theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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James McMurdock:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many advisers in HMRC have been accused of (a) behaving dishonestly and (b) committing tax fraud in each of the last three years. \p James Murray: HMRC’s conduct and behaviour policy is explained to all new recruits as part of their induction and is accessible on the internal intranet site for all HMRC employees.

Information for the last three years regarding HMRC employees who have been found to have acted contrary to HMRC internal policies on “Conduct and Behaviour” are listed in the table below.

Details regarding “tax fraud” are not available as HMRC do not hold specific records that relate to that element of the question.

HMRC categorise ‘dishonest” behaviour under the following areas: -

Our HR systems capture the first two (Fraud and Theft & Bribery and Corruption) under the same category for recording purposes.

Category

2022

2023

2024

Fraud, Theft, Bribery & Corruption

12

17

9

Misuse of Computer and data breaches

128

110

84

Conditions of Service

92

87

123

HMRC headcount was 65,781 as of 31 December 2024.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what actions is her Department taking to mitigate the rise in employer NI contributions on the homelessness charities. \p James Murray: In order to repair the public finances and help raise the revenue required to increase funding for public services, the government has taken the difficult decision to increase employer National Insurance contributions (NICs).

HMRC published on 13 November a Tax Information and Impact Note that covers the impact on charities as employers of the changes.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no NICs.

More broadly, within the tax system, we provide support to charities through a range of reliefs and exemptions, including reliefs for charitable giving, with more than £6 billion in charitable reliefs provided to charities, CASCs and their donors in 2023 -24.
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James Wild:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether members of the National Wealth Fund Taskforce are remunerated. \p James Murray: The NWF Taskforce was established by the Chancellor before the 2024 general election to fulfil an independent advisory role on the design of the National Wealth Fund. Members have not been remunerated for their roles on the NWF Taskforce.
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John McDonnell:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to discuss the Tonnage Tax scheme with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) shipowners and (c) maritime trade unions as part of the current Spending Review. \p James Murray: Tonnage Tax is an advantageous corporation tax regime for shipping companies. It was introduced in 2000 to improve the competitiveness of the UK’s shipping industry.   As set out on GOV.UK, the Government forecasts that the cost of the regime in 2024-25 will be £185m: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. However, this assumes that shipping companies would remain in the UK without a globally competitive UK Tonnage Tax regime; in its absence, there is a significant risk that shipping companies could leave the UK to join tonnage tax regimes in other countries, so this amount of revenue would not be collected. The UK would also not benefit from shipping companies (i) strategically and commercially managing their vessels in the UK and (ii) fulfilling the regime’s cadet training commitment. Annual cost figures dating back to 2000 are not available

As with all taxes, the Government keeps Tonnage Tax under review. Phase 2 of the Spending Review will set departmental budgets for the rest of this Parliament – from 2026-27 until 2028-29 for day-to-day spending and 2029-30 for capital spending. Non-structural tax reliefs - GOV.UK
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Seamus Logan:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 17 October 2024 from the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, reference number MC2024/14787. \p James Murray: A response has been sent to the Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East regarding his correspondence of 18 October 2024 about VAT on private school fees.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to support small businesses with the costs of compliance with (a) EU general safety and performance requirements and (b) EU regulations. \p Justin Madders: UK businesses exporting medical devices to the EU should comply with EU General Safety and Performance Requirements (GSPR), which outline the criteria for medical and in vitro diagnostic devices marketed in the EU. These apply under the EU Medical Device Regulations (MDR) and the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (IVDR), which came into force in 2017.

Responsibility for interpreting and providing guidance on EU legislation rests with the European Commission. For detailed guidance, businesses should refer to the European Commission's website. UK Government continue to assess implementation milestones of MDR and IVDR. Businesses experiencing EU market access issues, may seek support via the UK Export Support Service.
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Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the EU General Product Safety Regulation on UK small businesses exporting to the EU. \p Justin Madders: I appreciate that for some businesses, the updated EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) will require changes, and we take these concerns very seriously. Government is supporting small businesses to understand GPSR and is engaging directly with businesses to assess the regulation’s impact.

