The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 contain exclusion grounds which allow contracting authorities to exclude suppliers from procurements where their tender does not comply with labour law or where the supplier is guilty of grave professional misconduct.

For example, a breach of the The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010, which prohibit the compilation, usage, sale or supply of blacklists of trade union members and activists, would render the supplier liable to potential exclusion.

In all cases, individual departments and other public sector bodies are responsible for their own decisions on these matters.

The Procurement Act, which is expected to go live in October 2024, builds on and clarifies the exclusions measures in the existing regime. This includes specific measures enabling the exclusion of suppliers for professional misconduct.

The Government currently has no plans to make such an assessment.

At present, burial and cremation are the only regulated funerary methods in England and Wales. However, we are aware of the growing interest in alternative funerary methods. The Law Commission are considering, as part of its Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods project, the disposal of human remains. This work will consider the creation of a regulatory framework for safe and dignified new funerary methods.

The government routinely considers the implications of evidence from a range of sources when assessing policies on working practices. The government has no plans to implement a four-day week but has recently introduced the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.

The Act makes changes to the right to request flexible working to better support employers and employees to agree flexible working arrangements that work for everyone.

Six rounds of negotiations have been successfully concluded as part of negotiations on a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The Department for Business and Trade regularly engages with the GCC at both Chief Negotiator and ministerial level and is making good progress on agreeing chapters including in areas such as Customs, Technical Barriers to Trade and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The department cannot comment any further as negotiations are ongoing.

The Competition and Markets Authority is the UK’s independent competition regulator and its merger investigations are independent of Government.

The Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act will require employers to pass all tips on to workers, without deductions. The implementation date for the Act, and the accompanying statutory Code of Practice, was revised from 1st July to 1st October to ensure sufficient time for those affected by the changes to prepare.

The impacts of the new requirements were considered in the impact assessment for the Act: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3197/publications.

A one-bedroom rate for the calculation of Local Housing Allowance is defined as accommodation where the tenant has the exclusive use of only one bedroom and exclusive use of a kitchen, a bathroom, a toilet and a room suitable for living in. This includes studio apartments. There are no plans to change this definition.

Housing support is calculated according to the number of bedrooms a person needs based on the size of their household.

The maximum housing costs support is the lower of the actual rent and service charges or the relevant Local Housing Allowance rate.

No assessment has been made and there are no current plans to change the policy.

The Government recognises the importance of steelmaking in the UK. However, there are many types of steel products needed by consumers, and it is not always economically viable for any nation to be wholly self-sufficient. This means that the UK imports certain types of steel and also exports certain steel product to other countries.

We have taken action to enable a competitive landscape and level playing field, including reducing energy costs through the British Industry Supercharger, access to energy efficiency and decarbonisation funding, and remedies against unfair trading practices, while balancing the need to remain a fair and open market.

​​The Advanced British Standard (ABS) is designed to provide students with greater breadth and access to a single menu of high quality and distinct subjects, each with a clear purpose. Students will have the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, which gives them more flexibility over their future career options.

​All students taking the ABS will study English and maths to age 18, either as theoretical or applied, depending on their interests and future goals.

​The ongoing qualification reforms will pave the way for the future ABS, removing duplicate, low quality courses, that do not deliver the skills employers need. T Levels will form the core of the occupational routes within the ABS. The department is currently reforming applied general qualifications to ensure that other technical qualifications are based on employer designed, occupational standards not covered by T Levels, such as Travel Consultant, Highways electrician, and Personal trainer. This will pave the way for the inclusion of subjects within the ABS.

​​As highlighted in the Edge Foundation’s report, the ABS requires an increase to teaching hours. The department will increase the number of taught hours by an extra 15% for most 16 to 19-year-olds, against the current average funded time of 1280 hours over two years. This will mean students receive at least 1,475 hours over two years, including industry placements. This enables the department to retain the depth and rigour to support progression to further study, apprenticeships and work, while giving students the breadth they need to succeed in an ever changing economy

The department wants all children to leave school with the knowledge, skills and values that will prepare them to be citizens in modern Britain. There are many aspects of the curriculum that help young people develop essential life skills, including through the teaching of Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSHE), citizenship, mathematics and design and technology (D&T).

In primary schools, age-appropriate relationships education involves supporting children to learn how to develop mutually respectful relationships in all contexts, including online. In secondary schools, this broadens to become age-appropriate relationships and sex education. In health education, there is a strong focus on mental wellbeing, including a recognition that mental wellbeing and physical health are linked. The statutory guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

The department is currently reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance. The review has been informed by an independent expert panel to advise the Secretary of State for Education on the introduction of age limits for sensitive subjects. A draft of the amended guidance will be published for consultation as soon as possible.

The national curriculum for secondary citizenship develops pupils’ awareness and understanding of democracy, government and how laws are made and upheld. Teaching should equip pupils with the skills and knowledge to explore political and social issues critically, to weigh evidence, debate and make reasoned arguments. The citizenship programmes of study are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-citizenship-programmes-of-study.

Primary maintained schools and all academies are encouraged to cover citizenship as part of their duty to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum following the non-statutory framework for citizenship.

Pupils should be prepared to manage their money well, make sound financial decisions and know where to seek further information when needed.

Financial knowledge is a compulsory part of the national curriculum for mathematics at key stages 1 to 4 and citizenship at key stages 3 and 4. The mathematics curriculum provides young people with the mathematical knowledge that underpins their ability to make important financial decisions. At primary schools, there is a strong emphasis on enabling pupils to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. At secondary schools and in GCSE mathematics, pupils solve problems in financial contexts. The mathematics programme of study can be found on GOV.UK.

Through primary citizenship curriculum, pupils should be taught to realise that money comes from different sources and can be used for different purposes. They should also be taught how to spend and save money sensibly and that economic choices affect individuals and communities. This is expanded in secondary citizenship where pupils are taught the function and uses of money, how to budget, and manage credit and debt, as well as concepts like insurance, savings and pensions.

Cooking and nutrition is a discrete strand of the national curriculum for D&T. This was introduced as part of the 2014 D&T curriculum and is compulsory for key stages 1 to 3. The curriculum aims to teach children how to cook, with an emphasis on savoury dishes, and how to apply the principles of healthy eating and nutrition. It recognises that cooking is an important life skill that will help children to feed themselves and others healthy and affordable food.

RSHE and citizenship sit alongside extra-curricular programmes to develop a variety of life skills such as resilience, leadership, persistence, and teamwork. Schools are best placed to understand and meet the needs of their pupils and so have flexibility to decide how they deliver the curriculum and what range of extra-curricular activities to offer. The department supports a range of initiatives to expand access to extra-curricular activities through schools, such as working with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to all state secondary schools in England.

The department wants all young people to leave school or college with the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to progress onto higher education or skilled work.

High-quality careers information, advice and guidance is key to helping all young people to make informed decisions about their future, understand the skills they need to succeed and the pathways to take them there. The department funds the Careers and Enterprise Company to support schools and colleges to deliver high-quality careers programmes and increase young people’s exposure to the world of work. 92% (4,760) of schools and colleges in England are part of a Careers Hub, which increase young peoples’ encounters with employers, access to workplace experiences and understanding of the skills, behaviours, and qualifications they need to develop for a range of jobs and sectors. Through the National Careers Service website and live chat function, young people aged 13 to 18 can access free, up to date, impartial information, advice and guidance on careers and skills in England.

Colleges deliver a wide range of vocational and technical training needed to prepare students for skilled work in a wide variety of occupations, and for higher technical study. Colleges are delivering:

• Apprenticeships training which is based on employer led standards that will ensure that apprenticeships are equipped with the skills that employers need.
• New T levels where 250 employers have been involved in designing the content, ensuring that qualifications meet industry need and preparing students for the world of work.
• New Skills Bootcamps which offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks and give people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with an employer.
• New Free Courses for Jobs offer that gives eligible adults the chance to access a high value Level 3 qualification for free, which can support them to gain higher wages or a better job. 400 courses are available and have been carefully chosen as they offer good wage outcomes and address the skills needed in the economy.

There are existing ways in which a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) made in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 can be accepted abroad for the purpose of accessing funds. A certified copy of the LPA, signed off by a notary public with an apostille (a special sealed certificate) attached by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides one method. Alternatively, a translation of the LPA can be formally recognised by the appropriate court of the country in which funds are held.

Although the UK has ratified the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults in respect of Scotland, we have not yet done so in relation to England and Wales or Northern Ireland. However, in respect of England and Wales, the majority of its provisions are contained in Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Schedule 3 provides a framework for recognition and enforcement of ‘protective measures’ such as LPAs in the place of an individual’s habitual residence.

We recognise the importance of ratifying the 2000 Hague Convention, as this will bring about international co‐operation to deal with the affairs of individuals across member states. We will progress this work when legislative time allows.

As highlighted in the Powering up Britain document, the government is currently working on proposals for improving Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) metrics and intends to consult on these in the coming months. The proposals will consider the recommendations from the Independent Review of Net Zero and the 2023 Climate Change Committee report, including that new EPC metrics account for wider benefits from low-carbon heating. The government also has a continuing programme of user research to improve the way in which information is presented on EPCs.

The Home Office publishes data covering the use of powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.

This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.

The Home Office publishes data covering the use of the powers under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000 on a quarterly basis.

This data can be found via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/operation-of-police-powers-under-the-terrorism-act-2000.

We will all know somebody with special educational needs or disabilities and understand how vital it is to get a child with special educational needs or disabilities the right support early on. In recent years, we have seen a massive increase in special educational needs in our country, which is why we have expanded funding to a record level—at £10.5 billion, up by 60% in the last five years—and why we are reforming the system to deal with the increase in demand, including the biggest investment in building special educational needs school places in our country’s history.

Government departments are responsible for the production of different national statistics. I have asked my officials to liaise with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to ascertain the feasibility of including ethnic breakdowns in all national statistics.

A large amount of ethnicity data is already published on the Equality Hub’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures website. It was the first of its kind in terms of scale, scope and transparency and has been welcomed as best practice internationally. It contains statistics covering topics such as health, education, employment and the criminal justice system.

Publishing more ethnicity data for some topic areas may not always be possible. Ethnicity data may not be collected in some surveys or data collections. Where it is collected, data for some ethnic groups with smaller populations may not be published for reasons of disclosure or statistical reliability.

The Home Office are unable to provide the requested data. This is on the basis that it is operationally sensitive and not stored in an easily accessible format.

Border Force, Immigration Enforcement and police colleagues use every tool at their disposal to investigate and disrupt the people smuggling networks who facilitate dangerous crossings on such floating vessels and structures, including seizing and examining mobile phones which could assist with criminal investigations.