In March, the UK and Overseas Territories discussed their commitments and timelines to implement public registers, either accessible to all members of the public or with access predicated on 'legitimate interest'. I [Minister Rutley] re-stated the UK's expectation that where public access is predicated on 'legitimate interest' this will include media and civil society, among others, and is an interim step to access for all members of the public. The FCDO is funding expert NGO, Open Ownership, to provide technical assistance to expedite implementation; they are providing advice to the governments of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Cayman, Montserrat, St. Helena, and Turks and Caicos. Officials are conducting a stocktake of progress.

The department has assessed the impact of the third-party data measure in the regulatory impact assessment scrutinised and green-rated by the Regulatory Policy Committee. This was published on the 27th November 2023 as part of the supporting documentation for the Data Protection and Information Bill and is available here: Data Protection and Digital Information Bill: supporting documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The department has fulfilled all the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) as set out in section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and in line with our statutory duty keeps the impact of this measure on groups with protected characteristics under continuous review.

In 22/23, DWP overpaid over £8bn due to fraud and error. This is unacceptable and we are taking robust steps to tackle this.

The third party data legislation we are seeking is one such approach. The focus of this power will be about finding signals of potential benefit fraud and error.

The measure does not target a particular group of benefit claimant and we have tried and tested safeguarding procedures to protect vulnerable groups and will follow business as usual processes.

The latest official figures speak for themselves and show sustained increases in both the import and export of goods between Scotland and the EU, with healthy results for services too.

The legal profession in England and Wales operates independently of government. The responsibility for regulating the sector sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors, as well as most law firms in England and Wales. The SRA’s role involves protecting clients and the public. The different ways in which they can provide support to consumers of legal services can be found on their website: SRA | What you can expect from us | Solicitors Regulation Authority.

For clients based in Scotland, the Law Society of Scotland (TLSS) is the professional body responsible for regulating Scottish solicitors. They have confirmed that they are taking measures to meet their regulatory obligations and assist consumers impacted by the collapse of WW & J McClures. Advice for those affected by the collapse of McClures can be accessed on TLSS’s website: https://www.lawscot.org.uk/news-and-events/law-society-news/mcclures-jones-whyte-faqs/.

The Government is aware of the issues surrounding WW & J McClures collapse, which involve multiple regulators responding to former clients across Scotland, England and Wales. Government officials have spoken to the SRA, which has confirmed that it is aware of the issues at hand and is continuing to investigate them at a senior level. There are several routes in place to ensure consumers have access to support in the event of the collapse of their solicitor’s law firm.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) deals with service complaints against regulated legal services providers – including those who are no longer operational. Their website provides information with regards to the different routes available for consumers depending on their personal circumstances: Complaining about closed service providers | Legal Ombudsman.

With regards to the issue of raising awareness among clients of McClures, there are requirements with respect to the advertising and publication of an insolvency so that creditors and other interested parties are made aware. The administration of McClures was advertised as required in the London Gazette. Information for former clients of McClures in Scotland was also published by Law Society of Scotland. In addition, for clients of McClures across Great Britain, Jones Whyte published an extensive list of FAQs, covering the number of clients it had taken on, the steps it was taking to contact those clients, and the procedure for clients to transfer to another legal firm if they wished.

The table below shows the number of part 3b tests conducted in each quarter since April 2021 in the UK, Scotland and at Bishopbriggs test centre.

The Government have made it clear that settler violence and the targeting and, on occasions, killing of Palestinian civilians is completely unacceptable.

As the database for part 3b test availability is live and constantly changing, it is not possible to accurately calculate the test availability that was available for booking at each historic point in time since April 2021.

As of the 31 of October 2023, the proportion of officials in the Department that are graded as senior civil servant 2 and are women on full time equivalent contracts is 64.9%. This figure was calculated by dividing the number of women at senior civil servant 2 grade on full time contracts by the total number of staff at senior civil servant 2 grade on full time contracts. This figure includes the Department, as well as its executive agencies – Education and Skills Funding Agency, Teaching Regulation Agency, Standard and Testing Agency.

The official public sector employment statistics published in June 2023 by the Office for National Statistics include data on the proportion of staff on temporary contracts who are women. These figures can be accessed at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable.

In 2022/23, more than half of new entrants to the civil service were women (54.1%). In 2021/22, 51.6% of new entrants and 53.9% of promotions to the senior civil service were women.

As of the 31 of October 2023, the proportion of officials in the Department that are graded as senior civil servant 2 and are women on full time equivalent contracts is 64.9%. This figure was calculated by dividing the number of women at senior civil servant 2 grade on full time contracts by the total number of staff at senior civil servant 2 grade on full time contracts. This figure includes the Department, as well as its executive agencies – Education and Skills Funding Agency, Teaching Regulation Agency, Standard and Testing Agency.

The official public sector employment statistics published in June 2023 by the Office for National Statistics include data on the proportion of staff on temporary contracts who are women. These figures can be accessed at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/datasets/publicsectoremploymentreferencetable.

In 2022/23, more than half of new entrants to the civil service were women (54.1%). In 2021/22, 51.6% of new entrants and 53.9% of promotions to the senior civil service were women.

The proportion of officials in Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on temporary contracts that are women is 50%.

The proportion of officials in Department for Science, Innovation and Technology that are graded as senior civil servant 2 is 1.4%.

The proportion of officials that are women, on a full-time equivalent basis is 52.5%.

As the first visas issued for the Homes for Ukraine scheme will begin to expire in March 2025, the Home Office is reviewing what may be needed beyond that date, bearing in mind the situation in Ukraine, the wishes of the Ukrainian Government, and the needs of Ukrainians in the UK. Announcements will be made in the usual way.

As the first visas issued for the Homes for Ukraine scheme will begin to expire in March 2025, the Home Office is reviewing what may be needed beyond that date, bearing in mind the situation in Ukraine, the wishes of the Ukrainian Government, and the needs of Ukrainians in the UK. Announcements will be made in the usual way.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is committed to closing the digital divide and meeting the government’s commitment that nobody should be left behind in the digital age. Reflecting the four key pillars set out in the government’s Digital Inclusion Strategy, we recognise that access to safe and suitable devices remains a key barrier facing digitally excluded people. Device donation initiatives are a significant and valuable contribution to supporting people to overcome this obstacle and I would encourage all private and public sector organisations to consider the feasibility of doing this.

The Department has noted this particular recommendation in the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s report on digital exclusion and cost of living and will formally respond later this month.