theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps with her counterpart in the Scottish government to help mitigate the impact of the closure of Rural Housing Scotland on (a) housing and (b) infrastructure in rural Scotland. \p Matthew Pennycook: Officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly meet with officials from the Scottish Government to discuss a range of policy matters and interests.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-16)

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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will hold discussions with the Consortium for Labelling for the Environment, Animal Welfare and Regenerative Farming on tackling carbon emissions. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra officials working on carbon emissions data policy regularly meet with CLEAR and we welcome their contributions, including the recent methodological review of UK eco-labels.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Amazon Marketplace on 30 January 2025. \p Mary Creagh: The expenditure detailed relates to the purchase of equipment for public use (binoculars and a spotting scope) for a project at Goss Moor. The connecting people with nature project enables the public a closer view and experience of wildlife on the National Nature Reserves, it is funded through the national health and environment budget. The scope was necessary to be inclusive for people who would struggle to hold the binoculars for health reasons. The total amount of £625.42, including VAT, was processed for payment in February 2025.

This transaction is in line with our standard financial procedures, and the expenditure was reviewed and approved accordingly.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-16)

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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for local record centres. \p Mary Creagh: Biodiversity data is essential for informed planning decisions, with Local Environmental Records Centres (LERCs) and national platforms like the National Biodiversity Network (NBN) providing key species data. However, access to, and use of, Biodiversity data is inconsistent across planning applications. LERCs vary greatly by region in terms of resources, systems, and data sharing models. In 2015, Natural England ended its Service Level Agreement with LERCs and moved to a case-by-case payment model, which has a renewed focus making sure LERC data supports HMG priorities.

LERCS are one of many sources that can provide Biodiversity data for informed planning decisions. Through the Natural Capital and Ecosystem Assessment (NCEA) programme, Natural England is collaborating with UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Biological Records Centre, NBN, as well the overarching Association of LERCs, to improve data flow, simplify submissions, and enhance national access. Recent system updates return more control to data providers, strengthening transparency and stewardship.

This work supports the Geospatial Commission’s Review on Mapping the Species Data Pathway (link), which calls for modernising data systems, enabling open data use, and securing long-term sustainability Mapping the Species Data Pathway - NE commissioned
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affair, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled New approach to ensure regulators and regulation support growth, published 17 March 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of removing environmental compliance guidance to Local Planning Authorities on bats. \p Mary Creagh: As announced by the Chancellor, Defra is fast-tracking the recommendation from the Corry review (published on 2 April) to rapidly review the existing catalogue of environmental compliance guidance, including on protecting bats. This will look to identify opportunities to remove duplication, ambiguity or inconsistency. Natural England has already agreed to review and update their advice to Local Planning Authorities on bats to ensure there is clear, proportionate and accessible advice available.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-16)

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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to collaborate with (a) local communities and (b) environmental organisations to restore chalk stream (i) habitats and (ii) biodiversity. \p Mary Creagh: This Government is committed to building stronger ties and working collaboratively on shared priorities to restore chalk streams, these unique water bodies are not just vital ecosystems, but a symbol of our national heritage.

In the financial year (2024/25), through the Water Environment Improvement Fund, the Government’s aim was to fund 45 projects (worth £2.5 million of government investment) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment, and through the Water Resources Chalk Partnership Fund, in the same financial year, the Environment Agency was aiming to deliver 21 Chalk Partnership projects, aimed at safeguarding these rare and irreplaceable habitats.
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Dr Roz Savage:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2024 to Question 13418 on Countryside: Access, by when he plans to make further announcements on his policy on access to nature. \p Mary Creagh: The Government recognises the importance of providing access to the outdoors for people’s health and wellbeing and is working to ensure that this access is safe and appropriate. We are committed to increasing access to nature and have already set out several ambitious manifesto commitments to expand opportunities for the public to enjoy the outdoors, including the creation of nine new national river walks and three new national forests in England.

We are currently developing policy to improve access to nature, working closely with other government departments and key stakeholders. In addition, we are already delivering key initiatives aimed at increasing access to green spaces and the countryside, including:

In addition, the Government has made the decision to repeal the cut-off date for the registration of historic rights of way, preventing the loss of hundreds of miles of unregistered paths. This will ensure that these paths remain available to the public for future generations. This change will be formally enacted when parliamentary time allows.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department’s publication entitled Defra: spending over £500, January 2025, published on 21 March 2025, what Natural England purchased from Sumup Event Bar Spar in January 2025. \p Mary Creagh: The expenditure detailed relates to a Christmas meal hospitality event held to recognise the contributions of volunteers at Fenn’s, Whixall, and Bettisfield Mosses National Nature Reserve. The total cost of £1,462.50 was processed for payment in January 2025, and it was attended by 65 volunteers invited to a celebratory event to thank them for their volunteering over the previous year. This is a total spend of approximately £22 per attendant.

This National Nature Reserve has the most volunteers (over 100 registered volunteers) for any Natural England National Nature Reserve in the West Midlands . The volunteers contribute to many aspects of the running of the National Nature Reserve. These include:

The volunteers in 2024/25 contributed over 6,000 hours to the National Nature Reserve.

The Cabinet Office has recently announced measures to cut down on this kind of expenditure. This is to correct the lack of respect for public money by the previous government, which allowed this type of spend to be entirely unchecked and unmonitored, including for the time that he was a minister in that department.

The policy detail can be found here:

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned - GOV.UK
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Birmingham bin strikes on neighbouring constituencies. \p Mary Creagh: The Government is aware of the disruption caused by the bin strikes and the associated public health risks to the residents of Birmingham. While Birmingham City Council continues to lead the response, cross-Government mechanisms have been activated to ensure a coordinated response, with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in the lead and Defra supporting.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year. \p Daniel Zeichner: The amount of expenditure recorded for translation services in the 2023/24 financial year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March, is £1,699.13.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of the Sustainable Farming Incentive has been spent on (a) arable farms and (b) livestock farms in 2024-25. \p Daniel Zeichner: We do not require farmers to tell us their farm type (arable, livestock, mixed, etc) so we do not hold information on spend by farm type.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what eligibility criteria his Department is using to appoint members to the Industry Expert Panel for the National Food Strategy. \p Daniel Zeichner: Membership of the Food Strategy Advisory Board has been selected through identifying senior leaders who represent important elements within the food system and reflect the diversity of the sector. The Government has sought to keep it a small group while reflecting the scope of the food supply chain and the interests of consumers.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to implement the measures announced in the press release entitled Changes announced to better protect England’s chalk streams, published on 21 September 2023. \p Emma Hardy: On 21 September 2023, the Government brought forward an amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, now Act, to add chalk streams to the definitions of 'environmental protection' and 'natural environment', so that they can be considered when setting the outcomes for a future system of environmental assessment.

The Government is committed to securing better environmental outcomes alongside securing the development we need and is considering how best to reform environmental assessment processes with this objective in mind. This includes whether to take forward the powers in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Act to introduce Environmental Outcomes Reports

We continue to direct investments to projects that will improve chalk streams. In 2024/2025, there are over 45 chalk stream projects receiving funding from the government's Water Environment Improvement Fund, each leveraging private investment, alongside that we are investing in catchment level initiatives through the Water Environment Improvement Fund where the Government is funding 45 projects (worth £2.5m of government investment) this financial year (2024/25) that improve chalk streams, each with the injection of private investment.
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Yuan Yang:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the recovery of the film and TV industry since the strikes in 2023. \p Chris Bryant: The current market is very challenging for the film and TV sector, including broadcasters and independent producers, but we have high ambitions for the industry and are already taking steps to incentivise production activity.

We have brought in a 5% tax relief uplift for UK visual effects costs in film and high-end TV, confirmed the 40% business rates relief for film studios until 2034, and brought in the 53% independent film tax relief to support British filmmakers. This is in addition to our existing audio-visual tax reliefs; our investment in infrastructure; and investing £7 million to continue the UK Global Screen Fund for 2025/26.

Film and High End TV production spend in the UK reached £5.6 billion in 2024. Whilst this was down on the peak of £6.3bn in 2022 when post-Covid demand was surging, it shows a promising level of recovery following the US Guild strikes of 2023 when spend dipped to £4.3bn. https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/official-bfi-statistics-2024

As part of the government’s Industrial Strategy, eight ‘growth-driving’ sectors have been identified, including the Creative Industries. DCMS will produce a Creative Industries Sector Plan, which will be published in late spring alongside the Industrial Strategy and aligned to the Spending Review. Film and TV are sub-sectors of the Creative Industries with strong growth potential and therefore will be a focus in the forthcoming Sector Plan which will inform next steps for the sector and its sustainability for the coming years.
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Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department plans to take to help promote maritime tourism for both (a) ferry and (b) cruise markets. \p Chris Bryant: The UK is a leading hub for the global cruise industry, with ports such as Southampton, Dover, Greenock and Liverpool welcoming more than 3 million passengers annually.

The Department regularly engages with a range of stakeholders across the tourism sector, including the cruise industry, to understand their perspectives and challenges. As an example, the Cruise Lines International Association is a member of the Government’s Visitor Economy Advisory Council to ensure that we maximise the potential of maritime tourism to deliver growth. DCMS remains committed to maximising the benefits of cruise and ferry tourism for the UK, noting the sector’s significant contribution to the UK economy.
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Kanishka Narayan:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of funding disparities on the growth potential of female-led and minority-led businesses; and what steps he is taking to work with public investment institutions to close that gap. \p Gareth Thomas: According to data from research firm Beauhurst, the proportion of equity finance to female-led teams was stark at 2% in the first half of 2024, in comparison to 86% for all-male teams. To directly increase this, the government-backed Invest in Women Taskforce has launched a £255 million fund to invest in female entrepreneurs through female investors.

To help increase the availability of funding to minority-led businesses, the British Business Bank launched the Community ENABLE Funding programme in November 2024, expected to issue loans worth up to £150 million over the next 2 years.

Further, the Small Business Access to Finance call for evidence, launched on 13 March 2025, considers the difficulty of accessing finance for female and minority-led businesses. We will take forward further work in those areas once we have properly considered the results of the call for evidence.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent steps his Department has taken to support the food sector in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the East Midlands. \p Gareth Thomas: DBT offers extensive support for food and drink businesses in Lincolnshire and the East Midlands. Our export offer includes educational programmes via the Export Academy, advice from International Trade Advisors, and a programme of global trade shows and missions. UK Export Finance provide access to export finance, with dedicated managers in the Midlands. DBT offers support for small businesses, including the Business Support Service, Gov.uk, Growth Hubs, Help to Grow: Management scheme and financial assistance through the British Business Bank.
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Martin Rhodes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what research her Department has conducted into improving accessibility for blind people in further education colleges. \p Janet Daby: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department regularly engages with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the needs of students with disabilities (including visual impairments) are understood, barriers can be addressed and support put in place.

The department collects data on learner characteristics, participation and achievements. This is regularly published online: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2023-24.

Through the department’s grants and contracts within the further education and research sectors, we receive valuable information on the experiences of students with visual impairments. An example of this is the Accessibility in Further Education 2022 report from the Thomas Pocklington Trust, which can be accessed here: https://asset.nasen.org.uk/accessibility_in_further_education_-_2022_all-able.pdf. The report explores blind and partially sighted student access to information in further education. We also use the information provided from the ‘What Works in SEND’ resources, which is accessible here: https://whatworks-send.org.uk/. These types of research are useful as we are developing policy areas which will ensure that education is accessible for all.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that British citizens from the Cayman Islands with a right of abode in the UK are not mistakenly denied access to home fee status due to administrative misinterpretation of their (a) immigration and (b) nationality status. \p Janet Daby: Since 2007, persons who have settled status in the UK, and who come to the UK from specified British Overseas Territories, have been eligible for home fee status if they meet the requirement of three years’ ordinary residence in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and/or specified British Overseas Territories.

Higher education (HE) providers in England are autonomous bodies, and as such are responsible for their own affairs, including the charging of fees, subject to compliance with the relevant regulations. The department expects that they will take the same approach as the Student Loans Company when awarding home fee status.

The department does not consider it appropriate for it to monitor provider decision making regarding home fee status.

The department has recently amended the relevant regulations, effective from 1 August 2024, to provide additional clarification on the criteria for home fee status, so as to assist HE providers.

Guidance is readily available online to assist providers with their decision making. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-finance-eligibility-2021-to-2022-academic-year/eligibility-rules-for-home-fee-status-and-student-finance-from-the-2022-to-2023-academic-year-onwards.

The department has, and will continue to, engage fully with all stakeholders whenever a potential issue around home fee status arises and we have provided guidance on the relevant regulations.
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Stephen Gethins:To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether funding will be made available to devolved Governments under the Barnett formula from the NHS England Ten Year Plan. \p Ian Murray: The UK Government announced last month that the Scottish Government will receive an extra £9.1 billion in funding following the Chancellor's Spending Review. This includes £5.8 billion in health-related Barnett consequentials.

Funding for devolved health services in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland is determined independently through the Barnett formula. While the UK Government’s NHS England Ten Year Plan does not directly allocate funds to devolved Governments, the Barnett formula ensures that funding remains consistent with respective devolved budgets.

The devolved Governments retain responsibility for the management and delivery of health services within their jurisdictions.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which children's centres closed in England between May 2010 and July 2024 by (a) name, (b) postcode and (c) date of closure. \p Janet Daby: Data on children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools database portal at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.

Based on the information supplied by local authorities, the attached document provides details of the name and postcode and date of closure of Sure Start children’s centres that closed in England between May 2010 and July 2024.

The list of children’s centres closed since May 2010 and July 2024 is based on information supplied by local authorities as of 8 July 2025. These figures may be different to previous answers, and could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

65482 attachment (xlsx, 53.4KB)
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing mandatory prison sentences for people operating unregulated care homes for children. \p Janet Daby: This government is clear that all providers of children’s social care accommodation such as children’s homes should register with Ofsted as per the Care Standards Act (CSA) 2000.

Ofsted has existing powers to prosecute persons carrying on a children’s home or supported accommodation (formally an unregulated placement) without registering.

Where a person is found guilty of running an unregistered children’s home or supported accommodation, the court can issue an unlimited fine, and for a second or subsequent conviction for the same offence, or where the person’s registration has been suspended and they continue to carry on the provision, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and/or an unlimited fine.

The government is further strengthening Ofsted’s powers, via the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, to enable them to issue monetary penalties for breaches of the CSA, including an unlimited fine for operating a children’s home without being registered. This will allow Ofsted to take action at pace and act as a significant deterrent.

Taken together, the set of powers that will be in place after the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is passed will allow Ofsted and the courts to take the appropriate enforcement action according to each circumstance.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will require local authorities to provide family hubs in communities. \p Janet Daby: On 11 June 2025, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out plans for spending and public sector reforms through the Spending Review 2025. This announcement confirmed departmental budgets for 2026/27 onwards and committed that the government will continue to invest in and expand the Family Hubs programme, working with parents to help give children the best start in life.

On 7 July 2025, the government published the policy paper ‘Giving every child the best start in life’, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/giving-every-child-the-best-start-in-life.

This outlines the government’s commitment to delivering a new Best Start Family Service to bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services, as well as creating and funding Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to give children the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff in her Department have permission to work remotely outside the UK; and in which countries those staff are based. \p Janet Daby: Unless undertaking work in an official capacity, the department only permits overseas working in limited circumstances and for short periods of time. The department’s international remote working policy considers any country outside of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as overseas including all British Overseas Territories.

In line with Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office guidance, the department has currently granted temporary permission to 24 staff to work outside the UK in the following countries: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Morocco, Spain, South Africa, and Turkey.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to ensure improved access to schooling for children with (a) visual and (b) hearing impairments in South Holland and the Deepings constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision sits with local authorities. The department provides local authorities with capital funding to support them to meet this duty and has published allocations for £740 million in High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2025/26 financial year.

Of this £740 million, Lincolnshire Council has been allocated £10.3 million. This funding can be used to improve access to schooling for children and young people with a variety of SEND, including visual and hearing impairments. It is intended to adapt schools to be more accessible, to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs and to create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Rebecca Paul:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) guidance and (b) training is provided to (i) teachers and (ii) school staff to help ensure they are (A) confident and (B) equipped to (1) educate pupils about online grooming and (2) respond appropriately to disclosures. \p Catherine McKinnell: As part of statutory relationships and health education in primary schools and relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) in secondary schools, pupils are taught about online safety and harms. The statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as grooming and sexual exploitation, including coercive and controlling behaviour, and that these should be addressed sensitively and clearly. The statutory guidance for primary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-education-primary.

The statutory guidance for secondary schools is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/relationships-and-sex-education-rse-secondary.

The RSHE statutory guidance is currently under review. The department is looking carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, considering the relevant evidence and discussing with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence.

In 2023, the department published guidance on teaching online safety in schools, which sets out how to teach about all aspects of internet safety. The full guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teaching-online-safety-in-schools.

Schools and colleges must also have regard to the department’s robust safeguarding framework ‘Keeping children safe in education’. The guidance makes clear that all staff should receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training, including online safety. The training should be regularly updated. In addition, all staff should receive safeguarding and child protection updates as required, and at least annually, to continue to provide them with relevant skills and knowledge to safeguard children effectively.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to review how attendance at schools is recorded for students who have been transferred to another school. \p Stephen Morgan: Once a pupil has been transferred to another school, their name is deleted from both the admission and attendance registers.

The ’Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets out the process clearly for schools in paragraphs 222-224. The guidance was drawn up following full public consultation and can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66bf300da44f1c4c23e5bd1b/Working_together_to_improve_school_attendance_-_August_2024.pdf.

This guidance explains the legal process set out in Regulation 9(1)(a) of The School Attendance (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2024, which can be accessed here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/208/regulation/9/made.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase workforce numbers in the early years sector. \p Stephen Morgan: The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change.

The department is supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders to join the workforce by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Our national recruitment campaign is urging the public to ‘Do Something BIG’ and start a career working with small children. A dedicated website is helping people to find out more about gaining qualifications and to search for existing job vacancies. To further boost recruitment in early years, we are continuing to offer £1,000 financial incentives.

We are creating new routes into the workforce through skills bootcamps for the early years which lead to an accelerated apprenticeship, and also funding early years initial teacher training as a route for new and existing staff to gain early years teacher status. Our commitment to grow the early years skills pipeline can also be seen through the expansion of the Levelling Up Premium payments. To support childminders to join and stay in the profession we have implemented new flexibilities to work with more people and spend more time working from non-domestic premises.
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Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that early years providers are not disadvantaged by restrictions on charging flexibility for funded childcare hours. \p Stephen Morgan: It is this government’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change.

Government funding for the entitlements does not cover consumables like meals, nappies or sun cream or additional activities, such as trips, so providers are able to ask parents to pay for these things.

However, in line with a recent high court judgment, these charges must not be mandatory or a condition of accessing a funded place. The high court judgement is accessible here: https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ewhc/admin/2025/224. The government’s guidance sets out requirements for the delivery of the early education and childcare entitlements in line with the law.

The statutory guidance emphasises transparency at the heart of how the entitlement should be passed on to parents, including that any costs should be clearer on invoices and websites. Providers have until January 2026 to update their information in line with transparency requirements.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department has issued to (a) schools and (b) teaching bodies on using vapes in school settings. \p Stephen Morgan: In the UK, it is against the law to sell nicotine vaping products to under 18s or for adults to buy them on their behalf. Young people should not have these products in schools.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including which items are banned from school premises. School staff can search pupils for banned items as outlined in the department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance.

Schools have an important role in educating pupils about the dangers of harmful substances. Primary pupils should be taught about legal and illegal harmful substances while secondary pupils are also taught about the associated legal and psychological risks. The relationships, sex and health education curriculum is currently being reviewed and will consider vaping as part of the review of the statutory guidance.

FRANK, the government-funded national drug and alcohol advisory service, has also been updated with relevant information on vapes, including the risks, physical effects and addictiveness of nicotine vapes.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Mr Lee Dillon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that multi-academy trusts maintain education standards. \p Catherine McKinnell: Multi-academy trusts play an important role in our schools system, both supporting school improvement and driving forward high-quality education for our children.

Working with schools we will drive excellent teaching and leadership, a high-quality curriculum, robust accountability and faster school improvement, and an inclusive system which removes barriers to learning to ensure every child can achieve and thrive in education. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will help deliver this by providing a core guarantee of quality education in every school, no matter where children live or what school they attend. To ensure all parts of our system are focused on delivering these excellent outcomes, the government will in future bring multi-academy trusts into our inspection system.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of schools reported finding students in possession of illegal drugs. \p Stephen Morgan: The department does not collect such information centrally.

The Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance emphasises the importance of the school’s duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of all pupils. Searching can play a critical role in ensuring that schools are safe environments. Authorised members of school staff have the statutory power to search a pupil when they have reasonable grounds to suspect them to be in possession of prohibited items, such as illegal drugs. At all times, schools must ensure they continue to adhere to their statutory safeguarding duties as outlined in the Working Together to Safeguard Children and Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance documents.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including drug-taking. To support schools to deliver this content, the department has published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Laura Trott:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on the Mainstream Schools Review; and when she expects to announce the outcome. \p Stephen Morgan: The review has focused on ensuring that government funding is targeted where it is most needed. In the past, a significant proportion of spending on free schools has created surplus capacity, resulting in subsequent closure of new schools. Some of that funding could have been put to better use by improving the deteriorating condition of our existing schools and colleges.

