Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to review the overseas scale rates.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps flat rates expenses, including Overseas Scale Rates, under review. Any decisions on future changes in this area will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of police community support officers in Crewe and Nantwich constituency.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
In January 2025, the Government announced a total of £200 million in 2025/26 to support the first steps of delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood policing personnel in communities across the country.
Our approach to delivery in 2025/26, which will be year 1 of a 4-year programme, is designed to deliver an initial increase to the neighbourhood policing workforce in a manner that is flexible and can be adapted to the local context and varied crime demands.
This means the precise workforce mix is a local decision. More information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government takes to help ensure that apprentices are well-supported by their employers.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeships deliver great outcomes for young people and adults, and apprentice and employer satisfaction is high.
High quality training is crucial and apprentices' success hinges on the commitment and collaboration of an employer, apprentice, and training provider.
The department has published a range of guidance on GOV.UK to help employers support their apprentices to make the most of their apprenticeship. This includes tips on how to support apprentices with mentoring, networking opportunities and wellbeing. On behalf of the department, the Learning and Work Institute has also produced a number of guides to support apprentices’ on-programme experience, including a Line Manger Guide to apprenticeships.
The Apprenticeship Service gives employers and learners the opportunity to provide feedback on their experiences which we use to improve the apprenticeship experience. To support effective partnerships between employers and providers, employers can also see online reviews of training providers from other employers and apprentices before they choose a training provider to deliver their training.
In addition, the department’s Apprenticeship Ambassador Network of 1,700 volunteer employers and providers enables sharing of best practice from apprenticeship experts. Our ambassadors are supporting 3,000 small employers taking their first steps on their own apprenticeship journey.
Apprentices who complete see the best outcomes from their experiences. The department’s focus on driving up quality is resulting in year on year increases in achievement rates and will continue to drive up standards to ensure every learner gets the greatest benefit from their apprenticeship.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 help raise awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in (a) hospitals, (b) schools and (c) local authorities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to improving support for all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including those with foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
The Government recognises that foetal alcohol spectrum disorders can have a significant impact on the early years development of children. As a result, schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person gets the special educational provision they need. This includes monitoring the progress of pupils regularly and putting support in place where needed, including arranging diagnostic tests where appropriate. To support all teachers, we are implementing a range of high-quality teacher development programmes, from initial teacher training and into early career teaching, through to the reformed suite of leadership and specialist national professional qualifications, to ensure that teachers have the skills to support all pupils to succeed.
The Department asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to produce a Quality Standard in England for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) to help providers and commissioners improve both diagnosis and support for people affected by FASD. This includes guidance on individualised management plans, which help to coordinate care across a range of healthcare professionals, as well as education and social services, and improve outcomes. The Quality Standard also covers support during pregnancy to improve awareness and prevent the disorder. It was published in March 2022, and is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs204
Healthcare providers advise pregnant women about the risks of alcohol consumption, document alcohol use, and refer children with probable prenatal alcohol exposure for assessment.
In addition, healthcare professionals conduct thorough neurodevelopmental assessments and develop tailored management plans for diagnosed individuals, aiming to improve early identification and provide comprehensive support to help children achieve their full potential.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential contribution of cash ISAs to the economy.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to incentivising greater saving and investment. Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) help people save for their future goals and build greater financial resilience.
The Government recognises the important role that cash savings play in helping households build a financial buffer for a rainy day. The Government also wants to see more consumers participate in capital markets and benefit from the long-term financial security and returns that investing can provide.
The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure students who would have benefitted from the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme are still provided with the same opportunities they may have otherwise had.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to ensuring all children and young people have a strong foundation in mathematics, both so they can thrive in the modern economy, and also so that they can understand and participate in modern society to the greatest extent, regardless of background and socioeconomic status. Additionally, advanced mathematics underpins the development of cutting edge artificial intelligence, which my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister has set out as a key driver in the Plan for Change, helping to turbocharge growth and boost living standards.
The Advanced Maths Support programme (AMSP) is a government funded programme that has a positive impact on mathematics education across England. The department is currently examining additional and alternative options which would support provision for advanced mathematics.
The department continues to work closely with the AMSP supplier, Mathematics in Education and Industry, to ensure high quality professional development and support remains available to schools and colleges so that all students, regardless of background, can access high-quality level 3 mathematics education. This includes improving level 3 mathematics teaching and providing alternative tuition for level 3 further mathematics students, to increase participation and attainment in advanced mathematics and removing barriers of social injustice.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
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 help ensure that research into long-COVID is adequately funded.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department funds research on health and social care through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR remains committed to funding high-quality research to understand the causes, consequences, and treatment for long COVID.
We are actively exploring next steps for research in this area. We recently held a roundtable on long COVID research on 17 October 2025, led by the Minister responsible for long COVID and co-hosted with the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Lucy Chappell.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to ensure the Integrated Transport Strategy prioritises road safety.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Integrated National Transport Strategy will be published this year and set the long-term vision for transport in England, recognising the key role transport must play in driving growth and opportunities. The exact scope of the Strategy is being developed through a series of engagement activities that include a Call for Ideas and Regional Roadshows, but we will look at all modes to understand how transport should be designed, built and operated to better serve its users.
Improving road safety is one of my highest priorities. Too many people are killed and seriously injured in road traffic collisions, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users. The Department is developing a road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the consequences will be for landlords who do not raise their EPC rating to C when it is unfeasible to do so.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is currently consulting on raising minimum energy efficiency standards to EPC C or equivalent. Current regulations already include a number of available exemptions and we are looking to ensure appropriate exemptions are in place for any new standards. The consultation also sets out proposals about maximum non-compliance fines where no valid exemption applies.
Asked by: Connor Naismith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to inform members of the teachers pension scheme who are in (a) final salary and (b) career average schemes of their right to retire at 55.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The administrator for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme provides a new starter guide for all new members. The guide can be accessed here: https://www.teacherspensions.co.uk/-/media/documents/member/guides/new-starter-guide-2024.ashx?rev=9c420691700a46cf9d6661890f310aa3&hash=C05F7D56649239746FC32D1E56A96E62.
Page 7 of the guide explains that retirement benefits can be taken from age 55. The department is considering the impacts of the increase to Normal Minimum Pension Age from April 2028 and will communicate any resulting changes to those affected as soon as this is determined.