We have published guidance on GPSR’s application in Northern Ireland, which we will keep under review. The responsibility for interpreting EU legislation lies with the European Commission. The Commission have published their own business guidance and impact assessment of the regulation.

Small businesses exporting to the EU may also wish to contact the Government’s Export Support Service.
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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with the Post Office on the number of expressions of interest for remaining directly-managed Crown Post Office branches. \p Gareth Thomas: As the Minister responsible for the Government's interest in Post Office Limited, I meet regularly with the CEO and Chair of Post Office to discuss various issues related to Post Office Limited, including directly managed branches. My officials also meet regularly with Post Office and discuss a range of issues including directly-managed branches.
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Richard Tice:To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reliance on imported rare earth minerals for net zero technologies on national security. \p Sarah Jones: Critical minerals, including rate earth elements are crucial for the UK in terms of security, clean energy, industry and emerging technologies. That is why the Government is developing a critical minerals strategy to ensure we are diversifying our supply chains, delivering the security we need and supporting the many UK-based companies that mine and process around the world. The strategy will be published this year.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many new teachers will be delivered in (a) South Shropshire and (b) other rural areas. \p Catherine McKinnell: Delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity relies on a highly skilled workforce in schools, and high-quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education.

There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament. This will help ensure that children in South Shropshire and all other areas of the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.
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Alicia Kearns:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing the new Neffy treatment for severe allergic reactions to schools when available on the NHS. \p Catherine McKinnell: Needle-free epinephrine nasal spray is not currently licensed for use in the United Kingdom. Consideration as to whether this could be used in schools would have to be taken once the medicine receives a marketing authorisation.

Since October 2017, the Human Medicines (Amendment) Regulations 2017 have allowed all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injector devices without a prescription for emergency use. The Department of Health and Social Care has published non-statutory guidance to accompany this legislative change, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/using-emergency-adrenaline-auto-injectors-in-schools.
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Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average full-time salary was for (a) classroom and (b) all teachers in (i) academies, (ii) free schools, (iii) local authority maintained schools and (iv) all publicly-funded schools in 2023. \p Catherine McKinnell: Information on the school workforce is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

The attached table provides the full-time equivalent median average salary for classroom teachers and all teachers in academy schools, free schools, local authority maintained schools and all state-funded schools in England, as at November 2023.

All_Teachers_Median_Average_Salary (xlsx, 19.3KB)
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the policy paper entitled Plan for Change, published on 5 December 2024, CP1210, how she plans to measure good development for school readiness; whether she plans to use teacher-completed Early Years Foundation Stage Profiles to measure good development; and whether she plans to use all seven categories of Early Years Foundation Stage measurement. \p Stephen Morgan: Giving young children the best start in life is the foundation of the government’s Opportunity Mission. Children’s earliest years are crucial to their health, development and life chances.

The department has set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile assessment by 2028.

The statutory EYFS framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure all children have the best start in life and are prepared for school. It requires that children be assessed against the EYFS profile in the summer term of the academic year in which they turn 5 years old.

The EYFS profile seeks to measure a child’s level of development to support their successful transitions into year 1 and to support parents, carers and early years educators to recognise children’s progress and understand their needs.

It comprises an assessment of the child’s outcomes in relation to 17 early learning goals across 7 areas of learning.

Children are defined as having a good level of development at the end of the EYFS if they are at the expected level for the 12 early learning goals within the 5 areas of learning relating to: communication and language; personal, social and emotional development; physical development; literacy; and mathematics. This is the definition that will be used to measure progress on school readiness as set out in the Plan for Change.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many students will require individual home invigilation to sit their (a) GCSEs, (b) A-Levels and (c) other exams in 2025. \p Catherine McKinnell: Alternative site arrangements for sitting exams, including home invigilation, can be put in place as an access arrangement if, in exceptional circumstances, it is required to enable a candidate to access exams and assessments.

As in any year, there is no way of knowing in advance of the exam season how many candidates will need access arrangements.

As the use of alternative site provision is a decision for centres based on the needs of individual candidates and for which centres do not need exam board approval, data on this arrangement is not published in Ofqual’s annual statistics on access arrangements.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of children who need to travel long distances to a school with SEND provision. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is aware that many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs. This government committed to addressing this by improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special education needs units but we need to go much further to ensure this support is available to far more children across the country.

This government is also committed to ensuring special schools play a vital role in supporting pupils with the most complex needs. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including children and young people with SEND. If a local authority identifies a shortage of special school places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they could consider creating or expanding provision.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has announced £740 million for high needs capital in the 2025/26 financial year to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This new funding can be used to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children and young people with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit the pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs. The department will confirm local authority allocations for this funding in the spring.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure schools with SEND provision are accessible for low-income families. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision (AP) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. ​The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.

By strengthening support in the early years, children’s needs can be identified earlier ensuring that support is put in place which can prevent needs escalating and ensure children are able to thrive when they arrive at school.

The department will also strengthen accountability on mainstream settings to be inclusive including through Ofsted, support the mainstream workforce to increase their SEND expertise and encourage schools to set up resourced provision or special educational needs units to increase capacity in mainstream schools.

The department is providing almost £1 billion more for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding to £11.9 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. The department has also announced £740 million of high needs capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require AP.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage more young people into (a) further education and (b) apprenticeships. \p Janet Daby: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy.

Young people are required to continue in education or training until they turn 18-years-old. We are preventing young people from losing touch with education or employment before the age of 18 through a guaranteed place in education and training for all 16 and 17-year-olds, expanded work experience and careers advice, action to tackle school attendance and improved access to mental health services for young people in England.

Over £7.5 billion 16 to 19 programme funding will be invested during the 2024/25 academic year, to pay for education for any 16, 17 or 18-year-olds in post-16 education.

£240 million has been announced to drive forward measures in the Get Britain Working White Paper. This includes a Youth Guarantee for all young people aged 18 to 21-years-old in England to ensure they can access quality training, educational opportunities or help to find work. Working with Mayoral Authorities, and building on existing provision and entitlements, the department will test new ways of supporting young people into employment or training. To do this we will mobilise eight place-based Youth Guarantee trailblazers with £45 million of funding in 2025/26.

In addition, the department’s reformed growth and skills offer, which will have apprenticeships at its core, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers, including through shorter duration apprenticeships in targeted sectors. This will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, and fuel innovation in businesses across the UK. The department has also begun work to develop new foundation apprenticeships, a training offer that will give more young people a foot in the door and support clear pathways and progression in work-based training and employment.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all further education colleges comply with (a) accessibility regulations on (i) access to assistive technology and (ii) the use of accessible design in learning resources and (b) other accessibility regulations. \p Janet Daby: The government is committed to ensuring that all learners, including learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life and supports them to achieve positive outcomes.

Further education (FE) colleges must endeavour to secure the special educational provision that students need.

In addition, colleges also have duties and obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that they are acting inclusively and not discriminating against disabled students. As with other FE providers, colleges are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. This may include making provision for accessibility and assistive technology. Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use its best endeavours to put appropriate support in place.

Furthermore, under the SEND code of practice there should be a named person with oversight of SEND provision in every college. They co-ordinate, support and contribute to the strategic and operational management of the college. Curriculum and support staff in a college should know who to go to if they need help in identifying a student's special educational needs (SEN), are concerned about their progress or need more advice.

Colleges should keep the needs of students with SEND under regular review. They should involve the student and, particularly for those aged 16 to 18, their parents, closely at all stages of the cycle. Colleges should ensure that their staff have the skills to do this effectively.

Colleges should be ambitious for young people with SEN, whatever their needs and whatever their level of study. They should focus on supporting young people so they can progress and reach positive destinations in life, including higher education or further training or employment. They should equip them for independent living, good health and participating in the community.

Ofsted also ensures that colleges comply with accessibility requirements, as inspectors will determine whether staff are suitably qualified and/or have appropriate expertise to support learners or specific groups of learners. Ofsted will determine whether learning resources, including assistive technology and online/remote learning resources, are to the required standard and specification and whether they are used effectively to support learners to overcome their barriers to achieving their challenging learning goals.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish a decision on which apprenticeships will be impacted by cuts to Level 7 apprenticeship funding. \p Janet Daby: This government is committed to spreading opportunities and economic growth supported by a strong skills system.

