First elected: 4th July 2024
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.
If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.
If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).
These initiatives were driven by Cat Eccles, 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.
Cat Eccles has not been granted any Urgent Questions
Cat Eccles has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
Cat Eccles has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Cat Eccles has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the ruling provides. The Equality and Human Rights Commission is developing its updated statutory Code of Practice to support organisations. Ministers will consider the EHRC’s updated draft once they have submitted it following further work in light of this ruling.
On 8th May, the UK Government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States.
We have agreed new reciprocal market access on beef – with UK farmers given a guaranteed quota for 13,000 metric tonnes of beef exports at a very low tariff rate.
Imports of hormone treated beef remain illegal. Our approach to this trade deal has ensured that any agricultural imports coming into the UK will meet the highest food standards.
On 8th May, the UK government announced a landmark economic deal with the United States.
The NHS will never be on the table for any trade agreement and the US trade deal will not lead to privatisation of the NHS. The NHS is not for sale under any circumstances, and this Government is firmly committed to keeping healthcare free at the point of use for everyone.
This Government will continue to act in Britain’s national interest – for workers, for business and for families.
This government is determined to look after the country's national interest. That's why we have concluded a landmark economic deal with the United States, making the UK the first country to reach an agreement with President Trump. For steel and aluminium, the US has committed to remove the 25% Section 232 tariffs currently faced by UK exporters, by applying a quota system.
UK Steel and ALFED, who represent the UK steel and aluminium industries respectively, have both publicly welcomed the deal.
The Government wants to provide all businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint.
Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.
We want operators to use existing underground ducts and share infrastructure, wherever possible. There are requirements on operators to share apparatus and to use underground lines where practicable; and there are regulations in place to support this.
The Government also published the Street Works Toolkit, which contains practical guidance for telecoms companies and highway authorities who coordinate street works in their area on how to keep disruption to a minimum.
I recently met with broadband operators to ask them to share infrastructure wherever possible, and I have been clear I am prepared to regulate if providers do not take action.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
From the 2018/19 financial year to 2023/24, the most recent year for which information is available, the average per-pupil expenditure on pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in maintained special schools and special academies on the one hand, and non-maintained and independent special schools on the other, are set out in the tables below:
Per-pupil expenditure: Cash values (rounded) as at the time, not adjusted for inflation | ||||||
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Maintained special schools and special academies | £20,000 | £21,000 | £22,000 | £23,000 | £24,000 | £26,000 |
Non-maintained and independent special schools | £52,000 | £54,000 | £54,000 | £57,000 | £62,000 | £63,000 |
To note:
1. Per-pupil expenditure is the average calculated from the national expenditure on place and top-up funding for the school types, per pupil with an EHC plan.
2. For maintained special schools and special academies the calculation uses the place funding rate of £10,000 per place plus the average top-up funding expenditure. by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil as recorded in the January schools census.
3. For non-maintained and independent special schools the department has calculated the total expenditure from the £10,000 per-place funding allocated to non-maintained special schools and the total top-up funding expenditure by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil with an EHC plan as recorded in our SEN2 data collection.
4. From 2023, the data collection for SEN2 changed from aggregated figures at local authority level, to a person-level collection. This has been a major change in approach and care should be taken with comparisons across this period because expenditure per pupil changes between 2021/22 and 2022/23 may include an effect from the EHC plan data collection methodology change.
The per-pupil expenditure amounts for children with EHC plans as set out in the table above are averages of a wide range of per-pupil funding levels that are different depending on the needs of the child and school they attend. It is the relevant local authority’s responsibility to decide how to allocate that funding and how much to allocate to each school.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Dudley Council is being allocated over £62 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.4 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
From the 2018/19 financial year to 2023/24, the most recent year for which information is available, the average per-pupil expenditure on pupils with an education, health and care (EHC) plan in maintained special schools and special academies on the one hand, and non-maintained and independent special schools on the other, are set out in the tables below:
Per-pupil expenditure: Cash values (rounded) as at the time, not adjusted for inflation | ||||||
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Maintained special schools and special academies | £20,000 | £21,000 | £22,000 | £23,000 | £24,000 | £26,000 |
Non-maintained and independent special schools | £52,000 | £54,000 | £54,000 | £57,000 | £62,000 | £63,000 |
To note:
1. Per-pupil expenditure is the average calculated from the national expenditure on place and top-up funding for the school types, per pupil with an EHC plan.
2. For maintained special schools and special academies the calculation uses the place funding rate of £10,000 per place plus the average top-up funding expenditure. by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil as recorded in the January schools census.
3. For non-maintained and independent special schools the department has calculated the total expenditure from the £10,000 per-place funding allocated to non-maintained special schools and the total top-up funding expenditure by local authorities on those schools as recorded in their section 251 outturn data, per pupil with an EHC plan as recorded in our SEN2 data collection.
4. From 2023, the data collection for SEN2 changed from aggregated figures at local authority level, to a person-level collection. This has been a major change in approach and care should be taken with comparisons across this period because expenditure per pupil changes between 2021/22 and 2022/23 may include an effect from the EHC plan data collection methodology change.
