Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2024 to Question 17083 on Mental Health Services: Schools, whether planned aspects of provision of access to a specialist mental health professional in every school go beyond the plan to introduce Mental Health Support Teams.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in schools and colleges to reach 100% coverage by 2029/30. As the programme matures, the Department of Health and Social Care will work with the Department for Education to consider if there are ways the MHST offer can be improved to better support children and young people.
We also continue to work with the Department for Education to deliver our commitment of providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England. We are also working across Government and with NHS England to set up a network of community Young Futures hubs.
We are currently developing the 10-Year Health Plan with the public, staff, and patients. We continue to listen to emerging insights on children and young people’s mental health and are taking participants' concerns seriously. The consultation process has provided invaluable feedback, and we are in the process of exploring how we best take this forward.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, whether a branded lanyard ribbon will count toward the proposed limit on the number of branded school uniform items.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This measure limits the number of compulsory branded items of uniform that schools can require to three or under. Secondary schools and middle schools will have the option to include an additional compulsory branded item if one of those items is a tie.
The proposed legislation defines school uniform as a bag and any clothing required for school or for any lesson, club, activity or event facilitated by the school. Therefore, as it is not clothing or a bag, a branded lanyard ribbon would not count towards the limit on the number of branded school uniform items.
We also expect schools to follow existing statutory guidance which is clear that all branded items should be kept to a minimum and that schools should carefully consider whether any branded item is the most cost-effective way of achieving the desired result for their uniform.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the level of use by teachers of generative artificial intelligence to support lesson-planning and resource-creation or tailoring.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department launched a call for evidence on generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education, which sought views and experiences from practitioners, the Edtech sector and AI experts on the use of generative AI in education, including to support lesson planning and resource creation. The department published a report on the views of educators and experts on generative AI, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-in-education-educator-and-expert-views.
The department commissioned a ‘use cases for generative AI’ or ‘Hackathons’ project, working with Faculty Science Ltd in partnership with the National Institute of Teaching to assess possible uses for generative AI in education.
Following on from this, the department is now piloting an Edtech evidence board to bring together a group of experts to assess and evaluate the impact of Edtech tools, including generative AI tools, on teaching and learning against set criteria. This could then be shared with the sector to support and inform their technology choices.
In addition, the department provided £2 million funding to support Oak National Academy to develop AI tools for teachers. Oak has launched an AI lesson assistant, Aila, that can help teachers plan lessons.
The department is also funding Ofsted to gather insights from early-adopter schools and further education colleges on the use of AI and the role leaders are playing. The aim of this research is to provide an up-to-date assessment of what emerging practice is developing.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with teachers on the use of applications using generative artificial intelligence for (a) lesson-planning and (b) resource-generating.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, ministers and departmental officials engage extensively with teachers, leaders, support staff and experts to both respond to the implications of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies and to support schools to teach a knowledge-rich computing curriculum up to 16. In March, the Secretary of State for Education along with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology attended a department-sponsored Hackathon, a demonstration of AI tools, which explored how these can save time for teachers, leaders and support staff.
The department has adopted a collaborative and innovation-focused approach to testing where AI can be effective in supporting educational delivery through looking domestically and internationally to understand good practice and investing in programmes that generate evidence and build understanding of what works.
The AI content store project is pre-processing educational content and resources to support the creation of high-quality AI tools, initially for formative assessment, as part of the Innovate UK funding competition.
Following the department’s call for evidence on generative AI, we are developing online resources and guidance materials to support school AI safely, to be published this year. The Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching have been contracted to deliver these resources, developed collaboratively with the sector.
In addition, the department provided up to £2 million funding to support Oak National Academy to develop AI tools for teachers including an AI lesson planning assistant, Aila, that helps teachers create personalised lesson plans and resources in minutes, saving them hours.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 22 April 2025 to Questions 41031, 41032, 41033 and 41034 on Free School Meals: Primary Education, what estimate has she made of the average amount of funding from her Department for each pupil participating in the new school breakfast pilot.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is funding 750 early adopter schools to provide access to a free, universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes. Schools will receive a combination of set-up, fixed-term and per-pupil payments to cover staffing, delivery and food. Funding rates vary depending on uptake and pupil characteristics.
On average, a school with 50% take-up would receive around £23,000 for a full year. The funding model is designed to ensure that allocations reflect actual take up in early adopter schools.
A key aim of the early adopter programme is to test and learn about take-up across a diverse range of schools, to help inform future national rollout.
The department used existing programmes and cost data to determine the funding rates and methodology, which have been tested and refined with a number of schools. It is designed to ensure schools can meet the minimum expectations, including a 30 minute breakfast club with food that meets the school food standards.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answers of 22 April 2025 to Questions 41031, 41032, 41033 and 41034, on Free School Meals: Primary Education, whether her Department’s modelling for the breakfast club early adopter scheme assumes an average take up of 50 per cent.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is funding 750 early adopter schools to provide access to a free, universal breakfast club lasting at least 30 minutes. Schools will receive a combination of set-up, fixed-term and per-pupil payments to cover staffing, delivery and food. Funding rates vary depending on uptake and pupil characteristics.
On average, a school with 50% take-up would receive around £23,000 for a full year. The funding model is designed to ensure that allocations reflect actual take up in early adopter schools.
A key aim of the early adopter programme is to test and learn about take-up across a diverse range of schools, to help inform future national rollout.
The department used existing programmes and cost data to determine the funding rates and methodology, which have been tested and refined with a number of schools. It is designed to ensure schools can meet the minimum expectations, including a 30 minute breakfast club with food that meets the school food standards.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data her Department holds on trends in the level of usage of coach transport (a) over time and (b) by sector.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The National Travel Survey asks individuals how frequently they use different modes of transport. Reported frequency of use of coach travel is as follows:
Frequency of use of coach or express bus: England, 2003 onwards |
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| Less than once a year or never | Once or more per year but less than once a month | Once a month or more |
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2003 | 83% | 15% | 2% |
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2005 | 84% | 15% | 2% |
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2007 | 85% | 13% | 2% |
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2009 | 86% | 12% | 2% |
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2010 | 86% | 12% | 2% |
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2011 | 85% | 13% | 2% |
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2012 | 85% | 13% | 2% |
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2013 | 86% | 13% | 1% |
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2014 | 87% | 11% | 2% |
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2015 | 86% | 12% | 2% |
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2016 | 87% | 12% | 2% |
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2017 | 86% | 12% | 2% |
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2018 | 87% | 12% | 2% |
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2019 | 88% | 10% | 2% |
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2020 | 92% | 7% | 1% |
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2021 | 95% | 4% | 1% |
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2022 | 91% | 7% | 1% |
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2023 | 89% | 9% | 2% |
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These data are available only for the sector as a whole.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her Department’s policy that public examinations are handwritten other than (a) for candidates with (i) special educational needs and (ii) disabilities and (b) for practical skills.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The majority of GCSE and A level examinations are handwritten in England. The department has been working closely with Ofqual, the independent regulator of qualifications and assessments, to consider the potential benefits and risks of greater use of onscreen assessment in high stakes qualifications and to carry out research to understand the implications for schools and colleges, students and other stakeholders. The ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review will also continue to consider evidence on this topic. Any final decisions about the future of onscreen examinations over the long term will be informed by evidence and the views of stakeholders.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 31842 on Power Failures, what geographical segmentation data on power outage (a) incidence and (b) duration are available.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There is no geographical information available to be published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on power outage incidence and duration. However, Ofgem publishes data annually on the number of customer interruptions and the customer minutes lost due to power outages for each individual electricity Distribution Network Operator (which operate in different regions of Great Britain).
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answers of 9 April 2025 to Questions 43036 on Prison Accommodation: Closures and 43032 and 43033 on Prison Accommodation, what the gross addition to prison estate capacity was from (a) new-build prisons, (b) extensions, (c) rapid deployment cells and (d) other additions without netting off the removal of places in each year for which data is available.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category.
For the gross additions to prison estate capacity relating to (a) new-build prisons and (b) extensions, I refer you to the table provided in response to PQs 36624 & 36626. For gross additions relating to (c) rapid deployment cells, I refer you to the table provided in PQ 36625. The information requested for part (d) is not available in a format showing gross additions only. This is because this category contains significant turnover of prison places coming in and out of use for temporary reductions, such as maintenance projects, and it is not possible to distinguish the gross additional capacity added over this period.
Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. This week has also seen the opening HMP Millsike, which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners.