Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to close the attainment gap between (a) disadvantaged and (b) not disadvantaged pupils in areas with three-tier education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. Disadvantaged pupils are more likely to face barriers that hold them back, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break the unfair link between background and success.
High and rising standards are the key to strengthening outcomes for every child and young person no matter their background, reducing gaps and helping them to achieve and thrive.
The department will deliver this through excellent teaching and leaders, a high-quality curriculum, strong accountability with faster school improvement and an inclusive system which removes the barriers to learning.
As one of our first steps for change, the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers across secondary and special schools and our colleges over the course of this parliament. We have made strong initial progress to deliver this key pledge, and our investment is starting to deliver. The workforce has grown by 2,346 FTE between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, which are the schools where they are needed most.
We have also launched a Curriculum and Assessment Review that is looking closely at the key challenges to attainment, particularly for those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
To drive standards in reading and writing, £27.7 million has been committed in the 2025/26 financial year, including new training and resources for secondary school staff to support reading in key stage 3, with a specific focus on readers who are at risk of falling behind.
The department funds a national network of Maths Hubs, including 5 covering the East of England, which aims to raise the standard of maths teaching from reception to age 18, preventing and reducing attainment gaps.
Alongside this, pupil premium funding of over £3 billion is being provided in the 2025/26 financial year to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve GCSE attainment among disadvantaged pupils in the East of England.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed, no matter who they are or where they are from. Disadvantaged pupils are more likely to face barriers that hold them back, which is why the Opportunity Mission will break the unfair link between background and success.
High and rising standards are the key to strengthening outcomes for every child and young person no matter their background, reducing gaps and helping them to achieve and thrive.
The department will deliver this through excellent teaching and leaders, a high-quality curriculum, strong accountability with faster school improvement and an inclusive system which removes the barriers to learning.
As one of our first steps for change, the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 expert teachers across secondary and special schools and our colleges over the course of this parliament. We have made strong initial progress to deliver this key pledge, and our investment is starting to deliver. The workforce has grown by 2,346 FTE between 2023/24 and 2024/25 in secondary and special schools, which are the schools where they are needed most.
We have also launched a Curriculum and Assessment Review that is looking closely at the key challenges to attainment, particularly for those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
To drive standards in reading and writing, £27.7 million has been committed in the 2025/26 financial year, including new training and resources for secondary school staff to support reading in key stage 3, with a specific focus on readers who are at risk of falling behind.
The department funds a national network of Maths Hubs, including 5 covering the East of England, which aims to raise the standard of maths teaching from reception to age 18, preventing and reducing attainment gaps.
Alongside this, pupil premium funding of over £3 billion is being provided in the 2025/26 financial year to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) update and (b) improve NHS IT systems.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are investing more than £2 billion in National Health Service technology and digital to run essential services and drive NHS productivity improvements.
In June 2023, NHS England agreed a Health Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is a strategic agreement between the NHS and Microsoft and underpins the national Microsoft licensing framework for NHS organisations. It delivers significant discounts and standardised licensing across the NHS and enables access to services.
Security and compliance are significantly strengthened through national access to Microsoft Defender, Office 365 security tools, and integration with the NHS Cyber Security Operations Centre. These tools standardise threat detection, data protection, and governance across the system, ensuring a consistent and elevated security posture. The MOU also supports a national IT operating model with service desks operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, centralised incident management, and streamlined onboarding.
Operationally, the MOU delivers cost savings by eliminating redundant local contracts and enabling licence reconfiguration. It also positions the NHS for future innovation, with early access to artificial intelligence tools like Microsoft Copilot already embedded in the agreement. This ensures NHS organisations can scale digital transformation efforts while maintaining alignment with national strategy and funding models.