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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council in relation to SEND provision in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) North Staffordshire in each of the last five years. \p Catherine McKinnell: The information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

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 department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

Following the last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission visit, departmental officials have been working with Staffordshire County Council and hold regular discussions to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly.

The areas for improvement were:

The department has appointed a SEND Advisor along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.
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Stuart Andrew:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the finding from The University of Manchester article entitled Transforming children and young people’s futures through PE, school sport, and physical activity, published in February 2025, that 43% of pupils spend over four hours daily on screens. \p Catherine McKinnell: The government is committed to breaking down the barriers to accessing sport and physical activity for children and young people, including girls. Our manifesto set out our intention to support more children to be active by protecting time for physical education in schools and working across government to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport and physical activity.

The department acknowledges that there is a potential opportunity cost where excessive screen time displaces positive activities for children, including exercise. Across departments, the government is also considering the recommendations of the previous Education Committee’s report ‘Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing’.

In November 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology announced a feasibility study on methods and data to understand the impact of smartphones and social media on children. The study, being conducted by the University of Cambridge and a wider consortium of experts from a range of universities, began on 2 December 2024 and will run for six months, until May 2025.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many private schools she has visited since 5 July 2024; and which schools. \p Stephen Morgan: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and the wider ministerial team visit a wide variety of education settings, including private schools. The Secretary of State for Education prioritises visits to our state schools, which serve 93% of pupils in England.
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Rebecca Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to replace the funding of the Stimulating Physics Network. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government has inherited significant pressures on public finances and difficult decisions must be made on how money is spent right across the public sector to ensure we deliver on our priorities. Despite these challenges, the department continues to promote physics and support participation in the subject.

As part of this support, the department is continuing to fund the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching programme. This is a series of blended learning courses covering the key stage 3 and key stage 4 physics curriculum to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.

The government is additionally continuing to fund the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of more than 28,000 volunteers registered from over 7,500 employers, reaching over 3 million young people every year. These volunteers engage with young people to spark interest in STEM subjects and showcase the wide variety of STEM careers by sharing their personal experiences.

Further, the Oak National Academy aims to support teachers to improve curriculum delivery, reduce workload and support improved pupil outcomes up to key stage 4. This will ensure that all pupils have access to high-quality physics content giving them the best opportunity to progress to study physics or other STEM subjects at higher levels.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have withdrawn from the Free School Daily Breakfast Club pilot in (a) Leicestershire and (b) England. \p Stephen Morgan: The evidence is clear on the impact breakfast clubs can have to support children to arrive at school ready to learn. That is why this government is committed to introducing free and universal breakfast clubs in every state funded school with primary aged pupils.

The early adopter scheme has not yet started. We were delighted that over 3,000 schools applied to be early adopters and 750 schools will start delivering from the summer term, bringing change now for pupils and parents in every corner of the country.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the fee status is of Ukrainian refugees when applying for university; which fee level they fall under; and what financial support they are provided with. \p Janet Daby: Those who have been granted leave under one of the Ukraine schemes generally qualify for home fee status and higher education student support in England, without being required to meet the normal 3 year ordinary residence test.

Higher education providers set their own fees in line with the relevant legislation.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding structure on the number of apprenticeships available for 16-24-year-olds in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: To support younger people into apprenticeships, the government pays both employers and training providers £1000 when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18 or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. This is in recognition of the additional support that younger apprentices may require when entering employment. The government also pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care, when they undertake apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers. Additionally, employers benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £967 a week, £50,270 a year.

The government is reforming the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy that will include new foundation apprenticeships to give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working lives. Construction will also be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships backed by an additional £40 million, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and give them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry.

The availability of apprenticeships in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire will be determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeships. The department publishes data on apprenticeships starts by geographical area, including local authority district and parliamentary constituency at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/2325414e-eb99-439f-20ca-08dd18600198.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of specialist further education provision for students with special educational needs in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: The department is committed to improving access to educational opportunities for all young people in all parts of the country by ensuring that they can access a quality educational offer that adds value and helps them to achieve their long-term career aspirations and goals.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to secure enough suitable education and training provision to meet the reasonable needs of all young people in their area who are over compulsory school age but under 19, or aged 19 or over and for whom an education, health and care plan is maintained. They must therefore ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review, including its sufficiency, working with parents, young people and providers.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve the recruitment and retention of staff in further education colleges in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: The department recognises the vital role that further education (FE) staff and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills that they need to succeed in their education and to drive growth in our economy.

The department will be spending over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure enough funding is available to respond to the significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. We are making approximately £50 million of this funding available to colleges for April to July 2025 to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention.

In addition, the department is providing funding to colleges and schools to support them with increased National Insurance contributions, which will add a further £155 million to funding for post-16 education in the 2025/26 financial year.

The department’s Targeted Retention Incentive gives eligible early career teachers working in FE colleges in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and priority technical subjects up to £6,000 after tax annually, in addition to their usual pay. This includes those in eligible FE colleges in the Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire area.

The department has also continued to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. FE teacher training bursaries will be offered for the 2025/26 academic year, and we have increased the top value of bursaries for STEM subjects to £31,000 each, tax free.

The national FE teacher recruitment campaign, Share Your Skills, targets those with industry skills to think about a career in FE teaching. The campaign raises awareness and increases consideration by encouraging industry professionals to think about using their skills to teach in FE.
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Danny Beales:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 February to Question 31745 on Universities: Industry, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of adults who are likely to take up the opportunity for Life Long Learning across (a) the UK, (b) Greater London and c) West London. \p Janet Daby: The department is due to announce outstanding policy details related to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement later this year. These details will inform our demand projections for this specific programme, and we will share further information about this in due course.

This government recognises the importance and value of investing and creating a culture of lifelong learning in our country to support our industrial strategy and economic growth. This starts with activity already underway, such as the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, establishing Skills England, utilising local skills improvement plans, further supporting skills bootcamps and apprenticeships and devolving the adult skills fund to support learning and development in all stages of life.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of funding arrangements on the ability for further education colleges to expand existing provision in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: This government inherited a challenging fiscal context which means tough decisions are needed across the public sector. However, the department invested over £7.5 billion in 16-19 programme funding during the 2024/25 academic year to help to ensure that all young people have access to high-quality education and training that meets their needs and provides them with opportunities to thrive.

On 5 March 2025 the department gave details of 16-19 funding that means we will be spending over £400 million more on 16-19 education in the 2025/26 financial year (over £100 million more than the £300 million announced at the Autumn Budget 2024) to ensure enough funding is available given the very significant increase in student numbers and other pressures on the system. In addition, we are providing funding to compensate colleges and schools for increased employer National Insurance Contributions, which will add a further £155 million to funding for post-16 education in the 2025/26 financial year.

We are spending around £87 million in the 2024/25 academic year to support In Year Growth costs, acknowledging the very large increase in students this year. The amount represents more In Year Growth Payment than in any previous year, despite amending the rules on how the department calculates in-year growth to ensure the affordability of payments for the exceptionally high growth in the 2024/25 academic year.

All the national funding rates for students on 16-19 study programmes and T Levels will increase by 3.78% in the 2025/26 academic year. This means a full-time study programme student will attract a rate of £5,026, with T Level students attracting higher rates due to these being larger programmes. The department will consider future needs as part of the spending review.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to support the availability of more construction apprenticeships. \p Janet Daby: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, which will provide greater flexibility to employers and learners across England. This will create routes into skilled jobs in growing industries, such as construction.

The department is developing new foundation apprenticeships, a work-based training offer that will provide young people with clear progression pathways into further work-based training and employment.

Construction will be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry, giving them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career. As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry.

There is £140 million industry investment in Homebuilding Skills Hubs. The hubs are projected to deliver over 5,000 fast track apprenticeships per year by the 2027/28 financial year, in shortage occupations including bricklaying and groundwork.

Additionally, on the 23 March, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures to address skills shortages in the construction sector. This package commits over £600 million over the Parliament to help deliver up to 60,000 skilled construction workers.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of T Level industry placements in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: The department works closely with education providers and employers to ensure the availability and quality of T Level industry placements across the country.

We do not hold industry placement data at regional level, but our latest national results data shows that 97.5% of T Level students from the 2022 cohort (those who finished their T Level in 2024) completed their industry placement.

