Mark Sewards

Decisions on pay, including London weighting, are delegated to individual departments for grades below the Senior Civil Service (SCS). The SCS pay framework is managed centrally and only operates a national pay range.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people can carry out their work without fear of harassment and believes that workers should be able to undertake their duties without being filmed and having that footage published online without their consent.

Employers should respect workers’ rights under UK data protection legislation when recording and processing personal data, including video footage.

Furthermore, the Online Safety Act places duties on social media platforms to tackle harmful content, including through effective content moderation and user reporting systems. The Act also requires the largest platforms to enforce their terms of service consistently and transparently. Ofcom is responsible for enforcing these requirements and has powers to take action against non-compliant platforms, including imposing significant financial penalties.

This policy is owned by MHCLG and in the Government’s Plan for Small Businesses, published in July 2025, we committed to supporting the Law Commission in reviewing the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954, part II, to ensure it is fit for today’s market.

Landlords and businesses have told government that the law has not kept pace with the reality of the sector today, stifling growth and productivity, and presenting a barrier to regenerating our high streets.

The Law Commission has therefore been commissioned to review this legislation with the objective of producing recommendations for a fairer and more transparent commercial leasing system.

The Department for Business and Trade has engaged with the Department of Health and Social Care to consider consumer protection issues in the funeral sector, including in relation to the Fuller Inquiry’s recommendations. The Government will publish its response to the Fuller Inquiry in Summer 2026.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2023 came into force on 8 November 2023, classifying nitrous oxide as a Class C drug. It is illegal to produce, supply, import or export nitrous oxide where a person knows, or is reckless as to whether, it will be consumed for its psychoactive effects. The Home Office is responsible for drug policy and legislation.

Schedule 20 to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act 2024 includes a provision prohibiting advertisements directly encouraging children to buy, or persuade their parents or other adults to buy, products for them. This prohibits retailers from advertising nitrous oxide to those under the age of 18 across any medium, including online.

The government’s plan is to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business, with a culture that supports entrepreneurship in every community and high street.

There is a range of support offers available to businesses and entrepreneurs including the new Business Growth Service, a network of Growth Hubs across England including the West Yorkshire Business Growth Hub and the Business Support Service, all providing free, impartial advice, information and guidance on starting up and running a business, including statutory rights and obligations for business owners.

No guidance has been issued, and we are not aware that any such data exists on a national scale.

The Microgeneration Certification Scheme holds data on every MCS certified installation since 2010 in the MCS Installations Database.

However, it does not include operational data of every system, and access is limited in line with GDPR best practice.

We are overhauling the system of standards and protections for energy efficiency and solar and battery installations. Measures announced in the Warm Homes Plan will ensure that consumers can have confidence in measures they take to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses and seek clear routes to redress where necessary.

The Government and industry have supported the installation of over 74,000 public charging devices across the UK. The Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund will transform the availability of electric vehicle (EV) charging for drivers without off-street parking. Through the Fund, an additional 100,000 local chargers are planned to be installed.

For drivers who do not have a driveway, but do have access to on-street parking, Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grants are also available. These offer up to £350 towards the purchase and installation of a chargepoint. To support local authorities, the Government has published guidance on installing cross-pavement solutions for residents without off-street parking.

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is an essential regime to cut emissions and drive green investment. By setting a limit - the cap - on emissions and creating a carbon price for power, industry and aviation, the scheme incentivises investment in clean technologies that will power and supply the economy of the future. The UK ETS Authority is currently evaluating responses to recent consultations on expanding the scheme. Further energy audit and reporting policies, including the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme and Streamlining Energy and Carbon Reporting, require disclosure of specified energy and emissions information by large or listed UK businesses.

I am very proud that this Government has committed the largest investment into R&D on record, with £38 billion allocated to UKRI.

There is no route to future growth in this country without science and technology, and mathematical sciences is foundational to our priority technologies and industrial strategy outcomes.

In 2025/26 UKRI committed £25 million for core mathematical sciences, alongside wider support, through doctoral training and core capability funding, and will continue to invest in this important area.

