Vikki Slade

The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the Supreme Court ruling provides. The EHRC has committed to support organisations with its updated statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations which they are consulting on. We encourage people to ensure their views are heard by submitting a response to the consultation which launched on Tuesday 20th May.

Trans people should have access to the services and facilities they need. It is also vitally important that trans people receive the care and support they need when accessing NHS services, and that they are treated with dignity and respect.

We are a mission-led government and women’s equality is at the heart of all our missions.

This means tackling the gender pay gap, where we are taking action much wider than just pay transparency. We are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their figures, detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gender pay gap and support employees during the menopause, as well as introducing stronger protections against sexual harassment.

Our plan to Make Work Pay will move further and faster to tackle the gender pay gap, improve access to flexible working and provide stronger protections at work. We are also expanding access to high-quality, accessible early years education with more free hours for working families.

Many employers understand that when women succeed, so does their business. As women’s equality and economic growth go hand in hand we need to ensure that every organisation is harnessing the talent, creativity and brilliance of women in their workforce.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady Parliamentary Question of 17th March is attached.

The Government believes that the Recall of MPs Act 2015 is operating well and as intended. There are no plans to increase the number of conditions that can trigger a recall petition.

HMG officials and Ministers, including myself, regularly engage the EU and EU Member State counterparts on a range of issues affecting UK nationals. The UK and the EU allow for visa-free, short-term travel in line with their respective arrangements for third country nationals.

The UK allows EU citizens visa-free travel for up to six months; the EU allows for visa-free travel within the Schengen Area for up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period which is standard for third nationals travelling visa-free to the EU. UK nationals planning to stay longer will need permission from the relevant Member State. The UK Government will continue to listen to and advocate for UK nationals.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 3rd July is attached.

The UK Statistics Authority published their recommendation on the next (2031) Census on 17 June. The recommendation outlines the consultation they undertook in order to reach their recommendation.

The Government will publish their response in due course.

The UK’s trade relations with the Palestinian Authority are governed by the UK-PA Interim Political, Trade and Partnership Agreement, which applies to the territory of the West Bank and Gaza. The UK recognition of Palestine is based on provisional 1967 borders, with equal land swaps to be finalised as part of future negotiations. Goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.

We do not enter treaty relations or trade dealings with Israel that include occupied Palestinian territory, and we strongly advise against conducting any economic and financial activities in settlements. UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the risk of involving themselves in Israel’s serious breaches of international law. We aim to progress towards a two-state solution, in which the Palestinian Authority gains full control of its customs, borders and the ability to implement independent trade policy.

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of July 2024 contains important findings, many of which are already government policy and align with the UK’s views that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal.

The UK government does not recognise illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine (previously the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ or OPTs) and strongly advise UK businesses and citizens against conducting any economic activities in settlements. We also ensure that we do not enter treaty relations nor economic and trade dealings with Israel that include occupied Palestinian territory, and all our licensed exports to Israel are rigorously assessed against the Strategic Exports Licensing Criteria.

Under our existing free trade agreement with Israel, the UK excludes illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine from the scope of the agreement. Therefore, products from the illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine cannot avail of preferential rates under the FTA and are subject to MFN trade instead.

We have also taken action to tackle settler violence and announced four packages of sanctions targeting organisations and individuals involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Settlements are illegal under international law, damaging to peace efforts, and call into question Israel’s commitment to the two-state solution. We reiterate the call that Israel should end its occupation of Palestine as rapidly as possible. We respect international law and continue to ensure the UK complies with its obligations.

This is not a continuation of the steel safeguard, but a new steel trade measure to address the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity.

The Government has engaged extensively with industry, including downstream users, to assess impacts. The measure has been carefully designed to balance the needs of domestic producers and downstream manufacturers.

As announced on 25 June, the Government has finalised quotas to strike the right balance between securing the future of domestic capability while maintaining fair and competitive supply chains.

The Government will monitor impacts closely and review the measure after 12 months to ensure UK competitiveness is maintained.

The government has consulted on the implementation of the subscriptions regime in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The consultation received over 70 responses including 15 from charitable organisations, and the government has engaged closely with the sector to understand the impacts on both consumers and these bodies.

The requirement for an initial 14 day cooling off period is an existing requirement under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 for distance and off-premises contracts.

The Government does not have plans to establish new standards for the use of chemicals in furniture manufactured or sold in the UK. The policy paper the fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture, published in January 2025, sets out our plans to reform the Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 with the aim of maintaining a high level of fire safety while facilitating a reduction in chemical flame-retardant use.

Any chemicals used in the manufacture of furniture placed on the UK market must comply with all relevant UK chemicals legislation, including UK REACH and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.

The Government is aware of the interest in ISDS, and is engaging with energy and climate stakeholders on its impact on UK priorities. In line with HMG’s Trade Strategy, the UK will continue to work with partners through multilateral forums, including the OECD and the UN system, to identify opportunities to improve ISDS practice.

On 1 October 2025 the Secretary of State confirmed plans to bring forward legislation to end new onshore oil and gas licensing in England. We will seek to introduce this when Parliamentary time allows.

The Government welcomes the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s report, following the committee’s inquiry into the cost of energy, and is grateful to the charities, think tanks, energy suppliers, members of the public, and all others who provided evidence to support it.

The Government is considering all recommendations set out in the report and will submit our response, which responds to each recommendation in turn, to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee later this month.

EPC’s are an important metric to ensure that small businesses are as energy efficient as possible, allowing them to understand where bill savings and carbon emission reductions can be achieved. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme continues to provide grants of up to £7,500 for small non-domestic property owners, with the threshold for single heat pump installations set at 45kWh. This helps install low carbon heating systems and improve EPC ratings.

Additionally, the Government’s Business Energy Advice Service pilot scheme has so far supported nearly 3000 SMEs in the West Midlands with expert energy efficiency and decarbonisation advice. 340 grants have been awarded with a value of £8.7m.

The Government has agreed new Heads of Terms with Drax for short term support from 2027 to 2031. It halves the subsidy paid to Drax, strengthens the sustainability arrangements to require 100% sustainable biomass, and reduces Drax’s generation so that it only operates when absolutely necessary on the system.

On 15 June, the government published a progress statement in response to the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation. This set out that social media companies will be banned from providing their services to under 16s, we plan to follow the updated Australia definition which includes Youtube. We plan to lay regulations by the end of the year, which will set out our approach.

To enforce these age restrictions, services will need to use highly effective age assurance to determine who has access to services, to prevent risky or harmful services being offered to children. The Secretary of State has asked Ofcom to conduct a rapid assessment of what highly effective age assurance looks like for determining whether someone is over 16, and to publish this assessment by October.

The analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) is a privately-owned telecoms network and the decision to upgrade it to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was taken by the telecoms industry in 2017.

Over 92% of PSTN landlines have already been migrated to VoIP. As of 31 March 2026, fewer than 2.8 million PSTN lines remain operational, down from 35.2 million PSTN lines at the network’s peak.

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK. Ofcom have confirmed that VoIP technology is more resilient, more secure, enables better quality phone calls, and can be used to block scam and spoofed calls. For example, BT Digital Voice blocks over 17,000 scam calls every day.

The Government is committed to ensuring that any risks from the industry-led migration of the analogue Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to digital Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for everyone across the UK. Ofcom have confirmed that VoIP technology is more resilient, more secure, enables better quality phone calls, and can be used to block scam and spoofed calls. For example, BT Digital Voice blocks over 17,000 scam calls every day.

The Government has no plans to require telecommunications providers to bear financial responsibility for losses arising from scam and spoofed telephone calls.

Tackling fraud and pursuing the criminals behind it is a priority for the Government. We are working closely with industry, law enforcement and consumer groups to identify and prosecute criminal activity of this nature.

The Government works closely with Ofcom, the independent regulator, which has a duty to protect consumers and to ensure that UK numbers are not misused. Ofcom has powers to set and enforce rules requiring providers to take steps to prevent fraud and protect consumers, including measures to block scam calls.

In addition, the Government and industry are taking forward collective action through initiatives such as the Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter and the Fraud Strategy, which set out measures to strengthen the security, traceability and reliability of calls and tackle spoofing.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That's why we are investing £400 million into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities, promoting health, wellbeing and community cohesion, while removing the barriers to physical activity for under-represented groups, such as women and girls, people with disabilities, and ethnic minority communities. This investment will continue to be prioritised in areas that have the highest levels of deprivation and inactivity, where there are reduced opportunities for local people.

As your Recreational Cricket Board, Dorset Cricket Board also has the opportunity to identify local projects and apply to England and Wales Cricket Board’s £45 million ‘Building Belonging in Cricket Fund’ - more information can be found here: https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/4525611/building-belonging-in-cricket-fund

We are collaborating with the sports sector and local leaders to develop plans beyond 2026/27 for a range of sports across the country based on what each community needs.

Community cinemas are an important part of our local areas, providing access to culture, creating spaces for connection, and stimulating footfall on our high streets. Cinemas based in eligible not-for-profit mixed arts venues can benefit from capital investment through the Creative Foundations Fund. In a challenging fiscal environment, we have to make difficult choices about where to direct available funding. Whilst we have no current plans to expand the eligibility criteria of existing schemes, we continue to engage with cinema stakeholders to identify options to support the sector.

We are already supporting the cinema sector through permanently lower business rates multipliers and through public funding schemes like the British Film Institute’s National Lottery Audience Projects Fund, or the Heritage Revival Fund, delivered by the Architectural Heritage Fund to help communities across England to rescue and repurpose neglected heritage buildings. We are also investing significantly in stimulating production - including through generous tax credits and the £75 million Screen Growth Package we announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan - which creates the strong slate of films cinemas need to thrive.

Prize draws are a significant and growing market. This Government has made it clear that we want people who participate in prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. In November 2025, we introduced a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators. This Code sets a clear and uniform approach across the sector to strengthen player protections, increase transparency and improve accountability. Signatories have until 20 May 2026 to comply with the Code.

Clause 2.3 of the Code states that where possible, before entering a draw, operators should provide players with clear and easily accessible information regarding the likelihood of winning a prize and how prizes will be allocated. Whilst the exact likelihood of winning a prize will depend on the number of tickets sold, information of that nature could include, but is not limited to, the maximum number of tickets available (where applicable) or data from previous comparable prize draws. The success of this Code will dictate whether greater regulation may be required, including legislation.

The National Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission, which is responsible for awarding the operating licence, managing licence conditions, enforcing compliance, and licensing individual games.

The National Lottery licence requires that full, accurate and up‑to‑date information about National Lottery games is easily accessible to all participants in a range of formats. The Regulatory Handbook, which provides further detail on complying with licence requirements, adds that this should include clear information on prize levels and the likelihood of winning, and that the operator’s approach should reflect industry Best Practice.

In practice, this is delivered through printed Player’s Guides in retail locations, and Online Game Procedures on the National Lottery website. These resources set out how each game works, the prizes available and the odds of winning.