Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase access to educational opportunities in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government has a driving mission to break down the barriers to opportunity and end the link between background and success. Education is at the heart of this mission, ensuring all young people get the best start in life and are set-up to achieve and thrive.
This starts in the early years, ensuring that every child, including those in Knowsley, gets the best start in life and families are able to access the parenting support and high-quality early education and childcare they need to thrive. The government’s Plan for Change sets the ambition for a record number of children to start school ready to learn in 2028, and the department is taking steps through the expansion of government funded childcare, programmes to boost the quality of early education and care, and delivery of Family Hubs, including in Knowsley, to deliver on this ambition.
The department wants to drive high and rising standards for all children and young people, particularly the most disadvantaged, ensuring they have the knowledge, skills and support to thrive. The creation of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams is a central part of our strategy to deliver high and rising standards across all schools.
RISE teams will work to create a school improvement system where all schools can navigate a path to improvement through a mix of both universal and targeted interventions. There is a wealth of excellence that exists in all parts of our school system and the new RISE teams will facilitate networking and sharing best practice, bringing together oversight and coordination of improvement programmes to empower and challenge schools to better access this support and learn from one another.
Since 2022, Knowsley has been one of department’s 24 Priority Areas. Priority Areas are areas of low attainment and high rates of disadvantage. The place-based programme aims to increase outcomes at key stage 2 and key stage 4 and has provided funding of up to £1.8 million for Knowsley schools.
Participation in the programme has been strong with nine Knowsley schools (six mainstream secondary and three alternative provision schools) taking part in the key stage 4 strand, and 50 primary schools engaging in the early years activity to improve outcomes in key stage 2. Work is currently underway to capture learning from the programme to ensure the sustainability of the work in Knowsley schools.
The department also continues to deliver a three-year attendance mentoring programme in areas of high levels of pupil absence, which includes Knowsley. The programme provides intensive one-to-one support to persistently or severely absent pupils, which covers those who currently miss more than 10% or 50% of their education respectively. All Knowsley secondary schools have engaged with the programme.
The pilot programme has already successfully supported pupils with a wide range of challenges, including low level anxiety, special educational needs, poor attitude to learning and complex family circumstances. The pilot evaluation showed improvements in individual pupils’ attendance, wellbeing, home routines and engagement at school.
It is vital that all young people have access to a range of post-16 educational options, including A levels and technical qualifications. The department recognises the concern about the lack of A level provision in Knowsley, and the reintroduction of A level provision in the borough is being considered as part of regular discussions by departmental officials with local post-16 providers on the topic of the educational offer available.
The department remains committed to increasing access to educational opportunities for children and young people in Knowsley by ensuring that they can access an inclusive and extensive educational offer that adds value and helps them to achieve their long-term career aspirations.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had recent discussions with postal workers on the potential impact of low-level letter boxes on health and safety at work.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 19554 on 18 December 2024.
My hon Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich has also agreed to meet with my hon Friend to discuss this matter.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
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 impact of banning low level letter boxes on levels of injuries in postal workers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer my hon Friend to the answer I gave to Question UIN 19554 on 18 December 2024.
My hon Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich has also agreed to meet with my hon Friend to discuss this matter.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of young people out of work in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
In November 2024 the number of 16 to 24 year olds in Knowsley was 655. The claimant count series counts the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit and are required to seek work and be available for work.
Liverpool Mayoral Combined Authority was one of the eight trailblazer areas to test the Youth Guarantee announced in the Get Britain Working White Paper. The results from these trailblazers will help us to develop the most effective offer for all young people in England, including those in the Knowsley constituency.
The Youth Guarantee will be available to all young people aged 18-21, not just those on benefits. It will help young people to access education, training and employment support.
Local Jobcentres work closely with Knowsley Works, the Local Authority employability service, to promote Apprenticeships and Job Opportunities, as well as working in partnership to deliver employability support and events.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for access to specialist speech and language therapy services in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust is committed to improving timely access to Knowsley Paediatric Speech and Language Therapy. There are currently 115 children and young people awaiting their first appointment in Knowsley. 94% of these are within the 18-week waiting time standard, with the average wait time approximately eight weeks.
