Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to make SEND training mandatory for (a) Initial Teacher Training and (b) continual learning for qualified teachers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a mandatory part of initial teacher training and training for early career teachers, creating a strong foundation for those joining the profession. The new initial teacher training and early career framework comes into effect from September 2025 and sets out the minimum entitlement for teacher training and must cover adaptive teaching and SEND. The department tested this approach with SEND educational experts with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children.
We also recognise that continuous improvement is essential and have recently committed to a full review of the early career teacher entitlement in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible basis for initial teacher training and early career teacher support.
To further support teachers, in autumn 2024 the department began delivery of the national professional qualification for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). This is now the mandatory qualification for SENCOs. Participants will develop the essential knowledge and skills needed to set the strategic direction of SEND policy in a school and the conditions in which pupils with SEND can thrive.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report by The Sutton Trust entitled The Opportunity Index, published in May 2025.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The Sutton Trust’s valuable report highlights that too many children face barriers to success because of who they are or where they come from. This is why, through the Opportunity Mission, we will break the link between young people’s backgrounds and their future success, by tackling child poverty, ensuring all children have safe and loving homes, get the best start in life, achieve and thrive in school and develop skills to succeed in life.
We agree with the report that these challenges are multi-faceted and require a complex package of measures. That is why we have started to make progress by expanding free school meals to all children on Universal Credit, have delivered the largest ever uplift to early years pupil premium, are driving school improvement through our regional improvement for standards and excellence teams, and launched foundation apprenticeships as part of a Youth Guarantee so that all 18 to 21 year-olds in England have access to education, training or help to find a job or an apprenticeship.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on providing payments to LGBTQ+ veterans under the LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The LGBT Financial Recognition Scheme (FRS) launched in December of 2024, and as of 9 June 2025, 44 applicants have received payment. We have been prioritising payment to the elderly and those with serious health conditions to ensure they receive support as quickly as possible, with the first payments issued as planned within 15 weeks of the scheme going live to these prioritised groups. Some cases are more complex and require additional time due to the unique and individual circumstances involved. We envisage the scheme speeding up once the most complex cases are delt with.
The Scheme continues to make progress with applications, with process capacity expected to increase in the coming months. The FRS is continually looking for opportunities to automate processes where possible, to streamline processing and to work as efficiently as possible processing applications, taking account of the complexity and need for careful consideration.
Payments made by the FRS are not compensation payments and do not seek to compensate for any pecuniary losses or attempt to place personnel in a financial position they could have been in, had the ban not existed.
There is no predetermined target for the number of claims that will be assessed at each sitting of the Independent Panel for the FRS. The volume of claims reviewed at each sitting will vary depending on the length and complexity of individual cases, so it is not possible to confirm in advance how many cases will be considered in any given meeting. The Department expects to increase the frequency of Independent Panel sittings, with the aim of holding up to two sittings per week.
No formal assessment has been made of trends in waiting times for the assessment of claims under the Scheme. However, the Department is currently working on how we can simplify the process to update applicants. Applicants can contact the Restorative Action Team at the following email address: lgbt-frscheme@mod.gov.uk
The Department will continue to keep resourcing under close review to ensure the FRS is fully supported. This includes assessing whether additional staff are required to manage demand and maintain the timely assessment of claims. The Department continues to monitor the overall progress of claims and remains committed to ensuring the scheme is delivered as efficiently and fairly as possible.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on clinical support staff of referring patients with long covid to ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome specialist services.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While no assessment has been made, NHS England has published commissioning guidance for post-Covid services which sets out the principles of care for people with long COVID.
There is also specific advice for healthcare professionals to manage long COVID. Patients should be managed according to current clinical guidance, such as that published and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network and the Royal College of General Practitioners. Whilst NICE guidelines are not mandatory, the Government does expect clinicians and healthcare commissioners to take them fully into account.
Commissioning, service provision and staffing for both myalgic encephalomyelitis services and long COVID services are the responsibility of local integrated care boards.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the World Health Organization's Air Quality Guidelines, whether his Department plans to introduce a Clean Air Bill.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Last year, the Government launched a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan, to revise our plan for significantly improving the environment, including for air quality. We plan to develop a new, statutory plan to protect and restore our natural environment with delivery information to help meet each of our ambitious Environment Act targets.
