Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers and pupils are adequately equipped to use artificial intelligence tools safely and effectively in the classroom.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department is taking comprehensive action to ensure teachers and pupils are equipped to use artificial intelligence (AI) safely and effectively. Our Generative AI policy position sets clear guidance on the opportunities and risks of AI, and provides practical advice for safe, responsible use by educators. It emphasises that AI should enhance not replace high quality teaching and is informed by extensive evidence from educators, experts, parents and pupils.
We have also introduced updated Generative AI Product Safety Standards, announced at the UK Generative AI for Education Summit on Monday 19 January. These set out the safeguards AI developers must meet, including child centred design, enhanced filtering of harmful content, and protections for pupils’ cognitive and emotional wellbeing, ensuring tools are safe by design.
At Bett 2026 on Wednesday 21 January, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has committed to a five‑point plan for AI in education, including a strong focus on building the evidence for the safe and effective use of AI and technology tools to support pupils and teachers, and a new digital skills pathway for education staff.
Alongside this, we have published sector-developed support materials and are investing in evidence-based AI tools, helping schools adopt AI confidently, safely and in ways that support teaching and learning.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
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 improve access to mental health services for children in North East Somerset and Hanham.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan sets out ambitious plans to boost mental health support across the country, including children and young people’s mental health services in the North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
As prioritised in our Medium-Term Planning Framework, we are taking action to reduce the longest waits for specialist mental health support, tackling regional disparities, and expanding access, thereby making services more productive so children and young people spend less time waiting for the treatment they need.
We are also accelerating the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges to reach full national coverage by 2029. With an additional 900,000 children and young people having access by spring 2026, 60% of all pupils will have access to this early support at school, up from 44% in spring 2024. As part of this, we are investing an additional £13 million to pilot enhanced training for staff so that they can offer more effective support to young people with complex needs, such as trauma, neurodivergence, and disordered eating.
More widely, we are rolling out Young Futures Hubs. The Government’s first 50 Young Futures Hubs will bring together services at a local level to support children and young people, helping to ensure that young people can access early advice and wellbeing intervention. We will work to ensure that there is no wrong door for young people who need support with their mental health.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national strategy for modern foreign language teaching in the context of levels of take-up of modern foreign language GCSEs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework which early years providers are required to follow includes a requirement for babies to be placed down to sleep in line with the latest government safety guidance here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sudden-infant-death-syndrome-sids/
To make the existing requirements clearer for all the department plans to add in more detail to the EYFS frameworks. We have worked with safe sleep experts including the Lullaby Trust on proposed new wording. We plan to make these changes as soon as possible
The ‘Early years qualification requirements and standards’ document sets out the minimum qualification requirements, including the qualifications criteria at Levels 2 and 3, that staff must meet to be recognised as level 2, level 3 or level 6 members of staff for the purpose of working within the EYFS staff:child ratios. The document is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-qualification-requirements-and-standards.
Both the level 2 and level 3 criteria include knowledge of rest and sleep provision, with level 3 also including use of equipment, furniture and materials safely with regard for sleep safety.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure Bath and North East Somerset council, rated red, for the local highway authority’s road condition ratings, improves its performance.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department published a new traffic light rating system for all local highway authorities in England on 11 January which rates authorities red, amber or green based on: the condition of their roads; how effectively they spend their record Government funding; and, whether they do so using best practice. This system allows the Government to target support to those who need extra help; red-rated authorities will receive dedicated support to bring them in line with best practice, expert planning and capability assistance.
Bath and North East Somerset Council received an overall amber rating. Its three scorecards show red for condition, green for spend, and amber for wider best practice.
The Government recognises that historic underinvestment has made it difficult for authorities to maintain their roads in the way that they would want to. The Government has therefore confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government's investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year. By confirming funding allocations for the next four-year period, authorities have certainty to plan ahead and shift from short-term fixes to proactive, preventative maintenance.
Local authorities can further improve their ratings by adopting new innovative approaches trialled through the government's £30 million Live Labs 2 programme. This has been extended by a year to help councils access and adopt more innovative approaches to maintenance, including uptake of longer-lasting, low-carbon materials that reduce costs, emissions and disruption while keeping roads in better condition for longer.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support start ups in North East Somerset and Hanham constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 22nd of December 2025 to question UIN 99476.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent representations he has made to international partners on the protection of journalists and media freedom in conflict zones.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 7 July 2025 in response to Question 63314.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support AI development in the West of England.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is putting artificial intelligence at the heart of our mission to grow the UK economy. We are backing British researchers and firms and catalysing regional AI clusters so communities across the country, including in the West of England, can benefit.
We are opening a £250m procurement for the next phase of the AI Research Resource, our publicly owned supercomputers which can be used – for free – by UK researchers and business. One of the supercomputers, Isambard-AI, is based in Bristol and is one of the world’s top 10 public supercomputers and the 4th greenest.
The Government will act as a “first customer” for promising UK AI hardware through an advance market commitment of up to £100 million, giving UK companies the opportunity to grow and compete. We are also backing British scale‑ups via a new Sovereign AI Unit, supported by around £500 million, and driving local productivity through targeted skills and business adoption programmes that help SMEs adopt AI and equip workers with essential AI skills.
Together, these measures will place communities such as in the West of England in a strong position to seize the opportunities presented by AI.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Freeview TV distribution system remains available to all.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department is leading a project to assess the future of TV distribution and we are committed to maintaining access for all. Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is protected until at least 2034, safeguarding access for millions of households. Before any decision is made close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, especially those who rely on DTT as their primary means of watching television.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reform public procurement.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Since coming into office, this Government has published a new, more ambitious, National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) setting out our vision for public procurement aligned with the priorities in the Plan for Change.
To support the implementation of the NPPS in central government we introduced new measures including an updated and streamlined social value model. This includes new ‘fair work’ criteria to support our Make Work Pay agenda, and measures to support SMEs and VCSEs such as the publication of direct spend targets and regular spot-checks to enforce 30-day payment requirements.
Building on these actions, in Summer 2025, this Government consulted on further procurement reforms that aim to deliver economic growth and support local communities by driving better procurement outcomes, supporting British businesses, and creating good quality jobs. We will set out our response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Dan Norris (Independent - North East Somerset and Hanham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Mobility as a Service (MaaS) apps are in development using public funding; and which locations they cover.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is aware of several ‘Mobility as a Service’ apps at various stages of development and implementation across the country through regular engagement with local authorities. However, we do not maintain a comprehensive list of these. The geographic scope and funding models of such apps are a matter for local authorities.