While the OSA continues to be implemented, fraud is a ‘priority offence’ under the Act, with platforms already required to mitigate against criminals using their services and to remove scam content if it appears. Ofcom has existing robust powers to act where services do not fulfil their regulatory obligations.

In the Summer, Ofcom is to go further, publishing its register of Category 1 and 2A services and consult on additional duties for these platforms to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising.

The Home Office’s Fraud Strategy was published on 9 March and so Government has not yet conducted a review of its impact.

While the OSA continues to be implemented, fraud is a ‘priority offence’ under the Act, with platforms already required to mitigate against criminals using their services and to remove scam content if it appears. Ofcom has existing robust powers to act where services do not fulfil their regulatory obligations.

In the Summer, Ofcom is to go further, publishing its register of Category 1 and 2A services and consult on additional duties for these platforms to tackle paid-for fraudulent advertising.

The Home Office’s Fraud Strategy was published on 9 March and so Government has not yet conducted a review of its impact.

The mathematical sciences sector is key to delivering the Government’s missions and plays an important role from advising government and business, to sharing expertise that underpins the innovation and scientific discovery that helps our country and economy thrive.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) engage regularly with counterparts in the Department for Education (DfE) on a wide range of issues related to mathematical sciences and higher education funding. While we maintain this ongoing dialogue with the DfE, there have been no specific discussions on the role of mathematical sciences in the Office for Students’ Strategic Priorities Grant funding.

The allocation of funding for mathematical sciences within the 2026-27 Strategic Priorities Grant is the responsibility of the Department for Education (DfE). As such, there has been no specific internal discussion within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) on this issue.

For this Academic Year 2025-26, more than two thirds of the £1.3 billion Strategic Priorities Grant budget allocated to providers will support the provision of high-cost subjects, for example medicine, dentistry; science, engineering and technology. DfE is reviewing the high-cost subject funding to ensure that this best aligns with the Government’s Growth Mission and is targeted effectively towards provision that supports the industrial strategy and future skills needs. DfE will issue guidance to the Office for Student (OfS) in due course setting out funding priorities for 2026/27.

The Charity Commission is alive to the threat of hostile foreign state influence in charities and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. Any allegation or evidence of criminal offences, including terrorism, is referred to the police to investigate.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities will be extended. This includes automatically disqualifying individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and helping the Charity Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred.

HMRC require that for a charity to qualify for an exemption from tax, their income and gains should be applied solely to charitable purposes. Charities may use Gift Aid funds for purposes that align with their charitable objectives and comply with UK charity law. Misuse would breach the Charity Commission rules and could result in regulatory action and tax charges.

The Charity Commission is alive to the threat of hostile foreign state influence in charities and works with other agencies to protect the sector from the risks of being exploited. Any allegation or evidence of criminal offences, including terrorism, is referred to the police to investigate.

As part of the Government’s action plan for social cohesion we have announced that the Charity Commission’s powers to tackle extremist abuse of charities will be extended. This includes automatically disqualifying individuals with a criminal conviction for hate crimes from serving as charity trustees or senior managers, and helping the Charity Commission to disqualify charity trustees who have been excluded from the UK, deprived of British citizenship or are engaged in conduct which promotes violence or hatred.

HMRC require that for a charity to qualify for an exemption from tax, their income and gains should be applied solely to charitable purposes. Charities may use Gift Aid funds for purposes that align with their charitable objectives and comply with UK charity law. Misuse would breach the Charity Commission rules and could result in regulatory action and tax charges.

Last year the government announced new consumer protection measures in the ticketing market. A strong consumer protection regime is essential for protecting consumers from harmful practices and stimulating competition to drive down prices. It is also good for businesses – helping to create a level playing field by penalising unscrupulous competitors and giving consumers greater confidence to engage in markets.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) already has powers to investigate and take action against businesses that breach competition law, including by abusing a dominant position in a market. The CMA is currently investigating two secondary ticketing sites for potential breaches of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, under which traders are prohibited from showing consumers an initial headline price for a product and then introducing additional mandatory charges as consumers proceed with a purchase or transaction.

To drive the long-term growth of the UK music sector, the government’s Creative Industries Sector Plan announced a Music Growth Package of up to £30m over three years, launching this spring and designed to boost domestic and international activity in our music sector and encourage private investment. We have also encouraged widespread adoption of a voluntary industry ticket levy on arena and stadium gigs to reverse the decline in grassroots venues and enable more artists to tour internationally.

The government recognises the great importance of sport and physical activity for disabled people at both the grassroots and elite levels.

The Government recently ratified the St Denis Convention. In doing so, we committed to providing an integrated safety, security and service approach at football matches and other sports events. The Sports Ground Safety Authority, one of DCMS’s arm's-length bodies, has begun a partnership with the Council of Europe to better understand and promote the ‘safety’ and ‘service’ element of the convention to the benefit of all fans.

We recognise there are barriers which exist and prevent some people from taking part and spectating. We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 so that disabled people are not placed “at a substantial disadvantage” when accessing sports venues.

Swimming and water safety are vital life skills, and every child should have the opportunity to learn to swim and know how to keep themselves safe around water before they leave primary school.

The PE national curriculum makes specific reference to swimming and water safety, stating that all primary pupils must learn to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres, use a range of strokes effectively and perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.

Our reforms to the PE curriculum will ensure there is a clear emphasis on swimming and water safety, and our new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network will bring the expertise of national governing bodies, including Swim England, directly into schools.

In addition, we have made changes to statutory requirements for relationships, sex and health education in both primary and secondary to ensure all pupils are taught about the water safety code, supporting them to be safe in different types of water.

Each year, exam boards review a range of evidence when setting ground boundaries, including how students performed and the level of difficulty of the paper. If a paper is found to be more difficult than in previous years, grade boundaries will be set to reflect that. This established process is designed to ensure that students receive results that fairly reflect their knowledge and skills and that standards remain comparable across different exam series.

Ofqual, as the independent regulator, oversees exam boards to ensure that, over time, it is no more difficult to achieve a given grade in a subject from one year to the next, or between exam boards.

The department regularly engages with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure children and young people, including those who are neurodivergent, can access the support they need.

We are working with the NHS to expand access to specialist support and are providing £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop an Experts at Hand offer in every area. This will give settings access to advice, training and expertise from professionals such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, educational psychologists and specialist teachers, helping staff identify needs earlier and respond effectively so children receive support without unnecessary delays.

Alongside this, Mental Health Support Teams will be expanded to every school and college in England by 2029 supported by £13 million pilot to enhance staff training for neurodivergent and social/emotional needs.

We continue to work closely with DHSC on the forthcoming mental health strategy, due later this year.

In February, we announced the £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund which will provide mainstream education settings over £500 million funding per year over the next three years to support them to become inclusive by design.

We will place conditions on this funding to make sure schools spend it on improving inclusion for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This will include publishing an Inclusion Strategy that reports on how they are deploying their resources for SEND.

We will publish guidance for school leaders on how to develop an Inclusion Strategy in due course.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, all local authorities are legally required to provide a special educational needs and disabilities information, advice and support service (SENDIASS). SENDIASS services provide impartial, confidential, and legally based information, advice and support across education, health and social care. The department currently funds the training and network support and wellbeing programme for SENDIASS across England through our participation contract. We also fund a free national helpline offering independent advice and guidance to parents and carers, working closely with local SENDIASS.

We are increasing investment in the national helpline and, recognising the importance of local provision, we are also increasing investment in local information and advice services to improve service quality through enhanced training and better support families over the next three years.

The Government is not establishing a centralised system and already publishes indicators relevant to farmed animal welfare, for example, the percentage of eggs coming from different laying hen production systems. The Food Standards Agency separately publishes welfare indicator data.

The Government recognises the importance of transparency where it relates to the welfare of farmed animals. The Government publishes the Multi Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) Annual Reports which includes national data on inspections.