In health and care, strong leadership can make the difference between life and death. I have been clear that we can accept only the highest possible standards and that in some cases poor leadership has been tolerated for too long. That is why I have accepted in full the recommendations of General Sir Gordon Messenger’s independent review and will set out a delivery plan to begin what I think will be the biggest shake-up in health and social care leadership in a generation.

The recently completed Victims’ Bill consultation is a critical step towards introducing a Victims’ Law – part of our plan for doing better by victims, from the moment a crime is committed through to cases being heard in court.

In particular, we have consulted on requirements for prosecutors to meet with victims pre-charge and pre-trial, the use of community impact statements, improving accountability of criminal justice agencies, increasing the Victim Surcharge and wider support for victims.

Victim support services are crucial to helping victims remain engaged in the criminal justice process. The Department has provided £150.5 million to victim support services this financial year, with funding increasing to £185 million by 2024/25. Hence, this Government has trebled the amount of funding for victims compared to pre-2010 levels.

This will enable us to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) we fund to over 1,000, alongside other key services including a 24/7 support service for victims of sexual violence.

I have taken a number of steps to keep Members of Parliament up to date on Afghan resettlement. I have previously sent two letters to colleagues; one providing an update on casework to the Home Office on Afghanistan and one updating on the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

I gave detailed evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee and I have updated the House on a number of occasions, including in January announcing the launch of the ACRS. Members can also continue to raise specific enquiries with MP Account Management via the Home Office MP Enquiry line or through requested engagement surgeries.

I meet individual MPs to discuss bridging accommodation queries within their constituencies and will be holding a general drop in session after recess for MPs with bridging accommodation in their constituencies.

The Department regularly reviews and assesses the effectiveness of COVID-19 guidance for care homes. From 31 January 2022, there is no limit on the number of visitors each resident can have and no additional requirements for normal visits outside of the home. All residents should be allowed to nominate an essential care giver, who can continue to visit during an outbreak.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors providers where concerns have been raised about visiting arrangements. The CQC has continued inspecting, raising safeguarding alerts where applicable and following up with residents, families, the provider, local authorities and UK Health Security Agency health protection teams.

It has just been announced, through the spending review, that the NHS will receive: over £12 billion of capital funding for investment in and maintenance of the NHS estate; £5.9 billion for diagnostics, technology and elective recovery; £4.2 billion for at least 70 hospital upgrades and 40 new hospitals; and funding to eradicate mental health dormitories. That is on top of £500 million of additional capital funding given for the second half of this year to help tackle the elective backlog. It means that NHS capital budgets will have increased by over 8% year-on-year above inflation since the start of the Parliament.

Concerns about the Horizon system were raised with the Department publicly, including in Parliament, and these are a matter of public record. BEIS relied on the Post Office’s management to investigate issues with the Horizon system and was assured that the system was robust and that the issues raised by the postmasters were being handled appropriately. The Department was aware upon the handing down of the Common Issues Judgement by Justice Fraser in March 2019 that there were serious issues with the Horizon IT System. This was confirmed in the Horizon Issues Judgement in December 2019.

The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, led by Sir Wyn Williams, will establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon over its lifecycle and the Department is fully cooperating with the Inquiry as are both the Post Office and Fujitsu.

The Principal Accounting Officer has been sighted with quarterly updates relating to Post Office Ltd’s (POL) change spend (including litigation) costs since 2018/19. Additionally, the Principal Accounting Officer is also sighted on POL’s annual budgets which includes forecasted legal costs.

While Post Office Ltd is publicly owned, it operates as an independent, commercial business. Unless otherwise specified in the Articles of Association, spending including spend on legal costs is treated as an operational matter for the Post Office. It funded all litigation costs related to the Group Litigation Order.