The trust continues to work with partners to reduce waiting times with children and young people being prioritised for follow up appointments based on clinical need, the level of clinical risk and we ensure they are waiting safely. The trust will also continue to work in partnership with partners and families to meet the speech, language and communication needs of children and young people in the most appropriate setting to their therapy needs and speech therapy goals.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve neighbourhood policing in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
As part of our Safer Streets Mission we will restore neighbourhood policing, with 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood policing roles across England and Wales. Every part of the country needs to benefit from this pledge, and of course that includes Knowsley.
The Home Office is working closely with policing to implement this Commitment and will announce its plans for the delivery of neighbourhood officers shortly.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the level of knife crime in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
Halving national levels of knife crime over the next decade is a key part of the Government’s mission to ensure the safety of our streets.
We will continue to support police forces, agencies and those who share our ambition to halve knife crime, to take actions that work most effectively in their local communities. As we do so, the Government will continue to draw on the best available evidence on both prevention and enforcement and will closely monitor trends in national and local levels of knife crime.
We have also created a new Young Futures programme which will include the setting up of Prevention Partnerships across England and Wales – to help areas intervene earlier to stop young people being drawn into crime. It is vital we have a system that can identify and support those young people who need it most.
Under the previous Government, Merseyside has received over £20m to develop its Violence Reduction Partnership (VRP) since 2019, with an additional £4.34m available this financial year. The Merseyside VRP works closely with a range of partners to deliver targeted preventative interventions. These include Hospital Navigators (youth workers based in A&E settings who engage young people at critical ‘teachable moments’ to steer them away from violence), whole family cognitive behavioural therapy programmes, social skills training, broader mentoring initiatives, and sports-based diversionary activities. This work includes targeted delivery in areas within Knowsley.
We recognise the valuable work and significant progress VRUs have made in understanding and preventing serious violence. The proposed Police Funding Settlement for 2025-26 includes £49.7m to ensure continuation of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) programme.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
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 adequacy of access to specialist speech and language therapy services for children in (a) Merseyside and (b) Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department regularly monitors waiting lists for community services, including speech and language therapy, and is committed to reducing long waits and improving timely access to community health services, including for speech and language therapy services for children. Community health services, including speech and language therapy, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
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 improve care for people living with arthritis.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Services for those with musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, including arthritis, are commissioned locally by integrated care boards (ICBs). The Department expects MSK services to be fully incorporated into integrated care system planning and decision-making.
As announced in the Get Britain Working white paper, we are delivering the joint Department for Work and Pensions, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England Getting It Right First-Time (GIRFT) MSK Community Delivery Programme. With a £3.5 million funding boost, the GIRFT teams will deploy their proven Further Faster model to work with ICB leaders to further reduce MSK community waiting times, including for those with arthritis, and improve data and metrics, and referral pathways to wider support services.
We will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments per week during our first year in Government, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks. The Government announced £1.5 billion of new capital investment in the Autumn Budget, including investment for new diagnostic scanners and surgical hubs. This investment in scanners will build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests as they come online.
To support health and care professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and in the provision of services for people living with arthritis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published expert guidance for rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, which are available, respectively, at the following two links:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226
The Department funds research into MSK conditions, including arthritis, through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). Through that route, the Department spent approximately £26.3 million on MSK research in 2023/24 and £79.2 million since 2019/20. In particular, the Leeds Biomedical Research Centre aims to improve treatment for osteoarthritis. The NIHR, in collaboration with Versus Arthritis, also funds a dedicated UK Musculoskeletal Translational Research Collaboration, aligning investment in MSK translational research and creating a United Kingdom-wide ambition and focus to drive cutting edge research and improve outcomes for patients.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the level of health inequalities in Knowsley constituency.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The United Kingdom faces significant health inequalities, with life expectancy varying widely across and within communities. The Government is committed to building a fairer Britain by tackling the structural inequalities that contribute to poor health, particularly for disadvantaged groups.
Existing initiatives to reduce inequalities in relation to health services in England include NHS England’s ‘Core 20 Plus 5’, which focuses on improving the five clinical areas at most need of accelerated improvement in the poorest 20 percent of the population, along with other underserved population groups identified at a local level, including groups that share protected characteristics, and socially excluded groups such as people experiencing homelessness.
The Office of Health Improvement and Disparities’ North West Regional Team provides system leadership for population health and reducing health inequalities across the North West. Across Cheshire and Merseyside, partners are working together as part of the All Together Fairer collaborative to improve health equity and the social determinants of health through measurable actions for each place to create a fairer, more equitable society.
Knowsley is one of 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation receiving funding to improve outcomes for families with babies as part of the approximately £300 million Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme.