The Government recognises the distress and disruption that metal theft, including the theft of catalytic converters, can cause.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes police recorded crime data on metal theft offences annually which can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/focusonpropertycrimeappendixtables. Whilst the ONS data does not separate out theft of catalytic converters, this would be recorded under non-infrastructure related incidents.

We continue to work closely with the police, industry and others to understand what more we can do to tackle vehicle-related theft.

In the event that any franchise were to be taken into Government control, the standard practice would be for a Transfer Scheme to be put in place between the existing and new operator to transfer those existing contracts and assets that would be required for the continued running of the railway.

The Government is aware of the cyber attack on Pitney Bowes and urges all organisations to ensure they have appropriate cyber security controls in place to protect themselves.

The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021) is backed with £1.9 billion investment to transform the nation’s cyber security and make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. As part of the strategy we have opened the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which provides guidance and support to help businesses be more resilient to cyber attacks. This includes the Small Business Guide and an online staff training module, plus the Board Toolkit and '10 Steps to Cyber Security' guidance for larger organisations, as well as a programme of business engagement activity. The NCSC is the lead Government organisation for managing cyber incidents and has led on 658 incidents in the last year, providing support to almost 900 victim organisations, handling almost 1,800 incidents since commencing operations.

In addition, the Government is currently undertaking a Review of Cyber Security Incentives and Regulations to help understand the effectiveness of Government support to date and what more can be done to ensure businesses of all sizes are effectively managing their cyber risks.

Pitney Bowes machines are not connected to National Health Service networks and therefore no effect has been seen to any NHS equipment. We are aware that East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust’s franking machines were affected and contingency plans were immediately actioned. This resulted in the Clinical Commissioning Group and a few other local companies franking the mail for the hospital in order to ensure patients received their letters.

Both East Lancashire Clinical Commissioning Group and East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust have confirmed that there was no impact to the provision of care as a result of the recent malware attack.

At Budget 2018, the government announced its plans to prohibit the practice of post duty point dilution (PDPD) from April 2020. From that date, wine and made-wine producers will not be able to use PDPD to reduce the excise duty they must pay. Legislation to be included within Finance Bill 2019-20 will give HM Revenue & Customs new sanctions that may be applied to any producer that continues to use PDPD after that date.

There are no plans to revise the existing arrangements for duty collection.

The government has no current plans to introduce a small spirits relief. However, all taxes are kept under review and the impact of such a change is considered at each fiscal event; including its effect on the industry and wider economy.

DCMS Ministers have regular discussions with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on a range of cyber security topics, including in relation to the UK’s telecommunications networks.

Widespread deployment of 5G and full fibre networks is a primary objective of Government policy. The Government published the Telecoms Supply Chain Review in July, which recommended the introduction of a new framework for telecoms security based on evidence and a hard-headed assessment of the risks. The Government has not yet made a final decision on individual high risk vendors and the additional controls that will be applied to them.

Widespread deployment of 5G and full fibre networks is a primary objective of Government policy. The Government published the Telecoms Supply Chain Review in July, which recommended the introduction of a new framework for telecoms security based on evidence and a hard-headed assessment of the risks. The Government has not yet made a final decision on individual high risk vendors and the additional controls that will be applied to them. Our international partners must take their own approach based on their own circumstances, network architectures, capabilities and risk assessments.

The United States of America and the United Kingdom are natural, resilient and strong partners and allies, and we will continue to work closely together, including on the issue of telecoms security.

The Department is working with its partners across Government, arm’s length bodies, local authorities, industry and the wider health and care system to ensure that all relevant parties are prepared for exiting the European Union. The quality and safety of patient care is paramount in our preparedness plans.

The Department, alongside NHS England and NHS Improvement, is ensuring that there is regular communication with frontline National Health Service organisations and stakeholders in the health and social care sector regarding EU Exit preparations. NHS England will be holding EU Exit Roadshows in the lead up to 31 October building on the regular communication that the Department and NHS England has with the frontline.

There are currently over 16,700 more nurses on wards when compared to 2010. The latest data published by the University and College Admissions Service (on 11 July 2019) shows that there has been a 4.6% increase in the number of undergraduate applicants to pre-registration nursing and midwifery courses when compared to the equivalent point in 2018.

The Department has put in place a number of actions to increase nursing workforce supply, including improving staff retention, return to practice, overseas recruitment and expanding nursing associates.

The interim People Plan (published on 3 June 2019) puts staff at the heart of National Health Service policy and delivery and sets out how we will secure a capable and motivated multidisciplinary healthcare workforce, of a sufficient size, to meet population health needs. It sets out the immediate actions needed to grow the nursing workforce across all settings by over 40,000 in the next five years. A final People Plan will be published in due course.

Domestic abuse is a devastating crime and the Government is committed to doing everything we can to tackle it.

The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS, also known as “Clare’s Law”) was rolled out across all 43 police forces in England and Wales in March 2014, and recent data shows that applications and disclosures made under the scheme are increasing.

In the year ending March 2018, there were a total of 5,649 disclosures made under the scheme, representing a 66% increase on the previous year. In the year ending March 2018, applications under the “Right to Know” element of the scheme increased by 47%, and “Right to Ask” applications increased by 111%.

We will continue to work with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the College of Policing to ensure that the DVDS and the guidance underpinning it are being used consistently and effectively to prevent harm and to keep potential victims of domestic abuse and their families safe.

It is important that the police and local agencies have the powers they need to tackle local issues quickly and effectively. That is why we reformed the tools and powers available to tackle Anti-Social Behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.

In 2019/20 Lancashire Police are receiving £285.1 million of funding, an increase of £18.4 million, on 2018/19. Funding for 2020-21 for individual forces will be announced as part of the provisional police settlement later this year. Decisions about the allocation of police resources are for Chief Constables and democratically accountable Police and Crime Commissioners, who are best placed to meet the needs of their local community.

We have made a further £300m available, which has been allocated to projects until 2024. If the programme continues to be delivered successfully, DfT will make submissions for further funding in due course. In the meantime, if the industry installs, replaces or renews station infrastructure this will need to comply with current accessibility standards.

Neither tenants or landlords lose a week’s rent in a 53 weekly rent payment year as has been alleged; no year contains 53 weeks. The problem is alignment between weekly and monthly cycles. Each month the UC housing element is a constant figure but claimants with weekly tenancy agreements will be required to make either four or five rent payments within this period. If the claimant always pays their rent on time, in five payment months they are effectively making payment for part of the following month. That month will always be a four rent payment month, so the combination of the advance payment and the ‘overpayment’ of housing support during that month will get the claimant back on track.

Where a landlord charges rent weekly on a Monday, because of the way the calendar falls every 5 or 6 years, they will seek 53 rent payments in a year, with the 53rd payment in part covering the tenancy for the first few days of the following year. The effect of this is that, over the course of the next housing association rental year, a tenant’s UC payments will accurately reflect their liability, irrespective of the 53 payment weeks.

There is a separate issue with respect to the way the calculation in the Universal Credit regulations converts a weekly liability into a monthly allowance. The conversion is achieved by multiplying the weekly rent by 52 and then dividing by 12. This effectively means one day’s rent a year (two days in a leap years) are not covered by UC. We are currently considering whether this formulation around weekly rents, and potentially other weekly amounts in the UC calculation, should be amended.

It is the duty of any responsible Governmnet to prepare for every eventuality including the scenario that we leave the EU without agreeing a deal.

We are working closely with operational partners - including the police - on contigency planning so we can ensure the safety and security of our citizens in all scenarios.

We provided over £6 million of funding for the police-led Metal Theft Taskforce to help ensure the reforms to tackle metal theft introduced by the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 were embedded within the normal business of police forces and local authorities.

The Taskforce was not intended to be a long-term arrangement and disbanded in 2014 following the successful implementation of the 2013 Act.
The most recent statistics show that recorded levels of metal theft offences in March 2018 are still 73% lower compared with March 2013.

We continue to work with the police, industry, local authorities and others on this issue and on acquisitive crime more generally.

We recognise that demand on the police is changing and we are acting. We are committed to recruiting 20,000 additional police officers over the next three years to tackle the rise in crime. This is the start of a new relationship between the Government and the police, and we will work even more closely together to protect the public.

The National Policing Board has been set up to provide strong leadership and deliver on our commitment to recruit 20,000 more police officers. Following the first meeting, the government and police will move at pace to drive forward our plans to bolster the police’s ranks.

All force-level funding allocations will be set out in the usual way at the pro-visional police funding settlement in December. The Government is working with the sector through a number of important details, including on allocating officers between different functions and activities to ensure maximum value from this additional resource.

The housing costs element, in line with all other elements in Universal Credit, has always been subject to means testing for all Universal Credit claimants.

Numbers of people under 21 years claiming housing support entitlement as part of Universal Credit since March 2018 is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. This is why, for the majority of savers, pension contributions are tax-free. Furthermore, investment growth of assets in a pension scheme is not subject to tax. Up to 25% of the pension pot can be taken tax-free. After this, payments of pensions are subject to income tax at an individual’s marginal rate, to reflect the fact that these are a form of deferred income and have not been previously taxed.

In addition, the Government is committed to keeping taxes low to ensure people keep more of what they earn.

In April of this year, the Government met its commitment to raise the personal tax-free allowance to £12,500, one year early. This means the Government has now raised the personal allowance by over 90% in less than a decade. In 2019-20, over 32 million individuals will see their income tax bill reduced and 1.74 million people on the lowest incomes will have been taken out of income tax altogether since 2015-16. A typical basic rate taxpayer will pay £1,205 less income tax compared to 2010-11.

The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken as part of the annual Budget process in the context of the wider public finances.

We want to encourage private sector investment to build and operate a self-sustaining public network that is affordable, reliable and accessible.

Government funding and leadership, alongside private sector investment, has supported the installation of more than 21,000 public chargepoints, 2,100 of which are rapid – creating one of the largest networks in Europe. In August the Secretary of State announced that funding for this year’s on street residential charging scheme, which offers grants to local authorities to support investment at a local level, would be doubled from £2.5 to £5 million. Highways England has also committed £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020.

This is in addition to the £400m Chargepoint Infrastructure Investment Fund announced at the Autumn budget in 2017.