theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_74
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_74

Kirith Entwistle:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to (a) align the definition of intimate image with existing offences, (b) mandate the removal of non-consensual intimate images from perpetrators' devices after conviction and (c) tackle other gaps in legislation. \p Sarah Sackman: Further to our announcement on 7 January that we would introduce legislation to tackle the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, the Government will table an amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill that will criminalise intentionally creating an intimate deepfake without consent or reasonable belief in consent. This delivers on our manifesto commitment and is the latest important step in our mission to halve violence against women and girls.

This offence will be tech neutral so would cover those using nudify apps as well as other technologies. The Government is considering options in relation to wider concerns about nudify apps themselves, and how best to tackle these technological developments.

Where an individual does not commit the “creating” offence themselves, but they ask someone else to do so, they may be liable under one of the offences set out at sections 44 – 46 of the Serious Crime Act 2007. These ‘inchoate’ offences apply to almost all criminal offences and would automatically apply when the creating deepfakes offence comes into force. But we want to go further and intend to introduce further provisions at a later stage of the Data (Use and Access) Bill.

On wider intimate image abuse legislation, as we announced on 7 January, we will be introducing new offences in relation to taking intimate images and installing equipment to enable someone to do so through the Crime and Policing Bill. These offences have been developed to include definitions aligned with sharing intimate images without consent, this will give law enforcement a holistic package of offences to effectively tackle non-consensual intimate image abuse, and address gaps in existing legislation. These provisions will also amend the Sentencing Code to ensure Courts have the power to order, upon conviction, that the offender be deprived of any images in respect of which they were convicted of this offence, as well as anything on which the images were stored (such as a computer or hard drive).

The Courts already have this power in relation to offenders convicted of sharing intimate images (including deepfakes) without consent. The Sentencing Council is currently reviewing their guidance on ancillary orders, including deprivation orders, and we will monitor any developments closely.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_75
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_75

Luke Murphy:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23643 on Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner, for what reasons funding amounts for individual Police and Crime Commissioner areas are not routinely published; and if she will make it her policy to publish these amounts in the future. \p Sarah Sackman: Funding amounts for the commissioning of victims’ services by individual Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have not previously been systematically published on gov.uk.

Individual PCCs publish annual reports which includes funding for victim services. Furthermore, a breakdown of grant funding is publicly available on the Government Grants Information System, which is released annually in March covering the previous financial period of grant spending.

PCCs commission victim services with funding outside of Ministry of Justice allocations, and individual allocations do not take into account any co-commissioning arrangements. As such, individual allocations will not provide the whole picture for victims’ funding in an area.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_76
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_76

Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse of legal aid for foreign national offenders was, broken down by nationality, in each of the last ten years. \p Sarah Sackman: This information requested is not held centrally.

Where proceedings are before a court or tribunal in England or Wales, legal aid is available to individuals who qualify for services irrespective of their nationality or usual place of residence. As nationality is not a determinative factor in the availability of legal aid this information is not requested with an application for legal aid.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_77
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_77

Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an estimate of the number of magistrates recruited since the 2022 recruitment campaign. \p Sarah Sackman: Recruitment rates for the magistracy are published in the annual Judicial Diversity Statistics, found here. As of 01 April 2024, there were 14,576 active magistrates in England and Wales, an increase of 2,907 since the start of the Magistrate Attraction and Recruitment Campaign in January 2022. Of these, 786 were re-appointments following changes to the Mandatory Retirement Age. The next set of statistics for the period April 2024 to March 2025 will be published in July 2025.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_78
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_78

Sarah Champion:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17817 on Slavery: Victims, whether all victims of modern slavery will be covered by the duty. \p Sarah Sackman: The duty to collaborate (“the Duty”) (sections 13-14 of the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024) will require collaboration in relation to the commissioning of services for victims of modern slavery where the crime amounts to serious violence. Section 13(8) of the 2024 Act will allow commissioners to determine what constitutes serious violence in their area. Modern slavery is a complex crime and the Duty does not encompass every situation where modern slavery occurs.

