The Government wants to recognise the outstanding contribution of volunteers and encourage all to be involved in delivering positive change. The Points of Light programme closed in 2024. While
individual volunteers are recognised through the Honours system, and groups can be recognised through the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, there is consideration to replace the Points of Light
programme with a similar scheme.

There are currently no plans to reduce the number of Civil Service Defence Driving Examiners. Since April 2026, all Defence Driving Examiner posts have been established as full-time Civil Service roles, enabling Service personnel to remain focused on their primary operational duties.

The Department will continue to ensure that Defence driving test capacity is maintained to meet operational requirements.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your kind words.

I must start by saying that I am truly horrified by the murder of Ann Widdecombe. She was a distinguished politician with deep convictions, whose vivid and fearless character captured the public imagination. My heartfelt condolences go out to all her friends and loved ones.

It is chilling that during my time in this Parliament—11 years—three serving or former MPs have been murdered. I look across the Chamber at the shield for our dear friend Jo Cox, and at the shield for Sir David Amess, which sits on the wall behind me. I know that this is a House matter, so this is my personal view, but I believe it would be fitting for the House to consider a similar tribute to Ann.

We thank the police for their work. The integrity of their investigation must be protected. You have been instrumental in defending the safety of every Member of this House, Mr Speaker. I believe we must do more to defend our democracy, and have tasked officials across Government with identifying the best mechanisms for taking this work forward so that it can move as quickly as possible. I hope that the whole House can unite behind that in the months ahead.

I also pay tribute to the courage of the Hillsborough families. The Hillsborough law that we passed in this House last night is not only a law for the families and the 97, but a law that ensures that the state serves millions of working people and always gives a voice to those who fight for justice—a law for everyone, delivered by a Labour Government in the best traditions of the labour movement.

This morning, I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in this House, I have an important appointment with the television at 8 o’clock this evening.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and GOV.UK.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. The Government is taking robust action to hold Capita to account. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita.

To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are being deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser is being appointed at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.

We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of the second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. Contract awards for successful projects will follow shortly afterwards.

We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.

The Department of Transport pays local transport funding to Local Transport Authorities (LTAs). East Riding of Yorkshire council is a constituent authority of Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority, which acts as the LTA.

Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority will receive a total local transport settlement of £288,222,764 from the Department for Transport over the Spending Review period (2026/27 to 2028/29 for RDEL and 2029/30 for CDEL). This is paid as a single Mayoral Transport Fund, giving Hull and East Yorkshire the freedom and flexibility to support the strategic priorities of the local transport network.

The savings are a small part of DESNZ’s overall budget, which saw a significant uplift at Spending Review.

Our aim is for a large proportion of the savings to be found through efficiencies. We will set out more details in due course.

The UK clean energy economy is booming, with over £100bn of private sector investment announced since July 2024 thanks to the government’s clean energy mission.

We are reducing industrial energy prices for steel businesses through the measures set out in the Industrial and Steel Strategies: the EII compensation Scheme, the uplift to the British Industry Supercharger, and the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme. The overall impact of UK government electricity price support reduces electricity prices for steel producers on average from £168/MWh to £86/MWh, reducing the costs of production for EAFs by approximately £40/t crude steel-based, and bringing UK EAF costs to a more similar level with those in the EU.

The purpose of the trade measure is not to raise tariff revenue, and therefore we have not made any estimates. The Government is acting in response to the serious threat posed by global steel overcapacity. This continues to distort markets, and threaten the viability of UK steelmaking, which underpins our critical national infrastructure and defence. Tariff-free quotas have been designed with the aim of allowing for a stable supply of imports, taking into account UK production.

The new trade measure is being applied in response to significant threat of global steel overcapacity. The steel safeguard expired on 30 June under WTO rules. The UK cannot risk a gap in protection, which would see the loss of steelmaking in the UK and leave us dependent on overseas suppliers for our critical national infrastructure and defence sectors. In finalising the details of the measure, we listened to stakeholders across the supply chain. The Government will continue to engage with industry and actively monitor impacts, including through a review after 12 months. To ease potential short-term impacts, a transitional arrangement is available under which the new measure would not apply to goods agreed under contract before 14 March 2026 and imported between 1 July and 30 September 2026.

