration numbers are purchased by companies who trade in the resale of registration numbers.

Registration number auctions are fair and transparent open market sales. Once a registration number has been purchased, the buyer has the legal right to display that registration number on a vehicle subject to the rules governing the conditions of transfer, retention and assignment of a registration number to a vehicle.

There are no plans to restrict speculative purchasing or the subsequent resale of registration numbers as these activities are lawful and consistent with the nature of an open auction process.

There are also no plans to restrict sales of registration numbers to individuals with a requirement that is assigned to a vehicle registered in the buyer’s name and within a set period of time or otherwise returned. Such a change would represent a significant departure from the current market-based approach and have a significant impact on a well-established number plate market, which includes small and medium enterprises and individuals who wish to sell the rights to their registration number.

The Department has no such plans. Provision of lay-bys is a matter for local highway authorities. Advice to drivers on the safe use of roads, including taking appropriate breaks, is given in the Highway Code. There are no traffic regulations that encourage drivers to use lay-bys for rest breaks.

There are no plans to publish any guidance or regulatory changes for caravan site operators. As part of our new Road Safety Strategy, we will be updating guidance on “Setting Speed Limits” for local authorities.

Towing a trailer safely requires skill and knowledge. Taking some training helps drivers build confidence and competence. DVSA encourages anyone who tows, or intends to tow, to sign up to training with an accredited trainer to remain safe on the road.

Whilst transport is devolved, the Department for Transport is committed to is enhancing links between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The Department is providing funding for Transport Scotland’s feasibility study to explore options to bypass the villages of Springholm and Crocketford on the A75 and is supporting the Windsor Framework to streamline transport and customs processes. The Government is also supporting key aviation routes, including the Public Service Obligation between City of Derry Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

The Department for Work and Pensions utilise a range of channels to ensure vulnerable customers and those with limited broadband can access support.

• Local Jobcentres provide face-to-face appointments for those unable to use digital services and have dedicated support in the form of Disability Employment Advisers for customers with health barriers, sites also have access to Vulnerable Customer Leads within their districts to support customers who are more vulnerable.
• Telephone services are available for those customers unable to manage digital claims to Universal Credit.
• Telephone and video calls are conducted to support customers who are in remote locations or have vulnerabilities which prevent them from attending offices for face-to-face interactions.
• We have over 650 Visiting Officers who carry out home visits for customers with complex needs, cannot engage via digital or telephone channels or who cannot attend a Jobcentre.
• Outreach work is in place with local providers and community organisations to help reach areas where customers, who might otherwise miss out on access to Jobcentre services, due to their rural location or lack of access to digital facilities within their home.
• Mobile Jobcentre vans are being introduced in some areas to bring services to areas with poor connectivity or limited physical access to services.
• Advanced Customer Support Senior Leaders are in place to support vulnerable customers at significant risk of harm when all business-as-usual activity has been exhausted.
• Jobcentres signpost customers to local providers such as libraries, charities and colleges who may be able to offer the relevant support needed as well as access to online or telephone services.

Officials in the Department have been engaging with officials in the devolved administrations on the proposals for a Single Patient Record, and its potential to support appropriate cross-border referrals, and appropriate information sharing to inform good decision-making, support healthcare, and minimise risk to patients.

Officials in the Department have been engaging with officials in the devolved administrations on the proposals for a Single Patient Record, and its potential to support appropriate cross-border referrals, and appropriate information sharing to inform good decision-making, support healthcare, and minimise risk to patients.

Given the long-running nature of the infected blood scandal, not all medical records will still be available, and eligibility for compensation will be determined based on the balance of probabilities.

The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) will try to get as much information, including medical records and information about an applicant’s condition, from organisations who already have this information. This should mean those claiming will be asked for the least amount of information possible.

The IBCA will provide assistance to those who believe their medical records have been lost or destroyed. The role of the IBCA’s claim managers includes helping individuals who are claiming to gather information, including medical evidence where available, to support their claim.

In July 2025, the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office wrote to the chairs of the Public Accounts and Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committees to set out the measures being taken to prioritise faster payments to victims of the infected blood scandal. One of these measures is to use the powers in the Victims and Prisoners Act to get records from the Infected Blood Inquiry, and using testimony to contribute to the assessment of proof of infection.

Organisations that remove, store, and use human tissue for some types of health research, medical treatment, post-mortem examination, education and training, and for display in public, are independently regulated by the Human Tissue Authority.

Medical research was an important area examined in the inquiry, with it concluding that ‘the value of such research to society is enhanced rather than undermined by undertaking research in an ethical and moral way’.

The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and care.

In January 2026, the NIHR published the attached report, From subject to participant and partner, on its website, summarising the concerns raised in the inquiry report, as well as a summary of the research governance changes since and a synthesis of an in-person workshop. The NIHR and partners who attended the workshop are committed to upholding the highest standards of research governance to drive better inclusivity in the evidence base for care, working with those who use, manage, or work in health and care services to share learning and drive improvement. The NIHR requires all applicants to demonstrate how their research will address existing inequalities in health and social care as a condition of funding.

The NIHR was created in 2006, many decades after individuals received infected blood in the United Kingdom. The NIHR did not therefore fund any clinical trials or research where individuals received infected blood. The NIHR has strong ethical, safety, and legal governance arrangements, including processes to ensure informed consent for those participating in research, and includes parental and guardian consent for children involved in research.

The NIHR funds a wide range of research relevant to the Infected Blood Inquiry. Work includes making blood donation and transfusion safer by improving transfusion practice, reducing variation in practice and ensuring greater resilience and efficiency throughout the blood supply chain.

This includes research on improving the safety of blood transfusions and blood products, and research to improve better detection and treatments for blood borne infections, including through opt out testing in accident and emergency departments for HIV, and Hepatitis B and C.

The UK has played a leading role on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and remains committed to tackling today's key global health challenges within the framework of a modern development partnership approach. The UK continues to invest in NTD research, including £3 million support to the Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs (COR-NTD) for research on Female Genital Schistosomiasis. We are also proud to provide up to £15 million to support the Eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis in Africa (ELFA) programme as part of the World Health Organisation 2030 NTD Road Map to prevent, control and eliminate NTDs by 2030. Announcements on future Official Development Assistance budgets will be made in due course.

The UK has played a leading role on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and remains committed to tackling today's key global health challenges within the framework of a modern development partnership approach. The UK continues to invest in NTD research, including £3 million support to the Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs (COR-NTD) for research on Female Genital Schistosomiasis. We are also proud to provide up to £15 million to support the Eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis in Africa (ELFA) programme as part of the World Health Organisation 2030 NTD Road Map to prevent, control and eliminate NTDs by 2030. Announcements on future Official Development Assistance budgets will be made in due course.

The UK has played a leading role on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) and remains committed to tackling today's key global health challenges within the framework of a modern development partnership approach. The UK continues to invest in NTD research, including £3 million support to the Coalition for Operational Research on NTDs (COR-NTD) for research on Female Genital Schistosomiasis. We are also proud to provide up to £15 million to support the Eliminating Lymphatic Filariasis in Africa (ELFA) programme as part of the World Health Organisation 2030 NTD Road Map to prevent, control and eliminate NTDs by 2030. Announcements on future Official Development Assistance budgets will be made in due course.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can continue to access essential services

That is why the Government commissioned an independent Review into Access to Banking Services, to assess whether changes to access to in-person banking services are causing consumer detriment, the scale of any detriment. The Review will consider access to in-person banking services for both personal and business customers.

As part of this, the Review will consider existing forms of in-person banking provision. The Post Office provides banking services through over 10,000 branches via the Banking Framework agreement and, as such, the provision of services by the Post Office on behalf of banks will be considered as part of the Review.

Alongside the Review, the Financial Services and Markets Bill includes a power to allow the Government to take action in future to protect access to banking services, should this be necessary. This power ensures the Government can act swiftly and proportionately, including through future regulation, if the evidence from the Review supports intervention.