Defra is continuing to develop a withdrawal process so that owners who no longer believe that their dog meets the legal definition of an XL Bully type can apply to have their certificate of exemption withdrawn. Further details will be shared once the process has been finalised.

Defra is continuing to develop a withdrawal process so that owners who no longer believe that their dog meets the legal definition of an XL Bully type can apply to have their certificate of exemption withdrawn. Further details will be shared once the process has been finalised.

Defra is continuing to develop a withdrawal process so that owners who no longer believe that their dog meets the legal definition of an XL Bully type can apply to have their certificate of exemption withdrawn. Further details will be shared once the process has been finalised.

Defra is continuing to develop a withdrawal process so that owners who no longer believe that their dog meets the legal definition of an XL Bully type can apply to have their certificate of exemption withdrawn. Further details will be shared once the process has been finalised.

The cost of a Building Assessment Certificate application varies due to the application's complexity and quality. For applications submitted and determined between 1st January 2025 and 31st March 2026, the average cost is £15,561.

The Building Safety Regulator’s recent announcement of a reset in its approach to Building Assessment Certificates will result in a more proportionate and efficient approach, with more support for Principle Accountable Persons (PAPs). These changes are expected to result in lower average costs for PAPs and, ultimately, residents and leaseholders.

The proposed Regulations do not alter existing Windsor Framework arrangements. Machinery placed on the market in Northern Ireland must comply with the applicable Northern Ireland requirements. Machinery manufactured in Great Britain may be placed on the Northern Ireland market with the CE marking where it is either self-assessed to the EU requirements or assessed by an EU-recognised body. Where a UK-approved body carries out the conformity assessment, both the CE and UKNI markings are required. Manufacturers may therefore continue to place machinery on the Northern Ireland market regardless of where it is manufactured, provided it meets the applicable requirements.

Battery safety is covered by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 which require all consumer products sold in the UK to be safe. Batteries are also subject to traceability requirements. Through our recent product safety framework consultations, we have sought views on the risks associated with lithium-ion batteries and potential measures to strengthen consumer protections. Defra is also reviewing the UK’s extended producer responsibility scheme for batteries.

Given the complexity of the issues in the consultation, we will carefully consider stakeholder feedback and intend to publish our response in the autumn.

The Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) is an industry-owned, not-for-profit distribution organisation, independent of Government. DBT do not own this information.

Registration services regularly assess local need, including the requirementsof faith communities where burial may be required within 24 hours, and makeappropriate provision where necessary. The operating hours of each registeroffice is for each local authority to determine.

The Department applies a proportionate, risk‑based framework, with Defence Cyber Certification using Cyber Essentials as a baseline. The Department requires higher levels of assurance only where appropriate in order to minimise unnecessary administrative burden.

The Department keeps the impact of its cyber resilience requirements on suppliers under review, including how these apply to different entities within the same corporate group. In doing so, it seeks to recognise existing assurance activity where valid, and to address any gaps in a proportionate manner, without unnecessary duplication.

The approach we have taken ensures our Armed Forces are supported by a supply chain that is verifiably resilient against evolving cyber threats.

Both the Green Deal and the competent person schemes contain consumer protections but they work independently of each other. Therefore, work paid for through the Green Deal and carried out by a competent person scheme installer will benefit from both sets of consumer protections. The Department has done no recent research of the effects of competent person schemes on consumer protection for Green Deal participants.

The Green Deal is a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero policy. It was a loan scheme that existed to help people make energy saving improvements to their home that was mostly active during 2013-2015. The Green Deal has its own consumer protection system provided for by the Green Deal Framework Regulations and Code of Practice, and its own system of participant authorisation requiring certification of installers by the Green Deal Oversight and Registration Body.

Competent person scheme operators register and oversee installers who can self-certify that their work meets the building regulations. These schemes have existed for more than 20 years and cover small building work such as plumbing and electricity. The scheme operators offer consumer protections such as ensuring registered installers are properly qualified and dealing with complaints.

The government is engaging insurers and brokers to encourage clear, proportionate conversations about cyber risk and good cyber hygiene. Insurers typically take risk‑based approaches to underwriting and the government is encouraging the inclusion of fundamental cyber security measures, such as Cyber Essentials.

Data backups are a key part of the cyber incident response and recovery process and are critical to an organisation’s cyber resilience. The Cyber Essentials scheme focuses on defensive technical controls to prevent the most common cyber threats by stopping attackers gaining access. Data backup is not preventative, and therefore not a requirement for the scheme. However, the Cyber Essentials guidance makes clear that data backup is essential for recovery following a successful attack and strongly encourages organisations to implement a backup solution. The scheme is continually reviewed to ensure the controls remain appropriate and effective.

The Home Office provided £10.6m to NPAS in FY2025/26. In addition, the Home Office has committed £34.5m to NPAS to support the replacement of 7 helicopters. For further information on annual grant information for NPAS, the Government via the Cabinet Office is committed to publish grant data on an annual basis for schemes and programmes that are funded by the Government, including the NPAS Capital Grant. This can be accessed on the Cabinet Office website under 'Government grant data and statistics'.

The procurement, operational deployment and recording of data on police use of drones and crewed aircraft are operational matters for police forces, who are best placed to assess their own operational needs while ensuring they have the tools necessary to protect the public. The Home Office does not hold information on the proportion of drones registered by the CAA.

The Home Office is currently funding and supporting the work of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Drones Programme, who were allocated £2.3m in FY2025/26. The programme is responsible for standardising and professionalising the use of drones across UK police forces. This includes developing a bespoke training and accreditation pathway for police drone operators as well as working with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to provide the necessary oversight on the safety aspects of police drone operations.

Drones and helicopters are complimentary to one another, not interchangeable. Drones are valuable for close‑range, localised tasks, but may not always replace the speed, persistence, capacity and safety assurance of a helicopter. However, this is subject to ongoing research and analysis, continuously evolving as technology advances.

The Home Office is currently working with NPAS and the NPCC Drones Programme to assess, compare and evaluate the benefits and cost-effectiveness of crewed and uncrewed technologies for operational policing and how this will support development of a future blended fleet model for police aviation, in line with the NPCC Aviation Strategy (2025-2035).

In addition, the Government takes national and cyber security extremely seriously and regularly reviews risks, including from Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) which includes drones. The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) have issued guidance for security professionals across public and private sector organisations on the appropriate security measures which should be taken to manage potential security risks via UAS technologies, including drones. In line with existing guidance, the NPCC Drones Programme is currently undertaking a review on the data and security risk implications associated with police use of drones.