Spending levels on Defence are a matter for the Prime Minister and Chancellor, and we will publish the Defence Investment Plan before the NATO summit. The Defence Investment Plan will be both affordable and deliverable and will deliver the best kit into the hands of our Armed Forces.

We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.

We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.

We understand the importance of providing clarity to businesses across the hydrogen sector, including those in the supply chain. Hydrogen is backed in the Industrial Strategy Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan as a frontier technology, with a public finance offer designed to crowd private investment into UK supply chains.

We plan to publish the Hydrogen Strategy, alongside a package of other hydrogen policy documents, as soon as possible this year. The renewed strategy will set out Government’s vision and objectives for hydrogen, and how we intend to work with industry to continue to transform ambition into action.

In the meantime, we remain focused on delivery, with projects that were successful in HAR1 now moving to the final investment decision and our recent investment in UK electrolyser manufacturing with ITM Power in South Yorkshire.

Children’s safety and wellbeing online is the Secretary of State’s top priority. That is why we published the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation, accompanied by a National Conversation on 2 March 2026.

The government published a progress report on the consultation on 15 June, outlining plans to restrict social media services from providing access to under 16s alongside restrictions on functionalities for wider services. Further details will be published in July.

In May 2026, Ofcom published a report on children’s use of online services, including on which platforms children encountered harmful content. Ofcom’s research continues to inform the government’s next steps for online safety.

Where Ofcom has concerns that significant numbers of children are at risk of harm on a service, the government expects them to act. Ofcom has significant enforcement powers at its disposal when a service does not comply with the Act’s requirement and has the government’s full support to use the complete range of these powers.

Protecting children online is a priority for the Secretary of State and this government. That is why we published the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation, accompanied by a National Conversation on 2 March 2026.

The consultation asked for views on children’s use of social media, including questions on screen time and the impact on children’s health. The government published a progress report on the consultation on 15 June, outlining plans to restrict social media services from providing access to under 16s alongside restrictions on functionalities for wider services. Further details will be published in July.

Ofcom also published research in May 2026 of children’s usage of online services after 9 PM, including apps on phones. Ofcom’s research continues to inform the government’s next steps for online safety.

The revised operating model for the Coastguard Rescue Service (CRS) has been agreed following a Court of Appeal ruling, which meant that the current remuneration model could not legally continue.

We deeply value and recognise the significant service Coastguard Rescue Officers provide along our coastline and thank them for their service. The revised model protects choice, flexibility and the ability for people to serve alongside their primary employment. Protecting volunteering preserves and strengthens communities, builds transferable skills, and underpins emergency response; volunteering has been at the heart of search and rescue for generations.

HMCG has 3000 volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers, all with unique personal circumstances and we recognise that any change will affect individuals differently. Under the revised CRS model Coastguard Rescue Officers will continue to be able to claim expenses. The new Expenses Policy enables volunteers to claim non-taxable reimbursement for reasonable costs including travel, meals, equipment, accommodation, and other authorised expenses incurred in connection with their duties.

The department is investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund to support the development of a more inclusive education system. Over £500 million per year will be provided to early years, schools and colleges to boost their existing core funding for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to help them strengthen their inclusive offer.

Settings should deploy funding to help build an inclusive core offer, based on the commonly occurring needs and barriers to learning and participation faced by their cohort and to support the delivery of evidence-based targeted support for those who need it.

Targeted support may include small group interventions based on evidence-informed strategies and approaches to alleviate persistent barriers to learning, delivered by school staff. Targeted plus support will include support from external experts including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, as well as signposting to specialists from Alternative Provision or Specialist settings, delivered through a new Experts at Hand service. We are investing around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local area partnerships, including local authorities and integrated care boards, to develop a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, strengthening mainstream education through access to health and specialist education support.

We will roll out a new national training programme supporting educators to identify and respond to children’s needs backed by £200 million investment, to train staff across nurseries, schools and colleges with the first wave of training materials coming online from September.

Over 85% of waiting list removals are made as a result of patient care, and since the end of the pandemic, unreported removals have been below pre-pandemic levels. Record levels of elective activity are being delivered by NHS staff, enabling us to cut waiting lists and meet our interim target of 65% of patients being seen within 18 weeks—the highest performance in over four years.