We are grateful to officials in the Devolved Administrations for the productive engagement that we have had so far on the Automated Vehicles Bill. The Automated Vehicles Bill implements the recommendations of a four-year review by the Law Commission of England and Wales, and the Scottish Law Commission.

In line with legislative processes, we will seek legislative consent from Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru where appropriate.

We are keen for Great Britain to share in the benefits of these planned measures and look forward to the support of the Devolved Administrations as this Bill moves through parliamentary passage.

Whilst the effective operation of the funding arrangements for the Devolved Administrations is monitored on an ongoing basis, the UK Government currently has no plans to undertake a formal review of the Barnett formula.

The Barnett formula is simple, efficient and provides a clear and certain outcome. For this reason, it has stood the test of time.

The Barnett formula ensures the same change in funding per person across the whole of the UK, while the underlying baseline funding reflects that needs are higher in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.  The devolved administrations are receiving over 20% more funding per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the UK.

The UK Government and the devolved administrations jointly agreed improved ways of working in January 2022. The new intergovernmental system ensures that ministers and officials are working together, across all areas, maintaining open channels of communication, discussing best practice and sharing learning from across the governments. Tackling our challenges is a shared endeavour and already this year there have been over 60 ministerial meetings between the Government and DAs on a wide range of issues

This collaboration has been vital in ensuring UK-wide join up, from tackling cost of living pressures to delivering the Homes for Ukraine which has helped over 117,000 people.

As set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, the UK Government is determined to do more to enable the sharing of evidence between the government and devolved administrations. The Concordat on Statistics provides a framework for statistical co-operation between the government and devolved administrations, and the UK Statistics Authority continues to lead on a suite of work to improve the UK-wide coherency of evidence in public policy-making.

We want to see every part of England reap the benefits of devolution and have made significant progress with the six new deals announced in 2022. The Government is in discussions with places to identify potential candidates for new devolution deals in 2023 and we will set out more detail in due course.

This Government is committed to not just extending the benefits of devolution to new parts of England, but to deepening existing devolution settlements. As the Chancellor set out at the Autumn Statement, the government will deliver the Levelling Up White Paper commitment to sign new 'trailblazer' devolution deals with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands Combined Authorities by early 2023. The government is in discussion with the mayors of these areas to devolve powers to deliver levelling up in areas such as skills, transport and housing. These 'trailblazer' deals will act as a blueprint for other areas to follow.

This Government has set itself a mission that by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal. The Levelling Up White Paper made clear that devolution is essential for Levelling Up. For too long, decisions impacting many communities of England have been taken in Whitehall. Devolution is about giving local areas more flexibility, freedom and accountability to deliver. Before 2010 the only significant devolution in England had been in London. Now, strong mayors in our major cities are acting as agents of economic growth. Levelling up requires strong and dynamic local leadership, that can understand how complex issues come together in a place; tailor policy to local priorities; attract investment; and seize each area's opportunities.

We want to see every part of England reap the benefits of devolution and have made significant progress with the six new deals announced in 2022. The Government is in discussions with places to identify potential candidates for new devolution deals in 2023 and we will set out more detail in due course.

This Government is committed to not just extending the benefits of devolution to new parts of England, but to deepening existing devolution settlements. As the Chancellor set out at the Autumn Statement, the government will deliver the Levelling Up White Paper commitment to sign new 'trailblazer' devolution deals with Greater Manchester and the West Midlands Combined Authorities by early 2023. The government is in discussion with the mayors of these areas to devolve powers to deliver levelling up in areas such as skills, transport and housing. These 'trailblazer' deals will act as a blueprint for other areas to follow.

This Government has set itself a mission that by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal. The Levelling Up White Paper made clear that devolution is essential for Levelling Up. For too long, decisions impacting many communities of England have been taken in Whitehall. Devolution is about giving local areas more flexibility, freedom and accountability to deliver. Before 2010 the only significant devolution in England had been in London. Now, strong mayors in our major cities are acting as agents of economic growth. Levelling up requires strong and dynamic local leadership, that can understand how complex issues come together in a place; tailor policy to local priorities; attract investment; and seize each area's opportunities.

The Government has regular discussions with the devolved administrations on public health measures related to COVID-19. The UK Health Security Agency and other Government Departments work to ensure a coordinated approach. We are unable to provide the minutes of specific discussions as it relates to the development of Government policy. The Department will continue to publish information online on its engagement with the devolved administrations through the Government’s quarterly reports on inter-governmental relations in line with transparency commitments.

No specific discussions have taken place with the devolved administrations specifically concerning provision of lorry parks. Lorry parking is a matter for the devolved administrations.

The UK Government is working closely with Devolved Administration colleagues at Ministerial and official level to achieve our climate goals. This includes input into the Net Zero Strategy to deliver on the UK’s carbon budgets leading up to 2050.

This close working is facilitated through a Net Zero Inter-Ministerial Group involving Ministers from the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations, a senior-official level Net Zero Nations Board which meets on alternate months, a monthly supporting working group, a programme of deep dives this summer across a range of economic sectors and enabling activities, and through considerable sector-specific engagement.

Department for International Trade Ministers and officials have been engaging regularly with Devolved Administration Ministers and officials on the Trade Bill to seek consent from all the devolved legislatures. We have made a number of amendments and commitments to address their concerns. I am pleased that, as a result of this, Scottish Government have recommended consent to all the relevant clauses of the Bill, and the Welsh Government to those that were previously contained in the Trade Bill 2017-19. We are working hard to ensure that the Northern Ireland Executive also feels able to recommend legislative consent to the Bill.

There has been a huge amount of progress. My honourable friend the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government has announced conversations with York and North Yorkshire. The West Yorkshire deal has already been agreed and is about to be enacted, so a lot of progress has been made on a number of fronts.

NHS Blood and Transplant works closely with each devolved administration to ensure there are fair and transparent allocation policies governing all types of organ transplant across the United Kingdom. These are based on factors such as clinical need and guaranteeing the best match between donor and recipient to help ensure the longest possible survival of the transplant. These arrangements will continue.

The Government announced at the Budget on 11 March that agreement had been reached on an ambitious devolution deal with West Yorkshire. On 12 March the agreement was formally signed in Leeds by the Chancellor and the Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government on behalf of the Government, and by the Leaders of the West Yorkshire Councils.

This devolution deal will provide over £1.1 billion of investment funding for the area together with other funding streams including £25 million Heritage funding. Implementation of the deal is subject to the statutory requirements for the necessary secondary legislation being met, including the consent of the West Yorkshire Councils to, and Parliamentary approval of, that legislation.

As the Prime Minister said at his speech in the Convention of the North ‘we are going to do devolution properly…with more Mayors across the North’. In Yorkshire we are pleased to see recent progress the Mayor and leaders of the Sheffield City Region are making towards getting their devolution deal over the line with the benefits that will bring for people across South Yorkshire, including £30 million annually of investment funds. We are also proceeding with negotiations for a devolution deal with a Mayor for Leeds and West Yorkshire, and other areas of Yorkshire are discussing devolution with us.