The per-pupil expenditure amounts for children with EHC plans as set out in the table above are averages of a wide range of per-pupil funding levels that are different depending on the needs of the child and school they attend. It is the relevant local authority’s responsibility to decide how to allocate that funding and how much to allocate to each school.
Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Dudley Council is being allocated over £62 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £5.4 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.
A backlog in the provision of cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) to members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme has been caused by two issues. Initially, an embargo was placed on the provision of CETVs by the public service pension schemes from March 2023 to July 2023. This was a result of the need for new factors to be calculated following a change to the Superannuation Contributions Adjusted for Past Experience (SCAPE) discount rate. Not all of those cases could be cleared by the scheme administrator before the Transitional Protection (McCloud) legislation took effect on 1 October 2023. For those members affected by Transitional Protection, further cross-scheme guidance was needed by the scheme administrator which created another significant period in which CETV cases could not be processed.
As of 20 November 2024, there are 1,952 CETV cases which have not been processed three months after the member applied.
The majority of these cases do not include scheme flexibilities and the scheme administrator currently estimates that such cases will all be cleared by the end of February 2025. The department is working with the scheme administrator to determine the likely timeframe for cases that involve flexibilities and the small cohort where guidance is being finalised. Consideration is being given to measures to reduce the timescales that members are waiting, including investigating the potential for any further automation of calculations, simplification of the CETV figures provided to the member and maximising the administrative resource available, for example through ongoing overtime.
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I provided on 7 April 2025 to PQ 42929.
The Government is working with stakeholders, including the horticulture sector, to monitor the implementation of biodiversity net gain to make sure it is working as intended.
The Government welcomes the Animal Welfare Committee’s Opinion on the welfare implications of current and emergent feline breeding practices. We are carefully considering the Committee’s recommendations.
The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its Manifesto. We intend to deliver on this and are currently considering the most effective way to do so.
Navigation authorities are responsible for operational matters on their waterways, and boaters using navigable waterways are required to comply with the terms of their licences for the benefit of all waterway users. The country’s largest navigation authority owning the majority of the canal network, the Canal and River Trust, has provided assurances that appropriate enforcement action on its waterways is only used as a last resort in response to persistent non-compliance, to ensure fairness to all boaters. Those with children who choose to live on a boat without a permanent mooring are responsible for ensuring they have access to education; the Trust provides reasonable adjustments for anyone who qualifies under the Equalities & Human Rights Act.
DWP will work with the Ministry of Justice as normal and plan for any impacts.
No assessment has yet been made. Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper has been published here: ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
Notes:
An assessment of the potential impact of the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the number of people in poverty in each of the next five years is not yet available.
The government's impact assessment regarding the Pathways to Work Green Paper is available here: Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impacts.
The Office for Budget Responsibility will publish its assessment of the labour market impacts of the Green Paper proposals at the time of the Autumn Budget.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has the ability to write off Child Support Agency (CSA) debt that is £500 and under in circumstances where no payment has been made within the last 90 days and where administrative powers have been considered but were deemed inappropriate or ineffective.
Writing off is not a quick or easy decision and involves exhausting other approaches to deal with the debt. All Child Support Agency debt is now at least 11 years old.
In the year ending March 2024 £17.8m of CSA debt was collected and £13.5m was written off.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services that integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission. This promotes a more consistent national approach and supports commissioners in prioritising palliative and end of life care. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications.
Whilst the majority of palliative and end of life care is provided by National Health Service staff and services, we recognise the vital part that voluntary sector organisations, including hospices, also play in providing support to people at the end of life and their loved ones.
In recognition of this, we are supporting the hospice sector with a £100 million capital funding boost for adult and children’s hospices in England for 2024/25 and 2025/26, to ensure they have the best physical environment for care.
Additionally, children and young people’s hospices will receive £26 million in revenue funding for 2025/26. This is a continuation of the funding which until recently was known as the Children and Young People’s Hospice Grant.
More widely, As part of the work to develop the 10-Year Health Plan, we will be carefully considering policies, including those that impact people with palliative care and end of life care needs, with input from the public, patients, health staff, and our partners, including those in the hospice sector.
In February, I met with key palliative and end of life care and hospice stakeholders, in a roundtable format, with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.
In July 2024, the waiting list at the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) was 192,268. Of these, 110,482, or 57.5% of pathways, were waiting within 18 weeks.
The latest data shows that as of March 2025, the waiting list at the Black Country ICB has decreased by over 13,631, to 178,637 since July 2024. Of these, 102,618, 57.4% of pathways were waiting within 18 weeks.
We promised change, and we’ve delivered early, with a reduction in the list of over 200,000 pathways. We have also now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over 3.5 million more appointments across the country.
This marks a vital First Step to delivering on the commitment that 92% of patients will wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to consultant-led treatment, in line with the National Health Service constitutional standard, by March 2029.
The Government is committed to improving dementia care and is empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including for those with dementia. That is why we have recently published the Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for busy system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia. The Dementia 100 Pathway Assessment Tool has now been launched, and is available at the following link:
To improve care for patients with dementia, we have refreshed the RightCare Dementia Scenario. The scenario works through the dementia well pathway journey, from diagnosing well through to dying well, detailing optimal and sub optimal approaches, with associated costings for each. They have developed a dementia model pathway based on data for each component of the dementia well pathway, to provide a high-level view of what dementia care activity looks like for local areas and to aid targeted support where appropriate.
To aid dementia diagnosis and the provision of support in care homes, we funded an evidence-based improvement project to fund two trusts in each region, 14 sites, to pilot the Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate protocol. Learning is currently being shared and promoted with regional and local partners, following an impact assessment of the pilots.
Water fluoridation is an evidence based, effective public health intervention for improving the oral health of children and adults. The 2022 Health Monitoring Report showed that five-year-olds were less likely to experience dental caries, and less likely to experience caries of high severity, in areas with a fluoridation scheme. Further information is available at the following link:
The UK Chief Medical Officer also concluded that water fluoridation is effective and should complement, not substitute, other effective methods of fluoride use. The UK Chief Medical Officer’s statement on water fluoridation is available at the following link:
The Department understands the impact that Duchenne muscular dystrophy has on those living with it and their families, and the urgent need for new treatment options. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations for the National Health Service on whether new licensed medicines should be routinely funded by the NHS independently, based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. The NHS in England is legally required to fund medicines recommended by the NICE, normally within three months of the publication of final guidance. The NICE is currently evaluating givinostat for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and its independent Appraisal Committee will meet to consider the evidence in July 2025.
Settler violence is unacceptable, and settlements are illegal under international law. The Foreign Secretary has been clear with Israeli ministers that they must clamp down on settler violence and end settler expansion and has previously met with Palestinian communities in the West Bank to hear how they are affected. On 15 October 2024, the Foreign Secretary announced sanctions targeting three illegal settler outposts and four organisations that have supported and sponsored violence against communities in the West Bank. These measures will help bring accountability to those who have supported and perpetrated such heinous abuses of human rights. As I reiterated in the House on 29 April, we call for an end to settlement expansion and settler violence.
The Soft Drinks Industry Levy is recognised as a transformative health tax intervention. Following the announcement of the Levy, the average sugar content of soft drinks in scope fell 46% between 2015 and 2020. Further, the policy has been linked to 5,000 fewer cases of obesity in year 6 girls, and a 28.6% and 5.5% fall in sugar-related tooth extractions in those aged 0-4 years and 5-9 years respectively.
The ‘Strengthening the Soft Drinks Industry Levy’ consultation, published last month, seeks ways to further encourage producers to remove added sugar from soft drinks. Specifically, it sets out proposals to reduce the minimum sugar threshold at which the levy applies from 5g to 4g sugar per 100ml, and to remove the current exemptions for milk-based and milk substitute drinks with added sugar. These changes would be estimated to reduce calorie consumption by 15 million kcal per day in children and 46 million kcal per day in adults, achieving health and economic benefits of around £4.2 billion over 25 years.
The government is committed to delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 30393 on 24 February 2025 for more detail on the steps we have already taken to increase social and affordable housebuilding.
We will set out details of new investment to succeed the 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme at the Spending Review. This new investment will deliver a mix of homes for sub-market rent and homeownership, with a particular focus on delivering homes for Social Rent.
The government recognises that paying rent is likely to be a tenant’s biggest monthly expense. The Renters’ Rights Bill empowers private rented sector tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases, with all rent increases taking place via an existing statutory process.
Tenants who receive a rent increase that they feel is not representative of the market value will be able to challenge the increase at the First-tier Tribunal. This will prevent unscrupulous landlords using rent increases as a backdoor means of eviction, while ensuring rents can be increased to reflect market rates.
The Bill also prohibits rental bidding practices and landlords demanding large amounts of rent in advance.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 makes clear that the planning system should take full account of all climate impacts, including water scarcity and flood risk.
Planning should help to shape places in a way that minimises vulnerability and improves resilience to the effects of climate change though suitable adaptation measures, including through incorporating green infrastructure and sustainable drainage systems.
The government provides design guidance through the National Design Guide (NDG) and National Model Design Code (NDMC) which support the National Planning Policy Framework. The department intends to update this guidance in Spring 2025.
Natural England have also published The Green Infrastructure Framework and accompanying Design Guide in February 2023. This can be used to support local planning authorities and developers to design and create more nature-rich urban greenspaces.
The effect of the legislation is that for civil claims which involve the consequences of a mistake, the relevant limitation period only starts when the claimant discovers the mistake or could have discovered it with reasonable due diligence (subject to certain exceptions). As such it enables a normal statutory time limit to be postponed if a court is satisfied the conditions are met in an individual case.
It is important that the law of limitation achieves a balance between the competing interests of claimants and defendants. The Government has no plans to review this section.
The House has had a number of opportunities to discuss the Pathways to Work Green Paper, including:
I am committed to providing time in the Chamber to the Backbench Business Committee and I would encourage the Hon. Member to apply for a debate through the Committee if they so wish. In addition, Members will have the opportunity to debate reform of the health and disability benefits system when measures are brought forward in due course.