This government has an extremely challenging fiscal inheritance. There are tough choices that need to be taken on how funding should be prioritised in order to generate opportunities for young people that enable them to make a start in good, fulfilling careers. The department will therefore be asking more employers to step forward and fund a significant number of level 7 apprenticeships themselves outside of the levy-funded growth and skills offer.

The department is taking advice from Skills England, who engaged with employers on funding for level 7 apprenticeships over the autumn, and the department expects to make a final decision on affected apprenticeships shortly.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to ensure school uniform is affordable. \p Catherine McKinnell: The cost of school uniform, particularly of branded items, remains a key concern for parents. Whilst uniforms play a valuable role in creating a sense of common identity among pupils and reducing visible inequalities, too many schools still require high numbers of branded uniform items despite statutory guidance stating branded items should be kept to a minimum. Currently 24% of primary and 71% of secondary schools still require five or more branded items, with some parents saying they were asked to provide 10 or more.

This is why the department has introduced legislation to limit the number of branded items of uniform and physical education kit that schools can require to bring down costs for parents and remove barriers from children accessing sport and other school activities. This will give parents more choice in where to purchase uniform and allow them greater flexibility to make the spending decisions that suit their circumstances.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many minors were murdered by family members in 2022-23; and what steps she plans to take to help prevent such deaths. \p Janet Daby: In 2022/23, there were 201 notifications where a child had died and abuse or neglect was known or suspected or where a looked after child had died, whether or not abuse or neglect is known or suspected. These statistics show the number of incidents notified in the period, rather than the number of incidents that occurred in the period and are based on one notification per incident, which can relate to more than one child in some instances.

Protecting children at risk of abuse and stopping vulnerable children falling through cracks in services are at the heart of the government’s landmark Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, introduced on 17 December. Reforming children’s social care is critical to giving hundreds of thousands of children and young people the start in life they deserve. This includes ensuring that every child is safe inside and outside of their home and has access to the right help at the right time.

This government’s vision to ensure children are kept safe is reflected in the legislative changes we are making in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This includes:

The department continues to deliver whole-system reform to help families to overcome challenges, stay together and thrive, where appropriate, and to keep children safe and in stable loving homes, including when they cannot stay with their family. This includes through the roll out of the Families First for Children Pathfinder and Family Networks Pilot, which includes multi-agency child protection reforms. The ‘Local Government Finance Settlement’ policy statement also set out an additional £250 million through the Children’s Social Care Prevention Grant which will enable investment in prevention activity, and is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026/local-government-finance-policy-statement-2025-to-2026.

Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a priority for this government, and we are committed to using every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of such abhorrent behaviours. Cross-government delivery of the Opportunity and Safer Streets Missions is driving policy and practice improvements for child victims of domestic violence and abuse. The department is also working with other departments and the wider sector, including local authorities and schools, to ensure that children are recognised as victims in their own right in line with the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, and that the best use is made of available resources in the provision of universal, targeted and specialist support for child victims.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with (a) parents and (b) teachers about home-to-school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department’s home-to-school travel policy aims to make sure that no child is prevented from accessing education by a lack of transport. Local authorities must arrange free home-to-school travel for children of compulsory school age, 5 to 16, who attend their nearest school and would not be able to walk there because of the distance, their special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or mobility problem, or because the nature of the route means it would be unsafe for them to do so.

Officials work closely with local authorities to understand the challenges they face and support the delivery of home-to-school travel. The department knows it is challenging for authorities to arrange free travel for all eligible children largely due to challenges within the wider SEND system, where more children and young people need to travel a long way to a school that can meet their needs. The government is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools so more children can have their needs met in their local community.

The delivery of home-to-school travel is governed by statutory guidance for local authorities. The department revised this guidance in 2023. The insight and experiences of a wide range of partners, including individual parents and schools as well as bodies that represent them, were valuable in revising the guidance. Officials continue to engage with a wide range partners to understand how the current arrangements are operating.
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James McMurdock:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2024 to Question 18093 on Education: Access, what progress the Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence teams are making on engaging with schools. \p Catherine McKinnell: The new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams will begin in early 2025, with their first RISE advisers in post this January.

