theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of visa restrictions on revenue streams in the Higher Education sector. \p Janet Daby: There are many factors that influence international students when they choose to study abroad. These include the range and quality of available courses, the visa rules that apply in countries they are considering, and the appeal of living and studying in those countries.

Several changes were made to the immigration system in 2024, restricting international students from bringing family members with them to the UK unless they are studying a PhD, doctorate or research-based higher degree. These restrictions will be continued, as confirmed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for the Home Department in early February, in line with the government’s commitment to manage migration carefully. The Home Office has also published a full impact assessment of changes made to student and work visas in 2024, alongside their introduction.

Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows that international students contributed £12.1 billion in tuition fees to UK higher education (HE) providers in the 2022/23 academic year.

This government has made clear its approach to international students. We welcome international students who enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK.
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Mary Kelly Foy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to to help improve access for students to courses at all levels in (a) history, (b) arts and (c) the humanities. \p Janet Daby: The government is committed to supporting access to creative subjects, such as the arts, history and humanities, in higher education.

For the 2024/25 academic year, the department has allocated around £12.9 million in high-cost subject funding from the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) towards creative and performing arts courses to cover course costs.

The department has also maintained SPG funding for world-leading small and specialist providers at £58 million for the 2024/25 academic year. Of the 20 providers recognised in this way, 12 are creative and performing arts providers.

​​ ​
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to ensure that high-quality education provision is available for children who are unable to attend (a) mainstream education and (b) special unit add-ons. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is committed to ensuring that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to thrive in their education and make a successful transition into adulthood, including those who are unable to attend inclusive mainstream schools and instead access specialist or alternative provision (AP). We therefore recognise the vital role of high-quality specialist provision, particularly for children with more complex needs.

It is for local authorities, under section 19 of the Children's Act 1996, to arrange suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education.

Ofsted hold local authorities to account for the sufficiency and commissioning of AP as part of their area SEND inspections.

The department issues guidance on the planning and commissioning of AP that focuses on the principles of delivering education that is appropriate, effective, safe and of good quality. The guidance was last updated in January 2025 and can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alternative-provision.
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Terry Jermy:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to lower waiting times for speech therapy for children. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department continues to improve access to speech and language therapy by including the ‘Early Language and Support for Every Child’ (ELSEC) pathfinder project, in partnership with NHS England and within the department’s existing Change Programme. This is delivered across nine pathfinder sites, with one in each English region.

The interim programme evaluation allows the department to explore insights into the effectiveness of ELSEC delivery at a local level. Highlight reporting data shows that therapy support teams have helped around 20,000 children so far and just over 3000 setting staff have been upskilled in delivering interventions. A final evaluation will take place following the end of the summer term 2025.

The department is continuing funding support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme. As of March 2025, as part of NELI, 47,982 pupils undertook an initial Language Screen assessment in the 2024/25 academic year.
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Iqbal Mohamed:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are on the SEND waiting list in Dewsbury and Batley constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department collects information from local authorities on the number of requests for an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments carried out and the number of EHC plans issued on a calendar year basis. The latest figures we hold relate to the 2023 calendar year. Information for the 2024 calendar year will be published on 26 June.

The number of requests for an EHC needs assessment, the number of EHC needs assessments and the number of EHC plans issued within the statutory timeframe of 20 weeks from the date of the request for EHC needs assessment is given for Kirklees local authority in the table available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2a676326-624e-4d03-96c7-08dd85738b16.
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Caroline Voaden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to extend PE and Sport Premium Funding beyond 2024-25. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer the hon. Member for South Devon to the answer of 23 April 2025 to Question 36699.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to meet the change in the level of demand for SEND provision in Mid Bedfordshire constituency. \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.

The department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year, following the Autumn Budget 2024. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Central Bedfordshire Council is being allocated over £49 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £4 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.

Local authorities allocate their high needs funding to support schools in making suitable provision for the increasing number of pupils identified as having more complex SEND.

The department has also announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for financial year 2025/26, totalling £740 million, of which Central Bedfordshire has been allocated £4.4 million. The department is encouraging local authorities to use this funding to adapt mainstream schools for pupils with SEND, creating new special units or resourced provision, as well as to create new places in special schools.

The department wants more children to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school and we want to restore parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need without having to travel a long way to access a specialist placement.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to help support schools to teach children about animal care. \p Catherine McKinnell: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The national curriculum in England provides a broad framework within which schools have the flexibility to develop the content of their own curricula. Animal care can be taught within both the science and the relationships, sex and health curricula.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase access to special educational needs assessments in Lincolnshire. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department wants to drive a consistent and inclusive approach to supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to achieve and thrive in mainstream settings through early identification, effective support, high-quality teaching and effective allocation of resources.

Through a graduated approach, teachers are responsible for monitoring the progress of all pupils and putting support in place where needed. Where a child who has special educational needs (SEN) needs more support than their school can usually provide, schools, parents or carers can ask the local authority to carry out an education, health and care (EHC) needs assessment.

Local authorities must conduct EHC needs assessment if a child or young person has or may have SEN and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made in accordance with an EHC plan.

The department recognises the critical role of educational psychologists within the SEND system, including their statutory contribution to EHC assessments. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024, building on the £10 million currently being invested in a cohort of over 200 trainees who began their training in 2023. Trainees will join the workforce to support the capacity of local authority educational psychology services, including in delivering assessments.

A joint local area SEND inspection of Lincolnshire Local Area Partnership (LAP) was undertaken by Ofsted/CQC in February 2025, and the report is expected to be published imminently. Following publication, the LAP will be required to update their strategic plan, and the department’s regional team will put in place systems to track outcomes against any areas for improvement identified by inspectors, and the progress made by children and young people with SEND.
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Sir Andrew Mitchell:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding she has allocated for the repair of roads in Sutton Coldfield in the last two years for which information is available. \p Lilian Greenwood: Birmingham City Council (BCC) is the local highway authority for Sutton Coldfield and is a constituent authority of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).

BCC has a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) agreement for its highway maintenance operations, under which the Department for Transport provides approximately £50.3 million per year to BCC. The Department will make an announcement in due course on the future of this agreement.

In addition, WMCA receives a City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) from the Department, that runs for 5 years between 2022/23 – 2026/27. This settlement consolidates all transport capital funding allocations, including highways maintenance. The WMCA has a total CRSTS settlement of £1.05 billion; decisions on how this funding is allocated is a matter for WMCA. On Friday 20 December, the Government announced that, as part of the £500 million autumn Budget uplift, WMCA will receive an additional £8.61 million funding for local highway maintenance for the 2025/26 financial year.
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Chris Curtis:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason the Civil Aviation Authority renewed the ATOL licence for Balkan Holidays on 1 April 2025; and whether she plans to reform financial protection in the travel sector. \p Mike Kane: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is independently responsible for administering the ATOL scheme. Decisions on ATOL licence renewal decisions are for the CAA to take independently.

The Department continues to work with the CAA on options for ATOL reform. We expect to provide an update on progress later this year.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to monitor the use of drones in urban areas. \p Simon Lightwood: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the independent aviation regulator, receives reports of aviation incidents via multiple reporting channels and reviews those that fall within its remit. Members of the public concerned about drone misuse, including in residential or urban areas, should report it to their local police force, who are best placed to determine whether an offence has been committed under the CAA’s Drone and Model Aircraft Code.

From January 2026, all drones with a camera and weighing more than 250 grams will be required to comply with new Remote Identification (Remote ID) requirements. Remote ID is a system that allows drones to be tracked and identified in real time, similar to a digital licence plate. This will support enforcement authorities by enabling the identification of non-compliant drones and locating their operators when necessary.

In relation to flights in residential areas, there are already existing restrictions. Operating a drone with a camera, regardless of weight, requires the operator to be registered with the CAA and to follow the Drone and Model Aircraft Code, which sets out legal requirements for safe and responsible use, including respect for privacy. The CAA also assesses and authorises drone operations based on their risk profile, including the location of intended flights.
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Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of increasing late-night train services in Surrey Heath constituency. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department and operators are in regular discussion regarding service provision, which aims to balance the needs of both passenger and taxpayer. There are no current plans to increase late night services to Surrey Heath.
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Samantha Niblett:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to ensure people using mobility scooters (class 2) have the right to ride on all buses. \p Simon Lightwood: The Department is committed to delivering a transport network which puts passengers and their needs at its heart. We want to see disabled passengers able to make the journeys they want and need, and we recognise the importance of mobility scooters in supporting them to do so easily, confidently and with dignity.

