The Health Bill has been subject to extensive consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, including patient groups and representatives of general practitioners (GPs). Impact assessments were also published alongside the bill, which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary/health-bill-impact-assessments-summary

In addition, the Department is currently undertaking a programme of deliberative engagement with GPs and practice managers to help shape the implementation of the single patient record.

The proposals aim to maintain fairness in the tax system and address a gap in existing debt enforcement tools, by collecting lower value tax debts from taxpayers who can pay but do not engage. The consultation on proposals to tackle lower value tax debts closed on 28 August. The Government is currently analysing responses received and will use this to inform next steps, including whether and how the proposal should be taken forward.

Discretionary indexation is over and above the statutory requirements. This discretion is usually exercised by the trustees with the agreement of the sponsoring employer. Some schemes have previously paid discretionary increases on a regular basis.

The Pension Schemes Act 2026 has made changes so that more trustees of well-funded schemes have the flexibility to share their scheme surplus with employers, subject to strict funding safeguards for members.

Scheme trustees will be responsible for decisions on surplus release, working with sponsoring employers. Trustees must act in the interests of scheme beneficiaries and are best placed to determine the appropriate use of any surplus for their individual scheme. They will agree how members can benefit, which could include discretionary benefit increases.

The Pensions Regulator already expects that trustees be aware of members who would benefit from any decision to award a discretionary increase and whether the scheme has a history of making such awards. They will issue guidance, developed in consultation with industry, which will outline matters trustees should consider when releasing surplus.

For the purpose of the Impact Assessment for the Pension Schemes Act, it was stylistically assumed that surplus would be equally split between sponsoring employers and members, reflecting the reality that any split is for trustees not government.

Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009 places a legal duty on the Secretary of State to make arrangements for ensuring immigration, asylum, nationality and general customs functions are carried out with regard to the need to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in the UK.

This legal duty requires us to develop policy in respect of children through the lens of safeguarding and welfare, as well as the best interests of children as a primary (although not the only) consideration, as set out in our statutory guidance.

Accordingly, throughout our policy development, careful consideration has been and will continue to be given as to how children will be impacted by the measures within the Immigration and Asylum Bill, in line with Section 55.

A Home Office Children’s Impact Assessment is underway and will continue to be a living document, noting that Section 55 is a continuous and active duty. Section 55 is a bespoke statutory duty for the Home Office, and it is not an equivalent to assessments conducted by other government departments. Home Office Ministers have committed to complete Children’s Impact Assessments in accordance with Section 55 but have made no such commitments to complete Children’s Rights Impact Assessments.

There is no legal requirement to publish a Children’s Impact Assessment and to commit to do so would be premature noting that this is an ongoing assessment.

The Government consulted nationally on the design and scope of the power, including the use of revenues, and published its response on 10 September. The Government has engaged with the tourism and hospitality sectors throughout the consultation process.

The decision whether to introduce a visitor levy will be for local leaders, and the impacts of any levy will depend on local decisions. This is an important principle for devolution and democratic accountability. Where a Mayor chooses to take forward a levy, they will need to consult on specific proposals, including how any revenue should be invested, and consider the impacts for their area. Following consultation, we expect Mayors to publish a summary of consultation responses, a final prospectus and an impact assessment.

The department's fire safety guidance is set out in Building Bulletin 100, which is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-100-design-for-fire-safety-in-schools.

All new school buildings must comply with building regulations and be signed off by a registered building inspector. Where automatic fire suppression systems (sprinklers) are considered necessary to protect pupils and staff, they must be installed.

Most, if not all, public bodies will already be covered by a form of a Code of Ethical Conduct. Therefore, it is not anticipated that the impact in terms of costs will be substantial.

The scale of these costs can only be fully determined after Royal Assent. A further assessment of impact will, therefore, be undertaken at the appropriate stage.

The Government has no current plans to integrate a distributional analysis of essential household expenditure into the formal Autumn Budget Tax Impact Assessments.

HM Treasury routinely publishes distributional analysis of the impact of government policy across the household income distribution alongside fiscal events. The most recent published analysis, accompanying Budget 2025, set out estimates of the impact of tax, welfare and public service spending decisions on household incomes across the household income distribution. The focus is on policy choices, including those made in fiscal events.

The analysis showed that, on average, households in the lowest income deciles will benefit the most from policy decisions as a percentage of net income and that increases in tax will be concentrated on the highest income households. On average, all but the richest 10 per cent of households in 2028-29 will benefit from policy decisions.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health is independent of the Government, and we are not aware of any Equality Impact Assessment being carried out in relation to their guidance.

i) The Undercover Policing Inquiry employs 36 civil servants. An additional 99 staff are contracted or sourced through a managed services contract to provide other services, such as legal support.

ii) The Inquiry’s first interim report was published in June 2023. This covered the Inquiry’s Tranche One investigations of the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) between 1968 and 1982 and did not make any recommendations. The next interim report is due in Autumn 2027 and will not make any recommendations.

iii) The Government has considered whether there are any direct or indirect discrimination issues arising as a result of holding a consultation and has sought to ensure that the consultation is accessible to anyone who wishes to participate. In addition to responding through an online survey, individuals may submit responses by email. Following the conclusion of the consultation period, any decisions taken on the direction of the inquiry will aim to take account of an assessment of their impact on equality.

iv) The Inquiry’s full costs are published on its website, and these are updated periodically as further costs are incurred: Undercover Policing Inquiry – Costs. As of the end of March 2026, its total expenditure was £137,067,000. For each financial year from the establishment of the Inquiry, these costs are broken down as follows:

On 16 July, after hearing the views of Coastguard Rescue Officers, trade unions and members of Parliament, it was confirmed that plans to move to the expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead. Response has remained unchanged in the meantime. The focus of DfT and MCA remains to maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response along the UK coastline.

