Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of standardising complaint procedures for (a) schools and (b) trusts to ensure that (i) parents and (ii) guardians have the same opportunity to access those procedures.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.
The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.
Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.
The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of assessing (a) schools' and (b) trusts' complaint procedures to ensure that the complaint process is adequately (i) accessible and (ii) understandable.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is working closely with the Improving Education Together group to improve the complaints system. We are exploring how to reset the relationship between schools and parents through encouraging informal resolution, reducing duplication, and clarifying roles and responsibilities. Where schools cannot resolve complaints, they should be passed quickly to the right body. We expect to provide more detail in the Schools White Paper.
The department has published best practice guidance for maintained schools and academies, including model complaints policies, and this can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-complaints-procedures and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-up-an-academies-complaints-procedure/best-practice-guidance-for-academies-complaints-procedures.
Complaints can be escalated to the department once a school’s process has been exhausted, unless the complainant has been obstructed. Once received, officials check whether the school’s complaints policy complies with relevant guidance and regulations.
The department values the dedication and expertise of the school workforce and is committed to working with them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to legislate to protect the rights of children to communicate with (a) grandparents and (b) others members of extended family in cases where (i) one and (ii) both parents seek to prevent such contact.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I acknowledge and respect that grandparents and other extended family members often play an important role in children’s lives and can provide stability in families, particularly where parents are separating.
Any contact with the child should always be in their child's best interests. This is why there is no statutory right for any adult to have contact with a child. It is already possible for extended family members to seek leave of the court to apply for ‘spending time with’ or ‘living with’ arrangements through a Child Arrangements Order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (‘the Act’). The requirement for grandparents or others to seek the leave of the court first is to ensure that their application is in the child's best interests; but in certain circumstances, applicants may be entitled to apply without the leave of the court under section 10 (5) of the Act. These circumstances include where the child has lived with them for a period of at least three years. Therefore, the Government has no current plans to legislate further on this issue.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 potential implications for his policies of the costs of hospital parking for NHS bank staff working shifts at NHS Trusts.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the provision of car parking are made locally by National Health Service organisations, including considering how they affect local recruitment and the retention of their staff. These decisions will need to reflect the local geography and environment, including travel distances.
All NHS staff, regardless of their type of employment, are expected to be similarly treated by their employing NHS organisation. This includes where free parking is provided to staff working nights shifts.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the local area. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department guarantee safe services for patients when a Hospital Trust is regularly at OPEL 4.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s operational pressures escalation levels (OPEL) framework provides a standardised approach to support an effective, integrated, and coordinated response to acute trust operational pressures. This includes the actions locally, regionally, and nationally that support the depressurising of services and ensure patient safety. Further information about the OPEL framework is published by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/integrated-opel-framework-2024-to-2026/
NHS England’s national operations team actively monitors escalations and maintains oversight of organisations at OPEL Escalation Level 4. Where specific support is required, NHS England can enact collaboration with national subject matter experts, regional teams, and external agencies to adapt national policy or provide targeted intervention.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department has provided to Hospital Trusts that reach Opel 4.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service’s operational pressures escalation levels (OPEL) framework provides a standardised approach to support an effective, integrated, and coordinated response to acute trust operational pressures. This includes the actions locally, regionally, and nationally that support the depressurising of services and ensure patient safety. Further information about the OPEL framework is published by NHS England at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/integrated-opel-framework-2024-to-2026/
NHS England’s national operations team actively monitors escalations and maintains oversight of organisations at OPEL Escalation Level 4. Where specific support is required, NHS England can enact collaboration with national subject matter experts, regional teams, and external agencies to adapt national policy or provide targeted intervention.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 potential impact of hospital parking costs on (a) recruitment and (b) retention of NHS staff who commute long distances in (a) North Cornwall constituency and (b) other rural areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the provision of car parking are made locally by National Health Service organisations, including considering how they affect local recruitment and the retention of their staff. These decisions will need to reflect the local geography and environment, including travel distances.
All NHS staff, regardless of their type of employment, are expected to be similarly treated by their employing NHS organisation. This includes where free parking is provided to staff working nights shifts.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the local area. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of ensuring that NHS bank staff are offered the same discounted parking arrangements as other hospital employees.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Decisions on the provision of car parking are made locally by National Health Service organisations, including considering how they affect local recruitment and the retention of their staff. These decisions will need to reflect the local geography and environment, including travel distances.
All NHS staff, regardless of their type of employment, are expected to be similarly treated by their employing NHS organisation. This includes where free parking is provided to staff working nights shifts.
All NHS trusts are expected to follow the published NHS Car Parking Guidance. This states that car parking charges, where they exist, should be reasonable for the local area. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Dartmoor Railway Line into (a) North Cornwall constituency, (b) Launceston and (c) Bude.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the transport challenges faced by rural communities, including those in North Cornwall. While there are currently no plans to reintroduce rail services to North Cornwall, we encourage local authorities and transport providers, including Great Western Railway, to explore opportunities for enhancing integrated transport links, particularly between rail and bus services. For example, the new £15million Okehampton Interchange station is due to open in 2026, funded by the Government's Levelling Up Fund. This station will become a hub for trains and buses, including enabling improved bus services to North Cornwall, and improved walking and cycling links.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make an assessment of the adequacy of rail connectivity in North Cornwall constituency.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government recognises the transport challenges faced by rural communities, including those in North Cornwall. While there are currently no plans to reintroduce rail services to North Cornwall, we encourage local authorities and transport providers, including Great Western Railway, to explore opportunities for enhancing integrated transport links, particularly between rail and bus services. For example, the new £15million Okehampton Interchange station is due to open in 2026, funded by the Government's Levelling Up Fund. This station will become a hub for trains and buses, including enabling improved bus services to North Cornwall, and improved walking and cycling links.