The Ministry of Justice has published the data and analysis underpinning these measures in the Courts and Tribunals Bill (Structural Criminal Court) Impact Assessment (the IRCC Impact Assessment (IA)). The IA sets out the relevant assumptions, evidence base and methodology used, drawing on the best available data, operational insight and engagement with the judiciary.

Since 2024, UK Research and Innovation are investing £100 million in six Engineering Biology Mission Hubs, and 22 Engineering Biology Mission Awards. These hubs and awards are driving engineering biology towards tangible, mission-orientated impacts.

In December 2025 Government announced it will invest £644 million in engineering biology, including £184 million to build and upgrade scale‑up infrastructure and £196 million in research and development. This investment will be underpinned by skills development through Doctoral Focal Awards in Engineering Biology delivered through UKRI.

On 5 October 2025, the Home Secretary announced that the government would amend sections 12 and 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 to explicitly require a senior police officer to take account of the cumulative impact of frequent protests on local areas when considering whether to impose conditions on public processions and assemblies.

This measure is designed to require the police to consider whether public processions and assemblies have or will take place in the same geographical area when considering whether the serious disruption to the life of the community threshold is met. ‘Relevant cumulative disruption’ is defined in the clause.

The Home Office will work with the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council to include guidance on cumulative disruption in the Public Order Public Safety Authorised Professional Practice, and the Protest Operational Advice Document. These contain operational advice for frontline policing and are regularly updated to include all public order powers.

The government is committed to protecting public safety and preventing disorder and crime whilst balancing the right to peaceful protest.

Under the provisions in clauses 118 to 120 of the Crime and Policing Bill, the police can only designate a locality for the purposes of the offence of concealing identity at protests where a senior officer reasonably believes that a protest is or may take place in the locality, that the protest is likely to involve or has involved the commission of offences, and it is expedient in order to prevent or limit offences being committed to designate the locality.

The measure includes a defence for individuals charged with this new offence if they prove they wore or used the item for a purpose related to health, religious observance or relating to the person’s work.

As such, a locality will only be designated where criminality has or is likely to take place, and under this new measure, the police will be expected to take action only against persons who are wearing or using items to conceal their identity at protests in a designated locality, without a legitimate purpose. Given these safeguards, the government is satisfied that this measure does not disproportionately interfere with individuals’ human rights.

All police forces in England and Wales continue to record non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) and retain them as intelligence, making local decisions, as appropriate on whether further investigation is appropriate. The Home Office does not collate data on NCHIs.

The College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs’ Council are currently undertaking a review of NCHIs, working closely with the Home Office. We look forward to receiving the final recommendations of the review shortly and will consider them carefully.

The Government is taking decisive steps to attract and retain world-class AI researchers. We have expanded the Turing AI Pioneer Fellowships to build our expertise at home. We are also funding up to 100 Spärck AI scholarships for master’s degrees at leading UK universities, as part of the wider £187 million TechFirst digital skills programme.

To draw global talent, our new Turing AI Global Fellowships offer relocation packages for leading academics. These initiatives form part of a £1 billion AI R&D portfolio, which also includes doctoral training centres and research hubs – strengthening the UK’s research base and ensuring we remain a global leader in AI innovation.

Under its Royal Charter, the BBC has a duty ‘to provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them’. In delivering on that duty, the BBC is independent from the government. It is the responsibility of Ofcom, as the BBC’s independent regulator, to hold the BBC to account for delivering on its Mission and Public Purposes, including due impartiality. Ofcom regularly reports on BBC performance, including in its annual reports on the BBC.

The government expects the BBC to uphold the highest editorial standards and to report the news accurately and impartially. The upcoming Charter Review will consider how best to ensure the BBC continues to deliver the high standards of reporting that the public expect of a national broadcaster.

This government is absolutely committed to freedom of speech and academic freedom in universities. Academics must be allowed to test the truth of the ideas that shape society and to participate in the free exchange of ideas, including where this causes shock and discomfort.

On 28 April 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, signed commencement regulations of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, enabling additional provisions to come into force from 1 August 2025. These provisions include strengthened duties on higher education (HE) providers in relation to securing and promoting the importance of freedom of speech and academic freedom. The provisions make clear that academic staff must be able to question received wisdom and present new, controversial, or unpopular ideas without risking their privileges, jobs, promotions, or future roles at their provider.