The 2023 Gambling White Paper proposed Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) as a key tool to help gambling operators consider a customer’s risk profile and intervene if necessary. The White Paper itself received significant Parliamentary scrutiny, and the detailed policy was the subject of public consultation and subsequent piloting by the Gambling Commission. Engagement with the Department took place throughout this period.

On 7 July 2026, the Gambling Commission announced that its Board had decided to implement FRAs in a careful, phased way and that a full consultation response would be published in the Autumn. The Commission made these evidence-based decisions under the statutory powers provided to them under the Gambling Act 2005, and specifically to support the Gambling Act licensing objective to protect children and other vulnerable people from being harmed or exploited by gambling, working closely with the government throughout. All relevant impacts were considered alongside harm reduction, including: reducing friction for customers, data protection, impacts on industry and impacts on specific sectors including horseracing.

The Gambling Commission’s Board will continue to have oversight of implementation and evaluation. The Government will continue to engage actively with the Commission on the effectiveness of implementation.

The Government recognises the significant contribution that racing makes to British sporting culture and its importance to the British economy. Horseracing is the only sport in receipt of a direct government-mandated levy which helps to drive improvements in the sport. We do recognise that the horseracing sector has concerns about FRAs. Both the former Minister for Gambling and the Gambling Commission have met the British Horseracing Authority and wider racing stakeholders to discuss these concerns. We would encourage the sector to engage constructively with the Commission during the upcoming implementation phase.

The Government has set out plans to introduce the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, which will increase fairness within the system.

The Government has consulted on the design of the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, including on a deferral scheme to support those who may struggle to pay, treatment of freehold and leasehold properties (including those with short leases), and a proposed list of discounts and exemptions. This consultation closed on 14 July. The Government is considering responses received and a response to the consultation will be published in due course.

UKRI, through STFC, has undertaken a prioritisation process to ensure its overall financial stability and the ongoing affordability of its National Laboratories, large scale, multi-disciplinary facilities, and the PPAN portfolio. The cross-UKRI Facilities Strategic Advisory Group, which included representation for the physical sciences, were consulted on the range of options under consideration. These are considered, strategic choices to focus resources where they deliver long-term capability and value. The aim is a stronger, more focused, and more sustainable STFC delivering impact for the UK. The outcomes seek to protect key strategic priorities and capabilities including the operation of STFC’s National Laboratories and facilities.

As of April 2025, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning the majority of specialised services. NHS England commissions all ‘highly’ specialised services, high secure mental health services, and a small number of other services on a national basis. The list of services commissioned by ICBs and NHS England is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-england-service-codes/

From April 2027, the legislative reforms proposed are that ICBs should commission the majority of specialised services, with my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, directing ICBs on these functions. It is proposed that the services to be commissioned nationally by my Rt Hon. Friend will be set out in regulations.

The Department published an Equality Impact Assessment of ICBs as strategic commissioners alongside the Health Bill on 14 May 2026. This is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-bill-icbs-as-strategic-commissioners-equality-impact-assessment/health-bill-icbs-as-strategic-commissioners-equality-impact-assessment

In the recent consultation ‘Accelerating electricity network connections for strategic demand’ Government proposed new measures to prioritise grid connections for projects of the highest economic and social value. The consultation included analysis of the potential impact of these measures, which may apply to demand projects of all types, including AI data centres. Government will publish the consultation response in due course.

This Government is committed to a fair, affordable and accessible water system and are acting to protect vulnerable customers from rising bills, while balancing affordability with the need for investment to secure clean and reliable water services and improve the environment. Support Schemes, including WaterSure, social tariffs and debt assistance, are available for vulnerable customers.

Smart meters will provide customers in England with greater control over billing. The Government is working with Ofwat to monitor the impact smart meters will have on billing, as well as working with the Smart Water Meter Delivery Group (SWMDG) to ensure that the benefits of smart meters are realised for customers.

The UK-US Arrangement on Pharmaceutical Pricing and Tariffs is intended to support National Health Service patients’ access to innovative medicines, while strengthening the United Kingdom’s life sciences sector. The terms of the arrangement have been published in full, and we have answered numerous questions about its operation in parliamentary questions and debate.

Publishing a redacted impact assessment would not aid understanding around the deal. The analysis depends on assumptions about future medicines approvals, NHS uptake, global pricing policies, and wider commercial discussions. Removing commercially sensitive material would remove much of the context needed to understand that analysis properly.