Joshua Reynolds

Trans and intersex people deserve dignity and respect. Protections remain in place for them to live free from discrimination and harassment.

Regarding service provision, we want everyone to be able to access services that meet their needs whilst protecting their privacy and safety. The EHRC’s updated Code of Practice will provide guidance to providers, and we are considering their draft.

Further to the Competition and Markets Authority findings, the Crown Commercial Service, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Cabinet Office are exploring measures to strengthen value for money and promote supplier diversification.

Procurement guidance is kept under regular review, and we will consider issuing further guidance as needed to support value for money.

Although we have concluded negotiations, we have not yet reached signature, let alone ratification, so this question is premature. However DBT’s Free Trade Agreement Utilisation team helps businesses understand and benefit from the UK’s new Free Trade Agreements, such as the new UK-Republic of Korea FTA, working in partnership with businesses and their representatives.

New data localisation and transparency provisions will provide legal certainty to UK firms on their treatment by Korean authorities, underpinned by appropriate enforcement mechanisms. The Republic of Korea has also agreed to publish new regulatory guidance on its domestic data rules which will give firms practical, accessible information to help navigate the Republic of Korea’s data regime and make effective use of the agreement’s commitments.

The upgraded UK-Republic of Korea FTA will include provisions to streamline import and export documentation requirements by simplifying customs declarations and allowing businesses to self-certify the origin status of their goods so that they can qualify for preferential tariffs. The Republic of Korea has also committed to publishing customs information in English, making it more accessible for UK businesses. The FTA also streamlines licensing processes by encouraging online publication of key information, eliminating unreasonable fees and facilitating electronic payments.

Steel is a top priority for this Government. The sector is facing a challenging and uncertain global landscape due to significant steel overcapacity. We are therefore developing robust new measures in light of the steel safeguard expiring at the end of June 2026.

DBT Ministers and officials regularly engage with stakeholders across the steel industry, including producers and downstream businesses. On 10 November, Minister McDonald and I met with representatives from across the downstream steel sector.

We look forward to saying more in early 2026, including publishing our Steel Strategy.

Detailed economic scoping analysis of an upgraded UK-Turkey FTA was published in March 2024. A full Impact Assessment will be published upon the completion of negotiations.

In the four quarters to the end of Q2 2025, UK-Turkey bilateral services trade was worth £7.7 billion, with UK exports comprising £3.4 billion. Despite this strong performance, Turkey is a relatively restrictive services export market, with an above-average OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index scoring. We are seeking to ease this restrictiveness, providing improved market access and greater legal certainty for UK services exporters, including through provisions on recognition of professional qualifications.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.

The ‘Mail Integrity Objectives’, set out in Ofcom’s Essential Condition 1, seek to minimise the potential for parcels to be subject to loss, theft, damage or interference. Currently this Essential Condition is effectively restricted to Royal Mail’s services delivered under its universal postal service obligation.

Ofcom engages regularly with all parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of, and compliance with, its consumer protection measures.

The Feed-In Tariff scheme does not involve individual contracts between generators and government. Accredited generators may have entered into contracts with their energy suppliers in relation to their FIT payments, but their entitlement to those payments arises from legislation and the standard conditions of the electricity supply licence. Any changes to the indexation methodology would follow the statutory process for changing those conditions.

Ecodesign regulations for electronic displays, including outdoor screens, came into force on 1 March 2021. These set minimum energy performance standards aimed at improving efficiency and reducing environmental impact. The Department has not estimated the average annual energy consumption of such installations. As the effects of the regulations are only now being realised, the government will keep their impacts under review. This could include assessing the merits of introducing further energy efficiency requirements or restrictions on operational hours, in line with broader efforts to reduce energy demand and support net zero objectives.

Department officials have worked closely with industry on the implementation and design of the policy to ensure the policy is fair and proportionate for landlords and tenants alike. This includes multiple workshops this year with these stakeholders to update the policy to significantly reduce complexity and administrative burdens.

Zero emission boilers, or heat batteries are a promising technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs, do not require outside space, and can be cheaper to install than heat pumps in some circumstances. However, they are also less efficient than heat pumps and will therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand.

The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future. We will continue to review our position on heat batteries, and other alternative electric heating technologies, as the supporting evidence base develops.

We are committed to ensuring 99% of premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032. We will continue to work in partnership with industry to deliver the fibre rollout and will maintain a stable pro-competition regulatory environment to encourage private investment.

However, where network operators choose to deploy their services in commercially viable areas is a commercial matter, and the government will not intervene in private business decisions.

Through Project Gigabit, we are addressing gaps in coverage by delivering gigabit-capable connections to premises not included in suppliers’ plans. As of the end of September 2025, over 1.3 million premises in hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through government-funded programmes.

Alongside this, over one million further premises have been included within contracts to provide access to gigabit-capable broadband, with funding of over £2.4 billion through Project Gigabit.

The Competition and Markets Authority (the CMA) has completed 3 Strategic Market Status investigations this year. The CMA is independent of the Government and decisions on which markets to investigate is for its Board. The CMA has published guidance on its website on how it will prioritise Strategic Market Status designations.

Improving the cyber security of our nation’s small and micro organisations is critical to the resilience of our wider economy. We recognise many smaller organisations lack the resources to invest in their cyber security. As such, the government has developed a wide range of free tools, guidance and training to help SMEs implement cyber security measures, including the recently launched Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice.

NCSC-certified Cyber Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance on commercial terms. Additionally, the government’s Cyber Essentials scheme helps all organisations, including SMEs, implement critical cyber security controls, protecting them from most common cyber attacks. We recently completed a funding programme supporting over 1,000 SMEs to get certified to the scheme.

Early next year, the Government will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan which will set out further work to help protect our nation’s smallest organisations.

Improving the cyber security of our nation’s small and micro organisations is critical to the resilience of our wider economy. We recognise many smaller organisations lack the resources to invest in their cyber security. As such, the government has developed a wide range of free tools, guidance and training to help SMEs implement cyber security measures, including the recently launched Cyber Action Toolkit which provides SMEs with tailored advice.

NCSC-certified Cyber Advisors are available to provide advice and guidance on commercial terms. Additionally, the government’s Cyber Essentials scheme helps all organisations, including SMEs, implement critical cyber security controls, protecting them from most common cyber attacks. We recently completed a funding programme supporting over 1,000 SMEs to get certified to the scheme.

Early next year, the Government will publish a new National Cyber Action Plan which will set out further work to help protect our nation’s smallest organisations.

As a result of commercial market and publicly funded rollout, over 88% of UK premises can now access gigabit-capable broadband, up from less than 10% in 2019. In their Connected Nations Spring update, published 8 May 2025, Ofcom reported that as of January 2025, 5G coverage was available outside of 96% of premises across the UK from at least one operator, up from 69% in May 2022.

The impact of digital infrastructure on local amenity is assessed by local planning authorities on a case by case basis. Planning conditions in legislation ensure that operators minimise the visual impact of new network development on the surrounding area as much as possible.

It is the responsibility of Ofcom to ensure operators comply with their telecommunications licensing conditions.

The Government recognises the need to ensure that public service broadcasters’ (PSB) services and content remain easy to find as viewers increasingly shift online.

That is why we are getting on with implementing the Media Act 2024 which introduces a new online prominence regime. This new regime will ensure that PSB apps, like BBC iPlayer, are carried and given appropriate prominence on major TV platforms. The Government will consider the case for further reforms following the publication of Ofcom’s Public Service Media review later this year.

The Government provides the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. £283,300 has been invested in the constituency of Maidenhead in the last financial year.

Future grassroots sport facilities funding is subject to the ongoing Spending Review process and we will announce further details in due course.

The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), sits with local authorities. To support local authorities with this duty, in December, the department announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. We will confirm local authority allocations for 2026/27 in the spring.

This funding builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this funding, Windsor and Maidenhead has been allocated just under £1.29 million.

This funding is intended to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs. It can also be used to adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.

Following the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report on 5 November, the department will update the national curriculum to prepare young people for life and work in a changing world. In line with the Review’s recommendations, refreshed programmes of study will include critical thinking skills, in addition to digital and media literacy and artificial intelligence.

To ensure consistency, we are legislating so that academies will be required to teach the refreshed national curriculum alongside maintained schools. Content will be shaped through expert engagement, with a public consultation on draft proposals next year.

Currently, media literacy is taught through citizenship, relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing, whilst digital literacy is addressed in computing and RSHE. To support teachers now, the department-funded National Centre for Computing Education provides free resources and continuing professional development, including materials on messaging in digital media, the credibility of sources and identifying ‘fake’ news and edited images.

On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third, vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways. The results of the consultation and the department's response will be published in 2026.

This government remains strongly committed to T Levels and will continue to encourage their growth. T Levels are delivering fantastic results for students, providing the technical skills needed for progression into further study and training or skilled work. Where a learner wants in-depth knowledge of a subject area, they should study the T Level, compared to the V Level which allows learners more flexibility to explore different areas and which we generally expect will be the size of one A level.

For detailed information specific to individual qualifications, the department advises education providers to consult the relevant Awarding Organisation. These organisations are responsible for developing and delivering qualifications and will provide tailored guidance to support providers in their delivery of the Technical Occupational Qualification in Social Care from September 2026.

The department provides comprehensive support materials to help education providers in implementing newly reformed qualifications, including Technical Occupational Qualifications. This includes hosting a toolkit, model pathways, resources for careers advisers, video explainers, links to webinars, newsletters, and the webpage: https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/sections/16829562632850-Qualifications-Review.

These resources are regularly updated to ensure providers have access to the latest advice and are signposted to broader support where appropriate.

The department remains committed to maintaining and enhancing guidance materials to ensure continued support for providers throughout the reform process.