The UK continues to stand firm on human rights in China, including in Xinjiang, where Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim communities continue to face persecution and arbitrary detention. We raise our concerns directly at the highest levels, and in international fora such as at the UN Human Rights Council. In a statement on 8 September, the UK's Human Rights Ambassador noted that "China has yet to implement the recommendations of the Office of the High Commissioner's Xinjiang Assessment" and that "evidence of violations in Xinjiang and Tibet persists".

The non-eligible postcode list was last updated on 22 August 2025 and HMRC work in cooperation with the relevant government departments on enforcement. However, as of 8 September the Foreign Secretary has announced an import ban on goods from Israeli Settlements. This ban will subsume our existing measures and by design is aimed at being disruptive to the economic drivers that help illegal settlements grow. Detailed guidance for businesses on the implications of this will be published alongside the legislation, and we will work closely with colleagues across government on the design and enforcement of these new measures.

Under consumer protection legislation enforced locally by Trading Standards, it is illegal to mislead consumers as to the nature of a product through labelling or other marketing.

With respect to food labelling, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Food Standards Agency work closely with Local Authority Enforcement Officers who enforce food labelling rules in the UK, including country-of-origin labelling requirements.

Resourcing of Trading Standards is a matter for the relevant local authority. The final 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England in 2026-27, a 6.1% increase compared to 2025-26.

The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

As set out in the Animal Welfare Strategy, Defra has established a working group on fur, involving both industry experts and those who support restrictions on the trade in fur. The primary focus of the group will be to explore animal welfare concerns relating to the fur trade and the different ways in which they could be addressed. The department will seek appropriate input from relevant experts as needed as part of this.

Along with the previous government’s call for evidence and the Animal Welfare Committee’s opinion on fur, outputs from this working group will be used to inform future policy decisions on this issue.

At present, only 36 per cent of private jet passengers pay the higher APD rate, while most pay the same as those on commercial flights, despite private jets offering a more premium service with far fewer passengers and significantly higher emissions per person than commercial flights.

The Government does not believe this to be fair, which is why at Budget 2024 we announced that from April 2027, the Government will extend the scope of the higher rate of APD to cover all private jets over 5.7 tonnes. This change will mean that private jet passengers always pay higher rates of APD compared to commercial flyers and ensures fair and consistent taxation across private aviation.

The measure is expected to raise £10m per year. These figures have been certified by the Office for Budget Responsibility and were published alongside Budget 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-passenger-duty-and-private-jets/air-passenger-duty-extension-of-the-higher-rate

Legislation is in place to control the disposal of solar equipment at the end of its life for the collection and recycling of old PV panels with some companies globally and in the UK able to take the materials from the panels to use in different industries.

Whilst no formal guidance is provided to social housing providers, they should ensure they have familiarised themselves with the disposal obligations under UK regulations before installing solar panel on homes. If they are unsure of how to comply with these regulations they can speak with the supplier and installer of the panels, or with specialist panel recycling companies.

The government announced in June that we would ban social media companies from offering their services to under 16s. This means capturing user to user platforms, whose purpose is to enable social interaction, and which allow users to post material alongside algorithms. The department is currently working through the details and the final scope criteria will be set out in the regulations that will be laid in Parliament.

The UK aims to maintain high standards on the information provided on food labels so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy. The UK expects food originating from Israeli settlements located in the territories occupied by Israel since 1967 to be accurately labelled to prevent consumers being misled. All food sold on the UK market, including imported food, must comply with food labelling rules.

Defra continues to consider food labelling issues of importance to consumers and businesses, including the provision of guidance, and will provide further updates as this work progresses.

