The Department recognises the concerns of former employees who left under the Voluntary Exit Scheme and continue to experience difficulties accessing the pension scheme portal. Unfortunately, these issues are not specific to Natural England and are affecting Civil Service Pension Scheme members more widely. While resolution of the technical issues sits outside Defra’s direct control, the department is working closely with Capita to seek resolution as quickly as possible.

Every child deserves the chance to achieve and thrive, whatever their background and whatever their need. The Education for All Bill will provide the legislative underpinning for our special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms. It will transform support for children and young people with SEND by providing earlier access to support close to home and ensuring that schools, nurseries and colleges deliver the stretching, rewarding and inclusive education that all children and young people deserve. We intend to introduce the Bill in this legislative session, and when Parliamentary time allows.

In February 2026, the department published the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform ‘Putting Children and Young People First’. The consultation’s case for change noted that education, health and care (EHC) plans had doubled since 2014 after two decades of stability, mostly due to three types of primary need: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Social; Emotional and Mental Health; and Speech, Language and Communication Needs.

Comparisons with Wales, where increases were roughly half those in England, suggested that the rise in England reflected wider societal factors and features specific to England, such as how the SEND system operates. These features included cuts to support services, the inability to secure reliable high-quality special educational needs support in mainstream settings and the de facto financial threshold for an EHC plan being frozen in cash terms for over a decade. It did not estimate what proportion of the rise was due to need being unmet at an earlier stage, but it did hypothesise that the system had shifted away from making support available early and providing a strong Universal offer, including ordinarily available provision or early access to multi agency support.

The department is committed to generational SEND reform and early intervention will be central to this. This will be supported by strengthened partnership working between local authorities, health, and education settings. As set out in the SEND consultation, we will update the SEND Code of Practice and publish partnerships guidance to provide clearer expectations of the Local SEND partnership, the collective responsibility for outcomes, and the respective role of the local authority and local area partners in transforming the SEND system.

Under our proposals, where children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan move to the new system, we will have several safeguards in place. Our transition approach is intended to balance the need to minimise disruption, ensuring children and young people benefit from an improved system.

We will provide support to families, settings and local authorities ahead of implementation, investing over £500 million each year from now until 2029 to ensure the new system is ready to support this cohort.

We are also 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 to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to support from key services and health and education practitioners.

For children and young people who transition away from support via an EHC plan, their families will be able to express a preference for a mainstream setting of their choice for the start of their next education phase. We will also ensure that an Individual Support Plan is in place, developed with families, and for them to access provision in the universal and targeted layers once their EHC plan has ceased before an EHC plan is ceased. We are also 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 to strengthen the capability of mainstream education settings by providing access to support from key services and health and education practitioners.

We have recently consulted on our proposed reforms and will confirm final decision and further information regarding transition arrangements in due course.

Under our proposals, children and young people who require support from a Specialist Provision Package (SPP) will be eligible for an education, health and care plan.

SPPs aim to provide a consistent national framework for eligibility and provision and work alongside improvements to inclusive practice to support all children and young people. Packages are being developed by the independent expert panel.

We are currently considering consultation responses and will confirm decisions in due course.

Under the department’s proposals, settings would have a duty to produce an Individual Support Plan for any child or young person with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The intention is that where a child needs Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist layers of support, there is a clear plan setting out their needs, provision and intended outcomes. These layers will be guided by the National Inclusion Standards, which will establish national consistency around the support that children and young people should ordinarily expect to receive across the 0 to 25 system, regardless of where they live or which setting they attend. To support consistency, the standards will include evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with SEND. The department has recently consulted on our proposed SEND reforms. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation alongside feedback from over 200 engagement events we held over 12 weeks and will set out our response in due course.

The concept of added value does not appear in the Regulated Activities Order. It is used in the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) perimeter guidance to clarify its interpretation of the regulatory perimeter.

The FCA is the independent regulator responsible for implementing the UK’s financial services regulations including by issuing perimeter guidance.

The Department works across Government to tackle violence against women and girls, including with the Ministry of Justice. As part of this work, Lilian Greenwood, then Minister for Local Transport, discussed dangerous driving as a means of coercive control with Alex Davies-Jones MP, then Minister for Victims, in October 2025.

The Government's ‘Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy’ includes a commitment to work to disqualify violence against women and girls offenders who have used vehicles as part of their offending behaviour or criminal acts, using existing powers. This reflects evidence that vehicles can be used in individual cases as a means of control, intimidation, harassment or abuse.

The Government has further committed to working with National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) on a strategy designed to look at opportunities to target violence against women and girls through roads policing. This important work is part of the Roads Policing Innovation Programme, a commitment under the Government's wider Road Safety Strategy.

The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Government's objective is to deliver a UK cryptoasset regime that appropriately balances the protection of consumers from detriment with a regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the independent expert regulator, is responsible for setting the prudential regime for regulated cryptoasset firms and ensuring firms hold appropriate financial resources and manage risks effectively.

The Government continues to maintain close dialogue with the FCA, including on international regulatory and market developments.

It is important that our legal framework supports digital innovation. As set out in the Wholesale Financial Markets Digital Strategy, the government is committed to providing legal clarity where it is needed.

We are engaging with the sector to understand what barriers to tokenisation exist in law. The regulators are also seeking to provide clarity to support the equivalent treatment of tokenised and non-tokenised assets, both prudentially and as eligible collateral where risks are comparable.

The Government's objective is to deliver a UK cryptoasset regime that appropriately balances the protection of consumers from detriment with a regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. The Government continues its close engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority to that end.

The Government's objective is to deliver a UK cryptoasset regime that appropriately balances the protection of consumers from detriment with a regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. The Government continues its close engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority to that end.

The Government's objective is to deliver a UK cryptoasset regime that appropriately balances the protection of consumers from detriment with a regulatory environment that supports innovation and growth. The Government continues its close engagement with the Financial Conduct Authority to that end.

The ‘Discussion Paper on the key elements of the Scale Policy’ was published in July and seeks industry views on how scale can be demonstrated, as well as greater detail on the current operation of default arrangements and investment strategies in multi-employer defined contribution (DC) schemes. These responses, along with further targeted stakeholder engagement, will support the development of detailed regulations for the scale policy, which we will consult on in 2027.

As part of the detailed policy design, the Government is committed to balance the desired outcomes across innovation, competition, scale, scheme governance and of course the vital objective of better member outcomes.

The Government recognises that the Lifetime ISA (LISA) is not working for everyone and that its dual purpose of supporting both home ownership and retirement saving can create complexity for savers. The Government is therefore consulting on a new FTB ISA product, setting out options for a simpler product focused on supporting first-time buyers.

The Government is carefully considering responses to the FTB ISA consultation, including the fiscal impact of different design. Any decisions on the detailed design of the product, including matters affecting Exchequer costs, will be taken in the round and announced in the usual way.

The published FTB ISA consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a LISA. After the new product is introduced, it will not be possible to open a LISA, but existing LISA holders, including those currently using the LISA for retirement, will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules. More information can be found here First Time Buyer ISA consultation - GOV.UK.

The Government recognises that the Lifetime ISA (LISA) is not working for everyone and that its dual purpose of supporting both home ownership and retirement saving can create complexity for savers. The Government is therefore consulting on a new FTB ISA product, setting out options for a simpler product focused on supporting first-time buyers.

The Government is carefully considering responses to the FTB ISA consultation, including the fiscal impact of different design. Any decisions on the detailed design of the product, including matters affecting Exchequer costs, will be taken in the round and announced in the usual way.

The published FTB ISA consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a LISA. After the new product is introduced, it will not be possible to open a LISA, but existing LISA holders, including those currently using the LISA for retirement, will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules. More information can be found here First Time Buyer ISA consultation - GOV.UK.

The Government recognises that the Lifetime ISA (LISA) is not working for everyone and that its dual purpose of supporting both home ownership and retirement saving can create complexity for savers. The Government is therefore consulting on a new FTB ISA product, setting out options for a simpler product focused on supporting first-time buyers.

The Government is carefully considering responses to the FTB ISA consultation, including the fiscal impact of different design. Any decisions on the detailed design of the product, including matters affecting Exchequer costs, will be taken in the round and announced in the usual way.

The published FTB ISA consultation confirmed that until the new product is offered it will be possible to open a LISA. After the new product is introduced, it will not be possible to open a LISA, but existing LISA holders, including those currently using the LISA for retirement, will continue to be able to use their accounts in line with the existing rules. More information can be found here First Time Buyer ISA consultation - GOV.UK.

The Government acknowledges the potential benefits of recognising compatible jurisdictions’ regulatory regimes, including promoting growth and competitiveness by supporting cross-border activity.

The Financial Services and Markets Bill will enable HM Treasury to establish bespoke Overseas Recognition Regimes, where doing so will benefit the UK. The Government will consider using these powers for digital assets, where appropriate, subject to an assessment of the compatibility of the relevant jurisdiction’s regulatory and supervisory framework.