Lisa Smart

Processing the large number of nominations for national honours can be lengthy but it is critical to ensure the integrity of national honours is maintained. Verifying information about nominees can take time to ensure the independent process has been completed to the standards expected.

Of course we are always looking at ways to use technology to improve and speed up processes, including in honours.

The Government remains committed to implement a ‘Hillsborough Law’ which will place a legal duty of candour on public servants and authorities. The details of this Bill will be announced in due course.

The previous Government formally responded to the report and its recommendations on 10 May 2024 (HC 774, published on 23 May 2024).

This Government continues to promote the PHSO complaint standards and support NHS England and NHS Resolution to further encourage the use of dispute resolution methods, including mediation, by the NHS.

The Government will consider the case for ombudsman reform alongside other policy and legislative priorities.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action.

In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to improve its quality of service.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards, and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action.

In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to improve its quality of service.

The Government has listened to feedback from small businesses and introduced support measures to help compliance with EPR, including: exemptions from fee obligations for producers with annual turnover below £2 million and packaging tonnage below 50 tonnes; exemptions from reporting for businesses with turnover below £1 million and packaging tonnage below 25 tonnes; and flexibility for those with obligations to pay in quarterly instalments.

Both Secretaries of State will shortly be meeting representatives from across the impacted sectors, from Small and Medium Enterprises to larger companies alike, to discuss the economic impact of EPR in more detail.

While the government continues to monitor the impact of flexible working, it has made no assessment of the four-day week specifically. Additionally, the government has no plans to mandate a four-day week, however, through the Employment Rights Bill we are giving employees better access to flexible working arrangements, where reasonably feasible. Not all businesses will be able to offer all forms of flexible working, and not all arrangements will suit all employees equally. We want to create a framework that encourages employers and employees to explore options for flexible working arrangements that suit both parties.

The government has committed to review the parental leave system to ensure it best supports working families. Planning work is underway across government. Details of the timeline of the review will be shared in due course.

We have recently consulted on reforms to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) to ensure these are better aligned with our key policy objectives of achieving Clean Power by 2030 and accelerating to Net Zero, and effectively delivering the Warm Homes plan to reduce peoples bills and address fuel poverty.

The consultation has now closed, and we are analysing the responses. As part of this we will consider the impact on relevant groups including homeowners and will publish the Government response in due course.

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation includes proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030, unless a valid exemption applies, and is accompanied by the Department’s impact assessment. The assessment makes clear that we are unable to quantify the extent to which this will impact the supply of properties as landlords may take different approaches. We encourage stakeholders to feed in views and evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following the consultation process, a government response and full impact assessment will be published.

The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation includes proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030, unless a valid exemption applies, and is accompanied by the Department’s impact assessment. The assessment makes clear that we are unable to quantify the extent to which this will impact the supply of properties as landlords may take different approaches. We encourage stakeholders to feed in views and evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following the consultation process, a government response and full impact assessment will be published.

The consultation on ‘Building the North Sea’s energy future’ sets out the Government’s plans for accelerating investment in net zero, creating high-quality jobs for oil and gas workers. It seeks views on how to best support workers and communities through the transition and closes 30 April.

The Government has worked with industry and unions to launch the 'Energy Skills Passport’ for oil and gas workers transitioning to offshore wind roles and announced that Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, to reflect the commitment that communities which powered our country’s energy past will power its clean energy future.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

It is for the independent regulator, Ofcom, to investigate any complaints about telegraph poles sited in a way which is not consistent with the requirements and guidelines in place. Local Planning Authorities are best placed to refer any complaints to Ofcom.

I am aware of public concerns about the deployment of new broadband infrastructure. I have met both with individual operators and industry trade bodies to voice my concerns. In response, the industry has recently published the Telecommunications Poles Working Group Best Practice Recommendations, which are available on the Internet Services Providers’ Association website.

The Government does not undertake formal assessments of the delivery methods employed by broadband operators. Where and how operators deploy their networks is a commercial matter.

Existing regulations require operators to use underground lines where reasonably practicable, with certain exceptions.

In its Connected Nations 2024 report, Ofcom states that “providers have ordered around 176,000 km of duct routes (101,000 km of which has been delivered) and approximately 1.2 million attachments to poles (750,000 of which have been delivered) to deploy networks.”

The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.

Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.

Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.

The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.

Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.

Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.

The Government has regular meetings with Ofcom on matters relating to online safety, including on how it will enforce against non-compliant providers.

Ofcom established the Small but Risky (SBR) task force to address the unique risks posed by these services. The task force sits in Ofcom’s Online Safety Group. Ofcom has previously stated that there are 202 full-time equivalent posts in that wider Group. Ofcom published details of the taskforce’s work, including its priorities, in a letter to the Secretary of State on 11 September 2024.

