Cameron Thomas Portrait

Cameron Thomas

Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury

6,262 (12.9%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 4th July 2024



Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Cameron Thomas has voted in 176 divisions, and 2 times against the majority of their Party.

4 Jun 2025 - Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [Lords] - View Vote Context
Cameron Thomas voted No - against a party majority - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 61 Liberal Democrat No votes vs 1 Liberal Democrat Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 100 Noes - 339
9 Jul 2025 - Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill - View Vote Context
Cameron Thomas voted No - against a party majority - in line with the party majority and in line with the House
One of 2 Liberal Democrat No votes vs 2 Liberal Democrat Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 35 Noes - 469
View All Cameron Thomas Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
David Lammy (Labour)
Deputy Prime Minister
(8 debate interactions)
John Healey (Labour)
Secretary of State for Defence
(6 debate interactions)
Dan Jarvis (Labour)
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
(4 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Ministry of Defence
(24 debate contributions)
Department for Education
(15 debate contributions)
Home Office
(13 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Football Governance Act 2025
(346 words contributed)
Universal Credit Act 2025
(154 words contributed)
Crime and Policing Bill 2024-26
(135 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Cameron Thomas's debates

Latest EDMs signed by Cameron Thomas

15th September 2025
Cameron Thomas signed this EDM on Tuesday 16th September 2025

Award of honorary posthumous England cap to Frank Soo

Tabled by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
That this House celebrates the award of an honorary posthumous England Cap for Frank Soo by the Football Association, to his family and the Frank Soo Foundation; recognises that Frank Soo was the first player of Asian descent to play for England, making his debut against Wales in 1942, and …
10 signatures
(Most recent: 16 Sep 2025)
Signatures by party:
Liberal Democrat: 7
Labour: 2
Independent: 1
10th September 2025
Cameron Thomas signed this EDM on Monday 15th September 2025

Dame Annette Brooke

Tabled by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
That this House celebrates the life and achievements of Dame Annette Brooke, Privy Counsellor, former hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole, Deputy Leader of Poole Borough Council, Liberal Democrat Group Leader and Mayor of Poole, and expresses deep sadness at her death on 30 August 2025; commends Annette’s …
37 signatures
(Most recent: 16 Sep 2025)
Signatures by party:
Liberal Democrat: 35
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Conservative: 1
View All Cameron Thomas's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Cameron Thomas, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Cameron Thomas has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Cameron Thomas has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

Cameron Thomas has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Honours System in terms of (a) fairness, (b) equity and (c) and value.

The Cabinet Office Honours team is working to make the honours system truly representative of UK society, in line with the Prime Minister’s priorities for the honours system. As part of this work, we have recently established a new independent Diversity and Outreach Committee which will assist the committee process in delivering an honours system which is properly diverse and reflective of UK society.

In addition to ongoing work, every five years, a report to Parliament is published on the Operation of the UK Honours System. This report sets out progress and key developments to our work to improve the integrity and fairness in, and access to, the Honours System. The most recent report was published in May 2023 and can be viewed here. The next report is due to be published in 2028.

Nick Thomas-Symonds
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
14th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to strengthen economic ties with Ukraine.

The UK and Ukraine are strengthening economic ties through our Free Trade and Digital Trade Agreements and the UK-Ukraine 100 Year Partnership Agreement, signed by the Prime Minister and the President of Ukraine in January. Our commitments demonstrate firm intention to support Ukraine and enable UK businesses to contribute to Ukraine’s reconstruction and modernisation, driving mutual prosperity. Initiatives including the UK-Ukraine Infrastructure Taskforce and UK-Ukraine Techbridge, and regular defence trade missions, are encouraging bilateral trade and investment, strengthening industrial partnerships and improving market access for UK businesses.

Douglas Alexander
Secretary of State for Scotland
22nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of transferring excess solar energy from large corporations to (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) other public facilities.

Solar generators can export surplus electricity to the local network when generation exceeds onsite demand, helping to power local hospitals, schools and other public facilities. However, export decisions depend on costs and revenues, and the availability of network capacity. When the local grid is temporarily constrained, either due to high generation levels or low demand, exporting may be reduced. Ofgem and Distribution Network Operators are working to increase grid capacity and flexibility to support the integration of small-scale generators into the local electricity network, thereby supporting the Government’s decarbonisation ambitions.

Michael Shanks
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
22nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of peer-to-peer energy transfers.

Peer-to-peer energy trading may, in some circumstances, support Government energy objectives, particularly those relating to community energy. The Department is working closely with Ofgem and other key stakeholders to determine how best to support local generation being matched with local demand.

The energy industry has also been working to make changes to industry rules to support the local trade of energy, including code modifications to the Balancing and Settlement Code, P442, and standardising the classification of local energy sites, P441.

Michael Shanks
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Online Safety Act on the level of risk that private bodies could harvest sensitive data on UK citizens who seek out VPN services.

Organisations that process personal data, which could include VPN providers, are subject to requirements of the data protection legislation. This includes obligations to process people’s data fairly and lawfully and to ensure that any data collected is held securely. Organisations that fail to comply may face enforcement action by the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Kanishka Narayan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Memorandum of Understanding between UK and OpenAI on AI opportunities, published on 21 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure safeguards are in place to protect public data when working alongside a commercial company.

The government is committed to transparency, security, and the responsible use of emerging technologies. The Memorandum of Understanding with OpenAI is voluntary and non-binding. It does not grant access to public data or commit the Government to any expenditure.

The UK has one of the most robust data protection regimes in the world, and all organisations are required to comply with our legislation to safeguard UK personal data.

The Information Commissioner’s Office retains powers to investigate and enforce action where necessary, and individuals maintain legal recourse if their data is misused.

Kanishka Narayan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions he has had with stakeholders on the risks artificial intelligence poses to children; and what steps he is taking to mitigate those risks.

The Government recognises the importance of this issue. We engage with a range of stakeholders on the impact of AI, including child safety experts.

As set out in the AI Opportunities Action Plan, we believe most AI systems should be regulated at the point of use, with our expert regulators best placed to do so. Alongside this, the strongest protections in the Online Safety Act are for children, requiring in-scope services to protect all users from illegal content and children from encountering harmful content, including where it is AI generated.

Kanishka Narayan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a cyber-security hub in Gloucestershire.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recognises Gloucestershire as a national leader in cyber security. Home to GCHQ and a thriving cyber ecosystem, the region will benefit from the new National Cyber Innovation Centre in Cheltenham, which will drive collaboration and investment. The recently published Digital and Technologies Sector Plan acknowledges the potential of the Golden Valley development. Government continues to work with local partners, including CyNam and the University of Gloucestershire, to advance cyber skills and innovation, supported by the Cyber Growth Action Plan to unlock further regional and national growth.

3rd Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent discussions his Department has had with Mobile UK on the official coverage data published by Ofcom; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the Shared Rural Network includes (a) north Gloucestershire and (b) Gotherington.

My officials recently met Mobile UK to discuss a range of issues affecting the mobile industry currently, in their role as the trade association for the UK’s mobile network operators. This included Ofcom’s coverage reporting, and what we can do to work together to address areas of limited or no coverage.

Across Tewkesbury, outdoor 4G coverage from all four operators has increased to 95% up from 87%, since the Shared Rural Network programme begun in March 2020. These improvements were delivered via the industry-led element of the SRN which has now completed. There will not be any further coverage improvements in Tewkesbury from the programme.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure schools in rural areas have access to full fibre broadband.

Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises, including schools, that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans.

Alongside connecting premises through a series of Project Gigabit contracts across the UK, we are currently delivering a specific project in partnership with the Department for Education which is set to give a further 780 schools access to a fast, reliable broadband connection.

Earlier government-funded programmes have already delivered gigabit-capable connections to over 2,400 schools.

Chris Bryant
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
22nd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps she has taken to help protect people impacted by problem gambling.

The Government recognises that harmful gambling can wreck the lives of individuals, families and communities. Working with the Gambling Commission, we are committed to strengthening protections for those at risk through a range of new safer gambling requirements.

The Government has introduced a statutory levy on licensed gambling operators to raise increased, independent and sustainable funding for research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. The levy will raise around £100 million in funding to deliver priority projects and services, which together we hope will reduce gambling-related harms across Great Britain. The statutory gambling levy is now in force, and funding will start flowing later this year.

There are a range of robust rules in place through the Advertising Codes enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to ensure that gambling advertising and marketing, wherever it appears, is socially responsible and does not exacerbate harm. The ASA continually reviews the best available evidence to ensure rules are effective and updates protections as required. However, the Government recognises that more is needed, and we have set the gambling industry a clear task to further raise standards. In addition, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Department of Health and Social Care and the Gambling Commission are jointly leading a programme of work to develop new safety messaging for use in advertising and at the point of play.

We have introduced new statutory stake limits for online slots, set at £2 per spin for 18-24 year olds, and £5 per spin for adults aged 25 and over. We are also working with the Gambling Commission to deliver a significant programme of reform, including additional measures relating to safer game design for all casino games, financial vulnerability checks, improved access to safer gambling tools and improved customer choice on direct marketing.

We will continue to consider the best available evidence and work with all stakeholders to ensure there are robust protections in place to protect those at risk.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
4th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support all-weather sports facilities in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) rural areas.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, has access to and benefits from quality sport and physical activity opportunities, and that high-quality, inclusive facilities help ensure everyone has access to sport.

The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.

We are also supporting more players in getting onto the pitch wherever they live via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, which has invested £123 million UK-wide throughout 2024/25. Projects include funding for artificial grass pitches, floodlights, and maintenance machinery, helping sites to improve availability all year round. Funding from the Programme continues to be invested in England through our delivery partner, the Football Foundation. This funding is structured so that areas that need it most are prioritised, taking both local inactivity rates and deprivation into account.

The Football Foundation plans their investment pipeline based on Local Football Facility Plans (LFFPs). These plans have been developed in partnership with local authorities and are in the process of being refreshed to reflect the current landscape. The existing LFFP for Tewkesbury can be found here.

The Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024 committed the Government to continued support for elite and grassroots sport through future investment. Further details will be confirmed in due course.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote women’s sport in Tewkesbury constituency.

The Government is dedicated to supporting every aspect of women’s sport and ensuring all women and girls, no matter their background, have access to high quality sport.

We want to break down the barriers that exist and prevent women and girls from being active including but not limited to kit, facilities, time and cost. This Girl Can, which recently celebrated its ten year anniversary, is an inspiring campaign that has promoted women’s sport, challenged prejudice and made clear that sport is for everyone.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Separately, as a government, we are investing £123 million in inclusive grassroots sport facilities that will support more women and girls to take part in the sports that they love.

In the last financial year, 2023-24, Sport England awarded £50,834 to the Tewkesbury constituency.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
20th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote local journalism in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) other rural areas.

Sustainability of local journalism is an area of particular concern for this Government, across the country and in Gloucestershire and other rural areas.

We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

We are working across Government and with other stakeholders as the Strategy develops and will announce further details in due course.

Stephanie Peacock
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the appropriateness of her Department contacting teaching staff during the summer holiday.

The department is committed to engaging positively with school staff and ensuring they receive information to support them in carrying out their roles. However, they are only contacted during the summer holidays where there is a need to share important, time-sensitive information.

Georgia Gould
Minister of State (Education)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken (a) with schools and local authorities to strengthen the measures used to identify young carers and (b) to ensure that schools are audited against those measures.

Young carers were added to the school census as a specific group for the first time in 2022/23. The department expects the census data to improve over time as the collection becomes better established. We are looking at the ways the data is entered to see if we can make technical changes that will support more accurate reporting without overly burdening schools.

The statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ requires designated safeguarding leads to undergo training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to carry out their role. This includes having a good understanding of, and alertness to, the needs of young carers to identify their needs.

In its inspections of local authority children’s services, Ofsted evaluates whether professionals identify children and young people in need of help and protection, and whether they provide help to families when they need it. Ofsted have recently consulted on a new education inspection framework, and their full response will come in September. The proposals include a specific evaluation of inclusion, ensuring that schools can provide appropriate support for all disadvantaged and vulnerable children, including young carers.

17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that young people consider social care as a potential future career.

High-quality, careers information, advice and guidance (CIAG) is key to helping young people make informed decisions about their future. The department funds person-centred, impartial careers information and advice across all employment sectors, including social care.​

Through The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), we fund Careers Hubs which lead partnerships including secondary schools, colleges, employers and strategic and local authorities to connect young people to local skills and economic needs through a responsive careers education programme. ​The Health Sector Advisory Group, in partnership with CEC, is exploring solutions to address workforce and skills challenges and inspire young people to take up careers in health and social care. Their recent report, Examining the Skills Gap, showcases effective local initiatives that give young people real-world insight into social care careers and can be found here: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/evidence-and-reports/examining-the-skills-gap-inspiring-young-people-to-take-up-careers-in-health-and-social-care/.

