theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Andy MacNae:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. \p Andrew Gwynne: Seven of the nine recommendations of the review have been previously accepted in full, in part, or in principle. Four of these have been successfully implemented, including:

Work is ongoing in respect of the remaining recommendations, including working across the Government to consider the recommendations in the Hughes Report, which looked into, and provided advice on, redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase awareness of the symptoms of heart valve disease. \p Andrew Gwynne: Cardiovascular disease (CVD), which includes heart valve disease, is one of the key priorities for the Health Innovation Network, comprising of 15 organisations across England that operate as the innovation arm of the National Health Service. The network is committed to supporting the development of innovations across CVD clinical pathways to make high impact changes to population health.

An ambition of NHS England’s Long Term Plan (LTP) is to raise awareness of the symptoms of heart failure and to ensure early and rapid access to diagnostic tests and treatment, setting out that by 2023/24, 54,000 additional people with heart failure and heart vascular disease will be detected and diagnosed in the community. The LTP also sets out that people with heart failure and heart vascular disease will be better supported by multi-disciplinary teams as part of Primary Care Networks, and that from July 2019, all patients in England have been covered by a Primary Care Network.
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Derek Twigg:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the required domestic capacity for vaccine production in the event of a pandemic. \p Andrew Gwynne: As we saw in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that the United Kingdom’s population has ready access to pandemic vaccines as soon as they are available is critical to our ability to respond to and recover from any future pandemic. Whilst it is not possible to predict the cause of a pandemic in advance, the Government is investing in a range of capabilities to support the development and manufacture of pandemic vaccines when needed. These capabilities include:

¾ an advance purchase agreement with CSL Seqirus, which guarantees the UK’s population access to over 100 million doses of a pandemic influenza vaccine, entirely manufactured in the UK; and

¾ a partnership with Moderna, which aims to bring mRNA vaccine production capability to the UK and build resilience in the event of a new health emergency by investing in mRNA research and development.

In addition to these specific contractual arrangements, the Government is committed to making the UK one of the best places in the world to develop and manufacture new and innovative medicines, including vaccines. This is underpinned by broader support for the life sciences sector, including through the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund, which is a capital grant fund of up to £520 million over five years, from 2025 to 2030, to support UK health resilience and help ensure a robust response to potential future health emergencies.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what purposes the Food Standards Agency has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months. \p Andrew Gwynne: Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is using AI, both traditional and generative, for a range of purposes. Using traditional AI, we have focused on pattern detection for food risk identification using, and developing, approaches to extract and structure information contained in documents, from shipping manifests to webpages. We aim to see food safety and authenticity risks before the food lands on the United Kingdom’s shores.

For generative AI, we are piloting its use in our front-line services in the field by using mobile based AI applications. The goal of this is to streamline our inspection of meat businesses by having AI help collate notes during the inspection process, which will allow uniformity in reporting and improve data quality. We aim for this to improve the existing method, which involves inspectors carrying large amounts of equipment while taking written, paper-based, observations.

We have also deployed generative AI tools to improve data quality. As most data from national and international food alert systems is unstructured text, considerable human effort has been required to extract the relevant information and then categorise it to a standardised format. The aim is to reduce the manual work required in improving data quality, which will allow colleagues to spend more time deriving insights from data rather than cleaning data, while also improving the speediness of the response.

The FSA can draw on a range of resources, published on the GOV.UK website, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.

The FSA also has access to the Government Digital Service, part of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.
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Mrs Sharon Hodgson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department collects data on the number of people who (a) have been diagnosed with secondary breast cancer after finishing hormone therapy and (b) are living with secondary breast cancer. \p Andrew Gwynne: The National Disease Registration Service within NHS England, as the national cancer registry, collects diagnosis and treatment data on cancer patients in England.

Using the data behind the Accredited Official Statistics on Cancer Registrations combined with Cancer Waiting Times data, there were 15,739 patients alive with metastatic breast cancer on 1 January 2023, which is the most recent estimation point available.

This estimate includes patients diagnosed with metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer, as well as breast cancer patients who were diagnosed at stages one, two, or three and who have had a referral for metastatic treatment or palliative care.
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Derek Twigg:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many vaccine doses have been purchased for this year’s Flu campaign; and where they were sourced from. \p Andrew Gwynne: Information on the number of doses procured by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is commercially sensitive.