When it comes to using them on public transport, however, not all mobility scooters are suitable for carriage in every situation. Currently, buses and coaches used on local services must incorporate a wheelchair space and a ramp or lift suitable for a standard “reference wheelchair”. While we encourage individual operators to also allow passengers with mobility scooters to board, it is important that they do so only where it would be safe for the mobility scooter user and other passengers alike, and any such allowance remains at the operators’ discretion.

The Department has collaborated with the Confederation of Passenger Transport to create the Mobility Scooter Code of Practice, aiming to provide a consistent approach for assessing which mobility scooters should be accepted, and for training their users to board and alight safely. Many operators have signed up for the scheme, allowing mobility scooter users who hold a relevant permit to be confident that they can travel with their mobility aid on any service provided by a signatory operator.

We currently have no plans to mandate the acceptance of mobility scooters on all bus services.
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Laura Kyrke-Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to respond to findings of the consultation on Managing Pavement Parking which closed on 22 November 2020; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of granting local authorities outside London more enforcement powers to manage pavement parking. \p Lilian Greenwood: The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. As soon as the Government has decided its preferred way forward, we will announce the next steps and publish our formal response.  In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to restrict and enforce pavement parking.
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether she plans to make an assessment of the potential impact of new (a) policy and (b) legislation on (i) Northern Ireland-Republic of Ireland and (ii) Great Britain-Northern Ireland trade and cooperation. \p Hilary Benn: The development of all UK Government policy and legislation will always consider possible impacts, including where required the completion of an impact assessment.

As set out in the Safeguarding the Union command paper, public authorities must also include an explicit Internal Market Assessment as part of any Regulatory Impact Assessments that they are carrying out, to consider whether measures would have an adverse impact on the UK’s internal market, including in respect of Northern Ireland.
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Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many visits he has made to each constituency in Northern Ireland since his appointment. \p Hilary Benn: I have carried out over 80 visits to 16 constituencies across Northern Ireland since my appointment. I welcome suggestions for future visits from Parliamentary colleagues.
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Robin Swann:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2024 to Question 13304, and the Answer of 18 November 2024 to Question 14268, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that there is not a reoccurrence. \p Hilary Benn: Members of Parliament should be notified in advance of Ministerial visits to their constituency. I have apologised to the Honourable Member for the recent failure to notify him. The Northern Ireland Office is currently reorganising this notification process to ensure there is no reoccurrence.
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Adam Dance:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help improve support for prisoners with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition. NHS England is responsible for healthcare services in prisons in England, including the clinical diagnosis of neurodiverse conditions, and it does not hold this data centrally.

The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving support for neurodivergent people within prisons, including those with ADHD.

Neurodiversity Support Managers have been successfully rolled out across the prison service. These specialist managers provide training and guidance to prison staff, improve processes to identify and support neurodivergent prisoners, and ensure reasonable adjustments are implemented to make prison environments more supportive of neurodiverse needs. Some prisons have also introduced neurodiversity wings or created specific areas which focus on the sensory and mental health requirements for prisoners with complex needs.

The HMPPS Prisoner Education Service will be implementing a new, digitalised Additional Learning Needs tool to be used nationally by Core Education suppliers from October 2025. This tool will identify individual strengths and any additional learning needs, including neurodiversity. It will also suggest practical support strategies and offer guidance relating to potential areas of strength and need.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase sentences on hyper-prolific offenders. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: This Government takes prolific offending extremely seriously, which is why we have asked the independent Sentencing Review to consider how sentences could be reformed to address prolific offending, reduce reoffending, cut crime and ultimately make our streets safer.

Sentencing in individual cases is determined by the court based on the seriousness of the offence: the harm caused (or intended) by the offence and the culpability of the offender. In determining the seriousness of an offence, the court must consider aggravating and mitigating factors.

Previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor and Sentencing Guidelines are clear that sentencers must consider the nature and relevance of previous convictions, and the time elapsed, including:

For more serious prolific offending, we are clear that custody has a crucial role to play as a robust backstop, within the maximum penalties set out in statute.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the merits of increasing the six year period for claims allowed under s.32(1)(c) of the Limitation Act from the consequences of a mistake. \p Sarah Sackman: The effect of the legislation is that for civil claims which involve the consequences of a mistake, the relevant limitation period only starts when the claimant discovers the mistake or could have discovered it with reasonable due diligence (subject to certain exceptions). As such it enables a normal statutory time limit to be postponed if a court is satisfied the conditions are met in an individual case.

It is important that the law of limitation achieves a balance between the competing interests of claimants and defendants. The Government has no plans to review this section.
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Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been (a) issued and (b) withdrawn on appeal by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in each of the last three years for which data is available. \p Sarah Sackman: According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), 69 fines were issued during the period 2020/21, followed by 49 between 2021/22 and 73 between 2022/23. The SRA has confirmed that the data for the 2023/24 period is not currently available. Further information is set out by the SRA in its Upholding Professionals Standards (UPS) reports, the three most recent versions of which are available here:

2022/23: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/upholding-professional-standards-2022-23/.

2021/22: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/upholding-professional-standards-2021-22/#.

2020/21: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/research-publications/upholding-professional-standards-202021/.

The SRA does not publish information regarding appeals.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reopen court rooms at Telford Justice Centre. \p Sarah Sackman: I recently visited Telford Justice Centre and observed for myself the state of the court estate. Of the eight courtrooms at Telford Justice Centre, seven are currently operational, with one courtroom temporarily out of use due to damage caused by water ingress from the roof which requires complete replacement.

HMCTS is focused on completing the works required to bring this courtroom back into operation as quickly as possible. Temporary patch repair is complete, and redecoration works are now being scheduled.

We are already progressing complete replacement of the roof as a priority project, and HMCTS is working with contractors to develop designs and final project proposals. The extensive and complex nature of the work means that commencement of this project is unlikely before March 2026.

Historical underfunding under the previous Government has resulted in challenges such as this across the court and tribunal estate. That is why this Government has announced a boost in court capital maintenance and project funding from £120 million last year, to £148.5 million for 2025/26.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 May 2025 to Question 49785 on Electronic Tagging: Standards; which of the key performance indicators Serco failed to meet; and how Serco performed against the remaining key performance indicators. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: Serco failed to meet the expected requirement for the following key performance indicators: KPIs 1-7, 9-11 and KPI 14. KPI 8 is N/A

For KPIs 12 and 13, Serco performed at 100%.
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Bell Ribeiro-Addy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 May 2025 to Question 46823, on Electronic Tagging: Standards, what estimate she has made of the number of offenders who were not tagged because the Probation Service held an incorrect address for them in the last two years. \p Sir Nicholas Dakin: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

However, of the 10,438 untagged cases audited by probation between 01/01/25 and 31/03/25, eight referred to the tagging provider having visited the wrong address as a result of the provision of the wrong address by the sentencing Court or releasing prison. The incorrect addresses have been corrected on EMS systems.
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Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguarding provisions her Department provides for (a) children and (b) isolated parents while Child Arrangement Orders are approved. \p Sarah Sackman: The legislation which governs child arrangements cases ensures that the child’s welfare is paramount at each stage of proceedings.

Whilst a Child Arrangements Order is being approved, the Family Court may put an interim Child Arrangements Order in place. These orders are often issued to ensure that whilst a final decision is being reached a child can maintain family relationships, where it is safe to do so. The order can specify the details of contact, such as whether it should be supervised. In cases where there are concerns about safety, the court may direct that contact takes place at a Child Contact Centre.

The Government is committed to supporting vulnerable children and parents. Our Pathfinder pilot, which is currently being rolled out across England and Wales, is designed to improve the court experience for children and vulnerable parents in private family law cases. Central to this the Child Impact Report, which assesses a child’s needs and what the right approach would be for them, particularly focusing on the impact of any domestic abuse or high-risk behaviours.

Practice Direction 27C allows both Independent Domestic Violence Advisors and Children’s Independent Domestic Violence Advisors to accompany individuals during court hearings, ensuring they are supported throughout their case. These trained professionals provide trauma-informed support to victims and child victims of domestic abuse, helping them navigate the legal process, access services, and participate safely in proceedings.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban Sharia courts. \p Sarah Sackman: The Government has no plans to regulate or restrict religious processes (such as sharia courts) where all parties consent to those processes. This is consistent with Britain’s long history of freedom of worship and religious tolerance.

Sharia Courts are not part of the judicial system in England and Wales.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 41588 on Private Rented Housing: Energy Performance Certificate, whether expenditure on the upgrading of an Energy Performance Certificate to a higher level of energy efficiency is a material consideration that allows for a higher market rent to be issued. \p Sarah Sackman: A market rent decision in the First-tier Tribunal is a judicial decision and expenditure on the upgrading of an Energy Performance Certificate to a higher level of energy efficiency is a material consideration which may result, in certain circumstances, in a higher market rent being determined by the First-tier Tribunal.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging on local authorities in the (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 2027-28 financial years. \p Mary Creagh: In October 2024, this Government published an updated impact assessment for the introduction of Extended Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), which includes an assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on Local Authorities at an aggregate level. The impact assessment can be found here: The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024.
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Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement powers to prevent fly tipping. \p Mary Creagh: Local authorities have a range of enforcement powers to tackle fly-tipping. These include fixed penalty notices of up to £1000, vehicle seizure and prosecution action which can lead to a significant fine or even imprisonment. We encourage councils to make good use of these powers, and we are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance to support councils to consistently and effectively exercise their powers. We have also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help councils make better use of this tool.

Research commissioned by Defra in 2023 into the effectiveness of enforcement against littering, fly-tipping and dog fouling is available at: https://sciencesearch.defra.gov.uk/ProjectDetails?ProjectId=21398. The report was unable to identify any firm conclusions about the effectiveness of enforcement due to data limitations. A more recent assessment of the effectiveness of local authority enforcement powers to prevent fly tipping has not been made.

We have committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up the mess that they have created as part of a crackdown on anti-social behaviour. We will provide further details on this commitment in due course.
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help tackle commercial fly-tipping involving construction and demolition waste. \p Mary Creagh: This Government recently announced plans to move the regulation of waste carriers, brokers and dealers from a light-touch registration system into environmental permitting. This will mean that people who transport or control more than a certain volume of construction or demolition waste, which is produced by themselves in the course of their business, will be required to apply for the relevant standard rules permit. The reform will enhance the resources and capabilities available to the Environment Agency to take regulatory action and make it harder for rogue operators to escape detection.

Local authorities also have enforcement powers to help tackle fly-tipping. We are taking steps to develop statutory fly-tipping enforcement guidance for local authorities and have also announced a review of their powers to seize and crush vehicles of suspected fly-tippers to identify how we could help them make better use of this tool.

We committed to forcing fly-tippers to clean up their mess and will provide further details on this commitment in due course.

Defra chairs the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group through which we work with local authorities, the Environment Agency and others to share good practice on preventing fly-tipping. Various practical tools are available at: https://www.keepbritaintidy.org/national-fly-tipping-prevention-group#.
wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_306
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_306

Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has considered adopting a phased introduction of the extended producer responsibility fees to allow businesses time to adapt. \p Mary Creagh: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided on 7 April 2025 to PQ 42929.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_307

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of the number of honeybees in April (a) 2024 and (b) 2025. \p Mary Creagh: There is currently no compulsory registration system for bees and beekeeping in the UK, so it is difficult to provide exact figures for honey bee populations.

Beekeepers are however encouraged to voluntarily register on the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU) BeeBase website where they can record their details.

The figures from BeeBase can be used to provide a useful indication of the number of managed colonies in the UK. An Annual Hive Count is carried out where beekeepers are asked to update their BeeBase records. Information about numbers and location of hives is important for Bee Inspectors in terms of preparing and planning for outbreaks of disease and exotic pests.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_308

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has considered temporarily restricting imports of queen bees from regions with a high risk of parasitic infestation. \p Mary Creagh: Protecting our country from pests and diseases is a key priority and that is why we have stringent monitoring processes in place to detect pests and diseases. Imports of honey bees are only accepted from approved countries and are subject to rules relating to notification and health certification. Imports of honey bee queens must be inspected and certified as free from certain pests and diseases before they can be exported to the UK and they can only come from pest free areas. A risk-based approach applies to checks on imports, including some laboratory testing of packaging and accompanying worker bees, for evidence of bee pests and diseases. As well as the import controls, there is an extensive surveillance programme in place for invasive pests and the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit provide training and guidance on pest recognition to all UK beekeepers.
wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_309
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_309

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to make businesses aware of the ban on unlicensed use of glue traps in the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022. \p Mary Creagh: The Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022 bans glue trap use in England in all but the most exceptional, licensable circumstances. It came into force in 2024. Nothing in the law prevents sale of glue traps in England. However, only pest controllers with a licence can legally use them for rodent control.