The National Careers Service is a free, government-funded careers information and guidance service. Its website gives access to digital tools and resources’ covering over 130 industry areas and 800 job profiles including several social care roles.

The government has introduced measures to raise awareness, boost access, and improve the quality of training available in the healthcare sector, including the ‘Next Generation’ campaign promoting technical education pathways inspiring pupils to pursue careers in sectors like social care.

17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the transition from play-based to formal learning.

Children’s earliest years are crucial to their health, development and life chances. The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework sets the standards and requirements that all early years providers must follow to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school. Practitioners should carefully organise enabling environments and cultures for high-quality play to support children’s learning and development. In the summer term of the academic year in which children turn five, children are assessed against the EYFS Profile, which seeks to measure children’s level of development and support their successful transitions into year 1.

The department has launched an independent, expert-led Curriculum and Assessment Review to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum. The Review is addressing the curriculum and assessment system from ages 5 to 19, ensuring that children build on their crucial learning and development in the early years. The interim report expresses an ambition for the curriculum to ensure effective transitions, and progression through each key stage of education. However, covering ages 0-5, the EYFS is outside of the Review’s scope. The wider work of the department will consider these areas.

Stephen Morgan
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the education curriculum to prepare young people for the future workplace.

The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work.

The Review is being undertaken in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, and other stakeholders such as employers, universities and trade unions. The Review has received call for evidence submissions from a variety of employers, colleges and representatives.

The Review has published a well-evidenced, clear interim report, which sets out its interim findings and confirms the key areas for further work. This report sets out that the Review has heard consistently from children and young people and their parents that they want more focus on the applied knowledge and skills that will equip them for later life and work; such as financial education, careers knowledge and politics and governance. The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.

During its next phase, the Review is considering whether there is sufficient coverage of knowledge and skills that are essential to sufficiently prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world.

The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn, at which point the government will respond.

12th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with the local authority on the number of secondary school placements in Gloucestershire.

The government works to support local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient places for children that need them. The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places sits with local authorities.

The department engages with councils on a regular basis to review their plans for creating additional places and to consider alternatives where necessary. When local authorities are experiencing difficulties, we support them to find solutions as quickly as possible.

The department provides capital funding through the Basic Need grant to support local authorities to provide school places, based on their own pupil forecasts and school capacity data. They can use this funding to provide places in new schools or through expansions of existing schools and can work with any school in their local area, including academies and free schools.

In March, the department announced that Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated just under £9.2 million to support it to create the mainstream school places needed by September 2028.This funding, £5.6 million of which will be paid in the 2026/27 financial year and with a further £3.6 million paid in 2027/28, is on top of just over £23.1 million we have previously allocated to Gloucestershire County Council to support it in providing new school places needed over the current and next two academic years, up to and including the academic year starting in September 2026.

8th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps she has taken to support (a) schools and (b) other institutions that are being targeted by social media hate campaigns.

The Online Safety Act introduces new responsibilities for social media companies and search services to ensure the safety of their users on their platforms. All relevant services must have systems and processes in place to allow users and others to report harmful content that the services are responsible for under the Act.

All school employers have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.

No school staff should feel unsafe or face violence or abuse in the workplace. The department will always support school staff to ensure they can work in a safe and calm environment.

Schools should have their own clear processes in place for dealing with issues of bullying or harassment, including online hate aimed towards school staff. All incidences of bullying or harassment should be reported immediately to the designated lead and headteacher or governing body or proprietor. Should an incident constitute a potential criminal offence, it would be for the school to consider involving the police.

Stephen Morgan
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
19th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the allocation of funding for (a) PE and (b) Sports Premium in Gloucestershire.

Physical education (PE) is a national curriculum subject at all key stages and all schools receive funding to deliver it as part of their core budget. Core school budgets are increasing by £3.2 billion in 2025/26, meaning the core school budgets will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. Through the dedicated schools grant, Gloucestershire is receiving £522.3 million for mainstream schools in 2025/26. This represents an increase of 2.3% per pupil compared to 2024/25.

All primary schools receive PE and sport premium funding to make additional and sustainable improvements to the PE, sport and physical activity they provide, which is allocated on a formula based on the number of pupils in the school.

7th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the impact of Covid 19 on the reception class cohort of September 2025; and whether additional (a) preparation and (b) provision has been made for that cohort.