The UKHSA secures sufficient volumes of flu vaccines for the children’s flu programme, to ensure that eligible children aged less than 18 years old who present for vaccination can be offered an appropriate vaccine. General practitioners and community pharmacists are directly responsible for ordering flu vaccines from suppliers, which are used to deliver the national flu programme to all other eligible groups.
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Dr Simon Opher:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department plans to take to contribute to the target of halving violence against women and girls in ten years. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Government is committed to halving violence against women and girls in a decade. My Department is working closely with NHS England, the Home Office, and others on a coordinated approach to achieve this goal and improve the health response to victims and perpetrators.

NHS England has launched a national campaign to raise awareness of sexual assault referral centres and encourage survivors of sexual assault and abuse to seek help. These specialist services offer dedicated care and support to anyone who has been raped, sexually assaulted, or abused.

All integrated care boards have now appointed Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence leads to review their policies, training, and support systems for patients and staff. NHS England has also introduced a comprehensive package of measures to tackle sexual misconduct in the workplace.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many alleged (a) rapes or (b) sexual assaults have taken place in hospitals since 1 January 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of reports of (a) rape and (b) sexual assault that have taken place in hospitals since 1 January 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the annual (a) budget and (b) spend was for public health monies under section 7A of the National Health Service Act 2006 in each year since 2022. \p Andrew Gwynne: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Steff Aquarone:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce cost inefficiencies in purchasing medical supplies. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many meetings he has had with Community Pharmacy England since July 2024. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of waiting times for mental health services in South Derbyshire constituency; and what steps he is taking to reduce those times. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether public health monies under section 7A of the National Health Service Act 2006 will be ringfenced in 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2025 to Question 23853 on Pharmacy: Contracts, when he expects to conclude the consultation on the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework's 2025 to 2026 funding contract. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of SEN pupils in Bedfordshire that are expected to leave the Independent school sector in 2024-25. \p Stephen Morgan: The department has made no estimate of the number of pupils specifically in Bedfordshire with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who will leave the independent school system in the 2024/25 academic year.

As set out in HM Treasury’s tax information and impact note on applying VAT to independent school fees, published on GOV.UK, the government estimates that approximately 3,000 pupils will move from independent schools in the UK to state schools in the 2024/25 academic year.

There is no separate assessment by local authority. The impact on individual local authorities will interact with other pressures and vary.

HM Treasury’s impact note considers SEND, but does not provide a separate assessment broken down by SEND. It is important to note that pupils who need a local authority-funded place in an independent school will not be impacted by the changes. To protect pupils with special educational needs (SEN) that can only be met in an independent school, local authorities and devolved governments that fund these places will be compensated for the VAT they are charged on those pupils’ fees.

Most pupils who have SEN are educated in mainstream schools (whether state-maintained or independent) where their needs are met. The overwhelming majority attend state schools. The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. At Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced a £2.3 billion increase to the core schools' budget in 2025/26, increasing per pupil funding in real terms. This included an almost £1 billion uplift to high needs funding in 2025/26, providing additional support for the more than one million children in the state sector with SEND.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) enforce and (b) monitor safeguarding standards in academy schools. \p Stephen Morgan: All schools must follow the ‘Keeping children safe in education’, and ‘Working together to safeguard children’ statutory guidance and in line with the funding agreement, academy trusts must comply with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (the regulations). Part 3 of the regulations sets out the standards for a trust’s safeguarding responsibilities, and part 4 outlines the standards regarding the suitability of staff, supply staff, and proprietors. Trusts are held to account for standards in their academies through Ofsted inspections.

When the department has concerns about an academy trust not meeting its safeguarding responsibilities, it will work closely with the trust to ensure those arrangements come into compliance with statutory requirements. The department’s remit does not extend to investigating individual safeguarding matters or commenting on a trust’s handling of an incident(s). Once alerted to a safeguarding concern, the local authority for the area in which a child lives, is responsible for providing appropriate support.

To fulfil its safeguarding remit, the department will work with other statutory bodies, such as the local authority or Ofsted, as appropriate in accordance with our procedures.

Failure to comply with the regulations may place a trust in breach of its funding agreement with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. In these circumstances the department may take intervention action as set out in the academy trust handbook.
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Patrick Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what schools in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency are using the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme; and what their uptake is. \p Stephen Morgan: In England, there are over 11,100 schools, two thirds of English state primaries, that have received funding to deliver the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme. In the Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency there are 42 state primary schools with a reception class. 25 of these schools are registered to deliver the NELI programme. Details of all registered schools for this programme are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/neli-nuffield-early-language-intervention-programme.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle backlogs in the processing of statutory assessments for education, health and care plans. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. EHC plans must be issued within 20 weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. The most recent dataset shows there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan and 90,500 assessments took place in 2023. 50.3% of new EHC plans in 2023 were issued within 20 weeks.