It is expected that statutory guidance for the Duty (issued pursuant to section 15 of the 2024 Act) will point commissioners towards the Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance to increase local commissioners’ understanding and awareness of modern slavery when preparing local joint commissioning strategies.

In practice, modern slavery victims can access support regardless of the exploitation type, which is currently delivered through the Modern Slavery Victim Care Contract. Further, the Duty does not preclude commissioners from collaborating in relation to other crime types when considering local need or arranging provision, if that would benefit a local area.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_79
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_79

Neil O'Brien:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the consultation entitled Technical consultation - Inheritance Tax on pensions: liability, reporting and payment, published on 30 October 2024, if she will make an estimate of how much tax revenue will be raised following the extension of inheritance tax on death-in-service payments for military families in each of the next five years. \p James Murray: The costing for including inheritable pension wealth in the value of the estate for inheritance tax purposes from April 2027 was certified by the OBR at the 2024 Autumn Budget as ‘reasonable and central’. Additional information on the costing methodology can be found in the OBR’s Economic and fiscal outlook – CP 1169.

The specific revenue raised as part of this costing from the extension of inheritance tax to death-in-service payments for military families in each of the next five years is not available as the data does not distinguish whether a taxpayer is or was a member of the Armed Forces.

Estates of service personnel will benefit from the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs, and exemptions available. For example, the nil-rate bands mean an estate can pass on up to £1 million and the general rules mean any transfers, including the payment of death benefits, to a spouse or civil partner are exempt fully from inheritance tax. There is also a full exemption from inheritance tax when a member of the armed forces dies from a wound inflicted, accident occurring, or disease contracted on active service.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_80
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_80

Wendy Morton:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 26 July 2024 to Question 824 on Development Aid, when she plans to set out her approach on restoring official development assistance spending to 0.7 per cent of gross national income. \p Darren Jones: As set out at Autumn Budget 2024, the government remains committed to restoring ODA spending to the level of 0.7% of GNI as soon as the fiscal circumstances allow. The OBR’s latest forecast shows that the ODA fiscal tests, which determine when a return to 0.7% of GNI is possible, are not due to be met within this Parliament. The government will continue to monitor future forecasts closely, and each year will review and confirm, in accordance with the International Development Act (ODA Target) Act 2015, whether a return to spending 0.7% of GNI on ODA is possible against the latest fiscal forecast.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_81
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_81

Luke Murphy:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has plans to (a) implement and (b) allow public sector employees to utilise existing private cycle to work style salary sacrifice schemes to (i) lease and (ii) purchase electric vehicles at reduced rates. \p Darren Jones: The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is crucial to decarbonising transport and will support growth and productivity across the UK. There are now more than 1 million EVs on our roads. The government has committed to phasing out new cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines by 2030, and that from 2035 all new cars and vans sold in the UK will be zero emission.

Salary sacrifice schemes are not generally permitted in the public sector. This is because salary sacrifice arrangements mean employees and employers pay less income tax and National Insurance on remuneration and do not, therefore represent best value for the exchequer and UK taxpayers as a whole.

However, many public sector employees can and do make use of existing schemes that will likely be accessible to all staff, such as Cycle to Work. Employers are also encouraged to consider other options for encouraging the use of zero emission vehicles in their workforce.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_82
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_82

Graham Stuart:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department made of the potential impact of changes to the threshold for agricultural property relief and business property relief on (a) farm businesses and (b) people who bought land to reduce Inheritance Tax; what data she has used for that assessment; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the findings of that assessment. \p James Murray: The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_83
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_83

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22322 on Housing: Pylons, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase awareness of the right to submit a proposal to alter the Council Tax list. \p James Murray: Guidance on the right to submit a proposal (formal challenge) against a Council Tax band and changes that may affect a property’s band is published at the following links:

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) proactively raises awareness of the guidance, and in addition has created and promotes other bespoke content clearly explaining how customers can challenge their Council Tax band. This is shared on social media, gov.uk and with partner organisations, e.g. local authorities, on a regular on-going basis.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_84
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_84

Andrew Bowie:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to Air Passenger Duty on Sumburgh Airport. \p James Murray: Air Passenger Duty (APD) applies to airlines and is the principal tax on the aviation sector. It is expected to raise £4.2 billion in 2024-25 and it aims to ensure that airlines make a fair contribution to the public finances, particularly given that tickets are VAT free and aviation fuel incurs no duty.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government announced Air Passenger Duty (APD) rates for 2026-27, including a partial adjustment to help compensate for two recent years of inflation that was higher than expected. APD rates are set in advance using forecasts of inflation, and so with actual inflation being significantly greater than forecast in 2022 and 2023, APD rates fell in real terms. To help account for this and to ensure that the aviation industry continues to make a fair contribution to the public finances, the Government announced an adjustment to the APD rates for 2026-27.

For economy class passengers, the rate increases are: £1 for domestic flights; £2 for short-haul international flights; and £12 for long-haul and ultra-long-haul international flights.

The Government published a Tax Information and Impact Notice, which outlined the expected impacts of the APD changes. It is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026/air-passenger-duty-rates-from-1-april-2026-to-31-march-2027

Passengers carried on flights leaving from airports in the Scottish Highlands and Islands region, such as Sumburgh Airport, are exempt from APD. This exemption is set out at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-air-passenger-duty
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_85
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_85

Patricia Ferguson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will (a) review and (b) update the Overseas Scale Rates. \p James Murray: As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review.

Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_86
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_86

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the of the potential impact of (a) agricultural and (b) business property relief on ancient woodlands. \p James Murray: The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms.

It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_87
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_87

Dr Allison Gardner:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing VAT from veterinary care. \p James Murray: VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for public services, and must represent value for money for the taxpayer.

At Autumn Budget 2024, the Government took a number of difficult but necessary decisions on tax, welfare, and spending to fix the public finances, fund public services, and restore economic stability. This stability is critical to boosting investment and growth, and to making people across the UK better off.

One of the key considerations for any potential new VAT relief is whether the cost saving is likely to be passed on to consumers. Evidence suggests that businesses only partially pass on any savings from lower VAT rates, meaning that cutting VAT may not be an effective way to reduce prices for consumers.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_88
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_88

Dame Harriett Baldwin:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department offers its staff shared parental leave from their first working day. \p James Murray: HMT staff must have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks to be eligible for shared parental leave and pay. Staff can also take unpaid parental leave in addition to shared parental leave if they meet the eligibility criteria.

The Employment Rights Bill will remove this eligibility requirement and staff will be entitled to unpaid parental leave from their first working day. HMT will implement this legislative change when it comes into force.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_89
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_89

Andrew Griffith:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department offers paternity leave to its staff from their first working day. \p James Murray: HMT staff must have worked continuously for the Civil Service for at least 26 weeks to be eligible for paternity leave.

The Employment Rights Bill will remove this requirement and staff will be entitled to paternity leave from their first working day. HMT will implement this legislative change when it comes into force.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_90
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_90

Alison Griffiths:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department offers protection to staff from unfair dismissal from their first working day. \p James Murray: HMT staff must have completed 2 years’ service to be protected against unfair dismissal.

The new Employment Rights Bill will amend the law on unfair dismissal to protect staff from their first working day.

HMT will implement this legislative change when it comes into force.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_91
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_91

Kanishka Narayan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the devolved Administrations on the potential for expanding the Stay Aware, Stay Safe, Stay Together campaign to schools and colleges across the UK; and what steps her Department is taking to promote the inclusion of similar safety awareness initiatives within the curriculum for 16-19 year olds. \p Janet Daby: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The department is currently reviewing the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance for schools and will look carefully at responses to the public consultation conducted last year, consider the relevant evidence and discuss with stakeholders before setting out next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence. As part of this process, we will explore whether additional content is required, including on personal safety and safety awareness.

Sixth-form colleges and further education colleges are autonomous, and as such are responsible for determining the content of teaching provision, including whether to teach young people about personal safety and how to stay safe when going abroad.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_92
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_92

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with (a) regional adoption agencies and (b) local authorities to reduce the time taken for initial assessments for the Adoption Support Fund post adoption order. \p Janet Daby: Adoption England are working with regional adoption agencies to develop national standards for adoption support. This will help ensure that wherever families live, they can expect the same level of high-quality support. This includes the development of a framework for an early support core offer entitled ‘Becoming a family’, for the first twelve to eighteen months of placement, and an adoption support plan to guide assessments of a family’s support needs.

