Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent guidance her Department has provided on best practice for (a) responding to disclosures of bullying and (b) managing complex cases of bullying in schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

All schools are legally required to have a behaviour policy with measures to prevent all forms of bullying. They have the freedom to develop their own anti-bullying strategies appropriate to their environment and are held to account by Ofsted.

The department has published guidance for schools, which outlines schools’ responsibilities to support children who are bullied. These responsibilities to support children who are bullied include where bullying has a severe impact and the bullying incident should be addressed as a child protection concern under the Children Act 1989, where there is reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering, or where a child is likely to suffer significant harm. The guidance makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional and mental health needs. The guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.

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 is taking to help mitigate the risk from Asian hornets to bees.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Contingency action has been taken against the Yellow-Legged Hornet (YLH) since the first GB incursion in 2016. Contingency action is delivered on the ground by the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s National Bee Unit (NBU). The NBU have located and destroyed 1-4 nests each year since 2016. However, in 2023 72 nests were located and destroyed.

Genetic analysis of hornet samples is carried out to inform the response for the following year. From the analysis of samples from 2023, some areas were identified where there was a risk that hornet queens may have been released, overwintered and created new nests in the spring.

In 2024 the NBU carried out spring trapping at these locations and caught a small number of lone hornets. Results from analyses of these hornets provided evidence that hornets had overwintered. However, this is not considered to be evidence of YLH being established in GB.

From August 2024 the NBU have been responding to credible sightings of YLH and as of 7th October 2024, have located and destroyed 19 YLH nests.

Raising awareness is a key aspect of the response, allowing swift and effective action to be taken to stamp out the threat posed by Asian hornets.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of which initiatives in Bus Service Improvement Plans create the highest levels of modal shift.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

It is too early in the lifetime of the Bus Service Improvement Plans programme to fully understand which initiatives have had the most impact.

The Department for Transport has commissioned an evaluation of the Bus Service Improvement Plan Programme, a £1.1 billion tranche of funding that has been allocated to 34 Local Transport Authorities (LTAs) across England. The work will answer questions around how effectively the plans were delivered, the scheme's impact on bus usage, and its value for money. It will also include an assessment of the scheme’s impact on increasing passenger numbers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to recruit more dentists in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are determined to rebuild National Health Service dentistry, but it will take time and there are no quick fixes. Strengthening the workforce is key to our ambitions.

Integrated care boards have started to advertise posts through the Golden Hello scheme. This recruitment incentive will see up to 240 dentists receiving payments of £20,000 to work in those areas that need them most, for three years.

To rebuild dentistry in the long term, we will reform the dental contract with the sector, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of railway engineering works on the economy in the South West in December 2024.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Network Rail’s programme of railway upgrades in December is crucial to ensure its Western route continues to run reliably and safely. Economic impact assessments are not routinely undertaken for major engineering work, however, where work is likely to result in disruption the planning assumption is that it is undertaken when the railway is least used.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help support (a) residents and (b) businesses without a broadband connection ahead of the proposed public switched telephone network switch-off in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The government is focused on ensuring that the industry-led switch-off of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) will cause minimum inconvenience to residents and businesses and is working with the industry to ensure safe and secure transition. A customer's PSTN landline will not be switched off unless an alternative connection is available, and since Voice over internet Protocol landline only requires a minimum stable connection, landline-only customers can order it without purchasing a broadband connection.

The Department will shortly publish a definition of customers who will require additional support from their communication providers during the PSTN switch-off. This includes landline-dependent customers. The government has also published guidance on how residential and business consumers can prepare for the PSTN switch-off. The link for guidance is:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/uk-transition-from-analogue-to-digital-landlines

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support small businesses in rural areas in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Small businesses are the beating heart of our high streets, our communities, and essential to our economic success. This Government will hardwire the voice of small business into everything we do.

Businesses in North East Somerset and Hanham can access support through the West of England Growth Hub, which provides businesses of all sizes and sectors with advice and support throughout the business journey.

The Government provides further support for small businesses through Business Support Service, Help to Grow, the UK Export Academy, International Trade Advisors, the Export Support Service, and the British Business Bank.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve broadband coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 98% of premises in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency have access to superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 86% can access a gigabit-capable (>1000 Mbps) connection.

Remaining premises that are not expected to receive an upgrade through suppliers’ commercial rollout are being considered for support through Project Gigabit. Under a framework agreement with Openreach, we plan to procure a contract to deliver fast, reliable broadband to eligible premises in the area.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone coverage in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to improving UK mobile coverage. Ofcom’s reporting shows that 92% of the then constituency of North East Somerset had 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile operators, and non-standalone 5G is available from at least one mobile operator outside 94% of premises. I am aware that Ofcom’s data does not always reflect consumers’ experience at a local level, and I am intent on ensuring Ofcom takes all necessary steps to improve its accuracy.

Our ambition is for all populated areas to have high-quality standalone 5G by 2030, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right policy and regulatory framework to support investment and competition.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to prevent trail hunting on land (a) owned and (b) managed by his Department.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

This Government was elected on a mandate to introduce the most ambitious plans to improve animal welfare in a generation, including the banning of trail hunting. Licenses to trail hunt on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land are currently under Ministerial review. To date, no licenses to trail hunt on MOD land have been granted for the 2024-25 hunting season, pending Ministerial review.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with national park authorities where trail hunting takes place.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

This is a devolved matter with regard to Scotland and Northern Ireland; hunting with dogs is a reserved matter with respect to Wales and therefore, the information provided relates to England and Wales only.

The Government committed to enacting a ban on Trail Hunting in line with our manifesto commitment. Work to determine the best approach for doing so is ongoing and is at a very early stage. Initial discussions have been held with officials from other departments but, to date, none have taken place with the National Parks Authorities.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support research into artificial intelligence.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Government actively supports AI research by collaborating with academic institutions and industry, investing in talent development, and funding research projects.

UKRI has allocated over £1 billion to AI research including doctoral training, the Alan Turing Institute, Bridge AI, Responsible AI UK, and BRAID programmes.

We are focused on reducing barriers to research through initiatives such as AISI’s Systemic Safety Grants Programme, which provides funding of up to £200,000 to innovative projects addressing AI risks.