The department knows that local authorities have seen an increase in the number of assessment requests and that more needs to be done to ensure that local areas deliver effective and timely services. This includes better communication with schools and families.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the problems and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.

Central Bedfordshire underwent an Ofsted and Care Quality Commission joint area SEND inspection in October 2019, with the report published in February 2020. The local area was required to produce a written statement of action to address six significant weaknesses. During a revisit in July 2022, Ofsted found sufficient progress in three of the six areas. Consequently, the area was required to produce an accelerated progress plan to outline the necessary improvements for the remaining three areas.
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Alex Easton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce inequalities in SEND funding between local authorities. \p Catherine McKinnell: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

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

Following the 2024 Autumn Budget, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.

The department is keeping the high needs funding arrangements under review as we progress wider SEND reforms.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of SEN pupils attend a school in a different local authority area to the one in which they live in the East of England. \p Catherine McKinnell: The number and proportion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) who attend a school in a different local authority area to the one in which they live in the East of England is shown below.

Pupils1,2 with SEN resident3 in local authority areas in East of England by whether they go to school within or outside their local authority area

Source: January school census 2024

Primary

Secondary

Special

Number of pupils with education, health and care (EHC) Plan

Resident pupils

15,775

11,509

14,356

School within local authority area

15,389

10,898

13,397

School outside local authority area

386

611

959

Percentage of pupils with EHC Plan

School within local authority area

97.6%

94.7%

93.3%

School outside local authority area

2.4%

5.3%

6.7%

Number of pupils with SEN support (without EHC Plan)

Resident pupils

69,323

46,863

79

School within local authority area

67,706

44,741

69

School outside local authority area

1,617

2,122

10

Percentage of pupils with SEN support (without EHC Plan)

School within local authority area

97.7%

95.5%

87.3%

School outside local authority area

2.3%

4.5%

12.7%

Total number of pupils with SEN resident in East of England

Resident pupils

85,098

58,372

14,435

School within local authority area

83,095

55,639

13,466

School outside local authority area

2,003

2,733

969

Total percentage of pupils with SEN resident in East of England

School within local authority area

97.6%

95.3%

93.3%

School outside local authority area

2.4%

4.7%

6.7%

Total percentage of all pupils resident in East of England attending a school outside local authority area

2.4%

5.6%

6.7%

1. State-funded school pupils in national curriculum years reception to 11, includes a small number of special school pupils for whom year group is not recorded.

2. Excludes pupils who board and dual subsidiary enrolments.

3. Resident is based on the pupil’s home postcode.
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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support private providers of school transport for SEND pupils. \p Catherine McKinnell: Home-to-school travel is an integral part of the school system. It provides a valuable service on which many families rely. The department is grateful to the many transport operators for the crucial role they play in ensuring that children receive the education that they need to help them thrive.

Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. It is for them to determine how best to do so, based on local circumstances and the needs of the children travelling. They might, for example, have an in-house fleet, provide passes for free travel on public transport or contract with private transport operators for the provision of buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles. Where they contract with private operators, it is for the local authority and the operator to agree suitable terms.
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Anneliese Midgley:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the year one phonics screening check in Knowsley constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Through the Plan for Change, we will give children the best start in life, and that means providing them with an excellent foundation in the core subjects.

Since the right hon. Ruth Kelly, as a previous Secretary of State for Education and Skills, accepted the recommendations of the Rose Report in 2006, England has made significant progress in the teaching of early reading, especially phonics.

The department has introduced a range of measures to support early reading and help increase the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the year 1 phonics screening check.

In July 2024, we announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme would continue for academic year 2024/25. NELI is an evidence-based programme targeting reception-aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development and is proven to help them make four months of additional progress, seven months for those eligible for free school meals.

Further, the English hubs school-to-school support programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. So far, the department has invested over £90 million in the programme, with funding continuing and £23 million committed for academic year 2024/25 to support this work. Knowsley’s nearest English Hub is St John Vianney English Hub.

The government’s reading framework also provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading from reception to key stage 3, including guidance on how to help pupils who need more support to learn to read proficiently.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of SEN pupils who attend independent schools in Bedfordshire. \p Catherine McKinnell: Information on the number of pupils in schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton attending independent schools with both education, health and care (EHC) plans and special educational needs (SEN) support is available in the publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.

The table linked below shows the figures for pupils in schools with both EHC plans and SEN support in independent schools and independent special schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton local authorities for the 2023/24 academic year: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/0c775324-f4bf-4a80-18a7-08dd3ba4043a.
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Brian Mathew:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the enforcement of guidelines on air quality in schools. \p Stephen Morgan: The responsible body, relevant local authority, academy trust or voluntary-aided body, is responsible for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of pupils when in their care including meeting any relevant standards for internal environments.

The department publishes non-statutory guidance on indoor air quality in ‘Building Bulletin 101: Guidelines on ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality in schools’ (BB101), which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/building-bulletin-101-ventilation-for-school-buildings.   All new department-delivered schools are designed and constructed to the department’s school building standards. These standards cover ventilation and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in Bedfordshire had an EHC plan in each academic year since 2019/20. \p Catherine McKinnell: Information on the number of pupils in schools in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton with education, health and care (EHC) plans is available in the publication ‘Special Educational Needs in England’, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england.

The table linked below shows the figures for pupils in schools with EHC plans in Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton local authorities for each academic year since 2019/20: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c81e3eb7-09ad-4267-78dd-08dd3ba46a29.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the funding models local authorities use to support pupils with special educational needs. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion.

Of that total, Bedford Borough Council is being allocated over £38 million through the high needs funding block, and Central Bedfordshire Council is being allocated over £49 million.

We are keeping the high needs funding arrangements, including the appropriate level of flexibility and standardisation in local authorities’ funding models, under review as we progress wider SEND reforms.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations she has received on disallowing schools from employing teachers without qualified teacher status. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department has heard from schools, leaders and teachers regarding the measure in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to require new teachers to have or be working towards qualified teacher status (QTS). This measure will reaffirm the professional status of teaching and emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching in outcomes for children.

The requirement for QTS builds on the reforms made by the previous government, who ensured that the essential knowledge associated with high-quality teaching is incorporated into all primary and secondary initial teacher training and the statutory early career induction. We want to ensure that new teachers benefit from the very best evidence-based training followed by an induction, whichever type of school they work in.

There are existing exemptions to the requirement for QTS set out in regulations, which allow schools to employ unqualified teachers in particular circumstances. The government will retain these exemptions for all schools.
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Lewis Cocking:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on SEND transport to educational institutions. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for Broxbourne to the answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 26397.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_200

Patrick Spencer:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what primary schools in Central Suffolk and North Ipswich constituency offer early intervention support; and what type of support is offered. \p Catherine McKinnell: Schools, including further education colleges, sixth form colleges and 16 to 19 academies, are required to identify and address the special educational needs (SEN) of the pupils they support and, in the case of mainstream settings, to use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need. All schools should apply the ‘graduated approach’ that is outlined in the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice, which means identifying a child’s needs, planning appropriate support, implementing that support and reviewing it regularly to ensure it continues to meet the identified needs. Through this, schools should develop personalised approaches to supporting the unique needs of individual pupils.

The department is working as quickly as possible to ensure every child has the best chance in life, by prioritising early intervention and inclusive provision in mainstream settings. We know that early intervention prevents unmet needs from escalating, and that it supports children and young people to achieve their goals alongside their peers. Getting it right in the early years is essential to supporting children’s development, health and life chances. We are currently funding three specific early intervention programmes: the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme, the Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinders and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_201

Mrs Elsie Blundell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle misogynistic attitudes in primary schools. \p Catherine McKinnell: Education has a crucial role to play in tackling harmful behaviour, helping children and young people, at primary and secondary level, to develop empathy, boundaries and respect for difference.

Through compulsory relationships education, all pupils, including boys and young men, learn how to form positive and respectful relationships and develop an understanding of the concepts and laws around sexual harassment and sexual violence.

The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance emphasises that schools should be alive to issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, homophobia and gender stereotypes and take positive action to build a culture where these are not tolerated, ensuring any occurrences are identified and tackled. The guidance is clear that schools should provide pupils with the knowledge they need to recognise and report abuse, including emotional, physical and sexual abuse, and to build empathy and promote respect for all. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education.

Schools should consider what they can do to foster healthy and respectful peer-to-peer communication and behaviour between boys and girls, and provide an environment, which challenges perceived limits on pupils based on their gender or any other characteristic.

​The department is currently reviewing the statutory RSHE curriculum and as part of this review will be looking at how to ensure that the guidance equips pupils, including at primary school level, to form healthy and respectful relationships. We are analysing consultation responses, talking to stakeholders and considering relevant evidence.

Separately, the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review will consider how RSHE fits into the wider curriculum.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_202

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14182 on Public Sector: Finance, whether local authorities will be able to bid to receive funds from the Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund. \p Georgia Gould: I refer the hon Member to the answer given to Question UIN 11936 on 8 November 2024.

The Public Sector Reform and Innovation Fund allocated £165 million to a range of projects in 2025-26, including support for foster care, delivering apprenticeships and planning reforms.