Innovate UK awarded funding to the following projects: VivoSphere CardioSafe Platform for Reproducible, Regulatory-Ready In Vitro Cardiotoxicity Screening (VivoSphere UK, £200,000); RITMO (BiomimX Srl, £199,991); a cardiovascular safety framework (University of Nottingham, £198,464); Integrated MPS-PBPK Platform for Non Animal Human PK Prediction (CN Bio Innovations, £180,980); chemically expanded hepatocytes for pharmacokinetic studies (University of Edinburgh, £194,563); Human Representative In Vitro Models for Ear Therapeutics (CamGene Therapeutics, £196,194); CANVAS (Biofoundry Energy, £197,092); a cardiovascular safety platform (InoCardia, £188,966); computational prediction of lipid nanoparticle pharmacokinetics (Nanograb, £199,390); and PKBridge (IOTeach, £197,500).

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provide eligible victims with statutory rights under the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, including the opportunity to make representations about licence conditions and to receive relevant information about an offender's release. These arrangements apply equally to releases under the Earned Progression Model. This includes eligible sexual, child sexual and domestic abuse-related offences where the victim falls within the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

In line with policy, there is engagement between the Probation Practitioner responsible for supervising the offender on licence and the Victim Liaison Officer, to ensure that victims' views on licence conditions are sought and considered prior to any release subject to licence. In cases involving eligible violent or sexual offences where an offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, Victim Liaison Officers engage with victims regarding proposed licence conditions and any conditions they wish to request. These may include measures such as exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

The role of the Victim Liaison Officer is to ensure that victims’ views and concerns are heard throughout the offender management process, including prior to release. Their role is to obtain and communicate victims’ views to the Probation Practitioner.

Victims are then informed of the outcome of decisions relating to licence conditions, including any agreed exclusion zones. Arrangements are made before release to ensure that approved licence conditions take effect from the point of release including implementing electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones. Where victim representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the victim. There is no formal appeal process for victims in relation to licence conditions, although concerns may be raised through existing HMPPS complaints procedures.

The Department keeps operational resource requirements under review and works closely with probation regions to ensure that statutory obligations to victims continue to be met, including those delivered through the Victim Contact Scheme.

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provide eligible victims with statutory rights under the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, including the opportunity to make representations about licence conditions and to receive relevant information about an offender's release. These arrangements apply equally to releases under the Earned Progression Model. This includes eligible sexual, child sexual and domestic abuse-related offences where the victim falls within the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

In line with policy, there is engagement between the Probation Practitioner responsible for supervising the offender on licence and the Victim Liaison Officer, to ensure that victims' views on licence conditions are sought and considered prior to any release subject to licence. In cases involving eligible violent or sexual offences where an offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, Victim Liaison Officers engage with victims regarding proposed licence conditions and any conditions they wish to request. These may include measures such as exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

The role of the Victim Liaison Officer is to ensure that victims’ views and concerns are heard throughout the offender management process, including prior to release. Their role is to obtain and communicate victims’ views to the Probation Practitioner.

Victims are then informed of the outcome of decisions relating to licence conditions, including any agreed exclusion zones. Arrangements are made before release to ensure that approved licence conditions take effect from the point of release including implementing electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones. Where victim representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the victim. There is no formal appeal process for victims in relation to licence conditions, although concerns may be raised through existing HMPPS complaints procedures.

The Department keeps operational resource requirements under review and works closely with probation regions to ensure that statutory obligations to victims continue to be met, including those delivered through the Victim Contact Scheme.

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provide eligible victims with statutory rights under the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, including the opportunity to make representations about licence conditions and to receive relevant information about an offender's release. These arrangements apply equally to releases under the Earned Progression Model. This includes eligible sexual, child sexual and domestic abuse-related offences where the victim falls within the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

In line with policy, there is engagement between the Probation Practitioner responsible for supervising the offender on licence and the Victim Liaison Officer, to ensure that victims' views on licence conditions are sought and considered prior to any release subject to licence. In cases involving eligible violent or sexual offences where an offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, Victim Liaison Officers engage with victims regarding proposed licence conditions and any conditions they wish to request. These may include measures such as exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

The role of the Victim Liaison Officer is to ensure that victims’ views and concerns are heard throughout the offender management process, including prior to release. Their role is to obtain and communicate victims’ views to the Probation Practitioner.

Victims are then informed of the outcome of decisions relating to licence conditions, including any agreed exclusion zones. Arrangements are made before release to ensure that approved licence conditions take effect from the point of release including implementing electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones. Where victim representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the victim. There is no formal appeal process for victims in relation to licence conditions, although concerns may be raised through existing HMPPS complaints procedures.

The Department keeps operational resource requirements under review and works closely with probation regions to ensure that statutory obligations to victims continue to be met, including those delivered through the Victim Contact Scheme.

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provide eligible victims with statutory rights under the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, including the opportunity to make representations about licence conditions and to receive relevant information about an offender's release. These arrangements apply equally to releases under the Earned Progression Model. This includes eligible sexual, child sexual and domestic abuse-related offences where the victim falls within the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

In line with policy, there is engagement between the Probation Practitioner responsible for supervising the offender on licence and the Victim Liaison Officer, to ensure that victims' views on licence conditions are sought and considered prior to any release subject to licence. In cases involving eligible violent or sexual offences where an offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, Victim Liaison Officers engage with victims regarding proposed licence conditions and any conditions they wish to request. These may include measures such as exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

The role of the Victim Liaison Officer is to ensure that victims’ views and concerns are heard throughout the offender management process, including prior to release. Their role is to obtain and communicate victims’ views to the Probation Practitioner.

Victims are then informed of the outcome of decisions relating to licence conditions, including any agreed exclusion zones. Arrangements are made before release to ensure that approved licence conditions take effect from the point of release including implementing electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones. Where victim representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the victim. There is no formal appeal process for victims in relation to licence conditions, although concerns may be raised through existing HMPPS complaints procedures.

The Department keeps operational resource requirements under review and works closely with probation regions to ensure that statutory obligations to victims continue to be met, including those delivered through the Victim Contact Scheme.

Sections 35 to 45 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 provide eligible victims with statutory rights under the Probation Service Victim Contact Scheme, including the opportunity to make representations about licence conditions and to receive relevant information about an offender's release. These arrangements apply equally to releases under the Earned Progression Model. This includes eligible sexual, child sexual and domestic abuse-related offences where the victim falls within the scope of the Victim Contact Scheme.

In line with policy, there is engagement between the Probation Practitioner responsible for supervising the offender on licence and the Victim Liaison Officer, to ensure that victims' views on licence conditions are sought and considered prior to any release subject to licence. In cases involving eligible violent or sexual offences where an offender has received a custodial sentence of 12 months or more, Victim Liaison Officers engage with victims regarding proposed licence conditions and any conditions they wish to request. These may include measures such as exclusion zones and non-contact conditions.

The role of the Victim Liaison Officer is to ensure that victims’ views and concerns are heard throughout the offender management process, including prior to release. Their role is to obtain and communicate victims’ views to the Probation Practitioner.

Victims are then informed of the outcome of decisions relating to licence conditions, including any agreed exclusion zones. Arrangements are made before release to ensure that approved licence conditions take effect from the point of release including implementing electronic monitoring or GPS exclusion zones. Where victim representations are not reflected in the final licence conditions, the reasons for the decision will be communicated to the victim. There is no formal appeal process for victims in relation to licence conditions, although concerns may be raised through existing HMPPS complaints procedures.

The Department keeps operational resource requirements under review and works closely with probation regions to ensure that statutory obligations to victims continue to be met, including those delivered through the Victim Contact Scheme.

This Government is currently considering the proposals set out in the recommended bovine TB control strategy for England.

The department will continue to work closely with farmers, vets, scientists and industry partners to move swiftly from recommendations to implementation through a series of rolling three to five-year delivery plans.

The first delivery plan will be published in due course and will set out the first timetable for implementation of the strategy's recommendations.

I take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor, now the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for her excellent work leading the campaign globally on violence against women and girls. My answer is 100% yes, I will continue her brilliant work.

