Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to allocate adequate resources to support households at risk of flooding in Bicester and Woodstock constituency.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government will invest £7.9 million over the next ten years in the largest ever flood programme.
This will boost resilience and benefit 840,000 properties by 2035–36.
The programme will launch in April 2026 and I encourage all local areas to work with the Environment Agency to explore options for future flood schemes.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
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 ensure that (a) secondary school and (b) university students participating in organised sport are routinely tested for heart health.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommends screening babies for heart problems in pregnancy and twice in the newborn period. These programmes are run successfully in the National Health Service. The UK NSC does not recommend routine testing for heart health in older children. The committee reviewed the evidence for screening for risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in people under the age of 39 years old in 2019 and concluded that screening should not be offered. The committee’s review is available at the following link:
https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/sudden-cardiac-death/
Research showed that current tests are not accurate enough to use in young people without symptoms, and that treatments and interventions were not based on good scientific evidence to prevent SCD.
To reduce SCD in young people, the current consensus is to focus on the rapid identification and care of people who are likely to be at risk of SCD, due mainly to a family link or because they have had symptoms, and to train people to carry out cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and to use defibrillators.
NHS England has published guidance for inherited cardiac conditions, a major cause of SCD in young people, which requires services to investigate patients with previously undiagnosed cardiac disease, suggestive symptoms, or patients who are from families with sudden unexplained deaths. Where a genetic variation is identified, cascade testing should be offered to relatives based on risk.
We are aware that the UK NSC has received a submission via its annual call process to consider SCD screening in young people aged between 14 and 35 years old engaging in sport. The UK NSC has included this in their review of screening for SCD which is currently under way.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with her US counterpart on the security of the proposed embassy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government regularly engages with representatives of foreign governments, including the United States government, to discuss a broad range of issues. The details of these discussions are not made public.
In dealing with any planning application, Ministers act in accordance with published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings have Ministers held with Roman Abramovich's representatives and the foundation set up to manage the funds received from the sale of Chelsea FC since July 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is determined to see the proceeds from the sale of Chelsea Football Club reach humanitarian causes in Ukraine following Russia's illegal full-scale invasion. There have been regular contacts with stakeholders to achieve this and we are deeply frustrated that it has not yet been possible to reach agreement with Mr Abramovich. It would not be appropriate to provide a running commentary on discussions, but we remain open to reaching a negotiated agreement and, as the Chancellor and Foreign Secretary have stated previously, we are considering all options, including pursuing this matter through the courts if necessary.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has had discussions with the Oxford-Cambridge Partnership on ensuring that business needs are met through the delivery of (a) apprenticeships and (b) technical skills by further education institutions.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department, through Skills England, is actively engaged in the Oxford-Cambridge growth corridor. This engagement is supported by local skills improvement plans (LSIPs), which cover all the areas within the Oxford-Cambridge corridor. LSIPs are overseen by Skills England, helping to ensure all parties play their part.
Skills England works closely with employer representative bodies who develop LSIPs to ensure that local technical skills priorities support employers, empower learners and enable regions to respond to future workforce needs.
Employers have consistently engaged with and contributed to the development of LSIPs to articulate skills needs, outline issues faced and establish solutions to tackle these.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings she has held with activist groups who have registered concerns about the proposed Chinese embassy since July 2024.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In line with published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions, Planning Ministers do not hold meetings with parties where cases are before the Department for determination. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many meetings she has had with representatives of the Chinese Government about the proposed embassy since July 2024..
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
In line with published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions, Planning Ministers do not hold meetings with parties where cases are before the Department for determination. More information can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice entitled £740 million allocated for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND, published on 25 March 2025, what steps her Department has taken to establish the criteria for prioritising spending for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities capital investment.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision.
Of this funding, Oxfordshire Council has been allocated just under £8 million.
This funding is intended to support local authorities to adapt or create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, and to create high quality special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice entitled £740 million allocated for 10,000 new places for pupils with SEND, published on 25 March 2025, what proportion of the £740 million has been allocated for building new special schools.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital funding in 2025/26 to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or who require alternative provision.
Of this funding, Oxfordshire Council has been allocated just under £8 million.
This funding is intended to support local authorities to adapt or create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, and to create high quality special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places including for pupils with SEND, sits with local authorities. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their high needs capital funding to address local priorities.
Asked by: Calum Miller (Liberal Democrat - Bicester and Woodstock)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department plans to appoint a Special Envoy with responsibility for (a) advocating for and (b) securing the release from detention of British nationals arbitrarily held abroad.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government condemns the practice of detaining British Nationals for political leverage. We take all allegations of human rights violations, and opinions of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, seriously. The Government is committed to strengthening consular services, including introducing a right to consular assistance in cases of human rights violations, and through the appointment of an Envoy for complex detention cases. Further details will be announced in due course.