Partnering with local leaders, the Budget allocated a further £100 million over the next three years to reform public services with a focus on experimentation and learning. To align with the Government’s manifesto commitment to step away from competitive bidding processes the programme will use an allocative approach to place selection. We are working with the Local Government Association to develop the programme and will announce more details in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_203

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse for supporting the a:gender network in each of the last five years. \p Georgia Gould: Data from the Equality, Diversity and Expenditure Review will be published in due course.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_204

Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes have been made to the guidance entitled Additional information on Exemptions, Thresholds, Expectations and Compliance, and Breaches of Spend Controls, updated on 20 January 2025. \p Georgia Gould: Changes were made to the guidance entitled, Additional information on Exemptions, Thresholds, Expectations and Compliance, and Breaches of Spend Controls. These changes were to:

Remove the text below

Threshold: Expenditure over £100,000 for the duration of the commitment (freehold acquisition cost or total rental expenditure to lease expiry)

Replace with new text showing an increased threshold figure -

Threshold: Expenditure over £500,000 for the duration of the commitment (freehold acquisition cost or total rental expenditure to lease expiry)

All transactions of £1m per annum or over will require Ministerial approval

These changes to the guidance were made to reflect changes to Cabinet Office controls which were made at the start of the 2023-24 financial year.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_205

Adam Jogee:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of renaming London Heathrow Airport after Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: Royal Titles are granted very sparingly and there has always been an emphasis on the rarity of the honour. Permission to use protected Royal titles is given by the Sovereign on the advice of Ministers. The Royal Names Memorialisation Public Guidance is available on gov.uk, which confirms that the full title of Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be closely protected and only be granted for applications with strong Royal connections. Requests should be directed to the Cabinet Office (for requests in England and Northern Ireland), Scottish Government (for requests in Scotland) and Welsh Government (for requests in Wales). The Government also notes that Terminal 2 in Heathrow airport is already named after the late Queen.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_206

James MacCleary:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department has commissioned opinion polling on public attitudes towards (a) Brexit, (b) the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU, (c) the Windsor Framework and (d) the UK's relationship with the EU. \p Nick Thomas-Symonds: The Government Communication Service is not commissioning opinion polling on these topics.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_207

Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had discussions financial institutions on the potential impact of environmental, social and governance policies on the provision of banking services to defence (a) manufacturers and (b) suppliers; and what steps he is taking to ensure that legally operating defence firms have full access to financial services. \p Gareth Thomas: The Secretary of State for Business and Trade met representatives of the defence and financial services industries on 12 December 2024, to discuss how environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles are being applied to companies in defence and the impact they are having on investment and access to financial services. The discussion highlighted that there are multiple stakeholders and issues within the sectors and within government. The Department is now following up on that discussion across government and wider to find the best way to address them, to ensure that ESG policies do not have unintended consequences for the health of the defence sector.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_208

John Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much (a) his Department and (b) each of its arm’s length bodies has paid to external public relations firms since 5 July 2024; and to list those firms. \p Justin Madders: Public relations activity is a subset of communication spend. As such, this data is not held. The Government Communication Service encourages the prioritisation of low and no cost public relations activities wherever possible.

It is recommended that all external communications support should be procured through approved government frameworks, with strict controls in place to ensure cost-effectiveness.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_209

Brian Leishman:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will bring forward secondary legislation under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 to prevent the importation of goods from illegal Israeli settlements. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The Government does not comment on future sanctions measures, as to do so would reduce their impact.

The UK government considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law and goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from tariff and trade preferences under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel.

We support accurate labelling of settlement goods, so as not to mislead the consumer. We routinely update our guidance to British businesses on the Overseas Business Risk website and advise British businesses to bear in mind the UK Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-02-07 conversation_210

Brian Leishman:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies on trade with illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion entitled Legal Consequences Arising From The Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, published on 19 July 2024. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: The UK government considers Israeli settlements illegal under international law and is clear that goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from tariff and trade preferences under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel. This will not change with an updated UK-Israel FTA. We advise British businesses to bear in mind the UK Government's view on the illegality of settlements under international law when considering their investments and activities in the region. Our commitment to a two-state solution is unwavering, as is our commitment to international law. We respect the independence of the International Court of Justice, and we are carefully considering the Court’s advisory opinion.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-02-07)

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Tristan Osborne:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on a Free Trade Agreement. \p Mr Douglas Alexander: On 29 July 2024 the Secretary of State for Business and Trade announced the Government’s intention to deliver negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.

The Secretary of State has spoken to Minister Barkat a number of times since the July 2024 General Election, including on the Free Trade Agreement.