Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to prevent increases in employment costs from discouraging small salon businesses from (i) employing, and (ii) training people.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Our Plan to Make Work Pay is supporting good jobs and helping responsible businesses grow. We are phasing in reforms and rolling out an online resource offering practical guidance on what the changes mean so that uncertainty doesn’t hold back hiring.
Our analysis demonstrates that, by making work more attractive and accessible to a wider range of people, the Employment Rights Act is more likely to help more people into work than reduce employment.
Through the Business Growth Service and Business Academy, small businesses can access government-backed advice and free training resources to help them develop their workforce and grow.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that small hair salons can continue to train young people as apprentices.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.
To support non-levy paying employers, typically SMEs, to meet the additional costs associated with employing young people as apprentices, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant.
We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be added together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
Additionally, the government now fully funds apprenticeship training for all eligible under 25s at employers of all sizes, as we prioritise funding toward young people.
These measures are backed by £1 billion of additional funding for the Growth and Skills Levy to support our ambition for 50,000 more young people to start apprenticeships.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 reasons for the reported 70% decline in apprenticeships in the hairdressing sector.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.
To support non-levy paying employers, typically SMEs, to meet the additional costs associated with employing young people as apprentices, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment of £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees. Employers hiring apprentices aged 18-24 who have been on Universal Credit for over six months will also be eligible for the new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant.
We also provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care.
These payments can be added together where the employer and/or apprentice are eligible.
Additionally, the government now fully funds apprenticeship training for all eligible under 25s at employers of all sizes, as we prioritise funding toward young people.
These measures are backed by £1 billion of additional funding for the Growth and Skills Levy to support our ambition for 50,000 more young people to start apprenticeships.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the cumulative impact of increases in the (i) National Minimum Wage, (ii) employer National Insurance contributions, (iii) business rates, and (iv) other employment costs, on small salon businesses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
Small salon businesses will benefit from the new permanently lower multipliers for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure (RHL) properties. These new multipliers are worth nearly £1 billion per year and benefit over 750,000 properties.
The Government has also published a range of analytical documents covering the policies referenced, which set out their likely impacts on businesses of different sizes. Each Impact Assessment covering the Employment Rights Act 2025 and The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026 includes a small and micro business assessment.
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was also published alongside the changes to employer NICs, which sets out the impacts on the Exchequer, the economy, individuals and businesses. The Government is supporting smaller employers through the increased Employment Allowance of £10,500.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will consider the potential merits of distributing monies left over in the the £75m LGBT Veterans Financial Recognition Scheme to eligible veterans, amended from the current cap of £50m earmarked for distribution.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
To date, the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) has paid out over £58 million to applicants, exceeding the £50 million minimum payout commitment. Defence continues to maximise awareness of the FRS among eligible veterans and encourage applications before the Scheme’s closure on 12 December 2026. The allocation of any unspent funds against the £75 million budget will be considered once the FRS has closed and all applications have been assessed.
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 steps her Department is taking to support the implementation of Tommy's Graded Model of Miscarriage Care across all NHS trusts in England.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Miscarriage can have a devastating impact on women and their families, and we are determined that they receive the support they need.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is chairing the Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce to develop a national action plan that will reform maternity and neonatal services to deliver lasting change for women, families, and their babies.
The taskforce will consider all aspects of those current services, including miscarriage care. Within this, we will carefully assess the findings from the Tommy’s Graded Model of Miscarriage Care pilot study as committed to in the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy.
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 she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the report by the APPG on Spinal Cord Injury entitled Fragmented to Coordinated: Building a National Strategy for Spinal Cord Injury, published in November 202; and whether national coordination and oversight for spinal cord injury will continue.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
My predecessor, Sharon Hodgson, met with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Spinal Cord Injuries and the Spinal Injuries Association in April to discuss the findings of the APPG report.
Regarding the question of where responsibility for the commissioning of spinal cord injury services will sit, I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 19 August in response to Question 14177.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in England in each year, over the last three academic years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in Cornwall in each year, over the last three academic years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds any analysis on the potential effects of the national penalty notice threshold, introduced in August 2024, on school attendance rates.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The causes of school absence are complex, and penalty notices are one part of a wider toolkit to help ensure children receive the education they are entitled to. The government remains committed to a support- first approach, with enforcement only used where support is not appropriate, has not been engaged with, or is not proving effective.
Recent data suggests this approach is having a positive impact. In 2024 to 2025, the rate of absence due to unauthorised holidays fell from 0.53% to 0.48%, equating to around 1.3 million fewer missed sessions compared with 2023 to 2024. Penalty notices are primarily targeted at term-time holidays, which accounted for 93% of notices issued in 2024 to 2025.