Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a home education register.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government is committed to the introduction of statutory children not in school registers, maintained by each local authority in England. These registers will include those children who are being educated at home, and parents will have a duty to provide information about their children and where and how they are receiving their education. These measures are part of the recently announced Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on Tuesday 17 December. As part of that Bill, we are also taking steps to require parents of some of our most vulnerable children to obtain local authority consent before they can move to home education. This will apply to children who are subject to ongoing enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 2004, children who have a child protection plan, and children who are attending a special school. Where those children are already being educated at home, local authorities will be able to consider whether that is in their best interests and to assess the suitability of their home learning environment. If that leads to a determination that home education is not in the child’s best interests, the local authority will be able to issue a school attendance order.

Local authorities currently maintain voluntary registers of home educated children in their area. This will be made a legal requirement and authorities also required to share data from their registers with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. This will allow us to develop a stronger understanding of home education numbers and drivers at local and national levels and determine policy responses where home education has been chosen for reasons other than the provision of suitable education to a child.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the the adequacy of the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) continues to process a significant number of claims, with 11,251 claims related to COVID-19, adult flu, and other diseases processed between 1 November 2021 and 13 December 2024.

The Department is working with the NHS Business Services Authority, the administrators of the scheme, to take steps to improve the VDPS by modernising operations, improving claimants’ experiences, and processing claims at a faster rate.

Ministers have also met with the families of those who have suffered harm following COVID-19 vaccination, many of whom raised the need for reform of the VDPS. Whilst any changes to the VDPS may need to be a cross-Government decision, ministers have agreed to look closely at the issues raised.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the support given to people who have experienced a (a) severe adverse reaction and (b) bereavement after receiving a vaccine on levels of vaccine hesitancy.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The United Kingdom has one of the most extensive immunisation programmes in the world, with uptake rates amongst the highest globally.

No specific assessment has been made of the impact of the support given to people who have experienced a severe adverse reaction or bereavement after receiving a vaccine on levels of vaccine hesitancy. However, to assess public confidence in vaccinations programmes more generally, the UK Health Security Agency undertakes research to understand how knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes towards immunisation, vaccine safety, and disease severity influence vaccine uptake. And to ensure that those being offered vaccines are aware of the potential benefits and side effects of vaccines, public-facing information is provided in multiple languages and accessible formats, with training standards provided for healthcare professionals who will support the consent process.

The Government remains committed to addressing challenges around vaccine confidence and to improving vaccination uptake rates to fully protect the public from preventable diseases.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of using digitisation to speed up the conveyancing process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that conveyancing is one reason for this.

Digitalisation can make the home buying and selling process more transparent and efficient for the conveyancing sector.

His Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR) have already made progress on this issue through their Local Land Charges programme which will assist in providing quicker, more accurate responses to property search requests, potentially taking weeks off transaction times.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with the Land Registry on digitising the conveyancing process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that conveyancing is one reason for this.

Digitalisation can make the home buying and selling process more transparent and efficient for the conveyancing sector.

His Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR) have already made progress on this issue through their Local Land Charges programme which will assist in providing quicker, more accurate responses to property search requests, potentially taking weeks off transaction times.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she plans to take to improve outcomes in the conveyancing process.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

The government recognises that the current home buying and selling process in England is slow, costly and stressful, and that conveyancing is one reason for this.

Digitalisation can make the home buying and selling process more transparent and efficient for the conveyancing sector.

His Majesty's Land Registry (HMLR) have already made progress on this issue through their Local Land Charges programme which will assist in providing quicker, more accurate responses to property search requests, potentially taking weeks off transaction times.

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