Giving children the best start in life is the foundation of government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The earliest years are the most crucial stage of child development. That is why we have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. As announced in Plan for Change, we will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.

Research showed that the COVID-19 pandemic set back children’s learning and development and may have exacerbated the outcome gap.

To help achieve the milestone set out in Plan for Change, the department will work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and support for the workforce to drive up standards. We will offer sustained professional development and work with providers to help spread evidence-based programmes as part of comprehensive plans to drive high-quality early education and care.  We will ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by rolling out schools’ access to evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills.

The department is providing a range of high-quality support and training for early years educators and leaders, building a stronger, more expert workforce, to enable settings and childminders to deliver quality early education, including currently available continuing professional development and support such as Maths Champions, Early Years Child Development Training, and the Early Years Stronger Practice Hubs.

The government will also deliver the largest ever uplift to the early years pupil premium in the 2025/26 financial year, increasing the rate by over 45%, equivalent to up to £570 per eligible child per year. This unprecedented increase is an investment in quality early education for those children who need it most, in the areas that need it most, to give them the support they need to be ‘school ready’ at age 5 and go on to have the best life chances.

7th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers have access to accompaniment by professionally trained companions during (a) disciplinary and (b) grievance hearings.

The Employment Relations Act (ERA) 1999 states that teachers, like any other workers, are entitled to be accompanied by a colleague, a trade union employee or an official accredited by a trade union if called to a disciplinary or grievance meeting by their employer. Individuals may also ask to be accompanied by someone else, but the employer does not have to agree. The government has no plans to change that position for teachers.

7th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that teachers are given priority to enrol their children at schools they teach at.

All mainstream state funded schools must have clear admission arrangements, set by the school’s admission authority, which include the oversubscription criteria they will use to give priority for places where there are more applicants than places available. The School Admissions Code allows admission authorities to give priority in their oversubscription criteria for children of staff who have been employed at the school for two or more years at the time when their application for a school place is made. The priority may also be applied for children of staff who have been recruited to fill a vacant post at the school for which there is a demonstrable skills shortage.

It is for individual admission authorities to decide whether to include such a priority in their admissions criteria, provided the arrangements comply with the School Admissions Code.

27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve the mental health of teachers.

I refer the hon. Member for Tewkesbury to the answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29516.

27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department are taking to increase +-teacher retention rates in rural areas.

High quality teaching is the in-school factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education which is why sufficient high-quality teachers is key to delivering the government’s agenda to break down the barriers to opportunity. Measures will include getting more teachers into shortage subjects, supporting areas that face recruitment challenges and tackling retention issues. This will help ensure that children across the country, including rural areas, have the expert qualified teachers they need in order to achieve and thrive.

There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, but numbers have not kept pace with demand. This is why the department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament.

A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy. For 2024/25 and 2025/26, the department is offering a Targeted Retention Incentive worth up to £6,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, many of which are in rural areas. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.

The department is also working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve workload and wellbeing, which are key drivers of retention. We are also promoting flexible working, such as allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be taken from home, and have made key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.

This includes ensuring there is a compelling financial offer to attract and keep high-quality teachers in these areas. The minimum starting salary for teachers, including those in rural areas, increased to £30,000 from the start of the 2023/24 academic year, and following the 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from September, this has further increased to £31,650.

The department has announced an initial teacher training (ITT) financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.

The department has established a network of 87 Teaching School Hubs serving schools across the country. The Hubs provide approved high-quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers and play a significant role in delivering ITT, the Early Career Framework, National Professional Qualifications and Appropriate Body services. Odyssey Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Tewkesbury, Forest of Dean, and Gloucester.

25th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Adoption and Special Guardianship Fund; and whether the (a) funding and (b) services provided will extend beyond March 2025.

Previously, a three-year mixed-method evaluation was carried out by the Institute of Public Care (IPC), Oxford Brookes University (2018-2021), on behalf of the department. The report found that ‘a high proportion (83%) of parents and guardians participating in the longitudinal survey found the funded support helpful or very helpful overall.’ The IPC report also found ‘a statistically significant (substantial, with large effect size) improvement in parent and guardian estimates of the extent to which the main aim of the funded support had been met by the end of the intervention’ and reported that parents and guardians scored on average ‘7 out of 10 in relation to a question about the extent to which positive change(s) for their child and/or family had been sustained six months since the conclusion of ASF-funded support.’ The full report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6391c41a8fa8f53ba783e8ad/Evaluation_of_the_Adoption_Support_Fund_2018_to_2022_-_summary_.pdf.

The adequacy of the therapies available within the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) is currently being assessed from multiple angles. The National Institute for Health Research is currently conducting a randomised control trial into dyadic developmental psychotherapy (DDP), one of the main therapies the ASGSF funds. This research is currently in the third and final phase and will give robust evidence into the effectiveness of DDP. Moreover, the department started to collect data from outcomes measurement tools for ASGSF-funded therapies in December 2023. As therapy treatment comes to an end, this data will give an overall picture of the impact and adequacy of individual ASGSF-funded therapies.

ASGSF therapy applications are generally permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. The department will shortly be finalising business planning decisions on how its budget will be allocated for the next financial year. All decisions regarding the ASGSF are being made as part of these discussions. An announcement will be made as soon as possible.

9th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the backlog of Education, Health and Care Plans in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England.

The department wants to ensure that, where required, education, health and care (EHC) plan assessments are progressed promptly and, if needed, plans are issued as quickly as possible so that children and young people can access the support they need.

Local authorities have a statutory responsibility to assess whether children and young people have special educational needs that require an EHC plan. EHC plans must be issued within twenty weeks of the needs assessment commencing so that children and young people can access the support they need. In 2023, there were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan and 90,500 assessments took place. 50.3% of new EHC plans in 2023 were issued within twenty weeks.

The department knows that local authorities have seen an increase in the number of assessment requests and that more needs to be done to ensure that local areas deliver effective and timely services. This includes better communication with schools and families.

The department continues to monitor and work closely with local authorities that have issues with EHC plan timeliness. Where there are concerns about a local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, we help the local authority to identify the barriers and put in place an effective recovery plan. This includes, where needed, securing specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) adviser support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.

A Joint Area SEND inspection was carried out by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission between 11 to 15 December 2023 in Gloucestershire. Inspectors concluded the local area partnership’s arrangements led to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people and identified a number of recommendations including increasing timeliness and quality of EHC plans. Leaders in the local area have provided an improvement plan and an updated SEND strategic plan.

Officials and SEND advisors from both the department and NHS England meet regularly with Gloucestershire local area leaders from the local authority and integrated care board, parent representatives, education leaders and other partners to monitor progress against their improvement plan. As part of this work, there is also ongoing monitoring of Gloucestershire’s EHC plans, on their timeliness, quality and clearance of any backlog.

To assist the local area, the department has deployed a SEND advisor to offer support and advice. Some of the advisor’s work to date includes analysis of EHC plans data and trends, facilitation of best practice exchange from other regions, advice and guidance to enhance the quality of EHC plans.

5th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to ensure that additional funding for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in mainstream schools is equitably distributed in rural areas.

Local authorities are responsible for allocating additional funding from their high needs budgets to mainstream schools for their pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department is providing an increase of almost £1 billion for high needs budgets in the 2025/26 financial year, bringing total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to £11.9 billion. Of that total, Gloucestershire County Council is being allocated a provisional funding amount of over £104.8 million in the 2025/26 financial year through the high needs national funding formula (NFF), which is an 8.3% increase per head of their 2 to 18 year old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.

1st Sep 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on potential changes to legislation that would help increase the number of companies that are able to donate surplus food to (a) food banks and (b) soup kitchens.

No discussions have taken place with stakeholders on legislative changes to increase the number of companies able to donate food surplus.

Defra's Food and Drink Waste Hierarchy outlines how all businesses should deal with food surplus and waste, preventing food surplus where possible and redistributing any surplus should it arise. Following this hierarchy will help businesses to minimise the environmental impact of food and drink waste and maximise the value of food and drink surplus, for example by donating to food banks or soup kitchens.

Defra funds the UK Food and Drink Pact, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste, managed by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). Through the Pact, we support the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, which helps businesses to identify and measure their surplus and waste and take steps to reduce it.

This Target Measure Act (TMA) approach enables food businesses to get more surplus to redistributors. Defra also engages a working group of supply chain and redistribution sector organisations to develop best practice and overcome barriers to redistribution.

Mary Creagh
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
9th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on preventing microplastics from infiltrating agricultural land.

There are several potential ways in which microplastics which can infiltrate agricultural land and the wider environment. These include fallout from the atmosphere, land connections with surface waters and industrial premises, leaks from septic tanks and landfill sites, and possible leaching from the application of treated sewage sludge to agricultural soils. Once microplastics have entered the soil, many factors will influence their movement, such as soil type, the type of crop and the presence of livestock.

To better understand the transmission of microplastics through the application to the land of sewage sludge containing biosolids, Defra officials are collaborating with industry and independent researchers under the water industry-funded Chemicals Investigation Programme. This work will help inform possible and future measures to mitigate microplastics in the environment. We discuss the progress of this work on a frequent basis.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to incentivise young people to take up farming.

Attracting bright new talent into land-based careers and having a skilled workforce in place is vital for the future of UK food and farming.

Defra works closely with The Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture (TIAH) which is encouraging young people and new entrants into farming in its capacity as an industry led professional body for the farming industry. This includes leading a cross-industry initiative to address common negative misconceptions about the sector and providing free TIAH membership for students.

Furthermore, the Government has launched Skills England to ensure there is a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications for individuals and employers to access, which are aligned with skills gaps and what employers need. It will work with its partners to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.

17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the levels of nitrates in English waterways.

The levels of pollution in our waters, including nitrates, are unacceptable. We are prioritising cleaning up our waters.

We are reviewing the Environmental Improvement Plan and will create a new, statutory plan for how the department will protect and restore our national environment and meet each of our ambitious targets, including reducing pollution. We nonetheless continue to work with farmers to deliver improvements and drive down agricultural pollution including through regulations, Environmental Land Management schemes and advisory services. As a first key step, we have established a programme to reform the agriculture water regulations to ensure they effectively deliver pollution reductions whilst supporting farm businesses to grow.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
14th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive on micro dairy farms.

Defra has closed the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) for the submission of new applications, but existing agreements will continue. We now have over 37,000 live SFI agreements. Every penny in all existing SFI agreements will be paid to farmers, and outstanding eligible applications that have been submitted will be processed.

We will provide further details about the reformed SFI offer once the Spending Review has been completed.

SFI is an important offer, but it is part of a wider package. Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers in supporting the sustainability of the sector. The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 came into force in July last year. These regulations improve fairness and transparency in dairy contracts, requiring clear terms on pricing, termination, and prohibiting unilateral changes.

In addition, the Dairy Export Taskforce, an industry/Government partnership, is focused on boosting export growth in the dairy sector. This included the organisation of a successful Government funded dairy showcase for international buyers in the autumn of 2024.

5th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle extreme flooding in (a) Tewkesbury constituency and (b) rural communities.

This Government is investing £2.4 billion over this year and next year to improve flood resilience by maintaining, repairing and building flood defences – benefitting both rural and urban communities.

The Environment Agency is currently working with partners on property flood resilience schemes to residential homes most regularly affected by flooding in Tewkesbury, including at Abbey Terrace.

To speed up scheme delivery and ensure the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are adequately taken into account, a consultation will be launched in the new year which will include a review of the formula.

The Government has also announced £50 million of additional investment into internal drainage boards and £60 million in payments to farmers impacted by last year’s severe weather through the Farming Recovery Fund.

Emma Hardy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
5th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure animal welfare standards are (a) observed and (b) reviewed in the horse racing industry.

The British Horseracing Authority (BHA), British racing's governing and regulatory body, is responsible for the welfare of racehorses at British racecourses. The BHA works alongside the RSPCA and World Horse Welfare to make horseracing as safe as possible. Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs continue to engage productively with these organisations on equine welfare and safety matters.

29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing legislation to give local authorities enforcement powers over pavement parking.

The Government fully understands the problems that vehicles parked on the pavement can cause for pedestrians.

This is particularly the case in certain locations and for certain people, such as those with mobility or sight impairments, those pushing prams or pushchairs, and wheelchair users. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response in due course.

In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to respond to the 2020 consultation on Pavement parking: options for change.

The Government fully understands the problems that vehicles parked on the pavement can cause for pedestrians.

This is particularly the case in certain locations and for certain people, such as those with mobility or sight impairments, those pushing prams or pushchairs, and wheelchair users. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response in due course.

In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of (a) trends in the level of pavement parking in rural areas and (b) the potential impact of this on (i) wheelchair users (ii) parents with pushchairs and (iii) partially sighted people.

