Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of support available in mainstream state schools for pupils with dyspraxia who do not meet the threshold for an Education, Health and Care Plan in Surrey.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Every child in our country deserves the best possible educational experience, one that is academically stretching, where every child and young person feels like they belong, and that sets them up for life and work.
The department knows from our extensive engagement with parents, teachers, local authority staff and leaders, charities and others that there are significant challenges in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. They need to be addressed urgently. But we must ensure we do so in a way that builds trust and confidence in the system and leads to improved outcomes for children and young people.
The department will set out our proposals for reform in a Schools white paper and we will consult widely on these proposals and continue to work with a wide range of partners to refine and deliver them.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of unmet special educational needs relating to dyspraxia on pupil wellbeing, attainment and school attendance.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Where a pupil is not attending school due to unmet or additional needs, including dyspraxia, the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance sets out clear expectations on how schools, local authorities and wider services work together to access and provide the right support to improve attendance.
We understand that early identification and intervention is critical in improving the outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, therefore we are supporting settings by strengthening the evidence base of what works. The government will set out proposals for reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities system through a Schools white paper in due course.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to appropriate health and mental health support for families affected by violent behaviour from children in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Whilst no such specific assessment has been made, we recognise that healthcare is often the first, and sometimes only, point of contact for victims of violence and abuse. Integrated care boards should commission services in response to locally identified need, which could include access to trauma-informed care for families affected by violence.
We have already taken significant steps to stabilise and improve access to National Health Service mental health services, but there is much more to do. The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country. As part of this we will accelerate the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams to reach full national coverage by 2029 and will expand NHS Talking Therapies so that 915,000 people complete a course of treatment by March 2029, with improved effectiveness and quality of services.
All NHS staff must complete safeguarding training which includes a focus on violence and abuse. The training is being strengthened for launch in late 2026. This will reinforce to staff their safeguarding responsibilities and support them in identifying and responding to victims and perpetrators of violence and abuse.
In addition, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance provides information for frontline professionals on the presentation of violent behaviour by a child towards parents and caregivers. In addition, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2023 provides guidance on the multi-agency response to support and safeguard children, including those who are violent.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration he has given to improving information for parents and carers on the early symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes in young children.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service publishes information for patients and the public to support the understanding of the four key symptoms of type 1 diabetes. These are known as the four Ts: toilet, or frequent urination; thirsty, or constant thirst; tired, or low energy; and thinner, or unexplained weight loss. Further information on the symptoms is avaiable at the following link:
NHS England also hosts information provided by Diabetes UK about the symptoms of type 1 diabetes, which is avaiable at the following link:
NHS England is undertaking a review of options for improving information for parents and carers on the early symptoms of type 1 diabetes in young children and this will include engagement with relevant national organisations and partners.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of domestic wood burning in residential areas on public health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 Annual Report highlighted that domestic wood burning is a significant source of harmful fine particulate matter, particularly in residential areas.
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA’s) systematic reviews of the association between outdoor and indoor exposure to solid fuel burning and respiratory diseases have shown that burning solid fuels can contribute to the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer in adults. The UKHSA’s reviews are available at the following two links:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35149281/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33017761/
Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out how the Government will improve the public's health, including action to reduce the health harms of air pollution, and in particular on domestic burning.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance is issued to local planning authorities on managing concentrations of houses in multiple occupation within residential areas.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework requires local planning authorities to plan to meet an area’s identified housing need, including with an appropriate mix of housing types for the local community.
Local planning authorities already have planning powers to limit the concentration or proliferation of HMOs within their locality. They can remove the national permitted development right for smaller HMOs to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area by introducing an ‘Article 4’ direction which, once in place, requires all new HMO proposals to secure planning permission. We keep the powers to regulate HMOs under review.
Specific guidance is not provided on managing concentrations of houses in multiple occupation.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of early intervention support for families where children display harmful or aggressive behaviour at home in Surrey Heath constituency.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The national rollout of Family Help, Multi-Agency Child Protection and Family Group Decision Making reforms is being delivered through the Families First Partnership (FFP) programme.
The programme is backed by £2.4 billion in funding over the next three years, which is ringfenced for spend on prevention.
Multi-disciplinary Family Help teams will prioritise supporting the whole family, wrapping support around them and intervening at the earliest opportunity to prevent challenges escalating, including for families where children display harmful or aggressive behaviour at home. Local partnerships should use population needs assessments to identify agencies, services and practitioners needed in their multi‑disciplinary teams.
The FFP programme team in the department will work closely with all local authorities, including Surrey, to monitor progress and provide support. In 2025/26, Surrey local authority received £5.1 million of ringfenced funding for the delivery of FFP, and based on indicative allocations they will receive £10.1 million in 2026/27.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the use of smart phones on levels of disruption in classrooms.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Mobile phones have no place in schools.
The department’s new, stronger guidance on mobile phones in schools is clear that all schools should be mobile phone-free by default. Pupils should not have access to their devices during lessons, break times, lunch times, or between lessons.
The guidance will be implemented through behaviour management in schools, and by setting out clear expectations for teachers and school staff, while our attendance and behaviour hub lead schools will support other schools to implement and enforce a mobile phone policy where needed.
For the first time, Ofsted will check school mobile phone policy on every inspection, with schools expected to be phone-free by default. Ofsted will examine both schools' mobile phone policies and how effectively they are implemented when judging behaviour during inspections.
In addition, a consultation will identify the next steps in the government’s plan to boost children’s wellbeing online.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what modelling her Department has done on the potential impact of a UK–EU youth mobility scheme on (a) employment levels, (b) productivity, and (c) economic growth.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government has agreed that it will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU, which will be good for the economy, good for growth and good for business.
The impact of a youth experience scheme will be appropriately analysed and will depend on the parameters that are ultimately agreed. We will not provide an assessment of the impacts while negotiations are ongoing.
Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of free trade agreements on family businesses in Surrey.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not assess the direct effects of individual Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on specific types of businesses within specific counties, nor do we monitor the way they are utilised in such granular detail.
However, we do publish assessments of the potential economic, sectoral, distributional and environmental impacts of our FTAs on GOV.UK. As these set out, FTAs have an important role to play in delivering economic growth in all sectors and all regions. Through FTAs, businesses can benefit from tariff reductions, improved market access, and enhanced protections in investment and digital trade.
The department is working hand-in-hand with UK businesses to ensure firms have the tools and knowledge they need to seize these opportunities.