Zarah Sultana

We are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); our interim report to the CEDAW Committee is due to be published and available online in the coming weeks. This report will set out the steps taken, in different parts of the UK, to implement four of the recommendations identified in 2019 by the Committee in its concluding observations.

The substantive provisions of CEDAW are already largely reflected in existing domestic legislation, such as the Equality Act 2010 and the Human Rights Act 1998. The UK has strong human rights protections within a comprehensive and well-established constitutional and legal system. We have a longstanding tradition of ensuring rights and liberties are protected domestically, and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations.

The UK has made significant progress over the years in tackling racism. This Government made manifesto commitments to tackle prejudice, racism and discrimination and is committed to making further progress.

The Government has considered the recommendations and conclusions in the Joint Committee on Human Rights report. We have responded to each of these in turn in our response to the Committee’s Eleventh Report of Session 2019–21 published on 11 February 2021.

The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities’ report makes an important contribution to both the national conversation about race, and our efforts to level up and unite the whole country.

We are carefully considering the report’s findings and recommendations. We will publish a Government response in due course. This Government remains fully committed to building a fairer UK and taking the action needed to address disparities wherever they exist.

Further to the answer given by my Rt Hon Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster during his oral statement on 28 April 2020, the Government will ensure recognition is both timely and appropriate and is reflective of the profound gratitude the nation feels.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to PQ 105426 given on 22 October.

From 31 December 2020, people protected under the Withdrawal Agreement will continue to be entitled to a UK-issued EHIC. For people not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement, the future of reciprocal healthcare arrangements between the UK and EU are subject to negotiations, which are ongoing.

We welcome the EU’s confirmation that it will grant UK nationals visa-free access for short-term visits, subject to reciprocity. This means that, after the end of the transition period, UK business visitors and tourists will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period.

I refer the Hon. members to the answer given to PQ 40706 on 4 May 2020.

The Government’s manifesto included a commitment to encourage flexible working and to consult on whether flexible working can be made the default unless employers have good reasons not to. We will issue this consultation in due course.

On 17 June 2021, we launched a new online tool which will make it easier for parents to access Shared Parental Leave and Pay and easier for employers to administer the scheme. The launch of the tool was accompanied by targeted communications activity, including social media and an exclusive with one of the national newspapers. We have also run significant communications campaigns in the past, including a £1.5 million campaign in 2018.

The Government is currently evaluating the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme to better understand the barriers and enablers to parents taking Shared Parental Leave. This exercise has included commissioning, and interrogating information collected from, large scale, representative, surveys of employers and parents and a qualitative study of parents who have used the scheme. We intend to publish our findings later this year.

As part of a modern research system, we believe that animals should only be used where there is no practical alternative. The use of animals in research is carefully regulated and remains important in ensuring new medicines and treatments are safe.

However, we are actively supporting and funding the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs).  This is achieved primarily through funding for the National Centre for the 3Rs which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice and regulations on animal research.  Since the NC3Rs was launched it has committed £100 million through its research, innovation, and early career awards to provide new 3Rs approaches for scientists in academia and industry to use. This includes almost £27 million in contracts through its CRACK IT Challenges innovation scheme to UK and EU-based institutions, mainly focusing on new approaches for the safety assessment of pharmaceuticals and chemicals that reduce the use of animals.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. At this time, no artificial model or simulation can replicate the complexity of disease processes in a living organism and as such, whole organism approaches continue to be important; animal models are used when experimentation in human volunteers is not possible for safety or ethical reasons. However, we do recognise the increasing value of in vitro and in silico models, including organs-on-chips and 3-dimensional mini-brains, which can greatly aid the development of new healthcare innovations and also reduce, refine or replace the use of animals in research.

I was deeply saddened to hear the tragic news of the death of the Amazon driver, and I send my sincere condolences to their family. South Yorkshire Police are investigating and are appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision to contact them.

Benchmark standards for safe delivery plans and realistic schedules are set out in the joint HSE and Department for Transport guidance (Driving at work: Managing work-related road safety INDG382(rev1) (hse.gov.uk).

The challenging financial situation we face due to the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a temporary reduction in the UK’s aid spending target from 0.7% of GNI to 0.5%. This means making difficult decisions when it comes to prioritising how we spend aid money to deliver the most impactful outcomes.

We are currently working with UKRI, and all our Global Challenges Research Fund and Newton Fund Delivery Partners, to manage the financial year 2021/22 ODA allocations, including determining which projects will be impacted. Our Delivery Partners have communicated with award holders setting out the next stage of the review of ODA funding this year, and to explore options for individual programmes. (Full details have been published on the UKRI website.) Due to the ongoing nature of this process, we cannot share project-level details.

The Government recognises the importance of supporting global research partnerships and supporting the UK research sector. Our commitment to research and innovation has been clearly demonstrated by my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget announcement of increasing investment in R&D across government to £14.6bn in 2021/22; and as has been set out in our Integrated Review ambitions, international collaboration is central to a healthy and productive R&D sector.

On 1^st April, the Department set out an additional £250m of funding for the R&D sector. As a result, UK scientists will have access to more public funding than ever before. This takes total Government investment in R&D to £14.9 billion in 2021/22 and follows four years of significant growth in R&D funding, including a boost of more than £1.5 billion in 2020/21.

We recognise that a miscarriage can be deeply upsetting. We encourage employers to provide appropriate support to women who have suffered a miscarriage and respond sensitively to each individuals specific needs.

The current entitlement to Parental Bereavement Leave and Pay applies to employed parents of children under the age of 18 and those who suffer a stillbirth.

Because the death of a child is particularly tragic, in April 2020, we legislated to give parents who lose a child under the age of 18, including cases where a baby is stillborn after 24 completed weeks of pregnancy, a right to take up to 2 weeks off work in the 56 weeks following the death of their child. The policy is mapped against the clinical definition of a ‘stillbirth’: 24 weeks is a legally and medically important point in a pregnancy as it is the clinical age of viability.

Individuals who do not feel able to return to work following a miscarriage may be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay while off work. All employees are also entitled to 5.6 weeks of Annual Leave a year and many employers also offer ‘Compassionate Leave’.

BEIS consulted on improving the minimum energy efficiency standards for privately rented homes in England and Wales to EPC Band C. Under the Government’s recommended option, landlords would be required to reach EPC Band C for new tenancies from 1 April 2025 and all tenancies by 1 April 2028. Landlords can choose to work with a property management company to meet the regulations where appropriate, although the requirement for compliance rests with the landlord. We are currently analysing consultation responses and will publish a Government Response in due course.

The Government has set out its roadmap to cautiously ease lockdown restrictions, including the reopening of non-essential retail no earlier than 12 April, subject to the data.

Under current restrictions all shops in England are permitted to operate click-and-collect services online, by telephone/text or via post.

While Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private retail companies, officials have been in regular contact with the administrators who have been exploring all potential options to protect Debenhams and its employees throughout the administration process.

Our Plan for Jobs includes a series of measures to protect, support and create jobs and we are helping those who have lost jobs in the pandemic back into employment through our JETS (Job Entry Targeted Support) programme. We have also launched our £2bn Kickstart scheme to create opportunities for young people.

We have temporarily increased Universal Credit by £1,000 a year, are doubling the number of work coaches to 27,000 by this year and have launched a Job Finding Support Service which will help those who have recently become unemployed increase their chances of finding employment.

Additionally, the DWP Rapid Response Service has been in ongoing conversations with Debenhams who have been offered support from the Service. The Rapid Response Service offers support including:

• Helping people write CVs and find jobs.
• Providing information about benefits.
• Helping people to find the right training and learn new skills.
• Helping with costs like travel to work expenses.

The UK is committed to championing diversity and inclusion throughout our COP26 Presidency and all civil servants in the Cabinet Office COP26 Unit have been appointed in line with Civil Service guidance and rules.

Forty five percent of the Senior Management Team in the COP26 unit are women. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister recently appointed my Hon. Friend the Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed as the COP26 Adaptation and Resilience Champion.

Officials are working with Royal Mail and the Post Office to consider the recommendations from Citizens Advice on an Address and Collect Service and a Poste Restante service for vulnerable groups.

Graphene has the capability to become one of the sectors that will power our economic growth – and Versarien is at a crucial phase in its development as it strives to become one of the UK’s leading players in the production of graphene. Materials such a graphene can also provide a valuable contribution towards the Government’s Net Zero targets and has the potential to contribute significantly to a number of national infrastructure projects. Versarien’s G-SCALE project, which this loan will fund, will allow the firm to carry out later stage R&D to enable it to supply the market with commercial quantities of graphene-enhanced materials.

Similar to many companies, Versarien seeks investment from a number of sources, including private funding. Innovate UK has a good understanding of Versarien’s business and has previously awarded the company several grants to support its development. Innovate’s loan scheme was set up to broaden the range of innovation finance support available to businesses, so they can access funding at all stages of innovation.

In order to be eligible, a business needs to show that it can afford the interest and repayments on the loan and that they cannot obtain finance from other sources such as banks and equity investors for a particular project. It is on this basis the loan was made.

Indeed, this loan was made on Innovate’s usual terms, that is an interest rate of 7.4% per annum with half of the interest deferred until the repayment period commences. Loan repayments will start 45 months after drawdown and be paid over a subsequent period of 36 months.

The loan award was made after Innovate UK’s rigorous process of innovation assessment and credit evaluation – the same level of scrutiny and assessment that accompanies any loan award that Innovate UK makes.

The assessment process for awarding the loan was compatible with the key principles set out in the guidance on Managing Public Money.

The consultation on changes to the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme closed on 29 May 2020 and a Government response will be published in due course.

As part of this consultation, we indicated our intention to remove biomass conversion technologies from the CfD scheme. Sustainable, low carbon bioenergy is helping the UK move to a low-carbon energy mix, increasing our energy security, and keeping costs down for consumers. We have introduced mandatory sustainability criteria for biomass generation for heat and power. This is to ensure biomass continues to support the UK’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions and is sourced sustainably. Generators only receive subsidies for electricity output which complies with our sustainability criteria.

The greenhouse gas (GHG) threshold and minimum efficiency requirements applied in 2018 were incorporated into the CfD Standard Terms and Conditions and so will apply to future allocation rounds.

Onshore wind and solar have already been deployed successfully in the UK with appropriate local support, generating enough electricity in 2018 to power over 11 million homes and producing nearly 13% of the UK’s electricity.

Government announced on Monday 2 March that onshore wind and solar projects will be able to bid for contracts in the next Contracts for Difference allocation round planned to open in 2021. We will announce the auction parameters and auction timings in due course.

Elite and professional sports competition has consistently been permitted since June, in common with other work which cannot be conducted from home. Government has issued thorough guidance to support Covid-secure training and competition. Governing bodies have established their own sport specific protocols, including appropriate mitigations and testing regimes. At every stage we have capitalised on medical and public health expertise.

The government is committed to building a digitally inclusive society, and believes that television should be accessible for all UK audiences. The BBC provides subtitling on 100% of all of its programming (excluding BBC Parliament and BBC Scotland), as well as signing 5% of its content.

Currently, under the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004, TV Licence concessions are available to people who are registered blind or severely sight impaired, and people who live in qualifying residential care and are disabled or over 60 years old. We are not considering making changes to the current concessions regime at this time. The government has committed to review the TV Licence model ahead of the next Charter Review, which is set to be completed by 2027.

As the independent broadcast regulator, Ofcom is responsible for holding broadcasters to account for their delivery of television access services (subtitles, audio description and signing), not the government.

Ofcom’s Code on Television Access Services sets out 10-year targets in relation to subtitling, which for BBC channels (excluding BBC Parliament and BBC Scotland) is 100% of all programming. Ofcom has found that the BBC has consistently met this target.

Ofcom’s Code provides further guidance that broadcasters should regularly monitor the quality of their access services, and ensure that scheduled access services are being provided correctly. In line with the BBC’s 2016 Royal Charter and Agreement, Ofcom is also currently reviewing how the BBC should make its UK Public Services accessible. Ofcom’s public consultation on BBC Accessibility concluded on 31 January 2020.

The government is committed to a free and independent media. DCMS ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders to discuss a range of issues, and will consider any proposals put forward with regard to regulation of newspapers and their websites.

The roadmap is delayed not derailed. By the autumn term, we have every expectation that we will have already been able to move forward with Step 4, meaning that there will be no further restrictions on the provision of in person teaching and learning.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many providers have developed their digital offering, and as autonomous institutions some might choose to retain elements of this approach. However, they will not have to do this because of COVID-19 restrictions, and our expectation is very clear: universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and ensure it is accessible.

We expect providers to have contingency plans to deal with any identified positive cases of COVID-19 or outbreaks. Higher education (HE) providers should communicate clearly to their students what they can expect from planned teaching and learning under different circumstances and scenarios, so that they are able to make informed choices.

The Office for Students, as regulator for English HE providers, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected.

We intend to update HE guidance in due course to support the return of students for the new academic year.

The government published research in May 2019 on higher education and how religious beliefs and the current student finance system influence these decisions. This research is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-student-finance-current-and-future-students-perspectives.

The government has also assessed the effect of interest-bearing loans on Muslim students in the impact assessment for the Higher Education and Research Act, which included provisions to enable the introduction of an Alternative Student Finance (ASF) product. The impact assessment was published in December 2017 and is available here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2017/182/pdfs/ukia_20170182_en.pdf.

The government is considering the ASF product carefully alongside its other priorities and will provide a further update with the full and final conclusion of the Post-18 Review of Education and Funding. The interim report of the review was published on 21 January 2021, and the review is scheduled to conclude alongside the next multi-year Spending Review. An update on the ASF product will be provided at that time.

The department does not collect monthly children’s social care spend data from local authorities.

The department collects annual local authority children and young people’s services spend data (Section 251 LA and school expenditure) that covers a range of spend data across children’s and young people’s services. The latest data for the 2019-20 financial year is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure/2019-20.

Paragraph 1 (2A) of Schedule 1 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) provides that a person is not to be treated as ordinarily resident in a place unless that person lawfully resides in that place. Although not further defined in the Regulations, ‘ordinarily resident’ has been interpreted by the courts as lawful, habitual and normal residence from choice and for a settled purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or occasional absences. This means that a person must hold a valid status throughout the period of ordinary residence required when establishing their eligibility to student support.

There are no plans to remove the criteria which requires a person’s residence in the UK and Islands to not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. Student Finance England will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a person meets this requirement.

Paragraph 1 (2A) of Schedule 1 of the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (as amended) provides that a person is not to be treated as ordinarily resident in a place unless that person lawfully resides in that place. Although not further defined in the Regulations, ‘ordinarily resident’ has been interpreted by the courts as lawful, habitual and normal residence from choice and for a settled purpose throughout the prescribed period, apart from temporary or occasional absences. This means that a person must hold a valid status throughout the period of ordinary residence required when establishing their eligibility to student support.

There are no plans to remove the criteria which requires a person’s residence in the UK and Islands to not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education. Student Finance England will determine on a case-by-case basis whether a person meets this requirement.

Assessment is a crucial part of a child’s schooling and fundamental in a high performing education system. Statutory assessments at primary school are an essential part of ensuring that all pupils master the basics of reading, writing and Mathematics to prepare them for secondary school. Assessment data will also enable parents, schools and the Department to understand the impact of lost time in education and recovery initiatives. As such, the Department has no plans to cancel the statutory implementation of the Reception Baseline Assessment in September 2021, and the Department continues to plan for a return to a full programme of primary assessments in the 2021/22 academic year.

In 2017, the Government carried out a consultation into primary assessment in England. The consultation received over 4,000 responses from a diverse range of backgrounds and specialisms, providing a broad and informed range of views that informed policy on the current primary assessment system. In addition, the Department engages with relevant stakeholders on a regular basis to understand their views on primary assessment.

The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Market Review is focused on how the sector can provide consistently high-quality training, in line with the Core Content Framework, in a more efficient and effective market. An expert advisory group has been appointed to advise the Government on this matter.

Ian Bauckham, the Review Chair, has held early discussions with ITT network Chairs and others, and he and officials will be undertaking wider sector engagement in late Spring. The Department also plans to conduct an open consultation on final proposals.

The government appreciates the concerns raised from the findings of the Children Society’s Good Childhood Report 2020. We believe that the safety and wellbeing of children and young people is of fundamental importance, and the government is supporting the education sector to identify and respond to children and young people’s individual needs. It is crucial that children and young people are able to access the help and support they require to keep them healthy and safe.

We look at the range of data that is available on children’s wellbeing. On World Mental Health Day 2019, we published the first annual ‘State of the Nation’ report to highlight the trends and issues in young people’s mental wellbeing. The report brought together existing data to improve understanding and help to inform the support we provide to children and young people. We published a second report in 2020, which focused on the experiences of children and young people during the COVID outbreak. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-of-the-nation-2020-children-and-young-peoples-wellbeing.

To support this work, we are working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to deliver our joint green paper delivery programme. The government’s 3 core commitments are to incentivise and support all schools and colleges to identify and train a senior mental health lead, to fund new Mental Health Support Teams supervised by NHS mental health staff and to pilot a 4 week waiting time for accessing specialist NHS mental health services.

We are supplementing this with other support, including a randomised control trial of a range of different school approaches to promoting good mental wellbeing which is one of the largest of its kind in the world. This sits alongside guidance on mental health and behaviour and offering effective school-based counselling.

The government has made children’s mental health and wellbeing a central part of our response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The return to school for all pupils on 8 March was prioritised due to the significant and proven impact caused by being out of school, including on wellbeing.

We have been clear that schools can use their existing additional COVID-19 catch-up funding for pastoral support for mental wellbeing where pupils need it, and many schools are doing so. In addition to this, the return to school for all pupils on 8 March has been supported with a new £700 million package, which includes a new one-off Recovery Premium for state primary, secondary and special schools to use as they see best to support disadvantaged students. This will help schools to provide their disadvantaged pupils with a one-off boost to the support, both academic and pastoral, that has been proved most effective in helping them recover from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Teaching and college staff mobility will not be funded as part of the Turing scheme in academic year 2021/22, as we are prioritising ensuring as many students, learners and pupils as possible have access to life-changing mobilities to support them in developing the skills they need to thrive. We will assess the impact of the scheme during its first year, and this will inform the scheme in future. Funding decisions for future years will be subject to future spending reviews.

International opportunities for the youth sector and young people outside of formal education settings are being considered as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport-led Youth Review, which was commissioned by HM Treasury at the 2020 Spending Review.

The government currently has no plans to introduce legislation to allow adult adoption.

The Skills for Jobs white paper sets out several reforms that will support people to get the skills our economy needs throughout their lives, wherever they live in the country. This will include emerging skills needed for future productivity, such as in green jobs and zero carbon skills.

Our reforms include the introduction of employer-led Local Skills Improvement Plans, which will identify local priorities for change. Further education (FE) colleges will have a key part to play in ensuring employers have the skills they need to build jobs and industries of the future. We expect local plans to be informed by national priorities such as a green industrial revolution.

We are also investing up to £290 million to establish a comprehensive network of Institutes of Technology (IOTs), with every area of the country having access to one once the network is complete. IOTs will be the pinnacle of technical training, with unique collaborations between FE colleges, universities and businesses offering higher technical education and training (mainly at levels 4 and 5) and helping to develop low carbon skills in key sectors such as construction and engineering. IOTs, with their funding to invest in state of the art equipment and facilities, and employers in the driving seat, will give businesses the skilled workforce they need to drive growth and get more people into rewarding jobs.

The Green Jobs Taskforce, launched last November, has aims to help the UK build back greener and deliver the skilled workforce needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is a joint initiative between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Education. With help from the taskforce, we will ensure that our existing skills programmes can be directed to support the net zero agenda and help to identify where the evidence tells us we might need to go further or faster.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has convened a Green Apprenticeships Advisory Panel to guide the continued alignment of apprenticeships with net zero and wider sustainability objectives. It aims to help identify which apprenticeships directly support the green agenda and which may need to be refocused. The panel will also crucially identify where there are potential opportunities to create new green apprenticeships and identify employers to help take this work forward.

COVID-19 related Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) use will be very limited for staff in schools, colleges, and nurseries. Most staff will not require PPE beyond what they would normally need for their work. Additional PPE for COVID-19 is only required in a very limited number of scenarios, for example:

• When an individual child, young person, or student becomes ill with COVID-19 symptoms and only then if a 2 metre distance cannot be maintained
• When performing aerosol generating procedures

Appropriate PPE for any staff involved in delivering asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 onsite in secondary schools and colleges is also delivered to schools, colleges and nurseries along with onsite testing kits.

Many schools, nurseries and colleges will be able to access PPE for their COVID-19 needs via their local authority or local resilience forum. Further information on local arrangements can be found on gov.uk.

The 30 hours free childcare policy was introduced in September 2017 and is an entitlement for working parents of 3 year olds and 4 year olds. It aims to help working parents with the costs of childcare so they can take up paid work if they want to or can work additional hours.

Approximately 345,000 children were in a 30 hours place in January 2020. The Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers 2019 showed that the majority of providers with children aged 3 to 4 registered at their setting at the time of the survey were offering 30 hours (90% of group-based providers, 70% of school-based providers and 80% of childminders).

The number of providers offering childcare on non-domestic premises, which includes nurseries, on the Early Years Register (EYR) has seen a small reduction of 5% from 31 August 2015 to 31 August 2020.

On 31 August 2020, there were 1.3 million childcare places offered by providers on the EYR, including nurseries and those on domestic premises such as childminders. There is no noticeable change in this trend around 2017, when the 30 hours policy was introduced.

Ofsted data indicates that, despite around 14,500 providers having closed between March 2015 and March 2020, there are approximately 15,400 more childcare places, with the majority of closed providers being childminders.

The evaluation of the first year of the national roll-out of 30 hours of free childcare found that provision expanded among providers delivering the extended hours through increased occupancy and higher use of staff. There was no evidence of any immediate adverse effect on other funded or paid provision. It also found that a high proportion (76%) of providers delivering the funded entitlement were willing and able to offer the extended hours.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure sufficient childcare places in their area for all children, including children benefitting from any of the department’s free early education entitlements.

This is a matter for Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman. I have asked her to write to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

The government has supported nurseries, pre-schools, and childminders during a very uncertain time.

In March 2020, we confirmed that we would continue to pay funding to local authorities for the free early education entitlements for two, three and four-year-olds, providing reassurance and financial support for early years settings in light of decreased demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. This funding continued to local authorities until the end of the autumn term at broadly the levels they would have expected to see had there been no COVID-19 outbreak.

For spring term 2021, we are funding local authorities based on their January 2021 census, but if attendance rose after the census was taken and where a local authority can provide evidence for increased attendance during the spring term, we will top-up local authorities to up to 85% of their January 2020 census level. Further guidance for local authorities, setting out details as to how the 85% top-up scheme works, together with information on our approach for funding the summer term 2021, will be shared soon.

In addition, we have supported the early years sector with financial and business support, including through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and business rates relief, both of which will continue into the financial year 2021-22, as well as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan and the Self-employment Income Support Scheme. Further, eligible nurseries may also access the new Recovery Loans, available from 6 April 2021, as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 3 March 2021. The new Recovery Loan Scheme will replace the Business Interruption Loan Scheme which is due to end on 31 March 2021.

The government continues to support families with their childcare costs. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced at the Spending Review a £44 million investment in the 2021-22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers. Specifically, this will allow them to increase the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 8p an hour for the two-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 6p an hour for the three and four-year-old entitlement. This will pay for a rate increase that is higher than the costs nurseries may face from the uplift to the national living wage in April.

We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate, and affordable childcare is available for those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.

The government has supported nurseries, pre-schools, and childminders during a very uncertain time.

In March 2020, we confirmed that we would continue to pay funding to local authorities for the free early education entitlements for two, three and four-year-olds, providing reassurance and financial support for early years settings in light of decreased demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. This funding continued to local authorities until the end of the autumn term at broadly the levels they would have expected to see had there been no COVID-19 outbreak.

For spring term 2021, we are funding local authorities based on their January 2021 census, but if attendance rose after the census was taken and where a local authority can provide evidence for increased attendance during the spring term, we will top-up local authorities to up to 85% of their January 2020 census level. Further guidance for local authorities, setting out details as to how the 85% top-up scheme works, together with information on our approach for funding the summer term 2021, will be shared soon.

In addition, we have supported the early years sector with financial and business support, including through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and business rates relief, both of which will continue into the financial year 2021-22, as well as the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan and the Self-employment Income Support Scheme. Further, eligible nurseries may also access the new Recovery Loans, available from 6 April 2021, as set out by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 3 March 2021. The new Recovery Loan Scheme will replace the Business Interruption Loan Scheme which is due to end on 31 March 2021.

The government continues to support families with their childcare costs. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced at the Spending Review a £44 million investment in the 2021-22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers for the government’s free childcare entitlement offers. Specifically, this will allow them to increase the hourly funding rates for all local authorities by 8p an hour for the two-year-old entitlement and, for the vast majority of areas, by 6p an hour for the three and four-year-old entitlement. This will pay for a rate increase that is higher than the costs nurseries may face from the uplift to the national living wage in April.

We continue to work with the early years sector to understand how they can best be supported to ensure that sufficient safe, appropriate, and affordable childcare is available for those who need it now, and for all families who need it in the longer term.

Alongside the announcement of the full return to school, the Department published the following evidence summary around children, young people, and schools: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963639/DfE_Evidence_summary_COVID-19_-_children__young_people_and_education_settings.pdf.

The scientific evidence papers from SAGE meetings, including papers on children and transmission from the Children’s Task and Finish Group, are published in tranches and are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/scientific-evidence-supporting-the-government-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19.

As my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, set out in his statement to Parliament on 22 February, based on the Government’s assessment of the current data against its four tests for relaxing restrictions, it was possible for children to return to schools from 8 March 2021. All secondary pupils will be offered testing from 8 March and those who consent to testing should return to face to face education following their first negative test result. The Government has prioritised education as we cautiously begin to relax restrictions. It is vital for all pupils to attend school to minimise the longer-term impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on their education, wellbeing, and wider development.

Opening schools to all pupils is a national priority. As a result of the efforts the country has made, it is now possible for schools to welcome back pupils in all year groups, in addition to the vulnerable children and young people and the children of critical workers who have continued to attend face to face education since the start of the spring term. At every stage since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, our decisions have been informed by the scientific and medical evidence, both on the risks of COVID-19 infection, transmission, and illness, and on the known risks to children and young people not attending school and college, balancing public health and education considerations. The Government has published its COVID-19 children, young people and education settings evidence summary which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evidence-summary-covid-19-children-young-people-and-education-settings.

To prepare for full reopening, schools should update their risk assessment and ensure they are implementing the system of controls in order to minimise the risk of infection. The system of controls is described in full within the published schools guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/schools-coronavirus-covid-19-operational-guidance.

The Government’s Roadmap is a step-by-step plan to ease restrictions in England cautiously, starting with schools and colleges, taking into consideration the scientific evidence. The Roadmap sets out indicative, “no earlier than” dates for the steps which are five weeks apart. These dates are driven by the data; before taking each further step, the Government will review the latest data on the impact of the previous step against its four tests. The Government’s Roadmap can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/963491/COVID-19_Response_-_Spring_2021.pdf.

The funding available for student support is finite and it is necessary to put limits in place to ensure that all eligible students who wish to study a qualification for the first time can do so. Consequently, those who have already achieved a higher education qualification at postgraduate level do not qualify for support for a second postgraduate qualification which is equivalent or lower to the one they already hold. We are closely monitoring take up of the master’s loan and the response by students, the sector, and employers. However, at present there are no plans to amend the loan eligibility criteria.

To support all schools, including special schools, on 7 January 2021 we published guidance on restricting attendance during the January 2021 national lockdown, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak. This guidance also outlines the funding available to support schools at this time.

Further guidance has also been published for special schools, specialist post 16 providers and alternative provision (AP): https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/953215/Guidance_for_special_schools__specialist_post-16_providers_and_alternative_provision_during_the_national_lockdown.pdf.

The government is delivering a programme of rapid asymptomatic testing in schools and further education colleges, including special schools and AP settings. Rapidly identifying and containing asymptomatic cases, which comprise up to a third of all cases, will help avoid individuals carrying COVID-19 from unknowingly spreading it.

In recognition of the additional considerations specialist settings will have to take into account when delivering rapid asymptomatic testing, we have published additional guidance which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-full-opening-special-schools-and-other-specialist-settings/mass-asymptomatic-testing-in-specialist-settings.

To support children with special educational needs and disabilities, the definition of vulnerable children and young people includes children who have a social worker, an education, health and care plan or those who may be vulnerable for another reason at local discretion. Schools are expected to allow and strongly encourage vulnerable children and young people to attend. Parents or carers of vulnerable children and young people are strongly encouraged to send their children to school.

The safety and wellbeing of staff and students in higher education (HE) and the wider community is always our priority. The government is doing all it can to minimise the risks of transmission in this unprecedented situation.

The government urges universities and private hall providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. A number of universities and large companies waived rents for the summer term or released students early from their contracts.

Students who are tenants with individual private landlords can discuss this issue with them. We encourage landlords, letting agencies and tenants to adopt a pragmatic, common-sense approach to issues that may arise in the current circumstances.

If students face financial hardship and struggle to pay their rent, support is available. Guidance for tenants and landlords in the context of COVID-19 available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-and-renting-guidance-for-landlords-tenants-and-local-authorities.

In the first instance, a student should speak to their landlord if they think they will have difficulty meeting a rental payment. In this unique context, tenants and landlords are encouraged to work together to put in place a rent payment scheme.

Many HE providers will have hardship funds to support students in times of need, including emergencies. The expectation is that, where any student requires additional support, providers will support them through their own hardship funds.

We have worked closely with the Office for Students to clarify that HE providers can draw upon existing funding to increase hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19. As a result, providers were able to use the funding, worth around £23 million per month for April to July this year and £256 million for the academic year 2020/21 starting from August towards student hardship funds.

The government is committed to ensuring that students who wish to return home for the winter break, are able to do so. It is essential that measures are put in place to ensure this can happen as safely as possible for students, staff and the communities that they return to.

On 11 November, the department published guidance for providers on the plans for the end of the autumn term, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reopening-buildings-and-campuses/student-movement-and-plans-for-the-end-of-autumn-2020-term#specific-support-for-students.

As outlined in the guidance, we expect higher education (HE) providers to support students to return home following the period of national restrictions, whilst mitigating the risk of transmission of the virus. We are asking that students return home once the national restrictions have been lifted, in a “student travel window” lasting from 3-9 December. This should be in line with specific arrangements put in place by their HE provider, which should include a staggered end to face-to-face provision, with learning being moved online by 9 December.

We are also working closely with universities and the Department for Health and Social Care to roll out mass testing for students and we will offer this to as many students as possible before they travel home, targeting this in areas of high prevalence of COVID-19. This will help to provide further confidence that students can leave safely if they test negative.?If a student tests positive before their departure, they will need to remain in self-isolation, following the relevant guidance. Moving all learning online by 9 December allows enough time for students to complete the isolation period before returning home for Christmas.

The Department have commissioned an independent research and assessment agency to provide a baseline assessment of catch up needs for pupils in schools in England. They will then monitor progress over the course of the year, based on existing assessments, to help us target support. This research is a priority for the Department.

This research will make use of existing assessments that schools already choose to use and are typically taken by over one million children each year. This will allow the Department to assess how a range of groups are performing this year – including the most disadvantaged and those with historically poor outcomes.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Department has been clear that no child should fall behind as a result of COVID-19. Now children are back in school, teachers are assessing what support their pupils need to get back on track, and head teachers have the flexibility to spend their allocation from our £1 billion COVID-19 catch up fund in the way they decide is best for their pupils, using approaches that are known to have the most impact.

The Department also continues to provide pupil premium funding, worth £2.4 billion in the current financial year, that aims to reduce the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils.

The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) will provide additional, targeted tutoring support for disadvantaged and vulnerable pupils who need the most help to catch up. It is important that decisions about what support pupils receive are made locally by those who understand their needs. Schools are encouraged to direct NTP support to those pupil premium pupils who have been hardest hit by the disruption to their education. However, they are able to exercise their professional judgement to include other disadvantaged and vulnerable children who are most in need of support.

As well as the NTP, the Department is also providing £650 million for a catch-up premium for all schools to help make up for lost teaching time. Schools can prioritise support based on individual needs, including pupils from deprived backgrounds and pupils facing other challenges, such as young carers, those working with a social worker, and those with mental health needs. Schools are free to use this funding to meet the needs of their pupils, including, for example, intervention programmes, extra teaching capacity or access to technology.

Our response to the Education Committee’s report was published on 23 July.

The government is conducting a review of the special educational needs and disability (SEND) system. This is a fundamental, cross-government review considering measures to ensure the SEND system delivers high quality outcomes for children and young people, and that is consistent and sustainable into the future.

We will be providing a further update on our response to the Committee’s Inquiry later this year.

I refer the hon. Member for Coventry South to the answer I gave on 1 July 2020 to Question 63492.

The current system for funding tuition fees for nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students has enabled us to open up the number of training places that universities can offer in these professions and to increase the amount of living costs support available.

From September 2020, eligible new and continuing nursing, midwifery and many allied health professional students on pre-registration courses at English universities will also receive an additional new non-repayable grant of £5,000 to contribute to their living costs. Funding up to a further £3,000 is also available for students who choose to study in an area or a specialism that is struggling to recruit students or for helping students with childcare costs. This funding is in addition to the support that students can already access through the student loans system and the existing learning support fund, which includes funding for childcare, travel and exceptional hardship.

The government has also recently announced that the maximum loan for living costs will be increased by 2.9% for the 2020/21 academic year. It will be up to £9,203 for eligible full-time undergraduate students living away from home and studying outside London (loan amounts are higher in London).

Maximum tuition fees for undergraduate courses, and the subsidised fee loans available from the government to pay them, will remain at £9,250 for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2020/21 academic year. This is the third year in succession maximum fees have been frozen.

Loans for tuition fees and living costs only need to be repaid from the statutory repayment date. For most undergraduate students, the statutory repayment date is the April after students finish their course. Monthly repayments are linked to income, not to interest rates or the amount borrowed. Repayments, which are calculated at 9%, are only on amounts earned over the repayment threshold, which is currently annually £26,575. Borrowers are protected, as their repayments decrease if their income decreases, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years.

The current system for funding tuition fees for nursing, midwifery and allied health professional students has enabled us to open up the number of training places that universities can offer in these professions and to increase the amount of living costs support available.

From September 2020, eligible new and continuing nursing, midwifery and many allied health professional students on pre-registration courses at English universities will also receive an additional new non-repayable grant of £5,000 to contribute to their living costs. Funding up to a further £3,000 is also available for students who choose to study in an area or a specialism that is struggling to recruit students or for helping students with childcare costs. This funding is in addition to the support that students can already access through the student loans system and the existing learning support fund, which includes funding for childcare, travel and exceptional hardship.

The government has also recently announced that the maximum loan for living costs will be increased by 2.9% for the 2020/21 academic year. It will be up to £9,203 for eligible full-time undergraduate students living away from home and studying outside London (loan amounts are higher in London).

Maximum tuition fees for undergraduate courses, and the subsidised fee loans available from the government to pay them, will remain at £9,250 for a standard full-time undergraduate course in the 2020/21 academic year. This is the third year in succession maximum fees have been frozen.

Loans for tuition fees and living costs only need to be repaid from the statutory repayment date. For most undergraduate students, the statutory repayment date is the April after students finish their course. Monthly repayments are linked to income, not to interest rates or the amount borrowed. Repayments, which are calculated at 9%, are only on amounts earned over the repayment threshold, which is currently annually £26,575. Borrowers are protected, as their repayments decrease if their income decreases, with outstanding debt written off after 30 years.

The department has been working closely with the higher education (HE) sector to ensure it provides essential support for international students who have decided to remain in the UK or have been unable to travel home due to COVID-19. Universities have an obligation to ensure that students have continued accommodation and access to essential services in the UK for the duration of their stay.

We are pleased to see that the sector is making every effort to enable students to continue their studies – including moving learning online either in the UK or in a student's home country – so that their teaching and assessment can proceed, and that universities are offering a range of support to students, including support for catering and cleaning.

The government also recognises that many students are facing, or will face, additional mental health challenges caused by the global outbreak. Many HE providers are bolstering their existing mental health services and adapting delivery to means other than face-to-face. Providers have responded quickly to transform mental health and wellbeing services, showing resourcefulness, and there are many examples of good practice.

The government has worked closely with the Office for Students (OfS) to help clarify that providers in England can draw upon existing student premium funding to provide hardship funds and support disadvantaged students impacted by COVID-19 and international students qualify for this. Providers are able to use the funding – worth around £23 million per month for April, May, June and July – towards student hardship funds, including mental health support.

In addition, the OfS recently announced the Student Space platform, which seeks to bridge gaps in mental health support for students arising from this unprecedented situation. Funded with up to £3 million by the OfS and led by Student Minds, it is designed to work alongside existing mental health services.

Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees. In deciding to keep charging full fees, universities will of course want to ensure that they can continue to deliver courses which are fit for purpose and help students progress their qualifications. Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student.

The government is applying discretion under the current circumstances to ensure international students are not negatively impacted if they find themselves in a position where they cannot comply with certain visa rules. On 16 June, the Home Office updated their visa guidance to provide greater certainty for international HE students in the UK impacted by COVID-19; this guidance includes the latest information for those who might have questions around visa expiry, switching visa category within the UK and distance learning. It also provides reassurances regarding distance learning, confirming that students will be permitted to study partially online for the 2020/21 academic year, provided they transition to face-to-face learning as soon as circumstances allow, and that that those studying by distance/blended learning will be eligible to apply for the graduate route provided they are in the UK by 6 April 2021 (and meet other requirements of the route).

As both my right hon. Friends, the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have made clear, the Government will do whatever it takes to support people affected by COVID-19.

Schools are closed until further notice except for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. The management of school sites remains the responsibility of school leaders and governing bodies during this period and their first priority is ensuring arrangements are in place so that pupils and staff still attending school can do so safely.

Whilst there are currently no plans to roll out a national programme of timed access to school playing fields, we are aware that schools do sometimes choose to make their facilities available for use and may have chosen to allow community access to outdoor spaces during this period.

It is important that children continue to remain fit and active wherever possible at this time, as long as this is done in line with the latest official advice on social distancing which can be accessed from:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others/full-guidance-on-staying-at-home-and-away-from-others. Our latest guidance on supporting children to get exercise during COVID-19 can be found on the following page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-online-education-resources/coronavirus-covid-19-list-of-online-education-resources-for-home-education#physical-education-pe-and-physical-activity.

The government is taking forward a review of post-16 qualifications at level 3 and below. The first stage consultation on this review was published in March 2019, alongside a general impact assessment and an equalities impact assessment. Details of this review can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-post-16-qualifications-at-level-3-and-below-in-england.

For the majority of our proposals, these were initial assessments as the first stage consultation set out high level principles for reform rather than firm proposals for change on which full detailed impact assessments could be based. The second stage consultation, which will follow later in 2020, will contain specific proposals for change. The government will publish a corresponding detailed impact assessment, including equalities impacts, alongside this consultation.

For one area where we are making early progress on the review, we set out a full impact assessment alongside the March consultation. This is where we are removing funding approval for qualifications where we have a reformed version approved for performance tables running in parallel. Funding for these “pre-existing” qualifications will be removed in August 2020. The impact assessment can be found at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/post-16-qualifications-review-team/post-16-level-3-and-below-qualifications-review/supporting_documents/Post%2016%20level%203%20and%20below%20qualifications%20review%20%20Impact%20Assessments.pdf.

Funding will be removed from these qualifications in August 2020. The impact assessments published in March last year addressed this.

The first stage consultation also set out our intention to remove funding approval for qualifications with low and no publicly funded enrolments. On 13 February 2020 the Department for Education announced the process to identify which of these qualifications will have funding approval removed from August 2021. This included publication of an initial list of qualifications with low and no publicly funded enrolments in scope of the process. This process requires awarding organisations to notify the Department if they believe funding approval should be retained, subject to specific criteria including whether the removal of public funding approval for the qualification will have a significant adverse impact upon a particular group of students, a provider, or occupational or geographic area. The department intends to publish the final list in July 2020 of qualifications that will have approval for public funding withdrawn from August 2021. An impact assessment will be published at this point.

Tackling the harm caused by sewer overflows is a top priority for this department.

To achieve this, the new Storm Overflows Taskforce - bringing together Government, the water industry, regulators and environmental NGOs - has agreed to set a long-term goal to eliminate harm from storm overflows. The Taskforce is meeting regularly and working on plans to start making progress towards that goal, and they have commissioned research to gather evidence on the costs, benefits and feasibility of different options.

We are also introducing new duties that will require the Government to publish a plan by September 2022 to reduce sewage discharges from storm overflows and to report progress to Parliament on implementing that plan. We are also introducing duties requiring water companies and the Environment Agency to publish data on storm overflow operations on an annual basis. These legally binding obligations on water companies and Government will reduce pollution in rivers, protecting wildlife and public health.

The Environment Secretary and the Environment Agency Chair have met with underperforming water companies to discuss how Government and industry can work together to drive better environmental performance. The Environment Secretary has set out clear expectations for water companies to improve their environmental performance in the future. I have also met water company CEOs and made clear that the volume of sewage discharged into rivers and other waterways in extreme weather must be reduced.

Water companies are committed in the five-year business planning period (2020-25) to a significant programme of improvements to the monitoring and management of storm overflows at a cost of around £1.1 billion. This investment includes undertaking 800 investigations and 798 improvement schemes to provide environmental improvements by reducing spills from frequently spilling overflows.

With regards to penalties and enforcement, the Environment Agency currently regulates water companies in their operation of storm overflows to ensure they only discharge under strict permitted conditions. Where discharges occur outside of these conditions, the Environment Agency investigates and takes appropriate action, which includes enforcement action if necessary.

Environment Agency action has resulted in 48 prosecutions against water companies in the last six years, securing fines of £35 million. £10.4 million has also been donated to environmental and wildlife trusts organisations in the same period through enforcement undertakings, a voluntary agreement which will include a donation to environmental charities to restore any harm done. The Environment Agency will continue to take enforcement action against water companies which fail to uphold the law or cause serious environmental harm.

The Government committed, in its 2019 manifesto, to introduce a deposit return scheme to incentivise people to recycle drinks containers.

On 24 March we published our second consultation on implementing a deposit return scheme for drinks containers. Further details of the proposed deposit return scheme, including the size of drinks containers being considered as part of the scope of the scheme, are presented in this second consultation.

Timelines have been reviewed to ensure we allow sufficient time for the roll out and implementation of a complex policy, and we therefore propose to implement the scheme in 2024, with views on this being taken in the consultation.

Gene Editing (GE) describes a range of technologies that can achieve genetic changes of the type that are selected for in traditional breeding, such as insertions, deletions and, occasionally, translocations of genetic material.

Defra's 10-week consultation of the regulation of genetic technologies sought views and evidence on GE including its application in a wide range of farming and agri-food systems, and the use of GE to produce genetic changes which could have been introduced by traditional breeding. The consultation included questions on the health and environmental impacts of these technologies and we have asked independent scientific experts for advice on any safety issues raised. The consultation ended on 17 March and a Government response will be published within three months of it closing.

The Environment Bill contains measures that will help improve the status of threatened species, including by setting at least one biodiversity target in law, as well as strengthening the biodiversity duty on public authorities to take action to conserve and enhance biodiversity.

We are also taking action, through our net gain provisions in the Bill, to support the role of new development in helping protect and create the habitat that our native species, including hedgehogs, need to thrive.

We are working with stakeholders and end users to determine the specific actions that will be paid for under our new schemes that reward environmental land management. We will set out more details on this later this year. The Agricultural Transition Plan set out examples of the types of actions that we envisage paying for under the schemes, including creating, managing and restoring habitats such as woodland, heathland and species-rich grassland, which could all benefit species such as hedgehog.

Sustainable agriculture and land use are critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and objectives of the Paris Agreement. The 2019 IPCC land-use report set out the critical role that sustainable land use must play in climate mitigation and building resilience. The COP26 Nature Campaign aims to raise the profile of this agenda, building on the Just Rural Transition launched at the UN Climate Action Summit and providing a platform to highlight actions that leading countries are taking to deliver change.

Reaching our Net Zero target is one of this Government's top priorities. We know that this will be a challenge, requiring action across the economy. It will mean changes to the way land is managed to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. We will support the sector to make these changes through the schemes set out in the Agricultural Transition Plan.

The Agricultural Transition Plan published on 30 November 2020 outlined how the Government will support farmers and land managers by investing the money freed up from phasing out direct payments to pay for improvements to the environment, improve animal health and welfare and reduce carbon emissions. Simultaneously, we need to protect and increase our carbon stores, increasing afforestation and peat restoration rates across England, whilst supporting the adaptiveness and resilience of these ecosystems to risks which may arise under a changing climate. Our new environmental land management schemes will help deliver on this and include the Sustainable Farming Incentive, a universal scheme open to all farmers, which will support sustainable approaches to farm husbandry to deliver for the environment, such as actions to improve soil health and water quality, enhance hedgerows and promote integrated pest management.

We will also take steps to reduce emissions through our animal health and welfare schemes and transitional support schemes. For example, we will support action to identify and eliminate Bovine Viral Diarrhoea, which raises greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. And we will provide grants towards the cost of equipment, technology and infrastructure that will improve farmers’ efficiency, benefiting the environment. These could include precision agriculture and low-emission nutrient application equipment.

This government will not amend the Hunting Act 2004 and therefore we have not made any assessment of any potential amendments.

The Hunting Act 2004 makes it an offence to hunt a wild mammal with dogs except where it is carried out in accordance with the exemptions in the Act, and completely bans hare coursing. The full details of the Hunting Act 2004 exemptions are available online at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/37/schedule/1.

Those found guilty under the Act are subject to the full force of the law. Enforcement of the Hunting Act is an operational matter for the police.

To be eligible for WaterSure, customers must be in receipt of means tested benefits, which provides an appropriate measure for assessing income, and have either three or more children under 19 or a medical condition requiring the extra use of water.

Attendance Allowance is not included as an eligible benefit as it is a non means-tested benefit. Without an income-related criterion, those who are able to afford their water bill may receive financial support funded by other lower income households.

Since the introduction of WaterSure, the legislation has been updated to add and remove benefits, making sure that WaterSure continues to support those most in need of assistance. The Government does not intend to change the eligibility criteria for WaterSure at this time.

Water companies also offer social tariffs, payment breaks, payment matching, debt advice and referral arrangements, and some have independent charitable trusts that make awards to help customers in times of need. The eligibility criteria for social tariffs is not set by the Government, allowing water companies to address the local and regional needs of their customers.

We have asked the independent Consumer Council for Water to undertake a review of existing financial support schemes to ensure consumers who struggle with their water bills can get the support they need. The review will be published this spring.

Defra is currently undertaking a number of measures to improve widespread access to nature and green space. The 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our comprehensive and long-term approach to protecting and enhancing our natural landscapes in England for the next generation and to helping people improve their health and wellbeing by using green spaces. There is lots of work already ongoing to deliver on this approach, such as the National Framework of Green Infrastructure Standards for England, the Green Recovery Challenge Fund, the Green Social Prescribing Project, the Children and Nature Programme, the financial provisions of the Agriculture Act 2020 through the Environmental Land Management scheme, the England Coast Path and a new northern National Trail based on Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk.

The Environment Bill will give the Secretary of State the power to set long-term, legally binding environmental targets across the breadth of the natural environment. It will specifically require the government to set at least one target each in four priority areas: air quality, biodiversity, water, and waste reduction and resource efficiency. The power to set targets will not be limited to these four priority areas. Long-term targets could be set in respect of any matter which relates to the natural environment, or people’s enjoyment of it, to drive significant improvement of the environment.

On 5 March 2020, the Government published its response to Professor Sir Charles Godfray’s 2018 review of England’s bovine TB eradication strategy, setting out the priorities for the next phase of the strategy.

Developing a TB vaccine for cattle is one of our priorities. A cattle vaccine could be a game-changer in terms of providing a strong additional tool to help eradicate bovine TB. In July 2020, we announced that the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) had granted permission for field trials of both the candidate Cattle BCG vaccine and the candidate skin test to detect infected animals among vaccinated animals (the DIVA skin test). Like other veterinary medicines, both the Cattle BCG vaccine and the DIVA skin test will need VMD marketing authorisations before they can be deployed. We hope that field trials will provide the evidence required for future marketing authorisations and for the DIVA skin test to be internationally recognised. The aim is to start field trials in 2021 and complete them in 2024. Provided the field trials go as hoped, and VMD considers the marketing authorisation applications satisfactory with respect to quality, safety and efficacy, the timeline envisages those authorisations being granted in 2025.

We also set out in the Government response plans to evolve the wildlife control policy, with increased support for badger vaccination following the widespread deployment of effective, industry-led intensive badger culls. We envisage that the widespread badger culling policy will begin to be phased out and gradually replaced by Government supported badger vaccination and surveillance. Culling of badgers in specific areas will remain an option where the epidemiological assessment indicates it is needed.

There is no single measure for tackling bovine TB and that is why we continue to pursue a suite of interventions to eradicate the disease in England.

In July 2019, the Government published a report assessing the progress that will be made towards World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines under a range of scenarios. The report concluded that while significant progress would be made by achieving existing 2030 emissions ceilings, additional action would be required in large urban areas such as London to achieve the current WHO guideline level. The analysis did not outline a pathway to achieve the WHO guideline level for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the country and did not take into account full economic viability and practical deliverability.

The Environment Bill, which will be introduced shortly, will establish a legally binding duty to set a target for PM2.5, demonstrating our commitment to action on the air pollutant that has the most significant impact on human health. We are committed to setting ambitious targets and following an evidence-based process, seeking advice from a range of experts, in addition to giving consideration to the WHO’s air quality guidelines. We are already working with independent experts and engaging with stakeholders on how we will approach setting these targets.

The Government committed in its manifesto to introduce a ban on the import of hunting trophies from endangered species. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the publication of the Government response to the recent consultation and call for evidence on controls on the import and export of hunting trophies. We will set out our plans for action on this important area as soon as it is practical to do so.

The Government has worked closely with the third sector to identify others outside of the shielded definition who may also need support in getting essential food supplies including speaking to volunteer groups, food bank organisations and redistribution charities to understand what can be done to help. We maintain regular contact with representatives across the food supply chain and civil society to ensure there is sufficient support available for those who have to stay at home, including people with disabilities.

We know the difficulties that disabled people currently face in accessing food and are taking steps to support them. We know that a large number of vulnerable people continue to rely on friends, family and wider community support. Where that is not possible, we are working with major third sector organisations to refer vulnerable people on to a variety of tailored services including facilitating access to priority supermarket delivery slots.

Shielded individuals can opt to receive deliveries of food and essential supplies if they are without a support network of friends and family while self-isolating at home.

We have been working with food retailers, delivery organisations and volunteer groups to help support the non-shielded vulnerable, who are avoiding going to the shops if possible. A range of options are available for those people, including asking for an NHS Volunteer Responder to do their shopping for them – 100,000 people have had help with community tasks like shopping from NHS responders so far. Many charities and community organisations are also providing voluntary shop and drop services, as are neighbours and other community volunteers. If the situation is urgent, local authorities can also offer support and services, and we are working with them to help make sure that they have a range of ways to help those who contact them.

We are also working to help those having difficulty affording food. The Government has announced up to £16 million to provide food for those who are struggling as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The programme will provide millions of meals over the next 12 weeks and be delivered through charities including FareShare and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). At least 5,000 frontline charities in England will benefit, including refuges, homeless shelters and rehabilitation services. It will cover rural areas as well as cities, targeting those who are struggling to get food.

HS2 is an exceptionally important infrastructure project, and there are significant compensation packages in place to mitigate for the unavoidable loss of 39.2 hectares resulting from HS2.

HS2 is using a combination of approaches to compensate for the ancient woodlands lost during construction, including soil translocation from affected ancient woodlands to other woodlands to improve their biodiversity, restoring existing ancient woodland and planting new woodland.

The HS2 Woodland Fund is the compensation strategy for ancient woodland loss, with £5 million provided for HS2 Phase 1. This has been made available to fund projects that will help support woodland creation, as well as restore and enhance woodland on private land or in partnership with multiple landowners. This fund is overseen by the Forestry Commission. £1.6 million of this fund has already been committed, supporting around 121 hectares of new native woodland creation and the restoration of 174 hectares of plantations within ancient woodland sites. £2 million more has been provisionally allocated for Phase 2a.

In 2016 CDC made a $144 million equity investment into ARM Cement, a publicly listed cement business with operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. ARM Cement was an investment with high development impact potential. The aim was to support the growth of a regional manufacturer and by so doing reduce the cost and increase the availability of cement across the East African region, creating jobs and spurring infrastructure development.

Due to a number of factors, CDC’s investment in ARM was ultimately not successful and the CDC investment has been written off. Write-downs were accounted for in 2016 (December); 2017 (March, June, September, December) and 2018 (June).

More than 1,700 people attended the UK-Africa Investment Summit on 20 January 2020. This included Leaders and Ministers from African Governments, CEOs and senior representatives from African and British businesses, institutional investors, international organisations, financial institutions and civil society. Businesses from a wide range of sectors were invited, including the oil and gas sector.

In the March 2020 budget, UK Export Finance (UKEF) was allocated £1 billion of direct lending capacity for defence and security projects, within its £8 billion overall direct lending capacity. This £1 billion of direct lending is subject to the same monitoring processes as UKEF’s overall direct lending facility.

The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, last updated in a Written Ministerial Statement on 25 March 2014, remains the policy for assessing all licence applications.

Our assessment of each export licence against the Consolidated Criteria takes into account our obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty and other relevant rules of international law.

The Government takes road safety seriously and keeps the law under regular review. We do not currently have any plans to conduct a full review of all driving offences and penalties.

HM Government has, and will continue to have, a leadership role in shaping the emerging global framework for international travel in a steady state of an international travel landscape that co-exists with an endemic COVID-19 including through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and through numerous bilaterals attended by myself and officials.

The UK has also recently chaired the G7 transport and health ministers meeting to endorse and promote a set of high-level principles for international travel. G7 members affirmed their support for the work of ICAO to align travel requirements and help facilitate interoperability of vaccination certificates and applications to further support the recovery of the travel sector.

The Department is working closely with operators to support measures to increase passenger confidence and encourage a return to the network.

We are continuing to ensure we maintain reliable levels of service and the Department, with operators, is supporting passenger safety though enhanced cleaning, providing hand sanitiser and supporting ventilation where possible, alongside positive communications and messaging including the rail campaign ‘Getting Back on Track’ and the TfL campaign ‘Welcome Back London.’

The Department has also issued safer travel guidance for passengers and operators which provides advice to passengers about how to travel safety during the pandemic to support a return to the network.

We want to see employers make long term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad and our Plan for Jobs is helping people across the country retrain, build new skills and get back into work

Focusing on developing UK-based talent represents an enduring solution to address the long running HGV driver shortage.

The Department published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph signed-only limits on 22 November 2018.

The research substantially strengthens the evidence base on perceptions, speeds and early outcomes associated with 20mph speed limits, and is the only major UK study to consider multiple case study areas and provide a national view.

The headline findings were:

• 20mph limits are supported by the majority of residents and drivers.
• There has been a small reduction in median speed (less than 1mph).
• Vehicles travelling at higher speeds before the introduction of the 20mph limit have reduced their speed more than those already travelling at lower speeds.
• There is insufficient evidence to conclude that that there has been a significant change in collisions and casualties following the introduction of 20mph limits in residential areas.
• In one city centre case study there has been a significant reduction in collisions and casualties.

The government has introduced a range of measures to help reduce the risk of transmission at airports as well as issuing clear guidance for both passengers and operators. Only essential travel that is permitted should be undertaken and passengers need to comply with all inbound and outbound passenger requirements.

When travelling, passengers should abide by current social distancing measures, wear masks and follow instructions where indicated, as per the Safer Transport guidance. Additionally, operators have been encouraged to introduce clear signage and one-way passenger flows where appropriate, to help passengers abide by the rules.

The 4-year duration of the approved driving instructor (ADI) registration is set out in the Road Traffic Act. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has no powers to extend this period, nor to waive, reduce or refund any part of the £300 fee. There are no plans to make changes to primary legislation.

The Road Traffic Act provides that those approved driving instructors (ADI) who allow their registration to lapse have up to a year to apply to re-join the register without having to requalify. ADIs do not pay directly for their standards checks nor their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, other than the £6 identification verification fee, which is payable to the Post Office.

The £300 ADI registration fee covers all the costs of administration of the register, including the arrangement and conduct of standards checks and the DBS cost. The requirement for the fee is specified in the Act. There are no powers to waive the fee and there are no plans to make changes to primary legislation.

The 4-year duration of the approved driving instructor (ADI) registration is set out in the Road Traffic Act. The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency has no powers to extend this period, nor to waive, reduce or refund any part of the £300 fee. There are no plans to make changes to primary legislation.

The Road Traffic Act provides that those approved driving instructors (ADI) who allow their registration to lapse have up to a year to apply to re-join the register without having to requalify. ADIs do not pay directly for their standards checks nor their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, other than the £6 identification verification fee, which is payable to the Post Office.

The £300 ADI registration fee covers all the costs of administration of the register, including the arrangement and conduct of standards checks and the DBS cost. The requirement for the fee is specified in the Act. There are no powers to waive the fee and there are no plans to make changes to primary legislation.

The Government takes very seriously the safety of cyclists and other vulnerable road users, and is committed to reducing the rate of cyclists killed or seriously injured on England’s roads. In July 2020 the Prime Minister launched ambitious plans to boost cycling and walking, with the ambition that half of all journeys in towns and cities are cycled or walked by 2030. This includes a £2 billion package of funding for active travel over 5 years, which is the largest ever boost for cycling and walking, and will deliver transformational change and improve safety for people cycling.

One of the commitments within the plan, which will improve safety for people cycling, is to deliver the review of the Highway Code promised in the 2018 Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy Safety Review. The consultation on the review of the guidance in the Highway Code closed in October 2020 and the Government will issue its response in due course.

On the 9th May the Government announced a £2bn package of funding for cycling and walking over this Parliament. This included a £225 million Emergency Active Travel Fund (EATF) which is enabling local authorities across England to put in new cycling and walking infrastructure. This will reduce pressure on public transport services by making cycling and walking a viable alternative to public transport or private car use, particularly for shorter journeys. £42 million of the fund has already been allocated, and an announcement will be made shortly on allocating the remainder.

The Department’s guidance issued on 12 May refers to “Private cars and other vehicles” as an alternative to using public transport and encourages the public to “consider all other forms of transport before using public transport”. This would include private vehicles such as motorcycles and mopeds where the journey to be made is appropriate.

The Government has frozen regulated rail fares in line with inflation for the seventh year in a row.

The future introduction of HS2 will help improve the quality of rail travel across Coventry and the West Midlands, but there are initiatives that are making a real difference now:

• In May 2019, West Midlands Trains (WMT) introduced through services and longer trains between Leamington and Nuneaton via Coventry.

• WMT is investing £700million to introduce 180 brand new carriages and add 20,000 more peak hour seats into Birmingham in the next couple of years.

• Subject to the approval of Avanti’s proposal by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), Walsall will receive its first direct Intercity West Coast services to London in 2021, while Coventry and the West Midlands are due to benefit from additional services on weekends from 2021, and earlier weekday morning services from December 2022.

• We are investing to provide additional carriages to increase capacity on CrossCountry (XC) services at Coventry and across the West Midlands from 2021.

The two-year validity period of the theory test certificate is set in legislation. This is so the candidate’s theoretical knowledge and ability to identify developing hazards remains current. To extend the validity period would require legislative change.

Candidates who have had their practical driving test suspended as a result of COVID-19 will receive an email from the DVSA telling them the date of their rescheduled test. The test will be rescheduled automatically, and free of charge. The candidate can, if they prefer, request a refund of their practical test fee.

There is no provision in legislation for refunds of test fees in these circumstances. It would therefore not be legal for the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency to provide refunds.

On 18 March 2003 the UK government formally recognised that British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right. Provision for accessing services by users of BSL are covered by the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality Duty.

Existing equality legislation already means employers, service providers and public bodies have to provide services in BSL and other formats when it is reasonable to do so. The Public Sector Equality Duty requires public bodies to have due regard to the needs of all those with protected characteristics.

The Department does not measure complaints resulting in further action as described in the question (a), so this information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

The number of Paying Parents who have paid Child Maintenance are published quarterly. The latest published figures for Child Maintenance Service (CMS) are up the end of December 2020 and the compliance statistics can be found in “Table 2: Compliance (Collect and Pay) by quarter” of the “CMS Paying Parents” section of Stat-Xplore here:

https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

EU Directive 2019/130 is the second phase of amendments to the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (CMD) 2004/37/EC. While there is no legal obligation for the Government to apply the Directive, we will continue to have a system for setting workplace exposure limits in Great Britain (GB) to ensure worker protection and will consider, and apply as appropriate, relevant limits as part of this.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 9th February to question number 149299.

On 18 February 2021, the Government announced that the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and UK Research Innovation (UKRI) had been awarded £18.5 million in funding for four research projects to help understand and address the longer-term health effects of COVID-19 in non-hospitalised patients.

As research into the long-term health symptoms and impacts of COVID-19 is ongoing, we are collaborating across Government to monitor emerging evidence and consider our response.

People with a condition arising from exposure to the Covid-19 virus are able to access Personal Independence Payment in the same way as other people with long-term health conditions or disabilities. Disability benefits do not include or exclude by condition, instead they look at the needs arising from a long-term health condition or disability.

Financial support is available through Statutory Sick Pay, Universal Credit, New Style ESA. People who have symptoms of Long Covid should see their GP, if their health condition impacts on their ability to work a fit note may be issued. People can claim ESA or Pension Credit depending on their individual circumstances.

The Department is aware of the effect that not having a National Insurance Number (NINo) may be having on some individuals. However, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ employer checklist makes it clear that a NINo is not required to start work.

Individuals seeking work in the UK can start work before they receive a NINo as long as they are able to prove they have the Right to Work in the UK.

The Department started testing a partial digital solution, on a small scale, in mid-October, to support the allocation of National Insurance Numbers. This solution enables the collection of an applicant’s data, but not the online verification of their identity. Alternative identity verification solutions to reduce the need for a face to face identity check for some customer groups, including EU nationals with Settled or Pre-Settled status, was part of that test.

In January, we gained Government Digital Service approval as a result we were no longer required to limit the number of applicants we can serve, although we do not have an identity solution for all potential applicants yet. Our current plan is that by the end of March 2021 we will be able to offer a service to all applicants who do not require their identity to be verified face to face.

This means that we have moved from a position in March 2020 of only offering a NINo service to the most vulnerable, to a place where we are able to provide a service to the majority.

The digital application service is currently available to applicants, who have already had their identity verified through another government department, primarily the Home Office.

The digital service enables Non EU/EEA nationals who have been granted a visa with the right to work, EU/EEA nationals who have been granted settled or pre-settled status, through the EU Settlement Scheme, and UK passport holders to make application using this service.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was involved in cross-government work, Safer Workplaces, coordinated by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which produced guidance on the safety measures businesses will need to adopt as they reopen. It contains practical steps to achieve social distancing and hygiene in the workplace. The guidance also covers who should be at work; including those who are at high risk (also referred to as extremely clinically vulnerable in recent guidance) or those who live with people at high risk.

The guidance “Working Safely During Coronavirus COVID-19” was first published on 11 May 2020 and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19.

Restrictions on people who had previously been shielded have been paused and Public Health England has published guidance to help those people to safely return to work: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) provides financial support to an employee when they are off work sick. Those on low pay can receive more help through the welfare system, depending on their personal circumstances. The Government published a consultation in which we sought views on the impact of the rate of SSP on employer and employee behaviours and decisions. A response to the consultation will be published later this year.

In March we suspended all face-to-face assessments for sickness and disability benefits in order to protect people from unnecessary risk of coronavirus at the outset of the pandemic. As has always been the case, our assessment providers will initially try to complete paper-based assessments, where there is sufficient evidence to make a recommendation. If this is not the case, providers will currently look to carry out a telephone assessment, where appropriate. We offer reasonable adjustments for claimants who may need additional support to engage in a telephone assessment. We continue to work closely with our assessment providers to ensure that claimants can be assessed as quickly as possible, by the most appropriate channel.

Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Income Support were increased by 1.7% in April 2020 following the Government’s announcement to end the benefit freeze.

It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit (UC) if they believe that they will be better off. There are special arrangements for those in receipt of the Severe Disability Premium, who will be able to make a new claim to Universal Credit from January 2021.

Claimants should check their eligibility before applying to UC as legacy benefits will end when they submit their claim and they will not be able to return to them in the future. For this reason, prospective claimants are signposted to independent benefits calculators on GOV.UK. Neither DWP nor HMRC can advise individual claimants whether they would be better off moving to UC or remaining on legacy benefits.

From 22 July 2020, a two-week run on of Income Support, Employment and Support Allowance (IR) and Jobseeker’s Allowance (IB) is available for all claimants whose claim to UC ends entitlement to these benefits, to provide additional support for claimants moving to UC.

We have no plans.

I refer the hon. member to my response to question 41525.

We have increased the Universal Credit standard allowance for all claimants (including those Under 25) by £20 per week for the next 12 months – equivalent to up to £1,040 a year.

This is in addition to the 1.7% inflation increase (announced Nov 2019) as part of the Government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and means more financial support for millions of people across the UK.

There are no plans to further increase the Universal Credit standard allowance for Under 25s.

In response to Covid-19 we increased Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to the 30^th percentile of local rents, providing additional financial support for private renters. This significant investment of almost £1 billion, ensures over 1 million households will see an increase, on average, of £600 per year.

For renters whose circumstances mean they may require more support, Discretionary Housing Payments are also available. We have already provided £180m in Discretionary Housing Payment funding to local authorities to support vulnerable claimants with housing costs in the private and social rented sector in England and Wales for 2020/21. This includes an extra £40m announced at the spending round.

Currently those aged 25-34 who have spent 3 months in a homeless hostel for the purposes of rehabilitation/re-settlement are exempt from the shared accommodation rate throughout the UK. As announced in the Spring Budget earlier this year, the Government will amend legislation to extend this exemption to those under 25.

As well as legislation, the change to the shared accommodation rate exemption will require amendments to local authority and universal credit IT systems therefore it will take time to implement.

In the meantime, for individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.

Since 2011 the Government has provided over £1bn to local authorities to help support vulnerable claimants with housing costs. In addition, at the spending round last year, we announced an extra £40 million for DHPs in 2020/21 in England and Wales, helping to tackle affordability pressures in the private rented sector.

Entitlement to contribution-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) is limited to a maximum of 182 days in any one jobseeking period. This is an absolute limit, provided for in primary legislation (section 5 of the Jobseekers Act 1995) and there are no plans to amend the primary legislation.

Universal credit, for those people who meet or continue to meet the conditions of entitlement, is available throughout any period of entitlement to contribution-based JSA.

Automatic recognition arrangements are in place for relevant dental qualifications obtained in the European Economic Area and Switzerland for a period of 24 months from the end of the transition period, or 48 months for Swiss qualifications.

The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is required to carry out a statutory review of these arrangements after the 24-month period. This review will be conducted at the start of 2023. Automatic recognition of qualifications will continue until further legislation is introduced to amend or end these arrangements.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has asked for action in five priority areas, including: more doctors in general practice; reducing unnecessary workload, fit-for-purpose infrastructure; and general practice representation in integrated care systems (ICSs). We are working with NHS England and NHS Improvement to implement the related actions in the NHS Long Term Plan and expand general practice by recruiting 26,000 additional primary care staff by 2024.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are reviewing of levels of bureaucracy in general practice as part of the 2020/21 GP Contract agreement, working closely with stakeholders including the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association.

Since 2016 we have invested £800 million in improving primary care estate and technology. Further infrastructure funding will be confirmed after the forthcoming Spending Review. The We are clear that primary care should be represented and involved in decision-making at all levels of ICSs, including strategic decision-making forums.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) provides guidance on immunisation techniques in Chapter Four of the Green Book, which follows available evidence and international recommendations for the administration of vaccines. This is reviewed and updated regularly by the UKHSA and states that is not necessary to aspirate the syringe after the needle is introduced into the muscle because there are no large blood vessels at the recommended injection sites. The UKHSA has not made a specific assessment for COVID-19 vaccines.

Individuals who do not have a National Health Service number or are not registered with a general practitioner (GP) are entitled to free COVID-19 vaccinations. A NHS number is required to access proof of vaccination through the NHS COVID Pass or via NHS.uk. Temporary NHS numbers can be created by the administering centre on receiving COVID-19 vaccinations and the site can assist in identifying a temporary NHS number. Individuals can also find their NHS number through the online ‘Find Your NHS Number’ service.

The Department is discussing the future of the Medical Support Worker Scheme beyond March 2022 with NHS England and NHS Improvement. We have made available £15 million to National Health Service trusts to provide additional clinical support for the short-term recruitment of Medical Support Workers.

The Medical Support Worker Scheme is already available to international medical graduates, including refugees, as well as doctors returning to practice to assist during the pandemic. During 2021, 423 medical support workers have been employed in the National Health Service in England. Discussions around the future of the scheme are ongoing.

Councils should work with individuals to identify whether they can support themselves, seek assistance from family and friends or require additional help. Councils should be ready to signpost assistance relating to mental health, including support groups, charity and voluntary sector services, telephone help lines and online support. Since March 2021, the Government has made £85.5 million available to councils to deliver practical and emotional support and this funding will continue until March 2022. Contact tracers will continue to direct individuals to COVID-19 guidance on mental health, their general practitioner or NHS 111 for the appropriate support.

We are in regular contact with the British Medical Association and other National Health Service trade unions to work collaboratively in developing guidance and policy.

The Government has looked to the independent Review Body for Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB) for a pay recommendation for NHS doctors and dentists not already in multi-year pay and contract reform deals.

The DDRB recommended a uniform 3% pay uplift for medical staff not already in multi-year pay deals, which includes consultants. The Government has accepted the DDRB’s recommendation in full, meaning once implemented consultants will receive a 3% pay increase, backdated to April 2021.

In limited circumstances, quarantine exemption is made for arrivals to the United Kingdom. These circumstances are largely job-related and focus on occupations and services deemed essential to enable the country to continue to function effectively through the pandemic. For example, nurses coming from or travelling through red-list countries commencing immediate National Health Service employment in England may quarantine in hospital accommodation. The list of job–related exemptions is reviewed and updated on a regular basis, which includes an assessment of the needs of jobs in all sectors, such as medical staff.

Decisions to place countries on the ‘red list’ are taken by the Government, informed by evidence including the Joint Biosecurity Centre risk assessments alongside other factors. We are unable to provide the information requested as the advice, evidence and methodology that informs these decisions relates to on-going development of Government policy. However, further information on the data informing international travel risk assessments is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/data-informing-international-travel-risk-assessments.

You will find further information on the methodology for international travel risk assessments here at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-risk-assessment-methodology-to-inform-international-travel-traffic-light-system.

In 2021-2022 we are investing £2.5 million as part of the NHS Long Term Plan commitment to test and implement the most effective ways to reduce autism diagnosis waiting times for children and young people. We are investing £10.5 million through the COVID-19 Mental Health and Wellbeing Recovery Plan to address waiting times for children and young people, proactively identify those at risk of crisis and reduce waits for adults. In the NHS Long Term Plan we committed to working with local authority children’s social care, education services and expert charities to develop packages to support neurodivergent children, including children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families, throughout the diagnostic process. To enable the system to address this, five-year funding allocations are conditional on improving services like these in line with Long Term Plan targets.

The Government has no plans to suspend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, nor hold an inquiry into their impact during the pandemic.

The Regulations include important exemptions designed to protect the vulnerable or public health and no charge can be made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis or, if positive, treatment of COVID-19. Exemptions from charge also apply to any National Health Service care received by asylum seekers, refugees and victims of modern slavery.

The Government has no plans to suspend the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations 2015, nor hold an inquiry into their impact during the pandemic.

The Regulations include important exemptions designed to protect the vulnerable or public health and no charge can be made to an overseas visitor for the diagnosis or, if positive, treatment of COVID-19. Exemptions from charge also apply to any National Health Service care received by asylum seekers, refugees and victims of modern slavery.

‘Build Back Better: Our Plan for Health and Social Care’, was published on 7 September, committing to investing an additional £5.4 billion over three years.

In developing the proposals set out in the Plan, we discussed priorities for reform with a wide range of stakeholders, including people with disabilities. We will continue to work with care users, providers and other partners, including disabled people and disability-led organisations, to co-develop more detail on our plans for reform of adult social care. Further detail will be published in a white paper later this year.

The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme designed for staff engaged primarily in the delivery of NHS services.

The majority of National Health Service dental services are contracted via a provider-performer dentist, with dental practices operating as private businesses. As a result, practices will engage dental nurses and other dental care professionals as required for both their private and NHS business needs. As a result, it is difficult to identify staff as being primarily engaged in the delivery of NHS services and for this reason dental practice staff are unable to join the scheme.

There are no plans to develop and fund a blueprint for psychological care for young people with cancer. However, NHS England and NHS Improvement have established a task and finish group to review psychosocial support for people affected by cancer, including young people. Furthermore, the NHS Long Term Plan states that where appropriate every person, including young people, diagnosed with cancer should receive a Personalised Care and Support Plan based on holistic needs assessment, end of treatment summaries and health and wellbeing information and support, including for mental health needs.

Clinical commissioning groups develop strategic clinical plans covering a wide range of health care services based on their local population needs, and will use these plans to decide how to best use their budgets to deliver high quality care to their patients. In doing so they use their clinical expertise to assess and prioritise those treatments that provide the safest and most effective outcomes for the population.

There are no plans for a standalone alcohol strategy as the Government has committed to publish a new United Kingdom-wide cross-government addiction strategy which will consider a range of issues, including drugs, alcohol and problem gambling.

On 7 September, the Government announced major reforms to funding for social care. From October 2023, we will introduce a more generous means testing regime, as well as cap on costs. This means that no one in England will have to pay more than £86,000 in care costs over the course of their lifetime.

The Government continues to assess the evidence and keeps the guidance on wearing face coverings under review. We will take further action if needed.

No such representations have been made. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for independently assessing the efficacy and safety of drugs before approval.

On 7 September, the Government announced the Minimum Income Guarantee will rise in line with inflation for all age groups from April 2022.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022

The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September. Individuals in stage two should be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged over 50 years old and those aged 16 to 49 years old who are in an influenza or COVID-19 at-risk group, are included in stage two. Influenza at-risk groups include some sufferers of chronic respiratory disease, such as asthma.

Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme, as well as cohorts and eligibility, will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022

The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine as soon as possible from September. Individuals at stage two would be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged over 50 years old and those aged 16 to 49 years old who are in an influenza or COVID-19 at-risk group, are included in stage two.

Final decisions on the timing and scope of the vaccine booster programme, as well as cohorts and eligibility, will be made later in the year, informed by further independent advice from the JCVI.

We have funded SANDs, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to produce and support a National Bereavement Care Pathway to reduce the variation in National Health Service bereavement care. The pathway covers a range of circumstances of a baby loss including miscarriage.

The Women’s Health Strategy call for evidence sought to examine women’s experiences of the whole health and care system, including issues such as fertility, pregnancy and baby loss. We are analysing responses on miscarriage to ensure that the strategy reflects what women identify as priorities. We will consider recording all miscarriages as part of this work.

We have funded SANDs, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death charity, to work with other baby loss charities and Royal Colleges to produce and support a National Bereavement Care Pathway to reduce the variation in National Health Service bereavement care. The pathway covers a range of circumstances of a baby loss including miscarriage.

The Women’s Health Strategy call for evidence sought to examine women’s experiences of the whole health and care system, including issues such as fertility, pregnancy and baby loss. We are analysing responses on miscarriage to ensure that the strategy reflects what women identify as priorities. We will consider recording all miscarriages as part of this work.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have committed to midwifery-led continuity of carer, so that it becomes the default model of care for women using maternity services across England by March 2023. NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided local maternity systems with £90.05 million in service development funding from 2018 to 2021 to fulfil transformational objectives, including implementing continuity of carer models. An additional £96 million was announced earlier this year in response to the emerging findings from the Ockenden Report, the majority of which will be invested in additional midwives and obstetric capacity.

Upcoming NHS England and NHS Improvement guidance will include advice on the implementation of maternal medicine-focused continuity of carer teams, which could be used to accommodate women deemed higher risk due to previous loss, whilst still offering continuity of the midwife caring for them.

The Care Act 2014 introduced rights for carers which includes an assessment of and support for, their needs where eligible. During the pandemic, we have provided £1.35 billion via the Infection Control Fund, part of which has been used to support the safe reopening of day and respite services. In addition, we have committed at least £6.9 billion in 2021-2022 to the Better Care Fund, which includes funding that can be used on social care support, including respite services.

We have also taken steps to support the social care sector workforce during the pandemic. To support the wellbeing of social care workers, the Department, the National Health Service and other organisations have provided a package of emotional, psychological and practical resources. This includes support helplines, guidance, bereavement resources and a bespoke package of support for registered managers.

The Government is investigating the early access model of support, but there are no present plans to create a network of early support hubs across the country. There are currently around 60 ‘hubs’ in England which feature early intervention and prevention services. They are locally designed and funded and often provide several services such as sexual health clinics or careers advice. Clinical commissioning groups and local authorities work with local partners to understand local needs and commission services on that basis.

We have no plans to conduct such an inquiry. However, in light of the concerns that have been raised regarding the Serenity Integrated Mentoring model, NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to the medical directors of National Health Service mental health trusts asking them to review the implementation of Serenity Integrated Mentoring and similar models in trusts, in partnership with local patient representatives and those who might have been in the care of such models.

NHS England and NHS Improvement intend to gather learning from these local reviews, to inform the expansion and transformation of community and crisis care services for adults and older adults with mental health needs as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

We remain committed to publishing a clear action plan for implementing the ‘Building the right support’ national plan as soon as possible.

‘Building the right support’, published in October 2015, is our national plan to improve the quality of care, reduce avoidable admissions and reduce reliance on specialist inpatient care for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The NHS Long Term Plan commits to increased investment in intensive, crisis and forensic community support for people with a learning disability and autistic people by 2023/24, which will enable more people to receive personalised care in the community and reduce preventable admissions to inpatient services.

Data collected for General Practice Data for Planning and Research will be de-identified before it leaves practices and through a Trusted Research Environment.

Applications must be made through NHS Digital’s Data Access Request Service, with access strictly controlled. All applications are scrutinised and requests approved by the Independent Group Advising on the Release of Data. Organisations using this data must have a clear legal basis to do so for health and care purposes and only the minimum amount of data needed to meet the specific purpose will be made available.

NHS Digital is promoting this new data collection through their website, engagement with media, stakeholder and patient groups and on social media channels. They have sought to raise awareness of the collection and its importance to the health and care system, but also how to opt out.

The data collection has now been paused until 1 September 2021 and we will undertake further engagement with the public.

We carefully consider all views and potential impacts of our measures to reduce obesity and its effects on individual health. This includes feedback from a wide range of experts and stakeholders on specific policy proposals and in response to our public consultations.

Public Health England and the National Health Service are supporting local areas to increase weight management services, with the aim to reach population groups most in need. This includes local implementation of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidelines relating to obesity, which includes identification of obesity status and recommends appropriate weight management approaches to care and support individuals living with severe obesity. NICE’s guidelines on obesity assessment, identification and management are available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg189/chapter/1-Recommendations

We have not made an assessment.

There are currently no plans to prioritise students specifically as a group. This includes those studying abroad next academic year. Students aged 18 years old and over are prioritised on grounds of age in phase two of the COVID-19 vaccine programme if they have not been vaccinated as part of phase one. Phase two offers vaccination to all those aged 18 to 49 years old unless they fall into a higher cohort group due to age or pre-existing health condition which puts them in phase one.

The Government is working closely with the devolved administrations, the higher education sector and health services across the United Kingdom to ensure that all students are able to access the vaccine efficiently and conveniently where they are eligible. The Government advises those who may be unable to receive a full course of vaccination in the UK to notify clinicians of this before they receive their vaccination. For any foreign travel, the Government advises checking GOV.UK for relevant information including information on healthcare provision.

We are on track to offer a first dose of COVID-19 vaccination to all those aged 18 years old and over by 31 July.

The Government does not carry out assessments of the impact of relaxing restrictions specifically on the health and wellbeing of people under 30 years old.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are working closely with front-line clinical experts, patient representative groups and leading charities, including Crohn’s and Colitis UK, to develop evidence-based improvement tools to help improve and prioritise inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care. This work includes a new IBD RightCare scenario, which will set out high-quality joined-up care at every point of the patient journey, as well as IBD data packs for local commissioners. These packs present data from different parts of the care pathway to help local systems identify the factors driving unwarranted variations in treatment, as well as narrative on how outcomes can be optimised.

It remains the Government’s view that any change to the law on assisted dying is an issue of individual conscience and a matter for Parliament to decide rather than one for Government policy.

We have put in place resources to help people look after their mental health and wellbeing, including Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters resources and personalised Mind Plan – a targeted action plan with National Health Service-endorsed advice and tips to improve mood and wellbeing.

In March we launched a Mental Health Recovery Action Plan, to ensure that we have the right support in place over the next year. This will allow around 22,500 more children and young people to access community health services, 2,000 more children and young people to access eating disorder services and a faster increase in the coverage of mental health support teams in schools and colleges over the 2021/22 financial year. It will also ensure young adults aged 18 to 25 years old, including university students, are supported with tailored mental health support, helping bridge the gap between children’s and adult services.

We have engaged with the eating disorder charity, BEAT, in addition to other groups representing the views of people living with eating disorders.

‘Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives’ demonstrates an overarching campaign to reduce obesity, taking forward actions from previous chapters of the Childhood Obesity Plan. This includes our ambition to halve childhood obesity and significantly reduce the gap in obesity between children from the most and least deprived areas by 2030 and sets out measures to get the nation fit and healthy, prevention against COVID-19 and protect the National Health Service.

During the pandemic we have worked with stakeholders and health and care system partners to identify and implement actions to support people with dementia and their carers, including modifying the diagnosis and care pathways to ensure people continue to be diagnosed and can access care and support. We will be setting out our future plans on dementia for England in due course.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

Private dental and medical practices who meet the HM Treasury criteria can access the full range of support as any other individual.

No formal assessment has been made.

All specialist and inpatient perinatal mental health services have remained open during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions delivering digital and remote support. Since 1 April 2020, general practitioners are required to offer a maternal postnatal consultation at six to eight weeks after birth, focusing on a review of the mother’s physical and mental health and general wellbeing. This service has also continued throughout the pandemic.

No such assessment has been made.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before prorogation.

On 26 February the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published their interim advice for phase two of the COVID-19 vaccination programme which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-phase-2-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-programme-advice-from-the-jcvi

The JCVI has advised that the evidence indicates that certain occupations have a higher risk of exposure and these are more likely to be occupations involving frequent contact with multiple other people in enclosed settings. However, delivery of a programme targeting occupational groups is recognised to be operationally complex given a number of key factors including that robust data on the infection exposure risk for every occupational group, or in every occupational setting, are not available. Regarding school staff specifically, data sources considered by the JCVI suggest that risk of infection among staff in educational settings is comparable with that seen in the general population.

We will follow the recommended approach of the JCVI, subject to the final advice given by the independent expert committee. School staff and other frontline workers who are over 50 years old or who have underlying health conditions which make them clinically vulnerable to COVID-19 will be vaccinated in the current first phase, which will be completed by the middle of April.

The £120 million Workforce Capacity Fund for adult social care is available until 31 March and was created to address critical staffing shortages caused by COVID-19. The Government announced local authority allocations on 16 January. These were calculated using the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formula and are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/workforce-capacity-fund-for-adult-social-care

In 2021-22 we expect to provide local authorities with estimated funding of £3 billion to help manage the impact of COVID-19. Of this, £1.55 billion is being provided as grant funding directly for spending pressures on local authority services, including adult social care. We are actively reviewing the need for further funding for adult social care and decisions will be made in due course.

We are committed to bringing forward a proposal for social care this year to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

At present, the equity in an individual’s home is only taken into consideration as part of means testing their contribution towards their social care costs if they were the only adult living in it and they are entering residential care. Currently, Deferred Payment Agreements are available to allow eligible individuals to access the equity in their home to pay for their residential care, without having to sell it.

We are committed to bringing forward a proposal for social care this year to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

At present, the equity in an individual’s home is only taken into consideration as part of means testing their contribution towards their social care costs if they were the only adult living in it and they are entering residential care. Currently, Deferred Payment Agreements are available to allow eligible individuals to access the equity in their home to pay for their residential care, without having to sell it.

Wearing a face covering whilst running or exercising may interfere with the ability to breathe comfortably, therefore we do not recommend them for joggers. This follows evidence and guidance from the World Health Organization, which is available at the following link:

https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/337199

Currently, everyone is advised to work from home where possible. Where this is not possible, including if an individual is a key worker, then they can continue to attend the workplace. All employers are required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, and employers should be able to explain to employees the measures they have put in place to keep them safe at work. As they face a moderate risk from COVID-19, it is very important that those considered as clinically vulnerable follow social distancing advice to reduce their chances of catching the virus.

The Learning Disability Mortality Review programme was established to reduce premature mortality and health inequalities amongst people with a learning disability. The programme’s annual reports make recommendations for the health and social care systems, which we publish a formal response to. Our response to the third report was published on 12 February 2020.

We are developing and trialling the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in learning disability and autism for health and care staff to improve outcomes and experiences of people with a learning disability and autistic people. Adults with Down’s syndrome are considered clinically extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 and are prioritised to receive the COVID-19 vaccine within the fourth vaccine prioritisation group.

Arrangements have been put in place to protect general practitioner (GP) practices’ income during the pandemic, while freeing up their capacity to deliver essential services and the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Any GP practices facing difficulties should raise this with their local clinical commissioning group who will be able to provide support.

National Health Service dental practice remuneration, minus agreed deductions, has been protected throughout the pandemic, providing practices have complied with requirements set by NHS England and Improvement. The Department is working with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Chief Dental Officer for England to increase levels of dental service, as fast as is safely possible.

Individuals within the top four groups who have been offered an appointment but have not yet taken up the offer will be followed up on an individual basis. They can also book a vaccination appointment through the national booking system by calling 119 or through the booking service at the following link:

www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination

To record vaccinations, the National Health Service National Immunisation Management System (NIMS) is being used as the national register for COVID-19 vaccinations. At the point that someone receives their COVID-19 vaccine, the vaccinating team will record this information onto the NIMS system and onto a patient’s general practitioner record, which will include capturing data such as a patient’s NHS number.

We continue to issue advice on face coverings to alert the public to the places where they are required to wear a face covering, who is exempt from wearing one, and how to wear one correctly. This published advice has spanned a number of different mediums, including television, in person prompts such as in transport hubs and shop windows and on social media.

These campaigns have been running since summer 2020. Social media content and press coverage, especially regarding people with disabilities or health conditions, has been promoted throughout, as well as in line with events such as the International Day of People with Disabilities on 3 December.

By requesting that members of the public be respectful of circumstances where someone cannot wear a face covering and issuing guidance that no one need prove their exemption, we aim to minimise the negative impact on those with disabilities, which is a protected characteristic.

Our online guidance is clear that people are not required to prove they are exempt from a face covering and it is for individuals to choose how they would want to communicate this to others. Example exemption cards are available to print or display on mobile phones from GOV.UK. People are able to make their own exemption card if they would prefer or do not have access to the internet.

Public Health England has not produced a report on the safety of Napier Barracks as a site for housing asylum seekers.

Data on metastatic breast cancer patients who have care discussed by a multidisciplinary team are not available in the format requested.

An outbreak is confirmed in a primary or secondary school when two or more test-confirmed cases of COVID-19 among individuals in a school whose illness onset dates are within 14 days of one another.

There must also be evidence of either identified direct exposure between at least two of the test-confirmed cases in the school - for example, under one metre face to face, or spending more than 15 minutes within two metres - during the infectious period of one of the cases, or when there is no sustained local community transmission therefore an absence of an alternative source of infection outside the school setting for the initially identified cases.

A technical issue was identified on 2 October 2020 in the process which transfers the uploading of positive test results on to the NHS Test and Trace system. By 1am on 3 October 2020 all 15,841 positive COVID-19 cases were subsequently referred to the NHS Test and Trace contact tracing system.

Where a patient obtains their inhaler via a National Health Service prescription, they may have to pay a prescription charge. The use of prescription charges protects patients from changes in the underlying cost of individual medicines. Around 89% of prescriptions are dispensed free of charge and extensive arrangements are already in place to help people access NHS prescriptions, including a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions. To support those with the greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, they can spread the cost of their prescriptions by purchasing prescription pre-payment certificates. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just over £2 per week.

The NHS has made substantial progress on digital transformation, both in the digitisation of local services and the use of technology to improve outcomes for patients. The £559 million technology funding for NHSX announced in the Spending Review is not disease specific but covers the infrastructure and whole pathways work for all major diseases, including diabetes. This investment will support the National Health Service frontline, help fast track innovation, and deliver a better experience for patients and staff alike.

The Department does not routinely publish information on the number of care home residents who have been tested for COVID-19 at present. However, we are exploring the feasibility of including this information as part of the NHS Test and Trace statistics publications in the near future.

As set out in ‘Personal protective equipment (PPE) strategy: stabilise and build resilience’, which was published on 28 September and available on GOV.UK, a cross-Government effort has been used to screen and approve a large number of global manufacturers. As a result, we have developed a pre-market supply chain engagement plan that, within the public procurement rules, enables suppliers to better support the Department’s requirements. This has helped us stabilise the United Kingdom PPE supply chain.

PPE is distributed through the NHS Supply Chain, Local Resilience Forums and local authorities. We also operate a national supply disruption response where emergency requests of PPE can be made.

Since November 2018, two cannabis-based prescription medicines - Sativex – for the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients, and Epidyolex – for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy, have been made available for prescribing on the National Health Service, where clinically appropriate. This follows clear demonstrated evidence of their safety, and clinical and cost effectiveness.

We continue to work hard with the health system, industry and researchers to improve the evidence base for other unlicensed cannabis-based medicines, and to implement the recommendations of NHS England and NHS Improvement’s review on barriers to accessing unlicensed cannabis based medicinal products. This includes the design of clinical trials and the establishment of a national patient registry.

The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing guidance on Caplacizumab for treating acute acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. NICE was able to recommend Caplacizumab for routine use on the NHS in its draft guidance. It expects to publish final guidance in December 2020.

NICE’s draft recommendation on the use of Caplacizumab for treating acute acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/gid-ta10361/documents/final-appraisal-determination-document

We are committed to growing the general practice workforce and expanding the number of appointments available to patients, across all areas of the country. This will mean improved access to general practitioner (GP) services and bigger teams of staff providing a wider range of care options for patients outside of hospital.

GP trainee numbers have risen for the third year running, with recruitment up to 15% compared to the same point last year. From 2021, the Government is committed to funding the increase of GP training places to 4,000 a year.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have written to GPs to set out the plans for the COVID-19 vaccination programme and to communicate the availability of £150 million of support during the winter period to expand capacity and support the delivery of GP services.

As demonstrated by the £4.5 billion of new investment for primary and community health services set out in the NHS Long Term Plan, we are committed to enabling a shift in care from hospitals to the community.

Shielding was paused on 1 August 2020 in England. On 13 October, the Government published new guidance to the clinically extremely vulnerable that advises additional things they are advised to do to keep themselves safe at each local COVID alert level. We are writing out to all those on the shielded patient list to inform them of the new guidance and the support that is available. Those who are identified as clinically vulnerable, should continue to follow the same advice as the rest of the population within that local COVID alert level.

Currently, everyone is advised to work from home if they are able. If not, they should return to the workplace. Employers are required to take steps to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19, ensuring the workplace is COVID-secure. If an individual has concerns about their health and safety at work, they should raise them with their workplace union, the Health and Safety Executive or local authority.

The Government reviews all quarantine exemptions at least once every 28 days. This is to ensure exemptions align to the latest evidence and public health advice. The decision that health and care workers should not be granted an exemption is also reviewed every 28 days.

We have no plans to introduce such targeted messages and advertising. At present, clinically vulnerable people in England are advised to follow the same advice as the rest of the population. Revised guidance for the clinically extremely vulnerable was published on 13 October.

This guidance, as with other Government guidance where appropriate, will shortly be available in a number of languages and in easy read format on GOV.UK.

The Government has been clear from the start of the pandemic that cancer services must continue; cancer treatments and other essential care should only be postponed if a clinician and patient agree it is in the patient’s best interests. As part of the phased response to COVID-19, local healthcare providers and cancer alliances have worked together to identify ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer treatment, including using the additional capacity negotiated within the independent sector.

The newly formed Cancer Recovery Taskforce will oversee the development of the cancer recovery plan and review progress against objectives.

The guidance on shielding and protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19 has been developed by expert doctors identifying specific medical conditions based on what we know about the virus so far. The clinical evidence does not currently support classing people with diabetes as extremely clinically vulnerable, although they are on the wider clinically vulnerable list and should be strictly following social distancing measures. We will continue to keep this evidence under review.

Following the introduction of new national restrictions on 5 November everyone should work from home if they are able to do so effectively. If unable to work from home, people with diabetes should continue to go to work as their employer has a responsibility to make the workplace a COVID-secure environment.

Throughout the COVID-19 outbreak a range of guidance has been made available for people with long-term illnesses, such as guidelines available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS England and NHS Improvement.

NHS Digital has published a shielded patient list which is enabling partner organisations across government to support and protect those who need shielding at this time.

People suffering with long-term illnesses should consult this guidance alongside condition specific guidance, made available by Public Health England, to check if their illness places them at particularly high risk in the workplace. If people do not fall into any of these categories, but are still concerned, they should discuss these concerns with their general practitioner or hospital clinician.

The Cancer Recovery Taskforce has been established, and met for the first time in September, where they took stock of the status of cancer services against recovery metrics on referrals, treatment and backlog levels. A national recovery plan will be developed for publication shortly.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to operate cancer surgical hubs, supported by the extension of the independent sector deal, to maintain a whole-system approach to managing cancer surgery at volume and in accordance with clinical priority.

The Cancer Recovery Taskforce has been established, and met for the first time in September, where they took stock of the status of cancer services against recovery metrics on referrals, treatment and backlog levels. A national recovery plan will be developed for publication shortly.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are continuing to operate cancer surgical hubs, supported by the extension of the independent sector deal, to maintain a whole-system approach to managing cancer surgery at volume and in accordance with clinical priority.

National Health Service and social care staff should follow existing guidance on social distancing. Employers will have local policies related to childcare and are encouraged to exercise the maximum amount of flexibility and discretion in these situations, recognising the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.

Where staff live in the same household as someone who is clinically extremely vulnerable, employers should consider all options, including supporting staff to work from home, temporary redeployment, flexible working hours or special leave arrangements.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have supported employers, ensuring they are provided with up to date information on childcare support and guidance to support the financial wellbeing of staff. NHS Employers have also published guidance on supporting staff with childcare responsibilities through COVID-19 which is available at the following link:

https://www.nhsemployers.org/covid19/health-safety-and-wellbeing/supporting-staff-with-childcare-responsibilities

The Government believe a national antibody testing programme may provide a critical role in the next phase of this pandemic. We are already offering antibody tests to National Health Service and care staff in England, as well as patients and care residents at their clinician’s request. We are also using antibody tests to support research studies and support our understanding of how COVID-19 is spreading. We are developing a ‘finger prick’ antibody test that could be used at home and work is underway to ensure that any new type of testing is safe before being made available for use.

Our aim is to enable residents to be reunited safely with their loved ones. This guidance will be updated as the risk posed by COVID-19 continues to change.

On 22 July 2020 the Government published updated guidance on visiting arrangements for care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. This guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visiting-care-homes-during-coronavirus

Our first priority is to prevent infections in care homes and therefore visits should be carried out with caution.

Care homes can develop their visiting policies based on a local dynamic risk assessment, taking into account the circumstances and needs of the individual care setting, including both residents and staff, and the external COVID-19 environment. The process of considering visitors should be led by the relevant local Director of Public Health.

COVID-19 tests that are ordered by Public Health England (PHE) for care homes or housing with care home residents are not referred to a private contractor.

Testing arranged by PHE in care homes or settings with social care service users is focused on identifying and responding to outbreaks and will use either PHE or NHS England laboratories.

COVID-19 tests that are ordered by Public Health England (PHE) for care homes or housing with care home residents are not referred to a private contractor.

Testing arranged by PHE in care homes or settings with social care service users is focused on identifying and responding to outbreaks and will use either PHE or NHS England laboratories.

A suspected COVID-19 outbreak in a care home is confirmed by Public Health England (PHE) where two or more residents or members of staff have laboratory confirmed COVID-19 or have reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

A clear definition of a suspected or confirmed case COVID-19 outbreak in a care home has been determined by PHE and the Department. This is published in Annex B of guidance on the Admission and Care of Residents in a Care Home during COVID-19 which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-admission-and-care-of-people-in-care-homes

The Government Office for Science and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies currently and will continue to publish national and regional R rates on a regular basis. NHS Test and Trace are not planning to publish R rates at the local authority level. This is because estimates of R for geographies smaller than regional level are less reliable and it is more appropriate to identify local hotspots through, for example, monitoring rates of new cases and investigating outbreaks. The Joint Biosecurity Centre and Public Health England continue to closely monitor this local activity closely.

We initially prioritised testing for care homes that specialise in caring for older people and those living with dementia based on Public Health England (PHE) and the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency (SAGE) advice, as they are at higher risk of adverse consequences if they get the disease.

We have subsequently made asymptomatic testing available to some extra care and supported living setting when they are identified as higher risks - for instance due to their similarity to a care home by local Directors of Public Health. This is based on advice from PHE and SAGE. We rolled out an initial round of testing to extra care and supported living settings that were referred by Directors of Public Health as meeting certain risk-based criteria.

People in all settings can access testing if they have symptoms.

The information is not held in the format requested.

The Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including tinnitus. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Information on individual projects funded by the NIHR can be found at the following link:

https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/programmes/

The NIHR’s support for tinnitus research was over £1.8 million between 2015/16 and 2019/20. This included funding for research projects, and funding for NIHR-managed infrastructure to support tinnitus research. Current NIHR funding includes £15 million over five years from April 2017 to support deafness and hearing loss research in the NIHR’s Manchester, University College London, and Nottingham Biomedical Research Centres (BRCs). The Nottingham BRC has a core research theme on tinnitus and noise sensitivity.

The Government is considering how long free parking for National Health Service staff will need to continue, recognising that this has only been made possible by external support from local authorities and independent sector providers. The Government’s focus remains on ensuring the commitment of free parking for the groups identified in their announcement of 27 December 2019 is implemented once the pandemic abates.

The Government strategy to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic spans many Departments and agencies, including the Health and Safety Executive. The Government has provided a range of support and guidance for employers on working safely, including specific guidance for industries and sectors, which can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Demographic data is collected for age, gender and ethnicity, but currently only age and gender is available weekly. For pillar 1, data is collected by the hospital, and is then enriched using patient records. For pillar 2, this data is collected when people register for a test and is voluntary, which means that people have the option not to provide their information. We do not currently report on socio-economic background.

Weekly age, sex and ethnicity data for both cases and deaths in England are available weekly in the national flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports, which are available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports

Breakdown of cases by index of multiple deprivations, as a recognised surrogate for socioeconomic class, is also available in the same report.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, we recognised there would be a need for additional mental health support for all National Health Service staff. We commissioned NHS England to develop a comprehensive emotional, psychological and practical support package for all NHS staff in addition to existing support that is already available.

NHS England and NHS Improvement launched the support package on 8 April 2020 and it includes a helpline and text service for counselling and support, a dedicated bereavement helpline, and a range of well-being apps. All the support available can be accessed via the following link:

people.nhs.uk/help/

The NHS is continuing to update the support available in this package, in line with the feedback they receive.

NHS England and NHS Improvement are supporting line managers, supervisors and teams to have psychologically informed conversations. They are also offering peer support training as well as a range of resources to help teams decompress and process their experiences. When National Health Service staff require additional professional support, they will be offered evidence-based treatment by trained and qualified mental health practitioners.

Additional psychological support has also been made available for all NHS staff during and after COVID-19 response and can be accessed online at the following link:

people.nhs.uk/help

NHS staff, frontline workers, and volunteers can now access a new psychological first aid training course developed by Public Health England and launched on 15 June 2020. There has been significant interest in the course; 8,700 learners have enrolled as of 17 June.

The Department continues to monitor overall staffing levels across the National Health Service (NHS), and we are working across Government to ensure there are sufficient staff to provide a high-quality service. We have committed to deliver 50,000 more nurses in the National Health Service This will help support the 1.4 million people who make up the NHS workforce and address the longstanding NHS nursing shortages that were identified in the Interim NHS People Plan. Over the last year the number of full-time equivalent nurses has gone from 282,422 to 294,553 – an increase of 12,131 nurses.

NHS England and NHS Improvement launched an emotional, psychological and practical support package for all NHS staff on 8 April 2020, accessed via the following link:

people.nhs.uk/help/

The Health Education England (HEE) Cancer Workforce Plan commits to produce a further 200 clinical endoscopists by 2021, in addition to the 200 that were already committed, to support an increase in capacity for earlier diagnosis. As at May 2020, 247 have either been trained or are currently in training.

A training support package was made available by HEE in 2017-20 to support the training of some clinical endoscopist trainees. Training grant arrangements have been further agreed for cohorts commencing in late 2020 to support trusts to put trainees forward and to provide the necessary clinical supervision throughout the programme.

An initial evaluation shows trainees are helping to meet clinical demand, reduce waiting lists and contributing to a good patient experience.

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone with an eating disorder has access to timely treatment based on clinical need. We set up the first waiting times to improve access to eating disorders services for children and young people - so that by 2020/21 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and within four weeks for routine cases and latest figures indicate that the National Health Service is on track to meet that standard.

For adults, the NHS Long Term Plan commits to “test four-week waiting times for adult and older adult community mental health teams, with selected local areas”. Last autumn, we announced that 12 areas in England would receive over £70 million of transformation funding in 2019/20 and 2020/21 to test new integrated models of primary and community mental health care for adults. Eight of these sites plan to implement innovative service models that will improve access and quality for adults and older adults with eating disorders in line with new national guidance on adult eating disorder care

Departmental Ministers and officials engage a wide range of expert organisations to inform its policies and this includes Beat. We recently announced over £9 million of funding support for charities supporting vulnerable people through the COVID-19 pandemic. We were delighted to announce that Beat has been awarded grant funding through this process to continue the valuable work it does in supporting people with eating disorders.

The Government is also funding a new eating disorder study jointly led with King’s College London and eating disorder charity, Beat, via the National Institute for Health Research. The study aims to better understand what may lead to an eating disorder as well as how best we provide more effective treatment.

We are aware that NHS England has consulted Beat on work to improve adult eating disorder pathways in the community to build our understanding of how best to introduce ambitious but achievable improvements to access, quality of care and outcomes.

Improving faster and earlier diagnosis of cancer is a top priority for the National Health Service. To deliver the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions, NHS England and NHS Improvement have set up Rapid Diagnostic Centres that bring together diagnostic equipment and expertise to streamline diagnostic services for cancer, including cancers that are sometimes harder to diagnose, such as ovarian cancer.

NHS England and NHS Improvement encourage anyone with symptoms to continue to contact their general practitioner and have issued clear guidance to the NHS to maintain urgent referral and diagnostic services for suspected cancer.

The CA125 blood test, followed by an ultrasound for raised CA125 is the current process recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

The Department is working with the Care Quality Commission and Think Local, Act Personal (TLAP) to understand the impact on individuals, including disabled people and their carers, of the changes to Care Act 2014 duties. TLAP hopes to speak to local authorities which are operating under easements to understand what this means for adults with care and support needs. A TLAP Insight Group will be meeting regularly to coordinate intelligence of TLAP partners on the impact and views of people accessing care and support and unpaid carers.

Future funding for social care will be set out at the next Spending Review. The upcoming Spending Review will consider a broad range of factors that influence the demand for and cost of providing adult social care services.

Putting social care on a sustainable footing, where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, is one of the biggest challenges we face as a society.

In 2020/21 we are providing councils with access to an additional £1.5 billion for adults and children’s social care.

This £1.5 billion is on top of maintaining £2.5 billion of existing social care grants and will support local authorities to meet rising demand and continue to stabilise the social care system.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has been asked to develop recommendations for the National Health Service on the use of Kuvan for the treatment of phenylketonuria through its technology appraisal programme. NHS commissioners are legally required to fund medicines recommended in NICE technology appraisal guidance.

NICE’s appraisal had been suspended as the manufacturer of Kuvan, BioMarin, had withdrawn from the process. However, BioMarin has now agreed to re-engage in the appraisal and NICE will now aim to publish guidance on Kuvan as soon as possible. Further information on the appraisal is available on NICE’s website at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ta10378

The NHS Long Term Plan, published in January 2019, has committed to accelerate action to improve maternity and neonatal care services and to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2025 and to reduce the pre-term birth rate from 8% to 6%.

Public Health England is undertaking a systematic review and refresh of the Healthy Child Programme in England.

In 2013, seven cities, including Coventry, were designated ‘Marmot Cities’ in England and received national expertise and support from the Institute of Health Equity and Public Health England. Of these, Coventry was the only city to renew this commitment in 2016 and continue to use the title.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn MP) on 27 February 2020 to Question 19994.

The purpose of the NHS Long Term Funding Bill is simply to enshrine in law the funding set out in the Long Term Plan, providing an extra £33.9 billion by 2023-24. That provides the National Health Service with the financial certainty it needs to get on and deliver the plan. The Bill does not set out the details of the plan itself or place restrictions on how the NHS should use the funding to support delivery.

However, at the heart of the NHS Long Term plan is the largest expansion of mental health services in a generation. This Government remains committed to putting mental health services on an equal footing with physical health. We are putting more money in and taking more action on mental health than any previous Government. We have committed at least a further £2.3 billion a year to mental health services by 2023/24 which will see spending for children and young people’s mental health services growing faster than the overall spend on mental health, which will itself be growing faster than the overall NHS budget.

The Government’s Clean Air Strategy, published in January 2019, sets out an ambitious programme of action to reduce pollutant emissions from a wide range of sources including transport, industry, agriculture and domestic settings. These actions will reduce the impact of air pollution on human health. The Strategy sits alongside the 2017 UK Plan for Tackling Roadside Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, which focuses on reducing emissions from road transport.

The Government’s proposed Environment Bill, reintroduced on 30 January, will deliver key aspects of the Strategy and includes a commitment to set a legally binding target for PM2.5, with the aim of driving action to reduce long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, which impacts on human health, including lung health.

Public Health England works closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to provide alerts and advice during high air pollution episodes to ensure that key health messages are communicated to vulnerable groups, including those with existing lung conditions.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice has a box at the top of all pages setting out the government message that to prevent new COVID-19 variants from entering the UK, travellers should not travel to Amber or Red list countries. Every page also states the Traffic Light status for that country (Red, Amber or Green).

The FCDO currently advises against all but essential travel to many countries and territories on the basis of COVID risks. Whether travel is essential or not is a personal decision; individuals should make an informed decision on whether or not to travel based on their personal circumstances, judgement of the risks, relevant legislation or regulations where they are resident and the entry requirements of their destination country.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) travel advice has a box at the top of all pages setting out the government message that to prevent new COVID-19 variants from entering the UK, travellers should not travel to Amber or Red list countries. Every page also states the Traffic Light status for that country (Red, Amber or Green).

The FCDO currently advises against all but essential travel to many countries and territories on the basis of COVID risks. Whether travel is essential or not is a personal decision; individuals should make an informed decision on whether or not to travel based on their personal circumstances, judgement of the risks, relevant legislation or regulations where they are resident and the entry requirements of their destination country.

I publicised on 8 May outlining our concern over tensions in Jerusalem linked to the threatened eviction of Palestinian families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah. We continue to urge Israel to cease such actions, which in all but the most exceptional cases are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. I also spoke to the Israeli Ambassador and to the Palestinian Head of Mission in London to urge them to de-escalate, restore calm and reiterate our position on this issue. UK Officials at the British Embassy in Tel Aviv continue to raise the issue regularly with the Israeli Authorities.

The UK is a strong supporter of the ICC and we respect the independence of the Court and its officials. In this instance we do not consider that the ICC has jurisdiction. We continue to closely follow the ICC's work and are looking at the implications of this decision.

The Strategic framework for aid announced in November by the Foreign Secretary, sharpens the focus of our aid on seven priorities where UK support can make the most difference including on Covid and global health security; and open societies and conflict, in our overarching pursuit of poverty reduction and achievement of the sustainable development goals. This, alongside the creation of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, uniting our world class diplomacy and development expertise will ensure we bring together the best of Britain's international effort bear on the world's global challenges.

The UK has spent over £3.5 billion in response to the Syria crisis since 2012, which includes support to over 30 implementing partners including UN agencies and International NGO partners.

Our aid provides life-saving support to millions of Syrians, supporting refugees to remain in countries in the region, and enabling their host communities to accommodate them. Since the FCDO's response to the crisis began, our activities in the region have delivered more than 28 million monthly food rations, 14 million vaccines, 21 million medical consultations, 6 million cash grants and 10 million relief packages. The FCDO is working to finalise ODA budget allocations for financial year 2021/22 and until that is done will not be able to confirm individual country allocations. Final decisions have not yet been made.

The seismic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK economy has forced us to take tough but necessary decisions, including temporarily reducing the overall amount we spend on aid. The FCDO is working to finalise ODA budget allocations for financial year 2021/22 and until that is done will not be able to confirm individual country allocations. Final decisions have not yet been made.

At last year's Brussels Conference, the UK pledged to provide 'at least £300 million' in 2020 for Syria and the region. We actually spent over £400 million in 2020, mobilising additional support in light of the increased humanitarian needs across the region. In addition to the UK's pledge of at least £205 million in 2021, the UK will continue to use its position at the UN Security Council to push for greater access into Syria and more sustainable, long-term solutions to increase the resilience of millions living in conflict.

When we have concerns about humanitarian issues and conditions in a country, we raise these directly with the government concerned. Denmark is party to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the 1951 Refugee Convention and we are confident that Denmark has a robust legal rationale to demonstrate this approach and is in compliance with its obligations under both Conventions.

Ministers have not had discussions with Ali Mushaima and other UK based members of the Bahrain Freedom Movement.

The Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses and violations by both armed separatists and the security forces. In a visit to Cameroon in March 2021, I [Minister Duddridge] met President Biya, Prime Minister Ngute and Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella, where I [Minister Duddridge] set out the Government's commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution to the crisis. I [Minister Duddridge] also met the President of the South-West Regional Assembly, civil society, political opposition and religious leaders, to hear the experiences of the affected communities.

As our International Ambassador for Human Rights set out at the UN Human Rights Council on 26 February 2021, the violence in the North-West and South-West regions must end and urgent, impartial investigations must hold the perpetrators to account. We are working with international partners to raise the crisis in multilateral fora. At the UN Security Council briefing on Central Africa on 9 December 2020 the UK representative reiterated the UN Secretary General's call for an end to violence and for all actors to refrain from attacks against civilians. We continue to call for an end to the violence, and for inclusive dialogue that addresses the root causes of the crisis. We have shared our experience of conflict resolution with the Government of Cameroon, and we call on all parties to remain engaged in Swiss-led efforts to facilitate talks. We continue to urge the Government of Cameroon to engage fully with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights for all.

The Government remains deeply concerned about the crisis in the North-West and South-West (Anglophone) regions of Cameroon, including the disturbing reports of human rights abuses and violations by both armed separatists and the security forces. In a visit to Cameroon in March 2021, I [Minister Duddridge] met President Biya, Prime Minister Ngute and Foreign Minister Mbella Mbella, where I [Minister Duddridge] set out the Government's commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution to the crisis. I [Minister Duddridge] also met the President of the South-West Regional Assembly, civil society, political opposition and religious leaders, to hear the experiences of the affected communities.

As our International Ambassador for Human Rights set out at the UN Human Rights Council on 26 February 2021, the violence in the North-West and South-West regions must end and urgent, impartial investigations must hold the perpetrators to account. We are working with international partners to raise the crisis in multilateral fora. At the UN Security Council briefing on Central Africa on 9 December 2020 the UK representative reiterated the UN Secretary General's call for an end to violence and for all actors to refrain from attacks against civilians. We continue to call for an end to the violence, and for inclusive dialogue that addresses the root causes of the crisis. We have shared our experience of conflict resolution with the Government of Cameroon, and we call on all parties to remain engaged in Swiss-led efforts to facilitate talks. We continue to urge the Government of Cameroon to engage fully with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights for all.

The UK is committed to working with others to end the preventable deaths of mothers, newborns and children by 2030. As such we have pledged up to £1.65 billion to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Over 2021-2025, Gavi will support the roll-out of the most comprehensive package of vaccines to the world's poorest countries, focusing on the hardest to reach children. We are also supporting delivery of quality antenatal and post-natal care, including through the Global Financing Facility in 36 countries, which is helping countries challenged by service disruptions due to the pandemic.

We know that improving education has a positive impact on health outcomes, which is why 12 years of quality education for girls is a major priority for this government. We will use our G7 presidency this year to rally the international community to step up support to girls' education and global health. Finally, UK Aid-funded COVID response and recovery programmes continue to provide heath support in 2021. For example our partnership with Unilever is on track to reach over 1 billion people with messages on the importance of hygiene.

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and to promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. On a multilateral level, we work within the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance ('Alliance'), and other international groupings to promote and protect FoRB for all. On a bilateral level, Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern, and discuss practices and laws that discriminate on the basis of religion or belief.

In 2019, the Bishop of Truro issued a report commissioned by the then Foreign Secretary looking into the then FCO support for persecuted Christians, with recommendations to improve the lives of people persecuted for their religion, faith, or belief. Of the 22 recommendations, we have fully delivered ten, made good progress on a further eight, and we are confident that all 22 will be delivered by the time of the independent review in 2022. The Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, underlined the UK's commitment to FoRB for all in a number of international meetings in November 2020, speaking at the Ministerial to Advance FoRB and the Ministers' Forum of the Alliance. On 20 December 2020, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to FoRB by appointing Fiona Bruce MP as his Special Envoy for FoRB. Mrs Bruce represents the UK at meetings of the Alliance, which champions the rights of individuals being discriminated against or persecuted on the basis of their faith or belief.

The UK Government remains deeply concerned by reports of discrimination and violence against religious communities in Pakistan, including against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.

We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan at senior levels to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens, regardless of their religion or belief. Most recently, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, the Minister for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the need to promote respect for all religions, with Pakistan's Special Representative for Religious Harmony, Tahir Ashrafi, on 23 March 2021. He also raised our concerns on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Pakistan with the Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 20 February 2021.

We continue to monitor and raise the case of Hassan Mushaima, as necessary, at senior levels with the Bahraini Government. The UK continues to engage with the Government of Bahrain to support its reform agenda, and to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

In 2019/20, the Integrated Activity Fund delivered 33 projects solely in the Gulf States including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Former Ministers from the Home Office and Foreign and Commonwealth Office were consulted about the project's Overseas Security and Justice Assessment.

Across the world we are seeing the devastating impact of COVID-19. FCDO's response has been informed by the latest evidence and data which showed, early on, the disproportionate impact the pandemic would have on girls and women. For example, UNFPA estimate that there will be 15 million more cases of domestic violence for every three months of lockdown and that there will be 13 million more cases of child marriages before 2030. FCDO continues to work to ensure the needs and priorities of women and girls are central to every aspect of our response, while supporting women's participation and leadership, including through women's rights organisations.

FCDO have so far committed over £1 billion of UK aid to counter the health, humanitarian,?and socio-economic risks, and to support the global effort to find and distribute a vaccine. In addition to being the largest funder to UNFPA we provided a further £10 million in funding to maintain vital gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health services for women and girls in need. Our Gender-Responsive Social Protection and Better Assistance in Crises programmes are also providing expert advice to FCDO country offices, governments and partner organisations on how to strengthen social protection measures in the COVID-19 response, including how to deliver more effectively for women and girls. Our leadership on girls' education is more urgent and important than ever, with school closures. The UK has announced £20 million for the UN Children's Fund crisis appeal, which includes education, and a further £5 million to the Education Cannot Wait fund to support emergency education in fragile contexts.

The Government is deeply concerned about the situation in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon including reports of human rights abuses and violations by both armed separatists and security forces. We continue to call for investigations into all such reports. As the UK's International Ambassador for Human Rights set out at the UN Human Rights Council on 15 September, those who have abused and violated human rights in Cameroon, as anywhere else in the world, must be held responsible. We regularly discuss the human rights situation with our international partners and in multilateral fora, calling for support to peacebuilding efforts and engagement by regional partners.

The Minister of State for Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised a number of human rights issues and cases with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani during their meeting on 7 September. We believe that Bahrain is taking steps in the right direction to improve its human rights record, in line with the Bahraini Government's Action Plan, which follows the recommendations set out in the 2012 Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry Report. Bahrain is an FCDO human rights priority country, and we continue to monitor developments on all matters that relate to human rights within the country closely, publishing our assessments in our annual Human Rights Report, most recently in July 2020.

We are aware of the conviction and detention of Kameel Juma Hasan on terrorism charges and are monitoring his case. In response to recommendations in the BICI report and its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Bahrain is undertaking reform of its juvenile justice system. A new 'Child Restorative Justice and Protection from Abuse' Law awaits approval by the Shura Council (the appointed Upper House). As currently drafted, the new law includes a revised definition of a child as someone under the age of 18 years and a revision of the age of criminal responsibility to 15 years (it is currently 7 years). Specialist child courts and prosecutors will be established for all under 18 years on trial, with separate detention facilities for 15-18 year olds, those below 15 years old and welfare cases. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

We have not had any recent conversations with the Government of India about this. We stand ready to provide further consular assistance if requested.

Lord Ahmad, the Minister of State responsible for human rights, publicly expressed our deep concern at the decision by Bahrain's Court of Cassation to uphold the death penalty verdicts imposed on Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa on 13 July. We have raised both cases at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain. The Bahraini Government is fully aware that the UK opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle.

The UK welcomed the investigation by the Ombudsman and Special Investigation Unit into the cases of Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, ultimately leading to their retrial - a first in Bahrain.

The UK is committed to supporting Bahrain's oversight bodies, including the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman and the independent Special Investigations Unit. We continue to believe that Bahrain is taking steps in the right direction to improve its performance on justice and security issues. The support we provide to these bodies, including in partnership with UN Development Programme, contributes to the ongoing development of their capacity and capability, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The UK Government takes note of a number of sources of information when making assessments on Bahrain. Our latest assessment was published as part of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Human Rights and Democracy Report in July 2020.

Due to public health precautions in place for COVID-19, British Embassy officials were unable to attend the Court of Cassation. We are deeply concerned that the death penalty verdicts imposed on Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa by Bahrain's Court of Cassation have been upheld. Lord Ahmad, who is the Minister of State responsible for human rights, reinforced this position in his tweet of 14 July. We have raised both cases at senior levels with the Government of Bahrain. The Bahraini Government is fully aware that the UK opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle.

Since 2018, the FCO has allocated more than £1 million for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) projects through the Magna Carta Fund for human rights. This included projects to combat intolerance and encourage respect among individuals of different faiths, beliefs and those of no belief. Following the Bishop of Truro's independent Review of FCO Support for Persecuted Christians, we also launched the John Bunyan Fund for FoRB, through which we funded 15 research projects that looked at the challenges facing different communities, including Christians, Yazidis and Humanists. John Bunyan Fund projects also looked at cross-cutting issues such as migration and the double vulnerability experienced by women from minority faith backgrounds. Programme funding allocations for financial year 2020-2021 are yet to be confirmed.

The repatriation effort from India is a priority for the UK Government and is one of our largest Covid-19 repatriation operations, based on the number of British travellers there and the absence of commercial options. The scale of the challenge is immense.

Over 12,500 people have already returned home on UK charter flights and we continue to work day and night to return more on daily flights from across India. 7 additional charter flights from Amritsar (Punjab), due to run between 5 and 11 May, were announced on 30 April. We reserve as many seats as possible on all flights for the most vulnerable British nationals - these are our top priority

The British Government is working with the airline industry and host governments across the world to help bring back British travellers to the UK as part of the plan announced by the Foreign Secretary on 30 March - with up to £75 million available for special charter flights from priority countries, focused on helping the most vulnerable travellers. A proportion remains and the work is ongoing. We are determined that the cost of a flight will not be a barrier to bringing British travellers home but we are asking passengers to make a contribution so that we can put on as many flights and bring back as many people as possible. To set a limit on the costs to travellers, we have capped prices: for flights under 6 hours at £400; 6-10 hours at £600; and 10 hours + at £800 (using the airline industry's 'time in air' calculator). Costs above this amount are borne by the Government.

We hope most travellers will be able to claim their costs from their travel insurance but for those British Nationals that cannot afford the cost of a flight to return, and have no other funding options, they may be eligible for financial support through an emergency loan from public funds.

More details can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/financial-assistance-abroad/financial-assistance-abroad#if-you-need-financial-help-abroad

We appreciate that this is an incredibly stressful time and that many British citizens are worried about family members in the UK. Helping British nationals who need and want to return to the UK is one of the Government's highest priorities. We will work as hard as possible to ensure that all those who need to get back to the UK can do so as quickly as possible. Our consular team is working around the clock to provide support, advice and information. Currently we are prioritising vulnerable British nationals most at risk from the effects of Coronavirus who normally live in the UK and are trying to return home. This remains our priority given the need to get stranded British nationals home.

The Schengen Borders Code places requirements on the validity required for non-EU citizen passport-holders. This means that from 1 January 2021, passports should be no older than ten years and with a minimum validity of three months beyond a UK national's planned stay in the Schengen area. Further information on British passport requirements from January 2021 for travel to the EU is available on gov.uk.

The EU has already legislated such that UK nationals will not need a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short stays of up to 90 days in every 180-day period from 1 January 2021. UK nationals travelling to the EU for longer than 90 days may need a visa or permit to do so. Member State rules vary and UK nationals should check entry requirements with the Embassy of the relevant Member State. Further information for UK nationals currently in the EU is available on gov.uk.