It is for those commissioning building work to decide whether to employ a clerk of works to evaluate or supervise the building work they wish to carry out. In many cases architects, structural and civil engineers and other professionals are used as an alternative to a clerk of works.

The statutory guidance in Approved Document C (Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture) which supports the Building Regulations promotes the use of flood resilience and resistance measures in flood prone areas. The document references guidance produced jointly by the Department for Communities and Local Government, Defra and the Environment Agency – Improving the flood performance of new buildings – Flood resilient construction. Much of the information is applicable to resilient repair as well as new build.

The Building Regulations also require that floors, roof and walls of buildings should be adequately protected from harmful effects caused by spillage of water from or associated with sanitary fittings or fixed appliance. Guidance on how to meet this requirement is set out in Approved Document C.

On 15th March 2017 the Church of England’s House of Bishops published “Responding Well to Domestic Abuse: Policy and Practice Guidance”, which urges church communities to address the issue of domestic abuse and raise awareness of its impact on adults and children. The document can be seen at: https://www.churchofengland.org/media/3896806/responding-well-to-domestic-abuse-2017.pdf

The updated practice guidance and policy encourages churches to become places of safety where domestic abuse is taken seriously, survivors are believed and respected, and alleged or known perpetrators challenged. The updated document reflects legislative and other changes since guidance was last issued in 2006.

Under the policy Church leaders and Officers working with children, young people and vulnerable adults will be expected to undergo domestic abuse training, with the issue being raised in appropriate contexts within church life including youth groups, marriage preparation and ordinand training. They will also be expected to work closely with statutory and other specialist organisations.

In the House of Lords this session bishops supported the passage of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Bill.

Improved rail resilience in the south-west is a priority, which is why we committed £5 million in Budget 2016 and £10 million in autumn statement 2016 to support that work. The Government will continue to work with Network Rail to develop options for future investment in the south-west in Network Rail’s control period 6.

The information is in the table attached.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that around 80% of technologies appraised between June 2015 and June 2016 fell below the level of the proposed budget impact test. The level of the budget impact test does not represent a maximum that the National Health Service will spend on an individual drug in any year, but represents the point at which NHS England will seek to agree a commercial agreement with the drug company.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) provides a package of measures to educate Service personnel on the dangers of alcohol misuse to help them make informed decisions, and has introduced extensive policy and guidance for Commanding Officers. Each Service has a clear substance misuse education and training policy. We believe personnel have the necessary information to allow them to make informed decisions, but the focus of all activities is to encourage a sensible social approach to alcohol consumption.

The Department has also established a working group to look at the research outcomes and identify key policy or behavioural changes to support the reduction in alcohol misuse. The working group has introduced a number of initiatives to promote a sensible attitude to alcohol and encourage all Service personnel to take responsibility for their own actions. An alcohol strategy is being developed along four lines; Prevention, Intervention, Protection and Engagement. The emphasis will be on good leadership and role modelling behaviour at all levels as well as supporting alcohol-free social and leisure initiatives, and ensuring alternative options are available to support individuals to make informed choices. The MOD has also entered into a partnership with DrinkAware to identify methods to increase awareness of the dangers of alcohol misuse across the Armed Forces.

Social letting agencies can support vulnerable people and people on low incomes to access and sustain tenancies in the private rented sector. We want to prevent people reaching crisis point, and for those who are already homeless to be able to move out of temporary accommodation or hostels to a settled home as quickly as possible. There are a number of different models of social letting agencies and in the Housing White Paper we set out our interest in exploring the relative effectiveness of these different models with the aim of securing more housing for households who would otherwise struggle – providing security for landlords and support for tenants.

The Department for International Development (DFID) is supporting Malawi to diversify its economy, improve inclusive growth and eradicate extreme poverty. My Department has not made an assessment of the merits of providing support to the fisheries research laboratory in Monkey Bay. However, a new programme of agricultural support is currently in design and assessing potential options for UK support, including on fisheries.

Great Western is providing free Wi-Fi on a large majority of their services and Cross Country will be providing this from April 2018.