We are considering the World Health Organization's guidelines as part of an evidence-led process for considering future targets, however we are clear that these guidelines are not ready-made targets for direct adoption as they do not consider achievability or individual countries’ circumstances.
The Government does not currently have plans for a new Clean Air Act and is instead focusing on developing a series of interventions to ensure everyone’s exposure to air pollution is reduced.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support community pharmacists.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities, as an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.
The Government is committed to expanding the role of pharmacies and better utilising the skills of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. That includes making prescribing part of the services delivered by community pharmacists. To support contractors in delivering a quality NHS service, NHS England is providing fully funded national training opportunities.
We are working at pace with Community Pharmacy England to ensure that the funding we have available is used to support community pharmacy in the best way possible. We will announce the outcome in the normal manner, by letter to contractors, when the consultation has concluded.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of making food and nutrition assessments a statutory requirement in discharge care plans for patients leaving hospital.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Clinicians decide when a patient is medically ready for discharge, based on a set of criteria. The Hospital discharge and community support guidance sets out that multidisciplinary teams working across health and social care should plan and include information about post-discharge care and should ensure that general practice and other primary care providers are linked into all discharge planning. The Hospital discharge and community support guidance is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hospital-discharge-and-community-support-guidance
Diagnosis and detection are key, and health staff are trained to spot the early warning signs of malnutrition so effective individual treatment can be put in place. Tools and guidance are available through a range of organisations for health and social care professionals to identify and treat malnutrition and access appropriate training.
All National Health Services are recommended to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) clinical guideline, Nutrition support for adults: oral nutrition support, enteral tube feeding and parenteral nutrition, code CG32, which is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg32
This sets out the recommendations, based on the best available evidence, for the organisation, screening, and delivery of nutritional support in hospitals and the community. This includes screening for malnutrition and risk of malnutrition. The NICE guidelines recommend that all hospital inpatients on admission and all outpatients at their first clinic appointment should be screened for malnutrition. Screening should be repeated weekly for inpatients and when there is clinical concern for outpatients. People in care homes should be screened on admission and when there is clinical concern.
NHS England’s Nursing Directorate is leading on a review and refresh of the National Nutrition and Hydration guidance, which builds on the NHS England’s previous Commissioning Excellent Nutrition and Hydration guidance 2015-2018, which is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/nut-hyd-guid.pdf
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing Clean Air Zones in cities across England.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The evidence shows that Clean Air Zones are effective in reducing air pollution and Defra publish ‘Evaluation of Local NO2 Plans’ annual reports which cover this in detail. Other measures can also be effective, and Local authorities are best placed to determine the best route for reducing nitrogen dioxide in their cities. The Government is committed to working with them as they deliver legally binding obligations to improve the air we breathe. There are no plans to extend clean air zones to other cities.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the impact of dementia training for adult social care staff on improving quality of life for (a) individuals with dementia and (b) their families.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to a professional, well supported social care workforce. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, providers must provide enough suitably qualified, competent, skilled, and experienced staff to meet the needs of the people using the service. Staff must receive the support, training, professional development, supervision, and appraisals that are necessary for them to carry out their role.
The required training needs are set out in the Dementia Training Standards Framework, which was commissioned and funded by the Department and developed in collaboration with the sector. It sets out the essential knowledge and skills and expected learning outcomes applicable across the health and care spectrum.
We now have a national career framework for adult social care, the Care Workforce Pathway, which is linked to several existing competency frameworks, including the dementia training standards framework.
The Department has also launched a new Level 2 Adult Social Care Certificate qualification which links to the outcomes in the Care Workforce Pathway. This contains the baseline knowledge required to provide quality care and will make sure that those who are starting out their careers have an informed awareness of dementia.
The Department delivers dementia research via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR has invested £6 million in two Dementia & Neurodegeneration Policy Research Units to increase evidence and inform policymaking in the Department and its health system partners. One of the units is undertaking a project which seeks to gather current evidence on how dementia training is best delivered to social care workers and explore stakeholder views on how this evidence could inform future policies and practice.
Asked by: Chris Ward (Labour - Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on vehicle emissions in (a) Brighton and (b) other cities in England.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold this information.