Whilst it is the overall responsibility of T Level providers to source industry placements for their students, the department has a range of support in place to help ensure the availability and quality of placements. This includes online guidance, workshops, and practical tools to help providers identify, plan and design placements, and a 900+ strong ambassador network to raise the profile of T Levels across different industries, including representatives across Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire. In January 2025 we also updated our industry placement delivery approaches to enable students to access a wider range of placement opportunities. This can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/678a7a302080f65f988bd3a1/T_Level_industry_placement_delivery_guidance.pdf.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support further education colleges to provide post-16 literacy and numeracy education in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: The department considers level 2 English and mathematics to be essential for enabling students to develop the skills they need to seize opportunities in life, learning and work. That is why we have the mathematics and English condition of funding, which enables all students on 16 to 19 study programmes or T Levels, who have not yet attained grade 4+ GCSE, or equivalent, in English and mathematics, to access support that leads to the best outcomes for them.

The department is strengthening the support offered to students under the mathematics and English condition of funding. This includes requiring providers to offer planned minimum hours of in-person, whole class, stand-alone teaching in English and mathematics, and for more students to be offered this.

The department also supports adults aged 19+ to participate in mathematics and English provision through our ‘essential skills entitlements’ which fully-fund adults who do not have essential literacy and numeracy skills up to and including level 2. This allows learners who have not previously attained a GCSE grade 4 or higher or equivalent, or who are assessed as having below level 2 skills to undertake a range of courses fully-funded through the Adult Skills Fund including GCSEs, Functional Skills and other relevant qualifications from entry level to level 2.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with further education colleges on the impact of post-16 assessment methods on student outcomes in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: The department knows the importance of ensuring that we have the right balance of assessment methods for students studying post-16 qualifications, so that we can best capture the strengths of every young person, while maintaining the important role of examinations. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has had no specific recent discussions with further education (FE) colleges in Milton Keynes and/or Buckinghamshire but is working on improving both curriculum and assessment for student outcomes, considering young people across the country.

That is why last year we launched the independent expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review will consider the existing national curriculum and statutory assessment system, and pathways for learners in 16 to 19 education. As part of the first phase of the Review, a call for evidence was undertaken. This included a wide range of educational institutions, including FE colleges. The Panel’s Interim Report was published on 18 March and the department will consider the Review’s final recommendations around assessments methods when the final report is published.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support further education colleges to secure industry-standard vocational training facilities in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) Buckinghamshire. \p Janet Daby: My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced an additional £625 million of funding to support construction skills training, with the detail set out in Spring Statement 2025. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers this Parliament. The funding includes capital investment through the establishment of Technical Excellence Colleges and the creation of an employer match funding pot worth £80 million.

Furthermore, on 5 March 2025 we gave details of 16 to 19 funding that means the department will be spending over £400 million more on 16 to 19 education in the 2025/26 financial year. All national funding rates for students on 16 to 19 study programmes and T Levels will increase by 3.78% in the 2025/26 academic year. This means a full-time study programme student will attract a rate of £5,026, with T Level students attracting higher rates due to these being larger programmes.

On 1 April 2025, the department provided £302 million to further education (FE) colleges to support them to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estates. This new allocation for FE colleges in 2025/26 will help address the maintenance backlog and ensure a great environment for learning.

Under the FE college condition allocation, Milton Keynes College will receive £1.47 million and Buckinghamshire College Group will receive £1.3 million. The full list of FE college condition allocations can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/further-education-college-condition-allocation-2025-to-2026.
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Darren Paffey:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Multiply Programme on adult numeracy skills; and whether she plans to introduce further funding or alternative provisions to support (a) adults with learning difficulties and (b) other adults improve their maths skills following the programme’s conclusion. \p Janet Daby: The extensive Multiply programme evaluation is ongoing and will conclude in winter 2025.

The final evaluation report will provide valuable lessons to take into future policy development and delivery of the adult skills fund (ASF) and Tailored Learning.

The government remains committed to ensuring opportunity for all as one of its key missions. This includes building a skills system for opportunity and growth, and delivering a stronger skills offer.

The department continues to support participation in mathematics provision through the essential skills entitlements which fully fund adults who do not have essential numeracy skills up to and including level 2. This allows learners to undertake a range of courses fully funded through the ASF, including GCSEs, Functional Skills and other relevant qualifications from entry level to level 2.

Tailored Learning also offers the flexibility within the ASF for non-qualification based provision that is similar to Multiply, including outreach and engagement. Tailored Learning is available to all grant funded providers. The ASF supports adults to improve their numeracy skills, including adults with learning difficulties.
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Siân Berry:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Office for Students' regulatory case report for the University of Sussex, published on 26 March 2025, whether the Office for Students plans to issue guidance to higher education institutions following the report. \p Janet Daby: This government is committed to free speech as a non-negotiable, and expects universities to take their responsibilities to upholding it seriously.

The Office for Students (OfS) is an independent regulator responsible for ensuring that higher education (HE) in England delivers positive outcomes for students. While the OfS operates within the broader policy framework set by the department, it maintains operational independence in its regulatory decisions and activities.

Their core regulatory activity is funded primarily through fees paid by registered providers, rather than the public purse. The OfS may also require a provider in relation to which a sanction has been imposed, to pay the costs incurred by the OfS in relation to imposing the sanction.

Investigations on breaches to conditions of registration forms the core regulatory purpose of the OfS, it is therefore not possible to calculate the specific costs for individual investigations.

The OfS’s published policy on monetary penalties, ‘Regulatory advice 19', makes provision for a reduced penalty where a settlement is reached at an early stage of an investigation. This is intended to avoid the OfS and a provider needing to expend resources to complete the detailed work necessary to draft and respond to provisional and final decisions.

Whether the OfS sought external legal advice on any matter, including the investigation into Sussex, is a matter for the OfS, and it is strictly confidential.

The OfS plans to publish further guidance on providers’ duties to take steps to secure free speech shortly, ahead of new duties on HE providers under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 coming into force. This is currently planned for 1 August.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of pupils transferring from private to state schools on the cost to local authorities of home school transport. \p Catherine McKinnell: Local authorities are required to arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age who attend their nearest school and would be unable to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs, disability or mobility problem, or because the route is unsafe. As such, most pupils do not need home-to-school transport.

Departmental officials work closely with local authorities in relation to home-to-school transport and will continue to engage on this. As set out in HMT’s impact assessment, we expect the level of movement from private to state-funded schools following tax changes to be very small. We have not seen any evidence to contradict our expectations.

Most central government funding for home-to-school travel is provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) administered by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The provisional LGFS makes £69 billion available to local authorities in the 2025/2026 financial year, the majority of which is not ringfenced. Together with local income from council tax and business rates, this will provide a real-terms increase in core spending power of around 3.2%.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of renewing her Department's contract with Now Teach, in the context of meeting teacher recruitment targets. \p Catherine McKinnell: Career changers make a valuable contribution to the teaching profession and the department remains committed to recruiting and supporting them into initial teacher training, including as part of our efforts to recruit an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools and our colleges over the course of this Parliament.

Our wider offer to all potential teachers, including career changers, supports them through their journey to apply for teacher training and during the critical early years of teaching. This includes the Get Into Teaching service, which offers one-to-one support and advice to all candidates, including career changers.

The current contract for the career changers programme will come to its natural end in autumn 2026, with no option to directly renew the contract with Now Teach. The department is currently working with Now Teach to support their exit planning and ensure that the final cohort of trainees complete the programme successfully. We have no plans to reprocure the contract at this stage.

The department has contracts with many organisations in support of teacher recruitment and training and continues to fund and support those organisations in line with the terms of the agreed contracts.
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Claire Hughes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what information her Department holds on the number of the countries that teach GCE A-Level qualifications in state schools or their equivalent. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department does not hold information on the number of countries that teach A level qualifications in state schools or their equivalent.

There are examples of countries which have developed an A level offer. For example, Singapore delivers the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A level. International A levels are also offered in many countries worldwide.

Ofqual publishes a range of information about exported qualifications. The latest information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-qualifications-market-report-academic-year-2022-to-2023/annual-qualifications-market-report-2022-to-2023-academic-year#in-focus-international-market. However, this report does not include information on the number of countries that teach A level qualifications in state schools or their equivalent. Ofqual’s data does also not include unregulated qualifications, such as International A levels.
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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Partnership and Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme on attainment for pupils in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; and what the cost is per child of the programme. \p Catherine McKinnell: Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a cross-government programme, backed by £13 million of investment, delivered through collaboration between the Department for Education, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. PINS brings together integrated care boards (ICBs) local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodivergent children and their families.

The programme which began under the previous government deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to strengthen training for teachers and upskill around 1,600 mainstream primary schools, which equates to approximately 10% of the total number of mainstream primary schools in England. Building teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodivergent children provides the opportunity to enhance support and improve outcomes for all children in this whole-school approach. As the programme takes this whole-school approach and the benefits support all children, the department would therefore not be able to indicate a specific cost per child.

The department has commissioned an independent evaluation of the PINS programme. This has been designed to look at the implementation of the programme in primary schools and explore the impact on primary schools’ ability to better support neurodiverse pupils. The evaluation includes exploring attainment, and it covers all ICB areas currently participating in the programme.
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Natalie Fleet:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of 18 year olds achieving three or more A level passes in (a) Bolsover constituency and (b) its neighbouring constituencies. \p Catherine McKinnell: The requested data can be found in the attached table. The table shows the number and proportion of students entering at least 3 A levels, broken down by the number of A level entries in the Bolsover constituency and the bordering constituencies of Amber Valley, Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Dales, Mansfield, North East Derbyshire, and Rother Valley.

There were zero A level students in the Bolsover constituency in the 2023/24 academic year.

Data is based on students attending schools and colleges located in, rather than those resident in, each constituency who have reached the end of 16-18 study.

A Level entries in Balsover and surrounding areas (xls, 58.0KB)
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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 20 March to Question 38689 on Racial Discrimination: Palestinians, if she will hold discussions with Educate against Hate on developing resources to tackle anti-Palestinian racism. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is committed to ensuring that teachers, parents, and young people are equipped with the guidance and resources designed to develop critical thinking, logical reasoning, and empathy, to build resilience to, and reject hateful narratives.

The department’s Educate Against Hate website hosts quality-assured resources to help teachers and school leaders teach students about extremism, conflict, spotting misinformation and disinformation, online safety, and our shared fundamental British values.

Following the events of 7 October 2023, a blog containing practical advice for discussing ongoing conflicts was published on the Educate Against Hate website. The blog signposts relevant resources from reputable organisations that can support schools to teach about this sensitive topic in a balanced way, avoiding antisemitic, anti-Muslim and/or other discriminatory narratives.

Educate Against Hate provides a range of resources and guides to support teachers and education practitioners in confidently facilitating conversations around the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The resources are wide ranging and address why it is important to discuss this topic, how to navigate the news and social media, and how to support young people who may be directly affected by the conflict. All guidance and teaching resources hosted on Educate Against Hate are drawn from reputable organisations.

There are also practical resources designed to be used in classrooms, that focus on Palestine and Israel and cover the history of the conflict. They challenge students and learners to examine a range of sources such as images, maps and documentation to debate and discuss different perspectives in a polite and respectful way, and in the controlled environment of a classroom, before they reach their own views on the topic.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to help increase mobile phone coverage. \p Chris Bryant: The government wants all areas of the UK to benefit from reliable and good quality mobile coverage.

4G geographic coverage from at least one mobile operator has now reached over 95% of the UK landmass through the Shared Rural Network. The programme is continuing to deliver 4G mobile connectivity to places where there is either limited or no coverage.

Our ambition is for all populated areas having higher-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition. As part of this work, the government intends to reform the planning system to make it easier to build digital infrastructure. We have also increased funding for our 5G Innovation Region programme to £43 million to drive adoption of standalone 5G across key sectors.

We will continue working with Ofcom to ensure that their coverage reporting is more accurate.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_352

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the time taken for decisions on planning applications to be made on the rollout of new (a) 5G and (b) 5GSA infrastructure. \p Chris Bryant: The Government’s ambition is to deliver nationwide coverage of standalone 5G to all populated areas by 2030.

