Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to ensure the guaranteed hours provisions of the Employment Rights Act 2025 support access to (a) seasonal workers, (b) agency workers and (c) people seeking flexible employment in the retail sector.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Employment Rights Act 2025 includes flexibility to address issues of seasonal demand, for example, enabling employers that operate seasonally to use fixed-term contracts where the demand for work is genuinely temporary. We will consider further ways to cater for seasonal work through regulations following consultation, as well as application to agency workers. Workers and agency workers will also be able to decline a guaranteed hours offer if they wish.
All employees also have a day one right to request a flexible working arrangement, and through the Employment Rights Act we are making it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what conversations she or officials in her Department have had with Ofcom about any enforcement action under the Online Safety Act against X because of content generated by Grok AI that constitutes Priority Illegal Content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department engages regularly with Ofcom on the implementation of the Online Safety Act. Decisions about enforcement action are a matter for Ofcom alone, acting independently and in line with its statutory duties. Ofcom has a current active investigation into X.
The government has separately tabled an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill to allow the government to close gaps in the Online Safety Act and bring unregulated AI services into scope.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes since December 2024; and whether any changes in guidance or instructions have been issued to Tribunal judges regarding the consideration of appeals.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes trends in SEND Tribunal outcomes through quarterly published tribunal statistics. A link to the statistics can be found here: Tribunal Statistics Quarterly: July to September 2025 - GOV.UK
The Department and Ministers do not issue guidance or instructions to judges on how to determine appeals. Judicial office holders are independent. Since December 2024, the Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunal, Health, Education and Social Care Chamber has issued Presidential Practice Guidance No. 1 of 2025 on procedure for the preparation of appeals and claims in the Special Educational Needs and Disability, and Disability Discrimination in Schools jurisdictions. Further, the Senior President of Tribunals, with the approval of the Lord Chancellor, has issued a Practice Direction on the preparation of hearing bundles in those jurisdictions. These concern procedure and case preparation rather than the substantive consideration of appeals.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many meetings with representatives of social media companies (a) she and (b) her predecessor had while in post.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ministers and officials regularly engage with social media companies on matters within the department’s remit.
In line with longstanding process, the full details of Ministerial and senior civil servant-level meetings are published publicly in quarterly transparency returns.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to prioritise Skills Bootcamp funding for areas with demand for engineering and technical skills.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.
The latest published data on Skills Bootcamps completions and outcomes by sector is available here Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps - 2022 to 2023 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report.
The department does not publish estimates of Skills Bootcamps starts.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, is also supporting training and skills development for the Hinkley Point C projects. This includes investing in training programmes to support young and adult learners into employment with EDF and its supply chain, such as the ECITB scholarship which is providing training to 16-18 years olds in welding and pipefitting.
The ECITB is also supporting the Hinkley Support Operative Bronze Programme (HSO). By the end of 2026, ECITB’s support for the HSO programme over the past three years is projected to total more than £1.25 million, enabling more than 1100 learners to complete the course.
The ECITB has invested in £460,000 in state-of-the-art training rigs and £300,000 to support the capital costs of Centres of Excellence for mechanical and electrical training in the Somerset area.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the role of Skills Bootcamps in enabling workers from construction trades to retrain into mechanical, electrical and HVAC roles.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.
The latest published data on Skills Bootcamps completions and outcomes by sector is available here Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps - 2022 to 2023 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report.
The department does not publish estimates of Skills Bootcamps starts.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, is also supporting training and skills development for the Hinkley Point C projects. This includes investing in training programmes to support young and adult learners into employment with EDF and its supply chain, such as the ECITB scholarship which is providing training to 16-18 years olds in welding and pipefitting.
The ECITB is also supporting the Hinkley Support Operative Bronze Programme (HSO). By the end of 2026, ECITB’s support for the HSO programme over the past three years is projected to total more than £1.25 million, enabling more than 1100 learners to complete the course.
The ECITB has invested in £460,000 in state-of-the-art training rigs and £300,000 to support the capital costs of Centres of Excellence for mechanical and electrical training in the Somerset area.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people expected to enrol in Skills Bootcamps in Somerset in 2025–26.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.
The latest published data on Skills Bootcamps completions and outcomes by sector is available here Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps - 2022 to 2023 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report.
The department does not publish estimates of Skills Bootcamps starts.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, is also supporting training and skills development for the Hinkley Point C projects. This includes investing in training programmes to support young and adult learners into employment with EDF and its supply chain, such as the ECITB scholarship which is providing training to 16-18 years olds in welding and pipefitting.
The ECITB is also supporting the Hinkley Support Operative Bronze Programme (HSO). By the end of 2026, ECITB’s support for the HSO programme over the past three years is projected to total more than £1.25 million, enabling more than 1100 learners to complete the course.
The ECITB has invested in £460,000 in state-of-the-art training rigs and £300,000 to support the capital costs of Centres of Excellence for mechanical and electrical training in the Somerset area.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data his Department holds on progression from Skills Bootcamps into employment in the (a) nuclear and (b) energy sectors.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.
The latest published data on Skills Bootcamps completions and outcomes by sector is available here Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps - 2022 to 2023 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report.
The department does not publish estimates of Skills Bootcamps starts.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, is also supporting training and skills development for the Hinkley Point C projects. This includes investing in training programmes to support young and adult learners into employment with EDF and its supply chain, such as the ECITB scholarship which is providing training to 16-18 years olds in welding and pipefitting.
The ECITB is also supporting the Hinkley Support Operative Bronze Programme (HSO). By the end of 2026, ECITB’s support for the HSO programme over the past three years is projected to total more than £1.25 million, enabling more than 1100 learners to complete the course.
The ECITB has invested in £460,000 in state-of-the-art training rigs and £300,000 to support the capital costs of Centres of Excellence for mechanical and electrical training in the Somerset area.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed reduction in Skills Bootcamp funding on the supply of skilled workers required for major infrastructure projects, including Hinkley Point C.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are giving local areas greater control of the delivery of Skills Bootcamps in line with our commitment to devolution; supporting areas to use Skills Bootcamps to more closely meet the needs of their local employers and economies.
As part of this, a new funding model for local areas from 2026-27 will ensure the distribution of funding remains fit for purpose and sustainable as the programme matures.
Under devolution, local areas are the commissioners of Skills Bootcamps and can plan provision according to local skills priorities. They are responsible for decisions relating to the allocation of funding to individual providers in line with their preferred commissioning method.
We will continue to work with local areas on the implementation of the new funding methodology.
The latest published data on Skills Bootcamps completions and outcomes by sector is available here Evaluation of Skills Bootcamps - 2022 to 2023 (Wave 3) completions and outcomes report.
The department does not publish estimates of Skills Bootcamps starts.
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), an arm’s length body of the Department for Work and Pensions, is also supporting training and skills development for the Hinkley Point C projects. This includes investing in training programmes to support young and adult learners into employment with EDF and its supply chain, such as the ECITB scholarship which is providing training to 16-18 years olds in welding and pipefitting.
The ECITB is also supporting the Hinkley Support Operative Bronze Programme (HSO). By the end of 2026, ECITB’s support for the HSO programme over the past three years is projected to total more than £1.25 million, enabling more than 1100 learners to complete the course.
The ECITB has invested in £460,000 in state-of-the-art training rigs and £300,000 to support the capital costs of Centres of Excellence for mechanical and electrical training in the Somerset area.
Asked by: Ashley Fox (Conservative - Bridgwater)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require that, once an eviction notice has been served to a traveller encampment, the same group cannot establish a further unlawful encampment within a defined radius of the original site.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
Planning policy is clear that local authorities should assess the need for traveller sites in their area, and then plan to meet that need, in the same way they plan for all forms of housing.
The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government recently consulted on a new National Planning Policy Framework, which includes proposals that aim to give greater clarity on how traveller sites should be planned for, and which seeks views on the impacts of our policies on Gypsies and Travellers. The consultation closed on 10 March and responses are being analysed.