The department understands that trusts and local authorities want to have certainty about their projects as soon as possible. We will provide an update on next steps to trusts and local authorities in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage more young people to undertake vocational training to become (a) plumbers and (b) electricians. \p Janet Daby: The department continues to make available education and training opportunities in electrical and plumbing sectors, including:

The department continues to raise awareness amongst young people of the vocational training that is available. Secondary schools have legal requirements to provide independent careers guidance, including at least six opportunities for providers of technical education or apprenticeships to speak to all pupils. Our government-funded network of Careers Hubs, coordinated by the Careers and Enterprise Company, supports schools and colleges to maximise these opportunities.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of drop-outs from vocational courses; and what steps she is taking to increase course completion rates. \p Janet Daby: The department's Qualification Achievement Rates (QARs) include official statistics on levels of achievement for a range of qualifications, including vocational learning. Latest published statistics show overall achievement rates within the 19+ education and training cohort have increased from 86.8% in 2022/23 to 87.4% in 2023/24, an increase of 0.6 percentage points. Compared with 2021/22, they are up by 1.2 percentage points. Links to QAR data from current and previous years is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/introduction-to-qualification-achievement-rates-qars.

Retention rates are also improving at ages 16 to 18. The retained and assessed rate for students who finished their T Level across 16 subjects in summer 2024 was up five percentage points from the previous year in over 10 subjects. The rate for large Vocational Technical Qualifications was up three percentage points. Further details on provisional T Level results for the 2023/24 academic year are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/provisional-t-level-results/2023-24.

Alongside T Levels, the department continues to develop and improve qualifications to ensure that they meet the needs of learners. Newly reformed qualifications will become available for delivery at levels 2 and 3 at the start of the next academic year, and we are in the process of approving new level 3 qualifications for delivery from August 2026. These are high-quality, aligned to occupational standards in technical routes, and offer learners clear routes to higher education or skilled employment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to improve access to (a) training and (b) education for careers in (i) horticulture and (ii) the wider environmental sector in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Janet Daby: It is for providers and local areas, such as Surrey Heath, to determine what skills provision to deliver based on learner and employer demand.

A range of provision is available to support people to pursue careers in horticulture and environmental sectors, including:

High quality apprenticeship standards between levels 2 and 7 in roles such as Horticulture or Landscape Operative, Professional Arboriculturist and Charted Landscape Professional.

A range of Skills Bootcamps such as Grounds & Estates Horticulture, Horticulture and Forestry & Arboriculture.

T Levels in Agriculture, Land Management and Production pathways, which include environmental horticulture and landscaping and tree and woodland management and maintenance.

A number of qualifications related to horticulture or the wider environmental sector as part of Free Courses for Jobs, such as a diploma in Work-based Horticulture, advanced technical diploma in Horticulture, diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture, and advanced technical extended diploma in Forestry and Arboriculture.

There are also a number of land-based colleges in the country that specialise in horticulture and environmental provision, including Merrist Wood College in Surrey which delivers 160 courses including T Levels and apprenticeships.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on (a) social media promotions, (b) influencer marketing and (c) online advertising in the last 12 months. \p Janet Daby: Commercial sensitivities exist around aspects of this spend, which could prejudice commercial interests. All spend in these areas are subject to the standard value for money assessments.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-10)

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2025 to question 57351 on Students: Loans; what assessment her Department has made on the reason for the gender difference in the number of borrowers whose loans have increased despite making regular payments. \p Janet Daby: The previous government considered gender differences in lifetime repayments, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments, when introducing Plan 5. The full equality impact assessment was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.

Student loans are not like commercial loans and carry significant protections for borrowers. Borrowers will be liable to repay after leaving study only when earning over the relevant student loan repayment threshold.

The system is designed to ensure that those who benefit financially from higher education contribute towards the cost of it. This is why repayments are linked to income and not the loan balance, with regular repayments increasing with borrower income. Those earning below the student loan repayment threshold repay nothing.

Crucially, at the end of the loan term, any outstanding loan balance, including interest built up, is written off after the loan term ends, or in case of death or disability, at no detriment to the borrower. This subsidy is a conscious investment in the skills capacity, people and economy of this country.