My Lords, the Future Homes and

Building Standards consultation, setting out proposals for new energy efficiency standards, was published at the end of 2023. It included proposals for fitting new, non-domestic premises with solar panels. The consultation received over 2,000 responses. We have carefully considered the feedback received and, while I do not want to pre-judge our detailed policy announcement, I can say that this Government recognise the vital role of rooftop solar in contributing to the clean energy mission and that we are therefore keen to see solar panels deployed on all buildings where it is appropriate and practical. We intend to publish the government response in the coming months.

My Lords, legal aid is a vital part of the justice system. It underpins our plans to build a justice system that works for victims, supports access to justice and ultimately upholds the rule of law. The previous Government left the legal system facing significant challenges. This Government are committed to ensuring an effective, efficient and sustainable legal aid system, and we have already begun to stabilise the sector and explore ways in which we can rebuild our justice system.

Future standards will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and towards more secure, clean energy. The Government will therefore take the opportunity, where appropriate, to encourage the fitting of solar panels on new homes and buildings. Changes to permitted development rights rules will mean more businesses will be able to install solar panels on their roofs without going through the planning system. The Government is providing fiscal incentives to encourage businesses to install rooftop solar, through tax relief and business rate exemptions for installing and generating solar power.

Solar power is at the heart of our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Whilst solar panels on warehouses form a critical part of this mission, the Department does not hold this information.

Future standards will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and towards more secure, clean energy. The Government will therefore take the opportunity, where appropriate, to encourage the fitting of solar panels on new homes and buildings. Changes to permitted development rights rules will mean more businesses will be able to install solar panels on their roofs without going through the planning system. The Government is providing fiscal incentives to encourage businesses to install rooftop solar, through tax relief and business rate exemptions for installing and generating solar power.

As part of our plans to triple solar capacity we are consulting on extra measures in the National Planning Policy Framework that highlight the importance of solar power to our clean energy ambitions.

Separately, future standards next year will set our new homes and buildings on a path that moves away from relying on volatile fossil fuels and ensures they are fit for a net zero future.

The Home Office does not collect data regarding the senior appointments made by Police and Crime Commissioners or any severance payments made.

Senior appointments, their salaries and any payments are a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners. As the locally elected representative for policing, they are ultimately responsible for appointing their chief executive, balancing their budget and making decisions about the size and composition of their offices.

PCCs are required by the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) (Amendment) Order 2021 to publish information relating to the composition of their office; the salaries of their senior staff; and financial information, including planned expenditure of the office of the police and crime commissioner, and audited accounts.

The Home Office does not collect data regarding the senior appointments made by Police and Crime Commissioners or any severance payments made.

Senior appointments, their salaries and any payments are a matter for individual Police and Crime Commissioners. As the locally elected representative for policing, they are ultimately responsible for appointing their chief executive, balancing their budget and making decisions about the size and composition of their offices.

PCCs are required by the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) (Amendment) Order 2021 to publish information relating to the composition of their office; the salaries of their senior staff; and financial information, including planned expenditure of the office of the police and crime commissioner, and audited accounts.

My Lords, we want all looked-after children to live in stable, loving homes where they are safe and cared for. We are taking forward the commitments already made to improve the quality and consistency of safeguards across residential settings through new standards of care; to develop a new financial oversight regime for the market; to increase provision; and to take steps to ensure a stable and skilled children’s home workforce.

No assessment has been made. The National Clinical Homecare Association collates data and estimates approximately 500,000 patients are in receipt of a homecare medicines service with an estimated annual value of £3.2 billion. However, these figures have not been validated by the National Health Service.

Between April 2022 and March 2023, 7% (11) of immigration legal aid providers opened no new cases and 15% (23) opened no more than 30 new cases.

In total there are 152 legal aid providers who hold a contract to provide immigration and asylum legal aid service. The above data reflects active immigration work reported between April 2022 and March 2023, inclusive.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) delivers services for immigration legal aid by Procurement Area and Access Point geographical area. These are procured and delivered at office level. A provider could therefore have opened over 30 new cases, spread across several office locations with varied levels of active immigration casework. There are no Procurement Areas in which no new immigration legal aid cases have been opened.

The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision of legal aid, in all categories of law, throughout England and Wales. The LAA moves quickly, where issues arise, to secure provision and to ensure demand for legal aid services is met across the country. Legal advice on a range of civil matters including housing, debt, discrimination, and education is available, wherever people are, through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.

My Lords, the Government undertook a two-part review of police and crime commissioners, to strengthen their accountability and expand their role. Delivering these recommendations will sharpen their transparency and accountability and ensure they have the necessary tools and levers to be strong local leaders in the fight against crime and anti-social behaviour. PCCs continue to be directly held to account by the public at the ballot box.

My Lords, the two-part police and crime commissioner review considered the role of police and crime panels and concluded that they have the appropriate powers to scrutinise police and crime commissioners. However, the consistency and quality of this scrutiny can vary. Recommendations arising from the review have therefore focused on

improving panels’ understanding of their role, the application of their existing powers and strengthening the professionalism and quality of the support provided to panels.

National Health Service ambulance trusts are responsible for the deployment of volunteer Community First Responders and provide the appropriate training, equipment, oversight and support to volunteers. There are no specific centralised campaigns to raise awareness.

My Lords, we are piloting the provision of early legal advice for debt, housing and welfare benefit matters. We will introduce legislation later this year to ensure better access to social welfare advice for

people facing possession proceedings. We have reviewed the means test for legal aid and are currently consulting on plans to increase access to legal aid to an additional 2 million people for civil legal aid.

My Lords, through the police uplift programme, police forces in England and Wales have recruited over 11,000 additional officers. Police and crime commissioners can also fund the recruitment of officers on top of the uplift allocations from local funding such as precept outside of the uplift grant. We

collect data annually on local ambitions to recruit additional officers, to ensure that growth is tracked accurately.

My Lords, following a consultation which concluded in January this year, we will lay legislation later this year proposing better access to social welfare advice for people facing possession proceedings. On 19 January, we laid legislation to pilot the provision of early legal advice for debt, housing and welfare benefit matters. The pilot will commence later this year. We will shortly publish our review of the means test for civil legal aid.

Where local authorities are placing a young person out of area, there are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people. These require the placing authority to inform the host authority before confirming the placement, and to check whether the host authority is aware of any concerns about the setting.

The statutory responsibilities for looked after children remain with the placing local authority, and Directors of Children’s Services must approve all distant placements.

As a lack of sufficient placements to meet young people’s needs can lead to children being placed out of area, we are investing part of our £200 million Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme in projects in London, where demand for placements outstrips supply. This would also help to increase councils’ capacity so that fewer children are placed far away from home.

Where there is a dispute between local authorities about who should have responsibility for a looked after child, the ordinary residence determination process provides a mechanism to resolve this.

The department has also launched the Boarding School Partnerships (BSP) to encourage boarding school placements for children in care and those on the edge of care, where it was in the best interests of the child. The BSP has been working with the boarding schools sector to provide a supply of places to local authorities supported by bursaries.

Where local authorities are placing a young person out of area, there are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people. These require the placing authority to inform the host authority before confirming the placement, and to check whether the host authority is aware of any concerns about the setting.

The statutory responsibilities for looked after children remain with the placing local authority, and Directors of Children’s Services must approve all distant placements.

As a lack of sufficient placements to meet young people’s needs can lead to children being placed out of area, we are investing part of our £200 million Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme in projects in London, where demand for placements outstrips supply. This would also help to increase councils’ capacity so that fewer children are placed far away from home.

Where there is a dispute between local authorities about who should have responsibility for a looked after child, the ordinary residence determination process provides a mechanism to resolve this.

The department has also launched the Boarding School Partnerships (BSP) to encourage boarding school placements for children in care and those on the edge of care, where it was in the best interests of the child. The BSP has been working with the boarding schools sector to provide a supply of places to local authorities supported by bursaries.

The Ministry of Justice wants our prisons to be places where living conditions and behaviour towards others demonstrate our values of humanity, decency and respect as the basis for a culture of care and rehabilitation.