The Department’s response to the Ninth Report of the Public Accounts Committee was published on September 29th 2022.

We have met with representatives from the Thyroid Trust and Thyroid UK to discuss prescription guidelines relating to Liothyronine.

The department will publish the special educational needs and disability (SEND) review Green Paper in the first quarter of this year for full public consultation. The review aims to ensure that children and young people with SEND receive the support they need and have a positive experience within a financially sustainable system. We want to clarify accountabilities at every level of the system and realise the benefits of aligned education, health, and care provision.

Shared Parental Leave (SPL) and Pay was introduced in December 2014 for the parents of children due or adopted from 5 April 2015. The scheme enables eligible working parents to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay in the first year, where the mother does not intend to use her full maternity entitlements.

Information provided by employers to HMRC in respect of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) by Quarter³ indicates that 4,500 individuals were in receipt of ShPP in Quarter 1 of 2021-22, and 5,300 individuals were in receipt of ShPP in Quarter 2 of 2021-22. Data for Quarter 3 of 2021-22 is not yet available.

HMRC does not hold information which calculates the total duration of ShPP received by individual claimants. However, the Table 1 sets out the number of individuals in receipt of ShPP in 2020-21 by the number of months⁴ in the year that they made a claim:

Please note:

1. The data collected uses HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) system and was extracted in November 2021 covering up to September 2021. RTI is subject to revision or updates, and so there may be small fluctuations in figures reported, and these figures should not be considered “final”.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. The number of individuals in receipt of ShPP per quarter are based on the total number of individuals in that quarter irrespective of when the payment first started. For example, some individuals in the Quarter 2 figures also appeared in Quarter 1 figures. Quarterly figures should not be added together to make a yearly count of individuals in receipt of ShPP due to double counting claimants from quarter to quarter.
4. “Number of months claimed” counts each month the same individual was in receipt of ShPP, in a given tax year (2020-21). This should not be interpreted as the total duration of pay received. Where individuals are in receipt of pay which spans two financial years HMRC data shows only the period within each year. Where individuals have received pay spanning multiple months, however briefly, they will be recorded as receiving ShPP in each month.
5. This data represents individuals in receipt of Shared Parental Pay only, so those who take unpaid Shared Parental Leave are not included.

The Government conducted a £1.5 million communications campaign in 2018 to promote the Shared Parental Leave Scheme. In addition to this campaign, we have also undertaken cost-free communications activities to promote the scheme such as blogs by parents who have taken the leave and articles regarding the introduction of the online tool which enables parents to map out leave with their partner

The number of hours officials spend on individual projects is not held centrally.

In order for fathers/partners to take Shared Parental Leave, the child’s mother must curtail their entitlement to 52 weeks of Maternity Leave and 39 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance to potentially share any remaining weeks of leave and pay with the child’s father/their partner or take SPL themselves (they may wish to do this as SPL is more flexible than Maternity Leave).

Information provided by employers to HMRC in respect of claims for Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) show the number of individuals (including mothers and fathers/partners) in receipt of ShPP. This data provides a broad indication of the level of SPL take-up for parental leave entitlements but does not include anyone taking unpaid Shared Parental Leave. Table 2 sets out the number of individuals in receipt of ShPP in each year since 2015-16.

Notes

1. The data collected uses HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) system and was extracted in November 2021 covering up to September 2021. RTI is subject to revision or updates, and so there may be small fluctuations in figures reported, and these figures should not be considered “final”. This may especially be the case for 2021/22 data.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. These figures are based on the total number of individuals in receipt of ShPP in a given year, irrespective of when the payment first started. Therefore, some individuals will be counted in 2 years (for example, those who take SPL in March and continue in April etc will be counted in both years).
4. For the 2015-16 tax year, those receiving Additional Statutory Paternity Pay (ASPP) for children born before 6 April 2015 cannot be distinguished from those claiming Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) within RTI data.
5. Data for individuals in receipt of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) includes both mothers and fathers in receipt of ShPP, however fathers, on average, make up over three-quarters of all ShPP recipients.
6. Data for individuals in receipt of Statutory Shared Parental Pay (ShPP) includes both mothers and fathers in receipt of ShPP, however fathers, on average, make up over three-quarters of all ShPP recipients.
7. This data represents individuals in receipt of statutory parental pay only, so those who take unpaid parental leave are not included.

The Department is looking at a range of measures to improve rail across the North of England including services between Cheshire and Manchester, which were part of the consultation on Manchester timetable changes held earlier this year. In a separate review, the Department is also asking the public for views on services along the East Coast Mainline. Neston station is expected to benefit from a more frequent service on the Wrexham – Bidston line in the coming year.

The Government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for homeowners and ensuring that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service. We are taking forward a comprehensive programme of reform to end unfair practices in the leasehold market.

Under the current system, too many leaseholders find the process for extending their lease or buying their freehold (a process known as enfranchisement) too complex, lacking transparency and prohibitively expensive.

We will reform the process of enfranchisement valuation that leaseholders must follow to calculate the cost of extending their lease or buying their freehold.