Once established, RISE teams will engage schools to facilitate networking and sharing best practice, bringing together oversight and coordination of improvement programmes to empower schools so that they can better access this support and learn from one another. For schools that require more intensive support, the new RISE teams will work with their responsible body and supporting organisations to agree bespoke packages of targeted support, based on a school’s particular circumstances.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support youth democracy in (a) primary schools, (b) secondary schools, (c) alternative provision and (d) sixth forms and colleges in Newcastle-under-Lyme. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is committed to improving the rates of electoral registration and encouraging the engagement of young people and has committed to lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections in the UK.

It is up to schools, sixth forms, further education providers and alternative provision settings to decide what steps to take to support youth democracy in the context of their duty to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Ofsted’s inspection framework assesses how well schools, colleges and independent learning providers promote the values.

For secondary schools, democracy is currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which covers parliamentary democracy, the key elements of the constitution of the United Kingdom, the power of government and how citizens and Parliament hold it to account. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship, using non-statutory programmes of study at key stages 1 and 2.

Support for curriculum delivery is available through optional, free and adaptable resources from Oak National Academy (Oak). Oak launched its new curriculum sequences for secondary citizenship earlier this academic year, with the full package of curriculum resources expected to be available by autumn 2025.

The UK Parliament run educational tours for pupils, youth and community groups to see how Parliament works in action. The UK Parliament also produce resources which can be downloaded or ordered for free, tailored to different age groups.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport funds the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) to support young people to engage in the democratic process. Every two years, the UKYP runs ‘Make Your Mark’, open to all 11 to 18-year-olds in the UK, to enable them to vote on what are the most important issues for young people.
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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the needs of children placed with kinship carers are fully assessed and supported especially in cases of (a) trauma and (b) disrupted care. \p Janet Daby: The government is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this.

In October 2024, the department published the new Kinship Care statutory guidance for local authorities, setting out the support and services local authorities should provide to kinship families, including reaffirming the requirement to publish their local offer of support in a clear, accessible way.

The guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare. There is no limit on the level of support, including financial support, that local authorities can provide. All local authorities should have in place clear eligibility criteria in relation to the provision of support services.

Regulation 11 of the Special Guardianship statutory guidance states that, in the case of a child who was looked after immediately prior to the making of a Special Guardianship Order (SGO), the child, special guardian or parent has a right to receive an assessment by the local authority for support services, which may include financial support.

In the context of kinship foster carers, when considering whether a relative, friend or other connected person should be approved as a foster carer, account must be taken of the needs, wishes and feelings of the child, and the capacity of the carer to meet those particular needs. The child’s placement plan will set out in detail how the placement is intended to contribute to meeting the child’s needs and should make clear any support or services that the kinship foster carer needs in order to meet the needs of the child.

The Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund helps children who were previously looked after and are now in kinship care under a SGO or a Child Arrangements Order and their families access therapeutic interventions related to trauma and attachment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Olly Glover:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of either (a) removing the margin or (b) capping the interest rate on student loans. \p Janet Daby: Student loans are subject to interest to ensure that those who can afford to do so contribute to the full cost of their degree. The government does not make a profit from the student loan repayment system.

The department is determined that the higher education (HE) funding system should deliver for our economy, for universities and for students and the government is committed to supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university. We will set out this government’s longer-term plan for HE reform by summer 2025.

Interest rates on student loans do not affect monthly repayments made by borrowers. Regular repayments are based on a fixed percentage of earnings above the applicable student loan repayment threshold, not on the amount borrowed or the rate of interest. If a borrower’s income drops, so does the amount they repay. If income is below the relevant student loan repayment threshold, or a borrower is not earning, then they do not have to make repayments at all. Any outstanding debt, 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.

Interest rates are set annually in relation to the Retail Price Index. The government caps maximum student loan rates when needed to ensure that student loan interest rates do not exceed market rates for comparable unsecured personal loans.

A full equality impact assessment of how student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with members of ForThe100 to discuss duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students. \p Janet Daby: I refer my hon. Friend the member for Rushcliffe to the answer of 08 January 2025 to Question 21515.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will bring forward legislative proposals on the use of artificial intelligence to (a) address safety concerns and (b) ensure its responsible (i) development and (ii) deployment in the UK. \p Feryal Clark: The Government has set out its intention to deliver on the manifesto commitment to introduce new, binding requirements on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models.

