Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 31 July 2024 to Question 1512 on Special Educational Needs, when her Department last undertook a review of the Safety Valve agreement with Norfolk County Council; and if she will publish the conclusions of the most recent review.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Safety Valve agreements are established only when both the local authority and the department agree that the proposals will improve services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The department regularly reviews the implementation of all Safety Valve agreements through a monitoring process that takes place three times a year. These reviews are not published, in order to secure free and frank discussion between the local authority and the department.
Norfolk's agreement is currently subject to review, and the local authority is working with the department on a revised proposal within the programme's framework.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to fund accommodation for asylum seekers once the use of hotels is stopped.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is determined to restore order to the asylum system so that it operates swiftly, firmly and fairly, and is reviewing the current arrangements for accommodation to ensure efficiency and value for money, including reducing the use of hotels.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how the new customer panels to hold water companies to account will be selected; and what powers these panels will have.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This government expects companies to provide high levels of service, both for customers and the environment and believes that customers should be at heart of challenging companies on their performance, which is why we have immediately announced that powerful new customer panels will be established. These panels will have the remit to do things like summon members of the executive and hold them to account.
Further detail will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to monitor Ofwat's (a) monitoring and (b) enforcement of the ring-fencing of funds for vital infrastructure.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
After writing to Ofwat, the Secretary of State has secured agreement that funding for vital infrastructure investment is ringfenced and can only be spent on upgrades benefiting customers and the environment. Ofwat will also ensure that when money for investment is not spent, companies refund customers, with money never allowed to be diverted for bonuses, dividends or salary increases.
As part of PR24, Ofwat have introduced increased consumer protections through Price Control Deliverables which act to pull back funding from companies when they fail to deliver, helping to ensure customers are protected and money is returned if outputs are not being met.
Ofwat propose to require companies to report on progress against their price control deliverable outputs on a six-monthly basis and forecast performance for the 2025-2030 period. Where Ofwat consider a company is sufficiently off-track, they will consider what additional steps that they should take.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will publish all written representations made by the Crown Estate on proposals for Great British Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 25th July Government published the Great British Energy Founding Statement, which outlined how the partnership between Great British Energy and The Crown Estate will bring forward and derisk new offshore wind developments, stimulate new technologies in new clean energy sectors and invest in ports and clean energy supply chains. We will set out further detail in due course, as the partnership develops.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed application of VAT to private school fees on families who can only access SEND provision in private schools due to deficits in local provision.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity, ensuring every child has access to high-quality education, which is why we have made the tough decision to end tax breaks for private schools. This will raise revenue for essential public services, including investing in the state education system.
State education is accessible to all children. All children of compulsory school age are entitled to a state-funded school place if they need one and the Department for Education works to support Local Authorities to ensure every local area has sufficient places for pupils.
Where pupils are placed in a private school because their needs cannot be met in the state sector, and they have their places funded by their Local Authority, the Local Authority will be able to reclaim the VAT they incur on these pupils’ fees. In Northern Ireland, it will be the Education Authority who fund placements in private schools and will be able to reclaim the VAT in this way.
Where a placement at a specific private school is necessary to meet the pupil’s needs in England, that school will be named in the pupil’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).