The department is working with regional adoption agencies and voluntary agencies to promote good practice to help ensure that applications to the adoption and special guardianship fund are assessed promptly so that families can access the support they need.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_93
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_93

Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of making the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund permanent. \p Janet Daby: The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years.

All future funding decisions will be considered as part of the next Spending Review.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_94
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_94

Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will continue a national approach to recruiting adopters similar to the national recruitment campaign in 2020-21. \p Janet Daby: The department has provided £9 million of funding in the 2024/25 financial year for Adoption England to help develop national approaches for adoption services. This will help ensure consistency of high-quality adoption services across the country. This includes the implementation of new national standards for the adopter journey from initial enquiry to assessment and national matching standards to promote good practice across all agencies. These will help ensure that wherever an adopter or child is recruited or placed across the country they can expect consistent and high-quality services.

Adoption England has developed national adopter recruitment campaigns in each year since 2021 and is currently developing plans for 2025/2026. One of these campaigns can be found here: https://www.youcanadopt.co.uk/.

Adoption England published a three year strategy in 2024 that the government supports. This sets out a wide range of work to develop adoption services. The strategy can be found here: https://adoptionengland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2024-04/Adoption%20England%20Strategy.pdf.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_95
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_95

Mr Luke Charters:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Justice on improving the efficiency of the SEND tribunal system. \p Catherine McKinnell: The increase in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) tribunal appeals for the last academic year reflects, in part, the increase in the number of children and young people with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. 576,000 had an EHC plan as of January 2024, up 11.3% from 2023.

Although most EHC plans and assessments are concluded without a tribunal hearing, the department recognises that dissatisfaction with the SEND system continues to grow and that too many parents and carers struggle to get their children the support they need and deserve. The department also knows that the tribunal can be costly for both families and local authorities, but we do not collect any data centrally.

The department understands the urgency and the need to drive improvements but also are mindful that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable system reform. The department is working closely with experts on SEND reform, recently appointing a strategic advisor for SEND, who will play a key role in engaging the sector, including leaders, practitioners, children, and families, as we consider next steps.

The department has published independently commissioned insight that suggests if the system was extensively improved, using early intervention and better resourcing of mainstream schools, it could lead to tens of thousands more children and young people having their needs met without the need to go through a long and stressful EHC plan and appeals process.

We continue to work with HM Courts and Tribunal Service, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the judiciary to understand the reasons for high appeal rates and to improve the efficiency of the SEND tribunal. The MoJ has recently recruited and trained 50 new tribunal judges who are now conducting appeal hearings, along with increasing funding for extra staff to process appeals. In an effort to settle appeals more quickly, they have also expanded their use of judicial case management powers and are continually developing ways to increase the speed of disposal. The Tribunal Procedure Committee have also just closed a consultation on a rule change to allow more appeals to be heard on paper, without the need for a full oral hearing.

The department is exploring what more we can do to support local authorities to improve their decision-making, particularly those with high appeal rates. As a first step, last year we jointly delivered eight training sessions on SEND and the law for local authority SEND caseworkers with the Independent Provider of Special Educational Advice and the Council for Disabled Children.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_97
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_97

Josh Newbury:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of variations in per pupil funding for places in pupil referral units on pupils' educational outcomes. \p Catherine McKinnell: Most funding for pupil referral units, and other alternative provision (AP), comes from local authorities’ high needs budgets, 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 special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and AP to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Staffordshire County Council is being allocated over £143 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.4 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18-year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 NFF allocation.

Top-up funding is agreed locally, between the local authority and alternative providers themselves. The top-up funding should reflect the costs of additional support to meet the individual pupil or student’s needs. Top-up funding also reflects costs that relate to the facilities required to support a pupil or student’s education and training needs and can take into account expected place occupancy levels and other factors, which means they can vary from one local authority to another.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_98
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_98

Chris Coghlan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are waiting for a SEND school placement in (a) Surrey and (b) Dorking and Horley constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: The department does not hold information on how many children are waiting for a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) school placement. Surrey County Council will be best placed to provide this information.

Local authorities must ensure there are sufficient school places for all pupils, including children and young people with SEND. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires local authorities to keep the provision for children and young people with SEND under review (including its sufficiency), working with parents, young people, and providers.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_99
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_99

Neil Duncan-Jordan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to provide specialist SEND training to teachers. \p Catherine McKinnell: The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high-quality teaching. Supporting expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child.

All teachers are teachers of special education needs and disabilities (SEND), and the department is committed to ensuring that all pupils receive excellent support from their teachers.

The Teachers’ Standards set clear expectations that teachers must understand the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

Our recruitment and retention reforms will support all teachers. Consideration of SEND underpins both the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and early career framework (ECF), and they have been designed around how to support all pupils to succeed.

We recently reviewed the mandatory ITT core content framework alongside the ECF and the new framework includes significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting all pupils with SEND.

Headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils.

All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the department introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training.

To further support the needs of pupils and students with SEND, the department has funded the Universal Services programme, backed by almost £12 million. It brings together SEND-specific continuing professional development and support for schools and the further education workforce so that the needs of children and young people with SEND are met earlier and more effectively.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_100
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_100

Chris Coghlan:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to open more SEND schools in (a) Surrey and (b) Dorking and Horley constituency. \p Catherine McKinnell: We know 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 is committed to addressing this by improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs.

The department wants 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 going above and beyond to deliver specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs (SEN) units.

However, the department remains committed to ensuring special schools play a vital role in supporting those 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 those with SEN. 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.

The department supports local authorities to provide suitable school places for children and young people with SEND through annual high needs capital funding. In December, we announced £740 million for high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. This can be used to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings. It will start to pave the way for the government’s wide-ranging long-term plans for reform to help more pupils with SEND to have their needs met in mainstream schools.

In Surrey, work is continuing on two previously announced special schools: Betchwood Vale, which is in the Dorking and Horley constituency, and Frimley Oak. As with all government investment, special and alternative provision free school projects will be subject to value for money consideration through their development, in line with the government’s vision for the SEN system.

A new special school, Hopescourt School, opened in Walton-on-Thames in September 2024, delivered by Surrey County Council, with support from the department. It created 77 school places in its first year of opening, increasing to 200 at full capacity, as an ‘all-through school’.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_101
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_101

Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which local authority is responsible for children's care when they are relocated to a privately run children's home by a local authority. \p Janet Daby: The local authority which has responsibility to provide services for a looked after child will be the authority within which the child is when the responsibility arises, for example when they are subject to a Section 20 or Care Order. This duty remains in place when a child is placed in a privately run children’s home, even if this home is located outside of the local authority.

Under Section 22G of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have a duty to ensure that they provide accommodation that meets children’s needs and is within the authority’s area. The decision to place a looked after child outside the area of the responsible authority (including a placement outside England) must not be put into effect until it has been approved by a nominated officer, and, if the placement is at a distance, the director of children’s services. The responsible authority must notify the authority area of the child’s placement, but responsibility for the child remains with the placing local authority.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_102
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_102

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what purposes (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have used AI in the last 12 months. \p Janet Daby: 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 department has been using Microsoft Copilot, an AI-based web chat with commercial protection, for various means including:

In addition, 150 people across the organisation are piloting Microsoft 365 Copilot, which leverages AI to automate and accelerate tasks in Microsoft Products. We are tracking the benefits of this pilot which currently include:

Since summer 2023, the department has created a secure Microsoft Azure Open AI sandbox environment. This allows limited groups of users to build and test AI models based on specific uses cases, in a safe and secure environment. Use cases are approved by a technology-led steering group, and this group will ultimately decide on which applications could potentially be moved into production for use more broadly across the organisation.

We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our 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 department has also had access to the Central Digital and Data Office, based in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, for expert advice.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_103
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_103

Dr Al Pinkerton:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support students with special educational needs who have left independent schools in Surrey Heath constituency following the application of VAT to private school fees. \p Catherine McKinnell: This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and ensuring every child has access to high-quality education. The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced a £1 billion uplift in high needs funding in financial year 2025/26, providing additional support and improving outcomes for the more than a million children in the state sector with SEND.

Most children with special educational needs, including most with education, health and care (EHC) plans, are already educated in mainstream state-funded schools. All state-funded schools support children with SEND. All children of compulsory age are entitled to a state-funded school place that is free for parents. Where a private school place is necessary to support a child with SEND, the local authority will fund it through an EHC plan.

Local authorities have a statutory duty for ensuring sufficient state school places in their area. Local authorities routinely support parents that need a state-funded school place, including where private schools have closed or where pupils move between schools. The department does not collect data on in-year school applications or admissions, but where local authorities are experiencing difficulties in ensuring there are enough school places for children that need them, the department will offer support and advice.

The department expects all schools admitting new pupils in-year to provide them with appropriate support, including where they have SEND. Schools will need to work with their local authority where pupils have additional needs that cannot be met within the school.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_104
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_104

Laurence Turner:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 98 of the Education and Skills Funding Agency's publication entitled Annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024, published on 29 July 2024, if she will break down the table entitled Financial outcomes: error / suspected fraud by (a) academy trusts, (b) further education colleges and (c) independent training providers. \p Catherine McKinnell: The information requested can be found in the attached table.

21857_table_attachment (xlsx, 27.3KB)
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_105
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_105

Sarah Hall:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on establishing Attendance Hubs; what datasets her Department is collecting to measure the success of that programme; and if she will publish the data collected in relation to that programme to date. \p Stephen Morgan: The attendance hubs are established and led by schools with strong practice and intended to give senior leaders in schools a forum to discuss and share effective attendance practice. To date 31 hubs have been established and these have offered support to around 2,000 schools.

Last year, the department shared some of the effective practice from the hubs through our ‘Attendance toolkit for schools’, which can be found here: https://attendancetoolkit.blob.core.windows.net/toolkit-doc/Attendance%20toolkit%20for%20schools.pdf?utm_campaign=Daily%20Briefing%20Emails&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8b6UxxFW90snpeTz6dwjH6sUkBsMfMBDwkOxVCp7I9g1uY5-VXiWWsDjvKIk2YbdGp8qvIfotuo4qIG3GrzkbCWEFw_A&_hsmi=99095029&utm_content=99095029&utm_source=hs_email.

Feedback from the schools who have engaged with an attendance hub has suggested that they have found participation useful. We are using the feedback to evaluate the work of hubs further as it develops.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_106
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_106

Steve Darling:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help low-income families pay for after-school clubs. \p Stephen Morgan: Improving the cost, choice, and availability of childcare for working parents is a priority for this government. We want all families to benefit from the childcare support they are entitled to, helping them with the cost of childcare, enabling parents to work and giving children the best start in life. This includes ensuring that after school clubs are available and accessible. The government is improving access to before and after school care through the national wraparound childcare programme.

The programme has provided local authorities with more than £160 million to deliver the expansion of new before and after school places for primary school-aged children. This government’s ambition is that, by 2026, all parents and carers of primary school-aged children who need it will be able to access term-time childcare in their local area from 8am to 6pm.

To support with costs, parents may also be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare. Parents can check what childcare support they are entitled to via the Childcare Choices website, which can be accessed here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

On 23 September 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced that up to 750 state-funded schools with primary aged pupils will begin delivering free breakfast clubs from April 2025. The funding will allow these schools to run free breakfast clubs for their pupils starting in the summer term as part of a ‘test and learn’ phase to inform delivery of a national rollout. This new offer will also support parents to have more choices on when to work and will support families with the cost of childcare.
wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_107
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-01-29)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-01-29 conversation_107

Matt Bishop:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding mechanisms she is considering to support primary schools in (a) installing and (b) maintaining library facilities. \p Catherine McKinnell: I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Forest of Dean to the answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21170.