Steven Bonnar

Increasing costs of energy bills are undoubtedly impacting on many sectors, including live events and hospitality. These sectors are facing significant pressures, which is why the government has taken immediate action to support them over winter with the Energy Bill Relief Scheme.

This scheme, delivered by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial strategy, will support businesses and other non-domestic customers with increased energy prices by providing a discount on gas and electricity unit prices. Discounts will be applied to energy usage initially between 1 October 2022 and 31 March 2023.

My Department will continue to engage constructively with DCMS sectors, from music venues to business event organisers to monitor the impact of rising costs, and will continue to work across government to support BEIS’ three-month review of the scheme, aimed at determining what further support is required.

All primary and secondary schools in England are now expected to provide remote education for the majority of their pupils and students, with the exception of vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers, who can attend school or college in person. Where vulnerable children and young people and children of critical workers do not attend school or college, we expect schools and colleges to provide them with remote education.

We have updated the remote education guidance for schools to clarify and strengthen expectations while on-site attendance is restricted, drawing on our evolving understanding of best practice in remote education. This guidance is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/952443/210114_School_national_restrictions_guidance_FINAL_14012021.pdf#page=46&zoom=100,72,76.

To ensure all pupils continue to access high-quality education, we are securing 1.3 million laptops, investing over £400 million to support access to remote education. A comprehensive package of support continues to be available to schools and colleges which can be accessed via the Get Help with Remote Education page on gov.uk, available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-help-with-remote-education. As part of that support, we have published a ‘Review Your Remote Education Provision’ tool to help schools to understand their remote education strategies and signpost them towards packages of support to help them meet basic requirements and go further in their strategies, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/review-your-remote-education-provision?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=govuk-notifications&utm_source=53522a25-c275-4777-996d-ade6d8f11bd5&utm_content=immediately.

We have asked schools to publish information about their remote education provision on their websites by 25 January and published an optional template to support schools in setting out that information, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/providing-remote-education-information-to-parents-template.

During the spring term Ofsted will conduct monitoring inspections of schools most in need. These will have a strong focus on remote education and an emphasis on being supportive. In addition, Ofsted will inspect schools of any grade if it has any significant concerns about a school’s provision, including in relation to remote education. Where parents approach Ofsted with concerns, having first sought to resolve them with the school, Ofsted will consider and take action where appropriate. This could mean discussing the complaint with the school, or if necessary, inspecting the school.

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.

We are in the process of reviewing the GB F-gas Regulation and have engaged with industry throughout this process. As part of this work, we undertook a comprehensive review of the GB F-gas Regulation and published an assessment report in December 2022, which included assessing measures related to leakage of F-gases. We intend to consult on proposals for change to the GB F-gas Regulation in due course.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme provides all eligible businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a baseline discount on high energy bills for 12 months from April 2023 until 31 March 2024. A higher level of support is provided to some Energy and Trade Intensive Industries that are particularly exposed to energy cost increases due to their energy and trade intensity and are therefore less able to pass these costs through to their customers due to international competition.

Tackling inflation is one of this Government’s priorities. While inflation has more than halved, it remains a challenge, which is why we continue to monitor all key agricultural commodities and work with the food industry to address the challenges they face. The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group monitors UK agricultural markets including price, supply, inputs, trade, and recent developments.

The Government is supporting farmers through a range of measures. In recognition of the challenges faced with inflation and rising input costs, we are updating prices in our environmental land management schemes with an average 10% uplift. We are making the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) simpler, with more choice about what farmers can do and more actions made available, to better reflect the full spectrum of farming interests. What is more, 50 new actions are being added to our environmental land management schemes, many of which support food production, making it easier for the Government’s support to fit into farmers’ business plans. Specific actions in the SFI, such as different cropping systems, better plant management methods and other Nutrient Management and Integrated Pest Management actions, will support farmers in improving soil health, reducing their reliance on costly inputs.

We are also keen to support farmers through technology to help them lower their costs. More grants will be launched this year to help farmers grow more, sell more and make their businesses more sustainable and resilient for the future. We will also look at ways to make grants and schemes even easier to access, including the potential to streamline the application process for schemes. Farmers can now apply for SFI and the Countryside Stewardship Mid-Tier through one single application, meaning they will have the same actions and get the same support with less paperwork.

Full expensing, which was made permanent at Autumn Statement 2023, allows companies to claim 100% capital allowances on qualifying plant and machinery investments (for example, high tech agricultural equipment) in the year the expenditure is incurred. The Government announced at Spring Budget 2024 that we will seek to extend full expensing to assets for leasing when fiscal conditions allow and will publish draft legislation shortly.

We are continuing to keep this all under review to make sure it works for and rewards all farms in all parts of the country.

When littered, disposable vapes can introduce plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and flammable lithium-ion batteries into the natural environment. These items and substances contaminate waterways and soil, posing a risk to the environment and animal health. Defra commissioned external research to further understand the environmental harms of disposable vapes, which is published online. The objectives of this report included understanding the UK single-use vape market, disposal methods, environmental impacts and other international approaches to regulating vapes.

We have made no specific assessment of the impact on public health. However, through the energy price guarantee and direct help for vulnerable households, the Government is providing help to households worth £3,300 on average one of the largest support packages in Europe. The total amount being provided to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living is over £94 billion over 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Through the energy price guarantee and direct help for vulnerable households, government is providing help to households worth £3,300 on average – one of the most generous support packages in Europe.

Discussions with the devolved administrations took place in advance of the publication of ‘COVID-19 Response: Living with COVID-19’. In addition, officials are in regular contact understand the approach taken by each nation and any implementation issues.

Experts continue to keep the symptoms under review as our understanding of the virus develops. We assess the data from the COVID Symptom Study in addition to other surveillance studies and will update our guidance if necessary.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have been working closely with the Ministry of Justice to gather more evidence on the use of screening tools, including screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults within the criminal justice system in England. An action plan in response to the recommendations of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services report, Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, is due to be published in October 2021 and will address this recommendation.