These proposals will build on the voluntary commitments secured at the Seoul and Bletchley AI Summits and will place the AI Safety Institute on a permanent footing, strengthening its role in advancing AI Safety.

The government recognises how important safety and trust is to capture AI opportunities. The AI Opportunities Action Plan recommends supporting AISI, strengthening regulators’ AI capabilities and supporting the AI assurance ecosystem to increase trust in AI.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Dr Allison Gardner:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with social media platforms to help tackle the spread of extremism online. \p Feryal Clark: Under the Online Safety Act, companies must act against illegal mis- and disinformation or hateful content, including illegal content that stirs up racial or religious hatred, and direct incitement to violence. The illegal content duty Codes of Practice are currently being scrutinised by Parliament, and Ofcom is anticipated to begin enforcing them in the Spring.

Social media platforms are responsible for ensuring that those seeking to spread hate online are not facilitated by their service. DSIT engages constructively with social media platforms, whilst being clear about that responsibility. DSIT also engages with major platforms on their responses to emerging risks relating to national security and public safety.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which Northern Irish companies received funding from the £1.8m for regional cyber skills projects. \p Feryal Clark: Cyber Local is a UK government scheme to deliver tailored support for the cyber security sector. It is part of the government’s work to make the UK more resilient against cyber threats, support economic growth and develop digital skills.

£1.9 million of funding will be shared by 31 projects, details of which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cyber-local-projects-2025. The downloadable spreadsheet indicates the project location and whether the project focuses on skills, resilience or innovation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help tackle digital exclusion in Forest of Dean constituency. \p Chris Bryant: Digital inclusion is a priority for me and for Government. It means everyone has the access, skills, support and confidence to participate in a modern digital society, whatever their circumstances. Work is ongoing to develop our approach to tackling digital exclusion and we hope to announce more on this soon. We look forward to working closely with the third sector, business and local authorities across the UK, including Gloucestershire, to ensure interventions are targeted to and based on individual needs.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve trade links between Northern Ireland and the channel ports. \p Mike Kane: The Department for Transport is supporting Great Britain–Northern Ireland maritime freight connectivity through implementation of the Windsor Framework to streamline goods movement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2024 to Question 20346 on Bus Services: ICT, if she will take steps to ensure all new buses include charging points. \p Simon Lightwood: The government is committed to delivering better bus services, and wants to make them a strong choice for passengers. Local bus operators have responsibility for managing and maintaining their bus fleets, and we expect them to consider how best to improve the experience for passengers when making decisions about their fleet, including considering making charging points available to passengers on their buses.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Alex Mayer:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Public Service Vehicle operator licences were issued in each of the last five years for which data is available. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain collect annual data on the number of active and newly issued public service vehicle (PSV) operator licences and the vehicles authorised to operate under these licences. The number of new PSV operator licences issued in each of the last five years is as follows. Data for the reporting year ‘2024 – January 2025’ is accurate as of 14 January 2025.

Reporting Year (April – March)

Number of new PSV operator licences granted

Number of vehicles authorised as a result of a new application

2019/20

474

2810

2020/21

317

1323

2021/22

264

2292

2022/23

310

1463

2023/24

368

1451

2024 – January 2025

273

1401
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-15)

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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of requiring cyclists and motorcyclists to wear high visibility attire after dark. \p Simon Lightwood: The safety of vulnerable road users is a priority for the Government. Cyclists and motorcyclists should make every effort to ensure that they can be clearly seen by other road users, both for their own safety and for that of others. Rule 59 of The Highway Code recommends that people who cycle should wear light-coloured or fluorescent clothing to help other road users to see them in daylight and poor light, with reflective clothing and/or accessories in the dark. Rules 86 and 87 of The Highway Code provide similar guidance on visibility for motorcyclists riding in daylight and at night.

Any change to these rules would need to be carefully considered to ensure that it was proportionate and enforceable, and that it did not have unintended consequences such as putting people off cycling. The Government has no current plans to mandate the wearing of high visibility clothing for cyclists or motorcyclists.