Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure local authorities are adequately funded to support public libraries.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils' Core Spending Power on 2024-25.
Public libraries are funded by local authorities as part of this broader settlement. Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure SEND is taken into account in school attendance policies.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
As set out in the department’s 2024 guidance ‘Working together to improve school attendance’, every pupil has a right to a full-time education, and high attendance expectations should be set for all pupils.
A school’s attendance policy should account for the specific needs of each pupil and provide these pupils with the necessary support. This includes pupils with specific barriers to attendance, such as those with mental or physical ill health and/or special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
To support pupils with SEND, schools should understand the individual needs of the pupil and family, work in partnership with the pupil and family to put in-school support in place, as well as with the local authority and other agencies where external support is needed, and regularly review and update support to ensure it continues to meet individual needs.
Schools should ensure attendance data is regularly monitored for pupils with long-term illnesses and/or SEND, including alongside the local authority, so that additional support from other partners can be accessed where necessary.
Asked by: Caroline Voaden (Liberal Democrat - South Devon)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to solar feed in tariff contract conditions on households with solar panels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is consulting on changes to how Feed-in Tariff payments are adjusted for inflation in future. The consultation includes an analytical annex which includes an assessment of the potential impacts of this policy. An updated version of this will be published alongside a Government Response, next year.