Our priority is for passengers to experience a reliable and highly available mobile service and we will be securing this within future franchises.

Great Western’s new franchise is due to start from December 2019.

Cross Country’s new franchise is due to start from June 2019.

In this year of the Royal Navy, the service is deployed at home and around the globe 365 days a year, protecting national interests and promoting our prosperity. Whether maintaining our continuous at-sea deterrent, providing reassurance to British overseas territories or conducting counter-piracy and counter-narcotics patrols, we will be there when we are needed.

During my visit to Malawi last year, I signed a Compact with the Government of Malawi as part of the UK’s “Energy Africa” campaign. The Compact sets out agreed actions to remove policy and regulatory barriers to Malawi’s solar market expansion. The UK is also working alongside energy companies to develop inclusive business models for solar products, providing technical support to improve markets, distribution and access to consumer and business finance.

The Department works closely with the marine engineering and manufacturing sector, which includes the yacht building industry. The Ministerial Working Group for Maritime Growth continues to engage with the industry on the issues and opportunities for the maritime sector resulting from the UK leaving the EU.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the West Indian Ocean poses a limited security threat to British nationals, so we have not made a formal assessment.

The UK Government has made no specific assessment of the economic cost to the UK of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing either globally or in the West Indian Ocean. IUU poses a threat to the economic livelihood for many countries with consequences for the marine environment. The UK fulfils its IUU obligations to prevent trade in illegally caught fish by prohibiting the import of fish from countries, identified by the European Union, as not supporting sustainable fisheries.

In 2009, prior to the implementation of the regulation, the European Commission commissioned an evaluation report on the expected impacts of the EU IUU Regulation on third countries. This report aimed to help third countries and the EU access the training requirements to implement this measure successfully, and is available at

https://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/sites/fisheries/files/docs/body/iuu_consequences_2009_en.pdf.

Disposal of waste medicines is an essential service within the community pharmacy contractual framework, to be provided by all community pharmacies in England. NHS England is responsible for commissioning National Health Service pharmaceutical services.

Patients are normally advised to return unused medicines to their local community pharmacy for safe disposal. This is the case also for patients and families of deceased patients who no longer require prescribed medicines.

Appliances are normally collected by community nurses. Occasionally there is a local amnesty with appeals to patients to return equipment, for example crutches and wheelchairs to accident and emergency departments.

The Government is committed to building the homes our country needs.

Measures in the recent White Paper will ensure more homes are planned for where they are needed most, that homes are built more quickly once they have planning permission, and will diversify the housing market so it works for everyone.

The UK’s links with Africa are profound. We spend almost £5 billion a year supporting Africa’s stability and prosperity. My Rt. Hon Friend the Foreign Secretary (Mr Johnson) last week visited The Gambia which recently saw its first democratic transfer of power, and in May my Rt. Hon Friend the Prime Minister (Mrs May) will host a major conference to agree a new international partnership for Somalia, demonstrating UK leadership and commitment to democracy and stability in Africa.

Pharmacies are an important source of care, providing services such as flu jabs, health checks and of course dispensing vital medicines. We are transforming how pharmacists and their teams operate in the community - making the most of their skills to meet urgent medicine needs, treat minor ailments and ensure patients receive the best care. Healthy Living Pharmacies across the country with qualified health champions are demonstrating innovative models of delivery, reaching out to their local communities and making a real difference to people’s health.

To make even greater use of this important asset, the Murray Review of community pharmacy clinical services recommended that NHS England and its national partners should consider how best to support Sustainability and Transformation Plans in integrating community pharmacy into those plans. Public Health England published a menu of preventative interventions for the Sustainability and Transformation Plans in November 2016, which outlined evidence-based public health and preventative interventions that can help to improve the health of the population and reduce health and care services demand in the short to medium term. That menu specifically identified that pharmacy can make a contribution to:

- Cardiovascular disease secondary prevention;

- Improving the management of patients with blood pressure;

- Delivering effective brief advice on physical activity as part of everyday clinical care;

- Raising public awareness about reducing the risk of dementia;

- Providing support to stop smoking; and

- Reducing alcohol consumption and harm through brief advice.