Further guidance on employment and promotion of academic staff in relation to freedom of speech is set out in paragraphs 145 to 153 of the Office for Students’ Regulatory advice 24.

The Government support the bionics and advanced prosthetics industry by funding end-to-end innovation, from early-stage research and development to clinical trials and evidence generation, via Innovate UK and the National Institute of Health and Social Care Research (NIHR).

Through NIHR, the Department funds innovative research through multiple programmes and broader infrastructure investments. The NIHR supports a range of projects developing next-generation bionic and prosthetic technologies. NIHR-funded initiatives include: the Starworks Child Prosthetics Network; the Rebel Hand Project, which is developing smart prosthetic hands for children; the Virtual Reality Prosthetics Training System; and the Brain Injury Sensory Prosthetic, which is using augmented reality for vision rehabilitation. These examples illustrate the broad support for innovation in bionics and advanced prosthetic development.

The Government is committed to ensuring that patients have access to high-quality prosthetics while supporting British innovation in healthcare technology. The NHS Supply Chain plays a vital role in supporting our health service, delivering significant value, and thereby ensuring more resources are directed to frontline patient care.

The NHS Supply Chain’s Prosthetics, Components and Associated Products Framework is due to launch on 24 November 2025 to replace the Artificial Limbs Framework. The new framework will offer over 95,000 products to provide clinical choice in order to meet patient need. The full product range, which encompasses bionics and advanced prosthetics along with repair componentry, will be made available from 12 compliant suppliers.

The Government, through UK Research and Innovation’s Medical Research Council (MRC), supports a broad range of biomedical research, including in reproductive health, developmental biology and genetics. MRC’s applicant-led funding opportunities are open to proposals within its remit. MRC also funds large-scale, challenge-led transformative research through its Institutes and Centres of Research Excellence. All research is subject to appropriate ethical review.

While no such specific assessment has been made, we recognise the potential impact of sleep deprivation on mental health.

NHS Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression offer low-intensity therapy which may include interventions around sleep hygiene. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of anxiety and/or depression can be referred by their general practitioner, or can self-refer, to NHS Talking Therapies.

Individuals can also access helpful resources on sleep problems on the NHS Every Mind Matters website.

In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s Prioritisation Board has recently agreed to prioritise digital technologies that deliver cognitive behavioural therapy interventions for insomnia and insomnia symptoms as a topic for the development of HealthTech guidance.

Advice for healthcare professionals is also available from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on its website.

The Government has established the Anti-Muslim Hatred/Islamophobia Definition working group to advise the Government on the appropriate and sensitive language to describe, understand and define unacceptable treatment, prejudice, discrimination and hate targeting Muslims or anyone who is perceived to be Muslim. The Government is committed to ensuring that efforts to define Anti-Muslim hatred/ Islamophobia contribute positively to tackling the issue, informed by extensive engagement with a wide range of communities and views.

A randomised, crossover trial evaluating the effects of ultra processed or minimally processed diets following healthy dietary guidelines on weight and cardiometabolic health was published by Dicken et al in Nature Medicine on 4 August 2025. A formal assessment of the study has not yet been carried out.

United Kingdom dietary recommendations are based on robust independent risk assessments by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). The SACN assessed the evidence on processed foods and health in a position statement in 2023 and a rapid evidence update in April 2025.

The SACN has concluded that the observed associations between higher consumption of ultra processed foods and adverse health outcomes are concerning. The SACN recommends that on balance, most people are likely to benefit from reducing their consumption of processed foods high in energy, saturated fat, salt, and free sugars, and which are low in fibre

The SACN has made a number of research recommendations to help understand whether processing is a risk factor, over and above the nutrients and energy intake. The SACN will consider the evidence published since its rapid evidence update, including this study, at its horizon scanning meeting in 2026.

The UK’s national food model, The Eatwell Guide, which is based on the SACN’s recommendations, already indicates that many foods classified as ultra processed, such as crisps, biscuits, cakes, confectionery, and ice cream, are not part of a healthy, balanced diet. It advises that people should eat more fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher-fibre foods, as well as less red and processed meat and food and drink that is high in sugar, calories, saturated fat, and salt.

The Government continues to invest in research on ultra processed foods through the National Institute for Health and Care Research and UK Research and Innovation.

The Government is making reforms to better support victims of child sexual abuse and prioritise their rights, including making it easier for victims to pursue compensation claims in the civil court.

