theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Dr Ben Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Regulatory Innovation Office on the UK’s research into nanotechnology since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: The Regulatory Innovation Office (RIO) was formally established on 8th October 2024. Initially it is supporting the growth of four fast-growing areas of technology. These are:  Engineering biology, Space, Artificial Intelligence and digital in healthcare; and Drones and other autonomous technology. In developing the next priority areas, the RIO will explore a wide range of technologies.
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Dr Ben Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with the Government Office for Technology Transfer on their approach to support market innovation into nanotechnology since July 2024. \p Feryal Clark: The Government Office for Technology Transfer (GOTT) helps accelerate government’s innovations towards the market, to impact growth and deliver new products and services for citizens. GOTT provides expertise, funding, and guidance to central government departments and arm’s length bodies across the spectrum of technologies. Since July 2024 there have been no specific discussions between the Secretary of State and GOTT on its approach to supporting market innovation into nanotechnology.
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Carla Denyer:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the Foreign Secretary about the potential implications for his Department’s policies of reports the Rosebank oil field’s minority owner is owned by a firm operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.
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Stephen Flynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of hydrogen blending in the transmission network. \p Sarah Jones: The Government remains committed to assessing the case for hydrogen blending. In December 2024 we set out an intention to consult on transmission-level blending within Great Britain in early 2025, to gather evidence to help inform a strategic policy decision on whether to support transmission blending.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle (a) national and (b) local barriers to community energy projects. \p Michael Shanks: The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will partner with and provide funding and support to community energy groups to roll out renewable energy projects across the UK and help develop up to 8GW of cleaner power. DESNZ’s £10m Community Energy Fund enables both rural and urban communities in England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects.
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Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the (a) countries of origin, (b) value, and (c) volume of imported (i) oil and (ii) gas in each year since 2010. \p Michael Shanks: Annual oil and gas imports volume and value figures are published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics, Annex Table G.1: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/dukes-foreign-trade-statistics

More detailed import volume data are also published in individual chapter tables.

For oil see Table 3.7: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/petroleum-chapter-3-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

For gas see Table 4.5: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/natural-gas-chapter-4-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
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Sir Bernard Jenkin:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the (a) level of skilled labour and (b) extent of the shortage of the particular skills required to deliver the proposed upgrades to the National Grid electricity transmission system; and what steps he is taking to address these shortages. \p Michael Shanks: Reinforcing Great Britain’s electricity network to meet net zero will require a range of skills in engineering, IT professionals, physical scientist and environmental professionals, project managers, chartered surveyors and quality control, metal working and maintenance fitters. Alongside the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, The Office for Clean Energy Jobs published an evidence annex that provides an assessment of the skills challenges for the Clean Energy Mission, including for electricity networks. This will be used along-side wider evidence and engagement to support skills planning and ensure that the UK has the workforce needed to become a clean energy superpower.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many and what proportion of officials in his Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year. \p Michael Shanks: All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.

Departments will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of positive action as a proportionate response to achieve a legitimate aim as defined in section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve.

The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 Promoting Fairness and Performance, published in February 2022, is positioned as an essential lever to deliver a Modern Civil Service, where our values are to serve with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality; driving our vision to be a skilled, innovative and ambitious Civil Service equipped for the future. This strategy sets out a broader definition of diversity, to include geographical, social and career backgrounds alongside the protected groups.

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to support fraud victims throughout the recovery process. \p Lucy Rigby: This Government is committed to tackling fraud and supporting the victims of fraud.

The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) superintends the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Serious Fraud Office (SFO). The CPS is responsible for prosecuting fraud, among other criminal offences, which is primarily investigated by the police in England and Wales. The SFO investigates and prosecutes the most serious and complex fraud, bribery and corruption.

The CPS continues to implement its Economic Crime Strategy 2025 which includes ensuring victims and witnesses are at the heart of every case. In September 2021, the CPS developed guidance focused on prosecutors’ engagement with victims of fraud, improving the experience of victims through close work with investigators to have a joint victim and witness engagement strategy from the outset of a case.

