Ben Coleman

The Invest 2035: Industrial Strategy Green Paper sets out our vision for a credible, 10-year plan to deliver the certainty and stability businesses need to invest in the high-growth sectors that will drive our growth mission.

The Industrial Strategy Green Paper demonstrates our ambition to support businesses in using data more effectively, including exploring interventions that will: improve the use of public sector data (as a driver of growth); better empower individuals and businesses with their data through the development of Smart Data schemes; and help improve data maturity in businesses. The consultation is open until 24 November 2024.

The Industrial Strategy Council (ISC) will be responsible for informing and monitoring the development and delivery of the long-term industrial strategy, ensuring that policy interventions are based on a high-quality evidence base. The ISC will recommend actions, focusing on growth-driving sectors and the pro-business environment. It will also evaluate impacts. Use of effective data is central to the ISC’s role.

The government will legislate to establish this statutory body in due course. Ahead of legislation, we are introducing an interim Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to ensure the Industrial Strategy is developed with independent expert advice.

The Online Safety Act gives social media platforms new duties to protect their users from harmful content and activity. These include extensive duties to protect users from content which stirs up or incites hatred. It also includes duties to protect users from illegal state-backed interference and disinformation. Ofcom is the new regulator for this regime. It will have strong enforcement powers where platforms fail to comply with their duties. This includes powers to impose substantial fines and business disruption measures and also, in certain circumstances, hold senior managers criminally liable.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has developed a Sensory Impairment apprenticeship. The apprenticeship is expected to be available from September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.

It is also important that early years practitioners are able to identify and support children with SEND, including children with hearing impairment and deafness. The department wants deaf children to be able to thrive in their early years, which might sometimes mean that settings access specialist teachers for the deaf.

The Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life, including those with SEND. It stipulates that providers must have arrangements in place to support children with SEND. Maintained schools, maintained nursery schools and all providers who are funded by the local authority to deliver early education places must have regard for the SEND Code of Practice.

In November, the department published the updated early years foundation stage profile handbook, which includes a change to allow a child’s established or preferred mode of communication (including British Sign Language) to be used for all of the early learning goals, including speaking. The handbook can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-profile-handbook.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is co-chair, is building on the wealth of existing evidence and expertise across the UK to develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We are listening carefully to the voices of children and families living in poverty, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Examples of the engagement we have undertaken are events with Contact, a charity for families with disabled children, ALLFIE, a campaign group focused on including disabled learners in mainstream education, and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, which aims to improve opportunities for young people with severe learning disabilities and their families.

The Taskforce recognises that poverty impacts the whole family so, alongside this, a forum of parents and carers has been brought together to input to the strategy. The approach has been designed to be inclusive and capture the experiences of a broad range of parents, carers and children, including those with SEND.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education is co-chair, is building on the wealth of existing evidence and expertise across the UK to develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We are listening carefully to the voices of children and families living in poverty, including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Examples of the engagement we have undertaken are events with Contact, a charity for families with disabled children, ALLFIE, a campaign group focused on including disabled learners in mainstream education, and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, which aims to improve opportunities for young people with severe learning disabilities and their families.

The Taskforce recognises that poverty impacts the whole family so, alongside this, a forum of parents and carers has been brought together to input to the strategy. The approach has been designed to be inclusive and capture the experiences of a broad range of parents, carers and children, including those with SEND.

Addressing the issues the food sector faces requires a whole-of-government effort, so while Defra is leading the strategy we will be working in very close collaboration with several government departments. Our ambitious food strategy will set and deliver clear long-term outcomes that create a healthier, fairer, and more resilient food system. We will provide details of how the process will operate, how industry can engage, and what the milestones will be in the coming months.

The Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides is to ensure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. We will continue to base decisions on the use of pesticides on careful scientific assessment of the risks. This provides a high level of protection for people and the environment.

The GB pesticide Maximum Residue Level (MRL) regime sets high standards of consumer protection to ensure no harmful effects on human health. GB MRLs are set below, and usually well below, the level considered to be safe for people to eat.

The MRLs apply to both food produced domestically and that imported from other countries. Our ongoing monitoring programme provides assurance that food complies with the rules and is safe to eat. It is led by the Health and Safety Executive with advice from the Expert Committee on Pesticide Residues in Food.

All DWP new entrant work coaches and case managers receive job role specific technical learning, which covers backdating. As changes of circumstances are notified, the Universal Credit system calculates many payments due automatically. Case Managers are supported by coaching and quality assurance.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which the Department of Education Secretary of State is Co-Chair, is building on the wealth of existing evidence and expertise across the UK to develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We are listening carefully to the voices of children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND) who live in poverty, as well as the charities and organisations that represent them. Examples of the engagement we’ve undertaken are events with: Contact, a charity for families with disabled children; ALLFIE, a campaign group focused on including disabled learners in mainstream education; and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation that aims to improve the life opportunities for young people with severe learning disabilities and their families.

​The Taskforce recognises that poverty impacts the whole family so, alongside this, a forum of parents and carers has been brought together to input to the Strategy. The approach has been designed to be inclusive and capture the experiences of a broad range of parents, carers and children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

The DWP pays close attention to the evidence base on the extra costs faced by disabled children, including external academic research but does not endorse a particular external study.

For example, Scope’s Disability Price Tag (2023) uses a sensitive economic modelling methodology called the standard of living approach. They state that a family with a disabled child would have to pay £581 a month to have the same standard of living as a family with a non-disabled child. For 1 in 5 families, these costs can exceed £1000 per month. The existing evidence base that uses similar methodologies produce a wide range of estimates of this cost, ranging from £600 to £1,500 per month, reflecting a high degree of uncertainty around the true additional costs faced by families raising a disabled child.

The Child Poverty Taskforce, of which the Department of Education Secretary of State is Co-Chair, is building on the wealth of existing evidence and expertise across the UK to develop an ambitious strategy to reduce child poverty. We are listening carefully to the voices of children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEND) who live in poverty, as well as the charities and organisations that represent them. Examples of the engagement we’ve undertaken are events with: Contact, a charity for families with disabled children; ALLFIE, a campaign group focused on including disabled learners in mainstream education; and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation that aims to improve the life opportunities for young people with severe learning disabilities and their families.

​The Taskforce recognises that poverty impacts the whole family so, alongside this, a forum of parents and carers has been brought together to input to the Strategy. The approach has been designed to be inclusive and capture the experiences of a broad range of parents, carers and children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

The Government is committed to creating the healthiest generation of children ever, as set out in our Child Health Action Plan. The Healthy Start scheme was introduced in 2006 to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children under four years old from very low-income households. It can be used to buy, or be put towards the cost of, fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk, and infant formula. Healthy Start beneficiaries have access to free Healthy Start Vitamins for pregnant women and children aged under four years old.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) delivers the scheme on behalf of the Department. The NHSBSA is committed to increasing uptake of the Healthy Start scheme to ensure as many children as possible have a healthy start in life.

The NHSBSA promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally. The NHSBSA has also reached out to stakeholders to see how it can support them in promoting the scheme. In December 2024, the Healthy Start scheme supported over 354,000 people.

The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, however these are commercially sensitive. The New Hospital Programme had confirmed £3.7 billion in funding up to the end of 2024/25.

Up to the end of 2023/24, the total amount received by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in funding for their new hospital schemes is £13 million. The trust has two schemes in the New Hospital Programme, for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, as well as the scheme for St Mary’s Hospital. Up to the end of 2023/24 funding allocated to the trust was not separated by the individual schemes.

The breakdown of how much the trust received for their new hospital scheme is published annually as part of the Department’s Annual Reports and Accounts, with Public Dividend Capital to individual trusts included in the Financial Assistance Report under section 40 of the National Health Service Act 2006. The 2022/23 report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023

The trust is currently developing their Strategic Outline Case for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital scheme, and is at Royal Institute of British Architects Stage 0.

The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, however these are commercially sensitive. The New Hospital Programme had confirmed £3.7 billion in funding up to the end of 2024/25.

Up to the end of 2023/24, the total amount received by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in funding for their new hospital schemes is £13 million. The trust has two schemes in the New Hospital Programme, for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, as well as the scheme for St Mary’s Hospital. Up to the end of 2023/24 funding allocated to the trust was not separated by the individual schemes.

The breakdown of how much the trust received for their new hospital scheme is published annually as part of the Department’s Annual Reports and Accounts, with Public Dividend Capital to individual trusts included in the Financial Assistance Report under section 40 of the National Health Service Act 2006. The 2022/23 report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023

The trust is currently developing their Strategic Outline Case for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital scheme, and is at Royal Institute of British Architects Stage 0.

The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, however these are commercially sensitive. The New Hospital Programme had confirmed £3.7 billion in funding up to the end of 2024/25.

Up to the end of 2023/24, the total amount received by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in funding for their new hospital schemes is £13 million. The trust has two schemes in the New Hospital Programme, for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, as well as the scheme for St Mary’s Hospital. Up to the end of 2023/24 funding allocated to the trust was not separated by the individual schemes.

The breakdown of how much the trust received for their new hospital scheme is published annually as part of the Department’s Annual Reports and Accounts, with Public Dividend Capital to individual trusts included in the Financial Assistance Report under section 40 of the National Health Service Act 2006. The 2022/23 report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023

The trust is currently developing their Strategic Outline Case for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital scheme, and is at Royal Institute of British Architects Stage 0.

The standard process confirming the total funding amount for major infrastructure projects involves the review and approval of a Full Business Case. All trusts in the programme have previously received indicative funding allocations to support planning, however these are commercially sensitive. The New Hospital Programme had confirmed £3.7 billion in funding up to the end of 2024/25.

Up to the end of 2023/24, the total amount received by the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in funding for their new hospital schemes is £13 million. The trust has two schemes in the New Hospital Programme, for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital, as well as the scheme for St Mary’s Hospital. Up to the end of 2023/24 funding allocated to the trust was not separated by the individual schemes.

The breakdown of how much the trust received for their new hospital scheme is published annually as part of the Department’s Annual Reports and Accounts, with Public Dividend Capital to individual trusts included in the Financial Assistance Report under section 40 of the National Health Service Act 2006. The 2022/23 report is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dhsc-annual-report-and-accounts-2022-to-2023

The trust is currently developing their Strategic Outline Case for the Charing Cross Hospital and Hammersmith Hospital scheme, and is at Royal Institute of British Architects Stage 0.

We do not collect data on the engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) across the FCDO network of overseas Posts. However, Posts are encouraged to promote all equalities issues globally, including disability inclusion, and engage directly with OPDs regularly. Since the merger of FCO and DFID, a substantial new programme of capability building on how to do this has been established, including a 'how to note' on engaging with OPDs specifically.

Engagement is increasing but the FCDO has further to go. Recent examples include the Ambassador in Jakarta's meetings with OPDs and disability inclusion partners on at least four occasions over the last year; and the High Commissioner in Rwanda's meeting with a group of local OPD representatives to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities earlier this month.

The Minister for Development has also included meetings with OPDs where possible during her travel schedule, including meeting an organisation of women with disabilities in South Sudan, and visiting OPDs in South Sulawesi, Indonesia who are receiving technical assistance from the FCDO's Disability Capacity Building Programme.

We will launch a refreshed version of the FCDO's Inclusion and Rights Strategy at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin in April 2025. The voices and agency of people with disabilities will remain a core focus of the strategy and of our wider work on disability inclusion.

We do not collect data on the engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) across the FCDO network of overseas Posts. However, Posts are encouraged to promote all equalities issues globally, including disability inclusion, and engage directly with OPDs regularly. Since the merger of FCO and DFID, a substantial new programme of capability building on how to do this has been established, including a 'how to note' on engaging with OPDs specifically.

Engagement is increasing but the FCDO has further to go. Recent examples include: the Ambassador in Jakarta has met with OPDs and disability inclusion partners on at least four occasions over the last year; and the High Commissioner in Rwanda, who met a group of local OPD representatives to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities earlier this month.

I have also included meetings with OPDs where possible during my travel schedule, including meeting an organisation of women with disabilities in South Sudan, and visiting OPDs in South Sulawesi, Indonesia who are receiving technical assistance from the FCDO's Disability Capacity Building Programme.

We will launch a refreshed version of the FCDO's Inclusion and Rights Strategy at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin in April 2025. The voices and agency of people with disabilities will remain a core focus of the strategy and of our wider work on disability inclusion.

We do not collect data on the engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) across the FCDO network of overseas Posts. However, Posts are encouraged to promote all equalities issues globally, including disability inclusion, and engage directly with OPDs regularly. Since the merger of FCO and DFID, a substantial new programme of capability building on how to do this has been established, including a 'how to note' on engaging with OPDs specifically.

Engagement is increasing but the FCDO has further to go. Recent examples include the Ambassador in Jakarta's meetings with OPDs and disability inclusion partners on at least four occasions over the last year; and the High Commissioner in Rwanda's meeting with a group of local OPD representatives to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities earlier this month.

I have also included meetings with OPDs where possible during my travel schedule, including meeting an organisation of women with disabilities in South Sudan, and visiting OPDs in South Sulawesi, Indonesia who are receiving technical assistance from the FCDO's Disability Capacity Building Programme.

We will launch a refreshed version of the FCDO's Inclusion and Rights Strategy at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin in April 2025. The voices and agency of people with disabilities will remain a core focus of the strategy and of our wider work on disability inclusion.

We do not collect data on the engagement with organisations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) across the FCDO network of overseas Posts. However, Posts are encouraged to promote all equalities issues globally, including disability inclusion, and engage directly with OPDs regularly. Since the merger of FCO and DFID, a substantial new programme of capability building on how to do this has been established, including a 'how to note' on engaging with OPDs specifically.

Engagement is increasing but the FCDO has further to go. Recent examples include: the Ambassador in Jakarta has met with OPDs and disability inclusion partners on at least four occasions over the last year; and the High Commissioner in Rwanda, who met a group of local OPD representatives to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities earlier this month.

I have also included meetings with OPDs where possible during my travel schedule, including meeting an organisation of women with disabilities in South Sudan, and visiting OPDs in South Sulawesi, Indonesia who are receiving technical assistance from the FCDO's Disability Capacity Building Programme.

We will launch a refreshed version of the FCDO's Inclusion and Rights Strategy at the Global Disability Summit in Berlin in April 2025. The voices and agency of people with disabilities will remain a core focus of the strategy and of our wider work on disability inclusion.

This Government will reset relations with our European friends and strengthen ties to boost economic growth, enhance our security through an ambitious UK-EU security pact and tackle shared challenges.

The European Political Community Summit at Blenheim Palace on 18 July brought together 46 European leaders to advance this reset. To take forward this work, the Foreign Secretary travelled to Germany, Poland and Sweden in his first weekend in the role and I conducted my first visit to Greece.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume.

To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume.

Whilst the new system of wine labelling allows product labelling to 0.1 per cent ABV, this is optional, and wine can still be labelled to the nearest 0.5 per cent ABV.

By the planned end-date of 31 January 2025, the wine industry will have had over two years to adapt to the new strength-based system.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume.

To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume.

Whilst the new system of wine labelling allows product labelling to 0.1 per cent ABV, this is optional, and wine can still be labelled to the nearest 0.5 per cent ABV.

By the planned end-date of 31 January 2025, the wine industry will have had over two years to adapt to the new strength-based system.

In August 2023 the Government introduced reforms to alcohol duty so that products are taxed in proportion to their alcoholic strength, not volume.