The Government will abolish marriage value, cap the treatment of ground rents at 0.1% of the freehold value, and prescribe rates for the calculations at market value. The Government will also introduce an online calculator, further simplifying the process for leaseholders and ensuring standardisation and fairness for all those looking to enfranchise. These changes to the enfranchisement valuation process will result in substantial savings for some leaseholders, particularly those with less than 80 years left on their lease.

The Law Commission’s report on enfranchisement includes recommendations relating to lease extensions, including payment of costs incurred by this process and under the terms of the new lease. We will bring forward a response to these and the other remaining Law Commission recommendations in due course.

Defra committed to reviewing the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, as they apply in England, following the end of the transition period. The planned review is being scoped now but it will focus on ensuring alignment with retained laws in other overlapping areas, as well as considering requests from industry for additional measures and exemptions. The review will also need to consider any DHSC decisions around folic acid. As part of the review, we will hold a public consultation on policy options. We very much welcome views from key stakeholders such as the Real Bread Campaign to feed into this. Many of the issues raised by stakeholders to date are technically complex and we expect this review will need sufficient time to consider responses and agree the best way forward.

The consultation on the review of the guidance in The Highway Code to improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders closed in October 2020 with over 20,000 responses received. We are currently undertaking a full analysis of all replies and expect to publish a response later this year.

The Government is keeping its social distancing measures under continual review. If at any time we judge that one of the measures is no longer necessary to protect public health we are required by law to change that measure.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 26 March and have been amended four times (21 April, 12 May, 31 May, and 12 June) to reflect technical changes and the outcomes of the three previous reviews (16 April, 7 May and 28 May). At each review point of the Health Protection Regulations, the Government has provided a written or oral statement to Parliament. The Prime Minister made oral statements to the Commons on 11 May, Official report, columns 24-27, and 23 June, Official report, columns 1167-1170. The Prime Minister’s statement on 23 June outlined the changes being implemented after the fourth review, which come into effect on 4 July. In addition, we have made Written Ministerial Statements to the House of Commons and the House of Lords on 28 April (HCWS206) and 2 June (HCWS253). This process will be continued by the Government following future reviews.

The Government has published a broad strategy on our plans for the measures and how we will review them in the ‘Our plan to rebuild: The UK Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy’ document on 11 May. The Prime Minister made an oral statement to the Commons on 11 May. In addition, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care made Written Ministerial Statements on 28 April (HCWS206) and 2 June (HCWS253).

In recognition of the importance of transparency in these unprecedented times, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has been publishing the statements and the accompanying evidence it has reviewed to demonstrate how the scientific understanding of COVID-19 has continued to evolve as new data emerges, and how SAGE’s advice has quickly adapted to new findings that reflect a changing situation. The relevant information can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response

This list will be updated as SAGE releases papers from recent and future meetings.

No assessment has been made of the level of the ethnicity pay gap in medicine. However, in October 2018, the Prime Minister announced a package of measures to make the workplace fairer for people from ethnic minorities, including a consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay reporting by employers with 250 or more employees. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who are running the consultation, have received over 300 detailed responses to the consultation, which closed on 11 January 2019. They will be setting out next steps in due course.

The consultation requested views on the best approach to collect and publish ethnicity pay gap data including methodological proposals that mirror the current mandatory gender pay gap reporting requirements.

In addition to the mandatory gender pay gap reporting, the Department of Health and Social Care commissioned a review into the gender pay gap in medicine which commenced in April 2018 and is chaired by Professor Dame Jane Dacre. The review aims to examine qualitative and quantitative evidence to go on to produce a series of implementable recommendations which are expected to be published in September 2019. Once the report has been received, the Department will consider whether there would be value in a similar review of the ethnicity pay gap.

NHS England undertook 694 independent reviews of NHS Continuing Healthcare eligibility in 2017/18 and 642 independent reviews from 1 April 2018 up to 31 January 2019.

Of the independent reviews undertaken in 2017/18 it took on average 349 days from the date of request to the date they were considered or heard before an independent review panel, and in 2018/19 it took on average 417 days.

Independent review data collection started in 2017/18. NHS England does not hold data for earlier years as requested.

All parts of the National Health Service have a role to play in ensuring waiting time data are recorded accurately. The rules governing the measurement of consultant-led referral to treatment times are published in detail and can be accessed at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-guidance/

Referral to treatment data are reviewed on an ongoing basis and there are a wide range of existing processes in place to ensure that they are of good quality.

Primary responsibility for ensuring waiting time data are produced in line with those rules rests with the chief executive of each trust and foundation trust.

From April 2015, NHS Improvement has required all trust annual governance statements to include an explicit statement on how the trust will assure waiting time data quality, accuracy and risks. NHS Improvement has also mandated regular assurance of waiting times data within their respective accountability frameworks for trusts and foundation trusts through internal audit, external audit or quality reports.

The timescales, format and the duration of the consultation will be dependent on the agreed scope of the review.

The review is in the early scoping stages and more information can be provided once the scope has been finalised in May-June 2017.

NHS England will be undertaking a review relating to cardiac services that are within the commissioning remit of Specialised Services during 2017/18. The clinical Chair is Professor Huon Gray, National Clinical Director and Chair of the Specialised Cardiac Clinical Reference Group. He will be supported by staff from the specialised commissioning Directorate as required.

The Government is considering all the recommendations made in Julie Deane’s independent review of self-employment and will respond in due course.