This Government is committed to strengthening public protection and ensuring the Probation Service has the tools and capacity it needs to keep communities safe and protect victims. We are investing £700m into probation and community services, recruiting 1,300 additional probation officers this year, and ensuring every prison leaver is tagged unless there is clear reason not to. We are delivering the biggest expansion of tagging in history, with thousands of offenders having their every movement tracked as well as investing £100m to expand our ability to monitor even more individuals in the community. These changes will significantly strengthen probation’s ability to monitor offenders in real time and intervene quickly where risk escalates or conditions are breached.

We are ensuring there is a robust regime of controls and punishment outside of prison, offenders may be controlled by a range of measures. This includes curfews, exclusion zones, requirements to live in a different part of the country to their victim, bans from spaces such as sport matches and pubs. This is designed to manage risk and restrict offenders’ movements as necessary.

Probation will apply additional licence conditions where appropriate to address the specific risks an offender presents – including victim-related conditions such as exclusion zones and no-contact requirements. We are also introducing tough new Restriction Zones which will restrict the movements of the most serious sexual and violent offenders to specific geographical areas where appropriate, so their victims know they are safe wherever else they want to go. These will be robustly monitored by electronic monitoring and provide probation with greater visibility of offenders’ movements and strengthen their ability to identify and respond to breaches at an early stage. Victims who are eligible and opted into the Victim Contact Scheme will be notified of an offender’s release, in line with existing practice and will continue to be able to make representations for licence conditions.

From September 2026, we are expanding the Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence (DAPOL) scheme from 8 probation regions to all 12 across England and Wales from September 2026. This will give probation staff a greater ability to track hundreds of prison leavers who pose a threat to a former partner or their children.

We are also introducing Electronic Monitoring Data Insight (EMDI), a new tool allowing probation practitioners near real-time access to electronic monitoring information and GPS trail maps. This will help practitioners monitor compliance with licence conditions, identify emerging risks more quickly and make better-informed decisions and make better-informed decisions to support public protection.

We are extending and expanding a feasibility pilot in the South West of England to the North West and North East NHS regions pilot on the use of Medication to Manage Problematic Sexual Arousal (MMPSA) for sex offenders, which marks a vital first step towards a national rollout and is a wider intervention probation can use. We are also exploring the feasibility of mandatory or incentivised treatment.

Our CAS 1 provision, also known as Approved Premises, accommodates higher-risk prison leavers and people on probation. Approved Premises are temporary accommodation for public protection purposes in the community and are staffed 24 hours a day, operate a curfew, carry out mandatory drug testing, closely monitor licence conditions, and are covered by CCTV across all sites. They provide a high level of supervision in a controlled environment and are closely integrated with Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). This will allow continuous monitoring of the highest risk offenders as they transition from custody to the community.

Probation has a broad range of tools available when setting conditions or managing offenders safely in the community. These will be dependent on the specific risks posed by each offender and not all measures will be applied in every case. All offenders will remain on licence to the end of their sentence and where an offender breaches their licence conditions, probation have a full suite of options for managing this, including recall to prison.

All Ministry of Justice policies are routinely kept under review and statistics relevant to core policies will be published in the usual way to support public scrutiny.

The Department holds information on offenders' offences, sentences and release dates within the Digital Prison Services (DPS) platform and the legacy offender case management system, NOMIS. This information is not held in a single database but these systems combine information from many databases to address operational, reporting and analytical requirements

The current authoritative system of record, with synchronised data, remains the National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS).

Rehabilitative interventions are determined for each offender based on their specific needs and offending profile as part of sentence planning. There is no dedicated guidance on minimum rehabilitation requirements specifically for the offence types listed.

In custody, a range of interventions are delivered to support rehabilitation, including Accredited Programmes which are designed to target the underlying factors that can lead to offending by building skills and methods that can help improve decision making, problem solving, and self-management and regulation of emotions. Accredited Programmes are targeted at individuals assessed as presenting a medium or higher risk of reoffending with the targeted risks, as evidence indicates they are most effective for this group.