Widespread media coverage in 2022 and 2024 alerted businesses to the change in legislation in England and on-going stakeholder engagement has helped ensure pest controllers acting for businesses are cognisant of the situation. The British Independent Retailers Association has also published advice for retailers to prevent glue traps from being sold for illegal use and we know of market-leading suppliers and retailers having withdrawn them from sale.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_310

James MacCleary:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will review the regulatory framework applied to small, local abattoirs to ensure that (a) food safety is maintained, (b) animal welfare standards are supported and (c) local food supply chains are supported. \p Daniel Zeichner: Defra continues to recognise the vital contribution a thriving abattoir network plays in supporting local livestock producers and maintaining a resilient food supply chain.

The Government encourages the highest standards of meat hygiene and animal welfare at slaughter.

Legislation sets out strict requirements for meat hygiene and to protect the welfare of animals when slaughtered and Official Veterinarians of the Food Standards Agency are present in all approved slaughterhouses during slaughter operations to monitor and enforce these requirements.

We remain committed to working with abattoirs of all sizes across the UK’s meat processing sector, in tackling the challenges and opportunities they face.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-14)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-05-14 conversation_311

Freddie van Mierlo:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress Natural England have made on the proposed expansion of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Beauty; and if he will set out a timeline for a consultation on that expansion. \p Mary Creagh: The Department is aware that Natural England in light of pressure on their budgets have taken the hard decision to stop work on the Chilterns boundary review. It had yet to reach the stage of sharing proposed ‘candidate areas’ publicly and as a result of having to stop the project there is no longer a planned timeline for the public consultation. Natural England are in contact with the affected partners to work through the implications of this decision over the coming weeks. Natural England continues to recognise the value landscape designations bring to people and nature and remain committed to maximising that value over the long term.
wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_1
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_1

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) access to, (b) waiting times for, (c) availability of specialist therapies in and (d) other provision of child and adolescent mental health services in West Dorset constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: The NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of children and young people in West Dorset. Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions, and getting waiting lists down.

We have confirmed that we will fulfil our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 staff across child and adult mental health services by the end of the Parliament, and 6,700 of these extra workers have been recruited since July 2024.

We also want to intervene much earlier to support better outcomes for children and young people. That is why the 10-Year Health Plan sets out how we will work with schools and colleges to better identify and meet children's mental health needs by expanding mental health support teams in schools to cover 100% of pupils by 2029/30 and by embedding mental health support in the new Young Futures hubs.

Additionally, we are continuing to provide top-up funding of £7 million to 24 existing early support hubs, to expand their services and to take part in an ongoing evaluation of these services in 2025/26. This funding will enable the supported hubs to deliver at least 10,000 additional mental health and wellbeing interventions, so that more children and young people are supported.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_2

Andrew Rosindell:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) improve mental health services and (b) reduce the rate of suicide in (i) England and (ii) Romford constituency. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS North East London Integrated Care Board is responsible for commissioning services to meet the mental health needs of people in Romford.

Nationally, the Government is investing an extra £688 million this year to transform mental health services by hiring more staff, delivering more early interventions and talking therapies and getting waiting lists down.

We are delivering on our commitment to recruit an additional 8,500 staff across children and adult mental health services by the end of the Parliament and 6,700 of these extra workers have been recruited since July 2024. And our Mental Health Bill, which has completed its committee stage in this House, will modernise the Mental Health Act and make it fit for the 21st century.

The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country so that the right people get the right support at the right time. We are transforming mental health services into neighbourhood mental health centres that operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving assertive outreach and giving patients better access to round-the-clock support directly through the NHS App, including self-referral for talking therapies.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_3

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the average (a) annual total cost and (b) cost per appointment was for the provision of child and adolescent mental health services in West Dorset constituency in each of the last five years. \p Stephen Kinnock: Information on the annual cost of children and young people’s mental health services is not available at a constituency level. The following table shows the annual funding spent on children and young people’s mental health services for the NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board area:

Year

Funding

2020/21

£12,147,000,000

2021/22

£15,863,000,000

2022/23

£16,988,000,000

2023/24

£21,972,000,000

2024/25

£23,442,000,000

Source: NHS England.

Information on the cost per appointment is not held.
wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_4
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-07-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-07-29 conversation_4

Edward Morello:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the (a) number of (i) children and young people who were in the care of and (ii) staff employed by and (b) average caseload per care coordinator in child and adolescent mental health services in West Dorset constituency on 18 June 2025. \p Stephen Kinnock: NHS England has advised that 4,036 children and young people were on the caseload of child and adolescent mental health services in the West Dorset constituency on 18 June 2025. 179 staff were employed by child and adolescent mental health services in the constituency on that date.

Information on the average caseload per care coordinator is not available.