Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase SEND provision for pupils moving from private to state schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department works to support local authorities to ensure that every local area has sufficient places for children that need them and to provide appropriate support where pupils with special educational needs (SEN) require a place at a state-funded school.
State-maintained schools are required to identify and address the needs of the pupils they support. Mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure that a child or young person who has SEN gets the support they need and are funded to do this through their formulaic funding allocations.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his policy on arms transfers to Israel will use the principle of atrocity prevention.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary's advice on arms sales follows the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria, (SELC) including an assessment of commitment to IHL Compliance (SELC 2c) using a methodology that the Court of Appeal has accepted in judicial reviews. It draws on open-source evidence, intelligence, accounts of diplomatic and ministerial engagements, and correspondence with Israel.
That review process is underway. It is complex and requires careful consideration. The Government will make public its decision as soon as that process is complete.
Asked by: Clive Lewis (Labour - Norwich South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is using the same system for (a) collating and (b) reviewing evidence on Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law during the conflict in Gaza as was used by the previous Government.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Foreign Secretary has made clear, he is not able to look back on advice made available to previous Government Ministers. That review process is underway. It is complex and requires careful consideration. The Foreign Secretary has committed to being transparent when making decisions on International Humanitarian Law assessments.
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, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of regulating embodied carbon to help meet net zero targets.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Last year, the Government consulted on the possible introduction of Mandatory Product Standards, in other words regulations to limit the embodied emissions of products.
In response, the previous Government set out it would not commit to introducing Mandatory Product Standards for any specific sector at that stage. Instead, it was planning to focus on introducing Voluntary Product Standards, which would be a necessary first step.
Voluntary Product Standards will establish definitions of low carbon products that can be used as a basis for policies such as green public procurement. The Government plans to consult on these standards in due course.