Most wireless infrastructure, including ground-based masts and rooftop antennas, benefit from permitted development rights. This means that mobile operators can upgrade to 5G more quickly.

In addition, the Chancellor announced £46 million investment into the planning system for 2025-2026 to support the deployment of infrastructure. The Government has also committed to appointing 300 new planning officers into local planning authorities. As part of our determination to strip away unnecessary and disproportionate regulatory burden, the government is considering whether further changes to planning regulations are required to reduce barriers to digital infrastructure deployment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_353

Henry Tufnell:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an assessment of the (a) potential impact of Physical Infrastructure Access fees on the rollout of full fibre broadband to rural areas by Alternative Network Providers and (b) the adequacy of the Physical Infrastructure Access fee pricing structure. \p Chris Bryant: The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity, including in rural areas. The government's strategy supports market entry and expansion by alternative network operators via access to Openreach’s ducts, poles, and other utility infrastructure, through the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) framework.

Ofcom governs the PIA framework, with powers to impose access conditions on electronic communications networks, enabling third party infrastructure access on fair and reasonable terms, conditions and charges, and without undue discrimination.

The government supports this framework but will not intervene in independent Ofcom decisions regarding the PIA fee pricing structure.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_354

Ben Lake:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofcom on increasing the four-hour minimum time requirement for power backup during power outages in the broadband phone network. \p Chris Bryant: Communication providers have statutory responsibilities to take appropriate and proportionate steps to provide resilient networks and services. Ofcom published guidance in September 2024 on the measures that providers can take to meet those responsibilities, which sets out that power backup of at least four hours is good practice for active fixed access equipment in cabinets at the point of installation.

Ofcom also requires providers to ensure customers making calls over broadband are able to make emergency calls in the event of a power cut at their premises for a minimum of one hour. On 14 March, Vodafone, BT, KCOM and Zen Internet announced that they will introduce a Broadband Battery Backup capable of powering routers for four-to-seven hours. This follows the agreement of the Checklist for Non-Voluntary Migrations agreed by providers in November 2024.

Ofcom are reviewing the power resilience of mobile networks, and on 10 February announced work they may complete to review power outages affect broadband networks in the UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_355

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Net Neutrality Regulations in England on the rate at which new (a) 5G and (b) 5GSA infrastructure is rolled out. \p Chris Bryant: The Government’s ambition is for the UK to have nationwide coverage of high-quality standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. From 2023 onwards, operators began deploying standalone 5G in locations across all four nations and are continuing to upgrade their networks.

The Government is committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support operators to achieve this ambition. This includes working with operators to understand how net neutrality rules could support operators' ability to provide innovative forms of connectivity and not act as a barrier to investment in their networks.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_356

Anneliese Midgley:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure that generative AI developers are obliged to disclose the use of creative works in AI training. \p Feryal Clark: The Government’s consultation on copyright and AI closed on 25 February. This sought views on a proposal to require AI model developers to be more transparent about how they obtain and use copyright works in their training.

Our priority now is to review the evidence from the consultation which will inform the Government response, including any legislative proposals.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_357

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with Ofcom on its enforcement powers relating to the non-consensual posting of intimate images. \p Feryal Clark: The DSIT Secretary of State and officials regularly meet with Ofcom to discuss the Online Safety Act and enforcement.

The Online Safety Act gives platforms new duties to proactively tackle the most harmful content on their services. This includes intimate image abuse, which is a priority harm under the regulations. Ofcom has robust enforcement powers to sanction companies who do not comply with these new duties. It can require companies to take measures to return to compliance, impose substantial fines, or apply to the courts for business disruption measures.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-08)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-08 conversation_358

Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department plans to take to engage with chemical engineers on ensuring the future of chemical engineering is sustainable. \p Feryal Clark: The government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy and has convened a Circular Economy Taskforce of experts to develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. ‘Chemicals and plastics’ is one of the five priority sectors, and the Taskforce are extensively engaging with industry leaders and other key stakeholders within the sector. Through UK Research and Innovation, the government is also supporting chemical engineers through schemes such as the £22 million Sustainable Chemicals and Materials Manufacturing hub and a £4.6 million Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemical Technologies, training new leaders in sustainable chemical technologies.