To help the wine industry adapt to the new duty system, the temporary duty easement was introduced as a transitional measure, which was intended to allow time for wine producers to adapt to calculating duty based on alcohol by volume.

Whilst the new system of wine labelling allows product labelling to 0.1 per cent ABV, this is optional, and wine can still be labelled to the nearest 0.5 per cent ABV.

By the planned end-date of 31 January 2025, the wine industry will have had over two years to adapt to the new strength-based system.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK.

Any unauthorised withdrawals are subject to a 25% withdrawal charge. This recoups the Government bonus, any interest or growth arising from it, and a proportion of the individual’s initial savings. HMRC is currently undertaking social research on the LISA with existing account holders and those who are eligible but have not opened a LISA.

HMRC commits to publishing all research in their Annual Report and Accounts. The findings from all strands of research on the LISA will be published in due course.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

Data from the latest UK House Price Index demonstrates that the average price paid by first-time buyers remains below the LISA property price cap in all regions of the UK.

Any unauthorised withdrawals are subject to a 25% withdrawal charge. This recoups the Government bonus, any interest or growth arising from it, and a proportion of the individual’s initial savings. HMRC is currently undertaking social research on the LISA with existing account holders and those who are eligible but have not opened a LISA.

HMRC commits to publishing all research in their Annual Report and Accounts. The findings from all strands of research on the LISA will be published in due course.

The Government keeps all aspects of savings tax policy under review.

There are no plans to reduce the annual grant-in-aid to the Royal Hospital Chelsea.

While the Property Ombudsman (TPO) is independent of Government, we are committed to ensuring that the agent redress schemes work well for consumers. My department receives regular data from TPO and meets with them regularly to discuss policy and performance. These arrangements provide an opportunity for discussion of emerging concerns and measures TPO are taking - and plan to take - to improve their service. From the point at which a complaint has been accepted for review and allocated, it can take between 16-18 weeks for a review to be completed. The time taken to reach a decision is generally dependent on the complexity of the complaint.

While the Property Ombudsman (TPO) is independent of Government, we are committed to ensuring that the agent redress schemes work well for consumers. My department receives regular data from TPO and meets with them regularly to discuss policy and performance. These arrangements provide an opportunity for discussion of emerging concerns and measures TPO are taking - and plan to take - to improve their service. From the point at which a complaint has been accepted for review and allocated, it can take between 16-18 weeks for a review to be completed. The time taken to reach a decision is generally dependent on the complexity of the complaint.

While the Property Ombudsman (TPO) is independent of Government, we are committed to ensuring that the agent redress schemes work well for consumers. My department receives regular data from TPO and meets with them regularly to discuss policy and performance. These arrangements provide an opportunity for discussion of emerging concerns and measures TPO are taking - and plan to take - to improve their service. From the point at which a complaint has been accepted for review and allocated, it can take between 16-18 weeks for a review to be completed. The time taken to reach a decision is generally dependent on the complexity of the complaint.

The Government intends to act quickly to provide homeowners with greater rights, powers, and protections over their homes by implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024. The Act will introduce an amended valuation scheme that leaseholders must follow to calculate how much they should pay to enfranchise. The method set by the Act for the valuation process removes the requirement for marriage value to be paid, caps the treatment of ground rents in the valuation calculation at 0.1% of the freehold value and allows Government to prescribe the rates used to calculate the enfranchisement premium. Rates will be set by the Secretary of State in secondary legislation.

The Act also includes a new statutory right to a 990-year lease extension for leaseholders of both houses and flats and makes extending a lease cheaper for leaseholders by requiring each side to pay their own process costs, such as valuation and solicitor's fees.

The implementation of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 will require an extensive programme of secondary legislation and we will set out the details in due course.

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. This will support our ambition that the 1.5 million homes we will build over the course of this parliament will be high quality, well designed and sustainable. We are clear that rooftop solar should play an important role, where appropriate, as part of the future standards for homes and buildings.