Ofcom started enforcing the Online Safety Act in March. Sections 149 and 150 of the Act require publication of enforcement action. As an independent regulator, Ofcom does not report directly to government but publishes bulletins of all enforcement actions. Ofcom has confirmed that some companies are currently under investigation and some small services with harmful content have voluntarily blocked access to their sites for UK users since the Act came into effect.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector, and that the public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure.

The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to leisure facilities which are vital spaces for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy, and which play an important role within communities.

The ongoing responsibility of providing access to public leisure facilities lies at local authority level. We are committed to supporting Local Government, recognising the significant financial challenges faced by the sector, and that the public leisure sector plays an important role in the delivery of sport, physical activity and leisure.

The Government encourages local authorities to make investments which offer the right opportunities and facilities for the communities they serve, investing in sport and physical activity with a place-based approach, to meet the needs of individual communities.

The government is committed to extending music opportunities for young people across the UK. As part of this, in March, we launched a National Music Education Network to promote arts opportunities to children and young people, support excellent teacher training in the arts, and boost partnerships between schools and arts organisations.

We are providing an additional £3m to expand the Creative Careers Programme (CCP) in 2025/26. Stockport has been identified as a priority area for the CCP, which seeks to boost opportunities and provide information on creative careers and pathways for young people aged 11 - 18 from backgrounds that are under-represented in the creative industries.

The government has announced £2.5m of continued funding to Arts Council England (ACE)’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund for 2025-26. In Stockport, The Strines Nightingale, which is based in Hazel Grove, has received £26,592 to allow them to expand their live music programming and improve their accessibility and infrastructure.

Through ACE’s investment in National Portfolio organisations and through our Music Education Hub programme, we fund organisations that provide music education and opportunities to young people from every background and in the boroughs across Greater Manchester. Examples include Brighter Sound and Factory International, both of which are based in Manchester city but which have a number of programmes aimed at developing talent in the region.

The government is urging the live music industry to introduce a voluntary levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to help safeguard the future of the grassroots music sector. We welcome steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the ticket levy, and commitments made by artists to support grassroots music.

The government has announced £2.5m of continued funding for the Arts Council England’s (ACE) Supporting Grassroots Music Fund (SGMF) for 2025-26. This enables grassroots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants of up to £40k to develop new revenue streams, make repairs and improvements, and enhance the live music experience for fans.

Through the SGMF, ACE has provided funding to support various music venues in Manchester, such as Matt and Phreds, who have received funding to upgrade equipment and develop a new website for streaming. The Snug in Atherton received £40k to launch The Early Doors Club, bringing high-quality events to local audiences, and in Stockport, The Strines Nightingale secured £26k to expand live programming and enhance accessibility.

This government is committed to ensuring that all creators receive the recognition, respect, and fair compensation they rightfully deserve for their work, while also fostering an environment that enables the creative industries to flourish, innovate, and sustain long-term success.

We also recognise the principle that rights holders should have control over and seek payment for their work, including when thinking about the role of AI. The current UK Copyright Framework enables creative right holders to prevent the use of protected works, but we are aware that this can be difficult to implement in the context of AI, especially for individual firms and creators.

Our consultation on the impact of AI on the copyright regime, which closed on 25 February, received over 11,500 responses. We will now consider the full range of responses and will continue to develop our policy approach in partnership with creative industries, media and AI stakeholders. Addressing this is an urgent priority for the government, but no decisions will be taken until we are confident we have a practical plan that delivers for the creative industries.

On music streaming, we are continuing to engage with stakeholders across the music industry. This includes through the Creator Remuneration Working Group, which is dedicated to pursuing industry initiatives in this area. The group has convened four times so far, most recently in February, and is set to meet again in the coming weeks.

The department does not fund places for children under the age of nine months. This is because the earliest a child can take up their government-funded place is the term after a child turns nine months old.

Substantial work has been conducted on the impact of the pandemic on child development and the department recognises the impact of the pandemic on critical speech, language and social skills.

That is why, as part of the early years education recovery programme, the department provided funding of over £20 million to deliver Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), which is an evidence-based programme for children needing extra support with their speech and language development.

The department is also continuing to improve access to speech and language therapy by funding the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinder project, in partnership with NHS England. This programme aims to improve capacity and knowledge among the workforce who support children in early years and school settings with mild to moderate speech, language and communication needs, by utilising therapy support assistants.

In addition, the department has launched some online child development training, which includes modules dedicated to supporting children’s personal, social and emotional development and early language. More information on the training can be found here: https://child-development-training.education.gov.uk/.

I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 23 April 2025 to Question 42009.

I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 23 April 2025 to Question 42009.

I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 43513.