The Government fully understands the problems that vehicles parked on the pavement can cause for pedestrians.

This is particularly the case in certain locations and for certain people, such as those with mobility or sight impairments, those pushing prams or pushchairs, and wheelchair users. The Department has been considering all the views expressed in response to the 2020 pavement parking consultation and is currently working through the policy options and the appropriate means of delivering them. We will announce the next steps and publish our formal response in due course.

In the meantime, local authorities can make use of existing powers to manage pavement parking, and it is up to them to decide where to restrict pavement parking and what enforcement is appropriate.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential benefits of (a) increasing the number of driving test examiners and (b) introducing a greater number of out-of-hours tests.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December last year, DVSA published measures to bring down car practical driving test waiting times across the country. This included the recruitment of driving examiners (DEs), and DVSA continues to run recruitment campaigns as part of this.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions including the reintroduction of overtime pay incentives, and a call for volunteers from those currently in other roles (but qualified to examine) to carry out practical driving tests.

Further information on these actions and progress on the plan can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-secretary-acts-to-make-thousands-of-extra-driving-tests-available-each-month.

DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
29th Aug 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the availability of driving tests in rural areas.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December last year, DVSA published measures to bring down car practical driving test waiting times across the country. This included the recruitment of driving examiners (DEs), and DVSA continues to run recruitment campaigns as part of this.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions including the reintroduction of overtime pay incentives, and a call for volunteers from those currently in other roles (but qualified to examine) to carry out practical driving tests.

Further information on these actions and progress on the plan can be found on GOV.UK at: www.gov.uk/government/news/transport-secretary-acts-to-make-thousands-of-extra-driving-tests-available-each-month.

DVSA is committed to providing its customers, including those in rural areas, with the best service possible. DVSA continually reviews its estate to ensure it represents good value for money and is efficient.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
17th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of reducing speed limits to 20mph outside all schools.

The Department for Transport published a comprehensive three-year evaluation of the effect of 20mph limits, which are 20mph schemes relying only on signage, on 22 November 2018 20mph Research Study Process and Impact Evaluation Report.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
9th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the availability of wheelchair accessible taxis in (a) rural areas and (b) Gloucestershire.

Disabled people should be able to travel easily, confidently, and with dignity and the Government understands the importance of accessible taxis and private hire vehicles (PHVs) in supporting them to live independent lives.

The Department collects and publishes statistics about the number of wheelchair accessible taxis and PHVs in England. As of 1 April 2024, 18.5% of taxis and 6.2% of PHVs licensed in Gloucestershire were wheelchair accessible. During the same period, in areas that are largely rural, 13.5% of taxis and 6.9% of PHVs met the same standard.

The proportion of licensed vehicles that are wheelchair accessible varies considerably across England and in some areas, it can be difficult for wheelchair users to obtain a suitable wheelchair accessible taxi or PHV when they need one. Ultimately, however, the licensing of taxis and PHVs is a matter for licensing authorities, and the Government expects them to anticipate the needs of people in their area proactively, and to ensure that services meet a wide range of passenger needs.

Government best practice guidance to licensing authorities in England, updated in November 2023, recommends that authorities assess the demand for wheelchair accessible vehicles and take steps to ensure that there are sufficient available, as part of a “mixed fleet” of vehicles suitable for a range of passenger needs.

Simon Lightwood
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) assessments and (b) consultations her Department undertakes when determining locations for the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

The Department does not determine the locations at which electric vehicle chargepoints are installed. For those in public areas, local authorities are best placed to understand what charging infrastructure is needed and have a key role in planning and enabling the delivery of chargepoints, with particular focus on supporting those who do not have access to off-street parking. The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund includes capability (resource) funding for local authorities to secure dedicated in-house expertise to plan, procure and deliver local chargepoints.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
27th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points installed in (a) small towns and (b) rural communities; and whether she plans to take steps to ensure they are evenly distributed beyond major cities.

The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. As of February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,334 publicly available charging devices, up 35% on this time last year. There was particularly strong growth in rural areas last year, with chargepoint numbers increasing by 45% in 2024.

The £381m Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund will support the installation of at least 100,000 local chargepoints across the country. LEVI funding allocations factored in the proportion of residents that are in rural areas. This meant local authorities in rural areas were allocated additional funding compared to urban ones.

Lilian Greenwood
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury