Karl Turner

The Government uses a range of programmes and levers to increase the volume of trade between UK and Sri Lanka. These include the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which cuts tariffs and simplifies trading rules for Sri Lankan exporters. The Government also works in Sri Lanka to promote UK trade, investment, trade policy objectives and export finance overseas. This is spearheaded by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) to South Asia.

These are complemented by regular Government-to-Government engagement, including the annual UK-Sri Lanka Strategic Dialogue, one of the official mechanisms for discussion of trade-related issues and promoting areas of mutual interest.

The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Report 2023 states there were 2,776 operational offshore wind turbines in UK waters at the end of 2023.

The Department does not hold data on the number of installed turbines over time or whether they are located in UK Territorial Waters or the UK Exclusive Economic Zone, but does publish estimates of total installed generating capacity. These show that capacity grew by 7.8GW between 2017 and 2023.

Supporting innovative small firms is a key objective of the government’s growth mission. My department regularly engages with business organisations to understand the needs of their members. 86% of Innovate UK grant funding goes to SMEs, with 8,000 SMEs supported in 2023 that were new to Innovate UK funding. Innovate UK’s connections to SMEs and innovators include 600+ skilled innovation & growth specialists across the UK through IUK Business Growth and IUK Business Connect. This network supports more than 10,000 SMEs a year on their innovation journey.

Supporting innovative small firms is a key objective of the government’s growth mission. My department regularly engages with business organisations to understand the needs of their members. 86% of Innovate UK grant funding goes to SMEs, with 8,000 SMEs supported in 2023 that were new to Innovate UK funding. Innovate UK’s connections to SMEs and innovators include 600+ skilled innovation & growth specialists across the UK through IUK Business Growth and IUK Business Connect. This network supports more than 10,000 SMEs a year on their innovation journey.

Supporting innovative firms to flourish in the UK will be vital to delivering our Growth Mission. Innovate UK is redesigning its approach to better support these firms to scale and grow. Innovate UK has paused its Smart Grants offer so that it can work with startups and SMEs on improving this support and has invited feedback on how to do this. In Spring, it will pilot a new support package that it will evolve in partnership with businesses. An economic evaluation of the Smart Programme is being conducted to inform Innovate UK's overall strategy and its role in delivering the Industrial Strategy.

Supporting innovative firms to flourish in the UK will be vital to delivering our Growth Mission. Innovate UK is redesigning its approach to better support these firms to scale and grow. Innovate UK has paused its Smart Grants offer so that it can work with startups and SMEs on improving this support and has invited feedback on how to do this. In Spring, it will pilot a new support package that it will evolve in partnership with businesses. An economic evaluation of the Smart Programme is being conducted to inform Innovate UK's overall strategy and its role in delivering the Industrial Strategy.

The Department is committed to improving support for SMEs, working cross-government to remove barriers to growth, ensuring that SMEs have access to resources and expertise needed to develop and scale. For example, over the last 2 years, Innovate UK has awarded £5.2bn funding to more than 7,000 businesses spread across the UK, of which 86% were SMEs

We are also working to back UK tech startups through a range of policies that address the issues the sector cares about. This includes harnessing the benefits of AI, investment, skills, regulation, data and procurement.

In July 2024, my Right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a short pause to the defunding of qualifications to enable a review of post-16 qualification reforms at Level 3 and below. The review will begin immediately and will examine the current planned qualification reforms as well as looking at how to ensure young people have high-quality Level 3 pathways.

To allow space for this short review, the department paused the planned removal of 16 to 19 funding from Level 3 qualifications in Construction and the Built Environment, Digital, Education and Early Years, and Health and Science that was due to take place on 31 July 2024. This will mean that, subject to any commercial decisions made by awarding organisations on these qualifications, these qualifications can be funded for 16 to 19 year old students in the 2024/25 academic year. The list of qualifications that will continue to be available until September 2025 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualifications-that-overlap-with-t-levels?_hsenc=p2ANqtz--hLlQbHfWVlKlYVePivcjDOKIc1BLwm20ObP9qiGiSsqjYOBoL7Bc6uRQOeVggoXVSHHjy. If a student is enrolled on a two-year course of study in September 2024, they will be funded for the full length of the qualification.

The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of the short review into qualifications reform at Level 3 and below before the end of 2024.

Defra is not currently taking any such steps. Allotments policy is a matter for local Government.

Defra is not currently taking any such steps. Allotments policy is a matter for local Government.

Since coming into Government, I have been actively looking at safeguarding in relation to taxis and private hire vehicles. I welcome the work by Baroness Casey in her audit of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse and her report adds valuable evidence to my department’s ongoing work.

The Government will legislate to address the issues raised in the report and there are two outcomes I am clear we must achieve; the first is ensuring we have consistently high safeguarding standards and the second is that there is no unintended reduction in the availability of taxi and private hire vehicle services, which could disproportionately impact women and girls and disabled people, who rely on these services the most. That is why we are considering all options – including out-of-area working, national standards, enforcement and transferring licensing to local transport authorities.

Public safety is an utmost priority, and both the Government and licensing authorities have an important role in the effective regulation of the sector in England.

Legislation passed in 2022 places a requirement on licensing authorities in England to share safeguarding, road safety or equality concerns about drivers with the authority that issued the licence. The authority that issued the licence must then consider whether to suspend or revoke the driver’s licence and must inform the authority that raised the concerns of their decision.

Statutory guidance, published by the Department for Transport in 2020, is clear that licensing authorities should, where the need arises, jointly authorise officers from other authorities so that compliance and enforcement action can be taken against licensees from outside their area. The same guidance also highlights that working in partnership with the police is vital for licensing authorities to share information as quickly as possible.

Best Practice Guidance issued in 2023 highlights how the Community Safety Accreditation Scheme can be used to increase the powers licensing enforcement officers have available. Officers authorised by the chief constables of their local force can be given powers to stop vehicles for inspection, testing and verification of licensing conditions, and the power to demand the name and address of the driver. If a driver fails to stop when directed by a CSAS-trained officer, it is a criminal offence and can be reported to the police for investigation and action.

Licensing authorities can also to carry out joint operations with other authorities and their local police force.

The Department does not maintain cumulative records of all companies that have participated in the Tonnage Tax system, as there is no business requirement to do so. The training obligation is assessed annually. However, we can provide the most recent figures as of 1 October 2024.

Currently, there are 82 companies participating in the Tonnage Tax scheme, encompassing 870 ships, 331 of which are UK-flagged. Additionally, 35 companies are recorded as having exited the scheme.

Excluding the 331 ships registered in the UK, other ships in the scheme are registered under the following flags:

· Cyprus:6

· Denmark: 16

· Finland: 3

· Italy: 1

· Malta: 43

· Netherlands: 2

· Norway: 9

· Portugal: 6

· Spain: 1

· Antigua and Barbuda: 6

· Bahamas: 99

· Bermuda: 8

· Brazil: 3

· Cayman Islands: 1

· Gibraltar: 8

· Hong Kong: 16

· Isle of Man: 44

· Liberia: 161

· Madeira: 10

· Marshall Islands: 49

· Panama: 30

· St. Vincent: 1

· Singapore: 15

· USA: 1

It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult and children and young people’s mental health services. We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our manifesto commitment of accessing a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.

Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.

The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give patients detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.

The offshore wind workers immigration rules concession ended on 30 April 2023. There are no plans to collect this data.

All those who came to the UK under the concession were stamped at the Border rather than through visa routes and therefore no data was collected.

All those who came to the UK under the concession were stamped at the Border rather than through visa routes and therefore no data was collected.

The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.

Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.

The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.

Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.

Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.

The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.

In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.

In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.

As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.

The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.

Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.

The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.

In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.

In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.

As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.

The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.

Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.

The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.

In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.

In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.

As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.

The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.