More broadly, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is currently developing a new version of the Victims’ Code, which is a practical and useful guide for all victims of crime, including victims of fraud. The CPS and SFO are actively engaging with them on this. The CPS is also working closely with the MoJ to support the delivery of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024.

The SFO has a dedicated Victim and Witness Care Unit which looks after the needs of victims in all its cases and delivers its obligations in line with the current Victims’ Code.

The SFO also provides bespoke information on relevant support services and makes referrals for ongoing support to local Police and Crime Commissioner commissioned victim services on behalf of victims. It also has a tailored needs assessment process which takes into account the length of time SFO investigations can take, and keeps victims updated via the SFO’s website and individually on the investigation, including on matters such as appeals and ongoing proceeds of crime recovery processes. A dedicated witness care officer will also attend court to be with witnesses for the duration of a trial.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the adequacy of road safety measures in Northern Ireland. \p Hilary Benn: The Government regularly engages with the Northern Ireland Executive on the importance of infrastructure investment in Northern Ireland, including the road and transport network. Responsibility for road safety measures is devolved to Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure and I welcome the Minister for Infrastructure’s recent announcement that the upgrade of the A5, a vital artery of Northern Ireland’s road network where many lives have been lost over the years, will commence this year.
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Sorcha Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many departmental bids have been (a) received and (b) approved by the Northern Ireland Public Sector Transformation Board. \p Hilary Benn: Following the establishment of an Interim Public Sector Transformation Board in May 2024, the interim Board ran a process to consider the 47 proposals which were received from Northern Ireland Departments.

The Interim Board has recommended several proposals to the Northern Ireland Minister of Finance which it considers have the greatest potential to deliver real transformation and service improvement across a number of Executive priority areas in the draft Programme for Government.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to allow up-to date medical information to be shared between the NHS and care staff in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire. \p Stephen Kinnock: At a national level, in partnership with NHS England, the Department is building the foundations for improved information sharing between care and health staff. Digital social care records, that contain a person’s care information, are now in use by more than 72% of Care Quality Commission-registered care providers, from a starting point of 41% in December 2021. We recently set out our ambition that all care providers will be fully digitised by the end of this Parliament.

Within the coming months, all assured Digital Social Care Records will also enable medical information to be shared with social care providers through GP Connect, which provides a restricted view of a person’s general practice (GP) record to social care staff for direct care purposes, where there is consent for the data to be shared. Access to this information improves the quality and safety of care and saves time, currently spent on the phone waiting to speak to GP surgeries.

In Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire, the One Health and Care shared care record enables medical information sharing for direct care purposes across health and social care. This initiative has been in place since 2020. There is not currently a consistent way for information held by social care providers to be shared, and from April 2025, we will begin work to establish a national shared platform that enables this essential information sharing and ensures health and care staff can access real-time social care, GP, and hospital data, providing access to essential medical information in a timely way. This could include when someone last took their medication, or whether there’s been a change to their care regimen. By linking up systems, NHS and care staff will have access to the latest information, speeding up and improving care both in health and in care settings.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving mental health provision in universities. \p Stephen Kinnock: My Rt. Hon. friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has discussions on multiple areas across Government departments, including mental health for children and young people.
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Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with representatives of health charities since the Autumn Budget 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, meets regularly with external stakeholders on a variety of issues.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of influenza cases in hospitals in the last 12 months. \p Andrew Gwynne: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) surveillance of influenza hospitalisations operates during winter season only, where most influenza activity is typically observed. Trends vary across the season and are published weekly at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-flu-and-covid-19-surveillance-reports-2024-to-2025-season

UKHSA surveillance confirmed influenza cases admitted to hospital, shows the overall influenza hospitalisation rate in the most recent published data, namely week 52 commencing 23 December 2024, was 14.09 per 100,000. For comparison, in the 2023 to 2024 season, influenza hospitalisation rates peaked in week 52, namely the week commencing 25 December 2023, with a rate of 6.65 per 100,000 and again in week 4, namely the week commencing 22 January 2024, with a rate of 7.55 per 100,000.
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Luke Taylor:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the NHS is taking to improve the accuracy of tests used by GPs to diagnose chronic urinary tract infections. \p Andrew Gwynne: Diagnostic tests for chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs), such as urinalysis and urine culture, are widely available across all pathology networks in England. Ensuring accurate diagnostic testing not only aids more effective identification of infection but can also reduce unnecessary prescribing and overprescribing of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and directly benefit patients who get the right treatment sooner.

General practitioners can request testing for chronic UTIs via several pathways, including at point-of-care, via community diagnostic centres, or via laboratories. Laboratories across England adhere to stringent quality standards for diagnostic tests, including the UK Accreditation Standard ISO 15189, and implement robust internal and external quality assurance schemes. Together, these measures ensure the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic testing.

The development of new products to diagnose infections more accurately is essential to ensure we can continue to treat infections and protect public health. NHS England is also supporting research into newer, more accurate point-of-care tests for UTIs, such as via the Toucan study. More information on the study is available at the following link:

https://www.phctrials.ox.ac.uk/recruiting-trials/toucan-platform-for-uti-diagnostic-evaluation
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department has had with public health officials on adverse side effects to the Covid-19 vaccine. \p Andrew Gwynne: Each COVID-19 vaccine candidate is assessed by teams of scientists and clinicians on a case-by-case basis, and only authorised once it has met robust standards of effectiveness, safety, and quality set by the United Kingdom’s independent medicines’ regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

No medicine or vaccine is completely risk-free, but the MHRA continually monitors the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines through its comprehensive COVID-19 vaccine surveillance strategy to ensure that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines continue to outweigh the risks. Should any information indicate a possible new safety concern, the system will rapidly and thoroughly investigate, with advice for healthcare professionals and patients updated where appropriate.
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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a hub and spoke model to community pharmacy. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is working towards introducing legislation to enable hub and spoke dispensing between different legal entities this year. This change will be enabled via amendments to both primary and secondary legislation and is subject to the usual parliamentary processes.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of spending on mental health services for children and young people in each year for which data are available. \p Stephen Kinnock: The following table shows actual spend on children and young people’s mental health by clinical commissioning groups and integrated care boards:

Financial year

Amount (£ million)

2017/18

687.2

2018/19

753.3

2019/20

841.4

2020/21

938.3

2021/22

994.8

2022/23

1,087.70

2023/24

1,180.40

Source: NHS Mental Health Dashboard, NHS England
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that social care services are adequately funded to support individuals experiencing loneliness. \p Stephen Kinnock: Loneliness and social isolation can affect many people and impact on their health and wellbeing. The Government’s current work to tackle loneliness includes: supporting a range of organisations through the Tackling Loneliness Hub, an online platform for professionals working to reduce loneliness; working to improve the evidence base around loneliness; and providing advice through the Better Health: Every Mind Matters campaign’s advice pages. It also includes the Know Your Neighbourhood Fund, a grant fund designed to widen participation in volunteering and tackle loneliness in 27 disadvantaged areas across England.

To enable local authorities to deliver key services such as those that support individuals experiencing loneliness, the Government is making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes a £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many of the planned additional 700,000 urgent dental appointments a year will be in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to tackling the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care. We are working to ensure patients can start to access 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments as soon as possible, targeting areas that need them most including the East of England.

We will set out further information on this commitment, including how this will be measured, in due course.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog of people waiting for NHS dental appointments in North Cornwall constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: This Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For North Cornwall constituency, this is the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB. The Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB is taking actions to make NHS dental care more accessible, including the commissioning of additional urgent dental care appointments across the South-West, a dental helpline for urgent advice; and an access pilot project in Cornwall to support the most vulnerable people to access an NHS dentist.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 28 of the policy paper entitled Plan for Change: Milestones for mission-led government, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, whether his Department plans to measure the success of the neighbourhood health service model by (a) patient satisfaction, (b) health outcomes and (c) service delivery times. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are committed to moving towards a Neighbourhood Health Service, with more care delivered in local communities to spot problems earlier, supporting people to stay healthier and maintain their independence for longer.

We recognise the need for robust evaluation and are developing plans to do so, including the appropriate measures of success. This will be aligned with the monitoring and evaluation activities of the 10-Year Health Plan.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria he uses for defining whether an area is a dental desert; and in what areas dentistry graduates will receive golden hellos. \p Stephen Kinnock: ‘Dental desert’ is a term used colloquially to describe areas struggling with access to National Health Service dentistry. There are a range of metrics which can be used to assess dental access.

The responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population is delegated to integrated care boards (ICBs) across England.

ICBs have started to recruit posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most for three years. Dental practices in specific areas, determined locally, were invited by their ICBs to express interest in participating in the scheme and notified of the outcome of their application via their ICB. Further information on the process can be found in guidance issued by NHS England, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/dental-recruitment-incentive-scheme-2024-25/

As of 16 December 2024, 706 Expressions of Interest have been received of which 320 have been approved for participation in the Dental Recruitment Incentive Scheme. 212 posts have been advertised, with 19 dentists commenced in post.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support healthcare providers to ensure (a) uninterrupted access to essential patient care and (b) maintain the stability of primary care services. \p Stephen Kinnock: It is vital that patients can access primary care services when they need it.

In October 2024, we provided an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, enabling the recruitment of 1,000 newly qualified general practitioners (GPs) across England. This will take pressure off the existing workforce, secure the future supply of GPs and increase the number of appointments delivered in general practice. We have uplifted a monthly payment to practices by 7.4% to fund a 6% increase in pay to the general practice workforce. We have also announced a proposed £889 million uplift to the GP contract for 2025/26, the largest uplift in years, with a rising share of total National Health Service resources going to general practice. We are currently consulting the profession on key proposals to improve access, continuity of care and GP recruitment.

We are working to ensure patients can start to access 700,000 additional urgent NHS dental appointments as soon as possible, targeting areas that need them most. To rebuild NHS dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

We are committed to stabilising the pharmacy sector and building a service fit for the future, making full use of the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists as we shift care from hospital to the community.
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Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will set targets to reduce memory clinic waiting times in (a) Torbay, (b) Exeter and (c) Barnstaple. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Government is committed to transforming diagnostic services, including the detection and diagnosis of dementia, and will support the National Health Service to increase capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services. We are committed to improving dementia diagnosis rates and recovering them to the national ambition for two thirds of people with dementia to have a formal diagnosis.

NHS England has funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region, making 14 sites in total, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate tool to improve the diagnosis of dementia and provision of support in care homes. All pilots completed at the end of May 2024, and it is anticipated that learning will be shared in early 2025.

To support recovery of the dementia diagnosis rates and implementation of the Dementia Care Pathway, NHS England has developed a dashboard for management information purposes. The aim is to support commissioners and providers of memory services with appropriate data and enable targeted support where needed.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of (a) supervisor and (b) designated prescribing practitioners. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS England is investing in training for independent prescribers, as well as initiatives to support the development and safe practice of designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs) and educational supervisors. This will ensure the National Health Service is ready to support and mentor foundation trainee pharmacists from 2025, alongside training for currently registered pharmacists that are learning to be independent prescribers.

Reforms to pharmacist education and training will allow for development of prescriber pharmacists from the point of registration from 2026. This will enable a career-long focus on prescriber services and an associated expansion of the DPP workforce, to support multi-professional teams and the expansion of cross-sector prescribing services.
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Alison Hume:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government plans to introduce a cap for social care costs. \p Stephen Kinnock: His Majesty’s Government inherited a commitment to implement charging reforms, including a cap on personal care costs, in October 2025. Regrettably, funding for these reforms had not been guaranteed, preparations for full rollout were not on track, and thus it was impossible to deliver these reforms by next October.

This government remains committed to reforming the adult social care sector; and we are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.

Chaired by Baroness Louise Casey and reporting to the Prime Minister, the Commission will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement a measure for general practice and primary care comparable to that of the mental health investment standard. \p Stephen Kinnock: Primary care providers, including general practices (GPs), are valued independent contractors who provide almost £20 billion worth of services in the National Health Service. Every year, we consult with each sector both about what services they provide, and the money providers are entitled to in return under their contract.

We have started consulting with the General Practitioners Committee in England of the British Medical Association on the 2025/26 GP contract and will consider a range of proposed policy changes. These will be announced in the usual way following the close of the consultation in 2025.

We have announced a proposed £889 million uplift for GP in 2025/26 and set out the proposed areas of reform which will help us to deliver on our manifesto commitments. This is the largest uplift to GP funding since the beginning of the five-year framework and means we are reversing the recent trend with a rising share of total NHS resources going to general practice.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the local disabled facilities grants. \p Stephen Kinnock: We are giving older and disabled people more independence in their own homes through an immediate in-year uplift to the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) of £86 million in 2024/25. This increase will provide approximately 7,800 additional home adaptations. This is on top of the £625 million paid to local authorities in May 2024. The Government also announced an £86 million additional investment in the DFG for 2025/26 at the Budget, bringing total funding for 2025/26 to £711 million also.

To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we will continue to keep different aspects of the grant under consideration. As part of this, we are reviewing the suitability of the current upper limit and will set out further detail in due course.
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Mike Amesbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) the average wages paid to social care sector workers and (b) the current number of vacancies in the sector. \p Stephen Kinnock: Skills for Care reports that most care workers as the entry-level occupation are paid on or just above National Living Wage. Average or mean hourly pay for all workers in the sector was £12.36 in March 2024. Skills for Care also reported that the overall vacancy rate in adult social care (ASC) decreased to 8.3% in 2023/24, or 131,000 vacant posts, from 9.9% or 153,000 vacant posts in 2022/23. Monthly estimates by Skills for Care suggest that the vacancy rate amongst independent social care providers fell further between March and November 2024. Vacancies reflect roles advertised by independent providers and therefore market conditions.

To improve retention and recognition in the ASC sector, the Government is currently introducing legislation to pave the way for the first ever Fair Pay Agreement so that care professionals are recognised and rewarded for the important work that they do.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children deemed to be at risk of abuse or neglect are home schooled in (a) Staffordshire and (b) England. \p Stephen Morgan: The department collects data on children in elective home education (EHE) from local authorities. The latest data, including at the local authority level, is published here:  https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education.

The data collection includes whether a child is defined as a child in need (CIN) and if a child is the subject of a child protection plan (CPP). In England, around 1% of children in EHE were recorded as CIN and just under 0.5% of children in EHE have a CPP (1,600 and 500 children respectively in autumn 2024). Local authority level data is suppressed to protect confidentiality due to small numbers.

Local authorities have a legal responsibility for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children in their area, including taking appropriate action where safeguarding concerns are identified.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December, will place a duty on all local authorities in England to hold and maintain registers of children not in school in their area. These registers will help to identify those children who are not in school, including those who may be at risk of harm. Parents and certain providers of out-of-school education will be required to provide the local authority with the information needed for the registers and there will be sanctions for failing to do so. The Bill also includes a new requirement for parents to obtain local authority consent before they can home educate if their child is subject to a child protection enquiry or has a CPP. Local authorities will have new powers to require any home educated child to attend school if their home or learning environment is unsuitable. These proposals will strengthen the existing system of oversight for these children.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Nadia Whittome:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the increase to employers' National Insurance contributions will be covered in full for schools. \p Catherine McKinnell: The government has agreed that public sector employers will receive compensation in recognition of the increase in their National Insurance contributions (NICs). That compensation will be additional to the £2.3 billion increase to the core schools budget for the 2025/26 financial year announced at the Autumn Budget 2024. Due to timing constraints, it will be provided as a separate grant, alongside the dedicated schools grant, in 2025/26. Further arrangements for this will be shared with schools as soon as is practicable.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, What steps her Department is taking to ensure that kinship families receive financial support similar to that of (a) foster and (b) adoptive families. \p Janet Daby: The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role of local authorities to support them.

As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to kinship carers and any payments should be made in accordance with their model for assessing support needs.

The government does not set a maximum or minimum allowance for local authorities to administer. However, the kinship care statutory guidance, which was published in October 2024, states that, in its calculation of any ongoing special guardianship financial support, the local authority should have regard to the fostering allowance that would have been paid if the child was fostered.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in some local authorities in England. The department will test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of caring for a child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. ​​ The department will share further details and the process for selecting local authorities in due course.​

This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.

The department understands the unique challenges kinship carers face and is committed to providing the necessary support.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Toby Perkins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of cuts to the continuing professional development budget for science teachers on teacher retention rates. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is focused on fixing our economy after inheriting a £22 billion black hole in our public finances. That means we must take difficult decisions across our public services.

All children should have high quality science teaching, which is why at the Autumn Budget education was prioritised with a £2.3 billion increase to core school budgets for the 2025/26 financial year. Schools can use this funding for continued professional development, which evidence suggests can support teacher retention.

In addition, the department will continue to fully fund the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teachers programme to support the uptake and teaching of physics in the 2025/26 financial year.

However, along with other tough decisions to support cross-government efforts to rebuild economic stability, the department has taken the difficult decision to cease funding the Stimulating Physics Network beyond the end of its current contract in March 2025.

There is a range of other support for science education in schools, including free, optional materials from Oak National Academy in all three sciences.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Toby Perkins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has allocated to continuing professional development for science teachers in the financial years (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25. \p Catherine McKinnell: Support for high quality science teaching mainly comes from core school budgets which will increase by £2.3 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.

Funding allocations for continuing professional development in science were £8,385,649 for the 2022/23 financial year, £8,384,137 for the 2023/24 financial year and £4,455,281 for the 2024/25 financial year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Ian Byrne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels of pay for further education teachers. \p Janet Daby: This government recognises the vital role that further education (FE) teachers and providers play in equipping learners with the opportunities and skills that they need to succeed in their education and throughout life.

That is why this government is committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and colleges, and tackling retention challenges to support teachers to stay within the profession.

To boost recruitment and retention of teachers, the targeted retention incentive is giving eligible early career teachers working in disadvantaged schools, and in all colleges, up to £6,000 after tax annually, on top of their pay.

In colleges this includes those teaching in key subjects including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and technical shortage subjects, such as construction and early years.

The department also continues to support recruitment and retention with teacher training bursaries worth up to £30,000 tax-free in certain key subject areas, and with support for industry professionals to enter the FE teaching workforce through its ‘Taking Teaching Further’ programme.

FE colleges, including sixth form colleges, were incorporated under the terms of the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff. The government plays no role in recommending or setting pay or terms of employment within the FE sector.

The Autumn Budget 2024 set out the government’s commitment to skills, by providing an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE to ensure young people are developing the skills this country needs. The department will set out in due course how this funding will be distributed.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on (a) sport in and (b) other aspects of the school curriculum review. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport regularly engages with the Secretary of State for Education on a range of issues, including school sport. Minister Peacock recently attended a roundtable discussion with PE and school sport sector leaders, hosted by the Minister for Schools.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will work closely with the Department for Education on the curriculum review.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials in her Department were hired via positive action schemes in the last financial year. \p Stephanie Peacock: All Civil Service departments work within the Recruitment Principles, as regulated by the Civil Service Commission, to recruit using a fair and open process and appoint on merit.

Departments will only limit a campaign to a specific group as a form of positive action as a proportionate response to achieve a legitimate aim as defined in section 159 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Civil Service is committed to a diverse workforce and culture of openness and inclusivity - not as ends in themselves but as means of delivering better outcomes to the citizens we serve.

The Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2022-25 Promoting Fairness and Performance, published in February 2022, is positioned as an essential lever to deliver a Modern Civil Service, where our values are to serve with integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality; driving our vision to be a skilled, innovative and ambitious Civil Service equipped for the future. This strategy sets out a broader definition of diversity, to include geographical, social and career backgrounds alongside the protected groups.

As set out in the Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a modern Civil Service, now and for the future.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-10)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the answer of 7 November 2024 to Question 12252 on Charity Commission: Correspondence, if she will publish that letter; and if the Charity Commission will issue a public statement on the contents of that letter. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Charity Commission is not subject to Ministerial or departmental direction or control. It is for the Charity Commission to decide whether to publish correspondence or statements about its work on specific regulatory cases. The Charity Commission does not usually publish statements about regulatory cases that are not statutory inquiries, unless there is significant public interest in doing so.