The Government has included a measure in the Crime and Policing Bill to remove the three-year time limit for victims to bring civil personal injury child sexual abuse claims, so that claims do not need to be brought within three years of turning 18. This change is significant because we know that it can take decades for survivors to disclose sexual abuse.

Victims, including children, who suffer a serious physical or mental injury as a direct result of a violent crime such as physical and sexual abuse, may also be able to access compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Payments under the Scheme are an expression of public sympathy and are intended to be an acknowledgment of the harm that eligible applicants have experienced.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) has worked to improve its service for compensation applicants, including providing its staff with specific training on the impact of psychological and emotional trauma in sexual abuse cases, and guidance on applying the exceptional circumstances discretion to sexual abuse cases - particularly child sexual abuse.

Ketamine does not have a marketing authorisation in the United Kingdom for use in the treatment of any mental health conditions. Esketamine nasal spray, an isomer of ketamine, is licensed for treatment-resistant depression that has not responded to at least two different antidepressants in the current moderate to severe depressive episode in adults, and for the treatment of adults with a moderate to severe episode of major depressive disorder, as acute short-term treatment for the rapid reduction of depressive symptoms, which, according to clinical judgement, constitutes a psychiatric emergency.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing authoritative, evidence-based recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new, licenced medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources.

The NICE has been unable to recommend esketamine for treatment-resistant depression due to uncertainties in its clinical and cost-effectiveness. It is not therefore routinely funded by the NHS in England for any indication.

The NICE was unable to make recommendations on the use of esketamine nasal spray for the treatment of major depressive disorder because the marketing authorisation holder did not provide an evidence submission.

In 2018, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer commissioned independent researchers at University College London to map published research on screen time, social media, and children and young people’s mental health. Their findings were published by the National Institute for Health Research.

On 7 February 2019, the Chief Medical Officer published a commentary on this research, alongside their advice for parents and carers, and their recommendations for other stakeholders. They determined that the evidence was insufficiently conclusive to support the Chief Medical Officer’s evidence-based guidelines on optimal amounts of screen use or online activities, such as social media use.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has conducted scientific advice meetings with research organisations developing drugs with psychedelic properties for the treatment of mental health conditions. The MHRA does not conduct research, however they enable clinical trials research to take place and have procedures in place to review marketing authorisation applications submitted to them, with regard to the drug’s quality, safety and effectiveness.

The Department of Health and Social Care commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), which has invested £1.1 million in a randomised controlled trial to examine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of the use of psilocybin in people with treatment-resistant depression.

The NIHR also invests in psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies through its infrastructure. For example, the Imperial Biomedical Research Centre aims to investigate the potential of treating psychiatric disorders with psychedelics. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies.

The Department met with TikTok and Meta in December 2022 and January 2023, to discuss the mental health of children and young people, including girls who are under 16 years old.

In December 2021, the Government published the first UK Food Security Report which included an assessment of household food security. Latest National statistics data from the Department of Work and Pension’s Family Resources Survey published in March 2021, shows that 92% of households were food secure. The Family Resources Survey is a continuous household survey which collects information on a representative sample of houses in the UK and has a large sample of 20,000 households. We continue to monitor all key indicators and engage with independent surveys including the Food Foundation on an ongoing basis. We are committed to continue to report on this in future food security reports.

Tackling poverty in all forms is a key priority for this Government. We know people are facing pressures with the increasing cost of living and recognise that some need extra support with essentials like food shopping and other day-to-day costs. We are taking action worth £12 billion to help them, including through the Household Support Fund to support low-income households in England with the cost of food, utilities and wider essentials this winter.

Since 2017, Defra has made a series of grants available to help the redistribution sector in their important work. Nearly £12 million has been awarded to over 250 large and small organisations across the country for the provision of, for example, warehousing, vehicles, fridges and freezers to get more surplus food to those who have a need. With the infrastructure support that has been provided, we believe these projects will continue to reduce food waste and deliver safe discounted food for many years to come.

Defra is committed to the WRAP-led Food Waste Reduction Roadmap which supports business to waste less through the Target, Measure and Act approach. By measuring and acting on waste more surplus will be redistributed.

Whatever preventative and reduction actions are taken, some food waste will arise. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is the Government's preferred option for recycling food that eventually ends up in waste. We want to prioritise prevention of waste and therefore avoid financial incentives for farmers to send food to AD instead of redistribution. In most cases, AD plants charge a 'gate fee' to treat food waste used as a feedstock.