Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, for what reason designated sixth form colleges are not receiving the same funding for staff pay awards as sixth form college academies.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring there is a thriving post-16 sector, which is vital to our missions to break down the barriers to opportunity and boost economic growth.
Sixth form colleges (SFCs), rather than government, are responsible for setting and negotiating the pay of their staff. Colleges are not bound by the national pay and conditions framework for schoolteachers. Along with further education (FE) colleges, SFCs were incorporated under the terms of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, which gave them autonomy over the pay and contractual terms and conditions of their staff.
Maintained schools and academies are funded on an equivalent basis, meaning 16 to 19 academies received this funding, whilst SFCs that remain in the FE sector did not. All SFCs have been free to apply to convert to academy status since 2022.
At the Autumn Budget 2024, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer set out an additional £300 million revenue funding for FE in the 2025/26 financial year to ensure young people are gaining the education and skills this country needs. The department has recently announced that it is making approximately £50 million of this funding available to statutory FE providers, including SFCs, for April to July 2025. This one-off grant will enable colleges and SFCs to respond to current priorities and challenges as they see fit, including workforce recruitment and retention.
The remaining funding will be made available in 16 to 19 funding rates for the 2025/26 academic year, with the aim of ensuring that all 16 to 19 providers are funded on an equitable basis from 2025 to 2026.
This builds on the department’s investment to extend targeted retention incentive payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers, including SFC teachers, in key subject areas. The department is also delivering funding to support those young people who do not pass mathematics and English GCSE at 16, who are predominantly studying in FE.
The department will continue to offer financial incentives for those undertaking teacher training for the FE sector in priority subject areas. We confirmed that FE teacher training bursaries will be offered for a further year, worth up to £31,000 each, tax free in the 2025/26 academic year.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of removing the two-child benefit cap.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We cannot currently commit to ending the two-child limit. However, tackling child poverty, as the last Labour Government did, is at the heart of this Government’s missions. The Child Poverty Taskforce is exploring all available levers, including social security reform.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to introduce a new plan to help reduce childhood obesity.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The prevention of ill health is a clear priority for the Government, and the cornerstone of this is supporting children to live healthier lives. We face a childhood obesity crisis, and the Government will take action to tackle the root causes of obesity head on, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
We have already laid secondary legislation to restrict advertisements of less healthy food and drink to children on television and online, we have announced changes to the planning framework for fast food near schools, and we are taking steps to ensure the Soft Drinks Industry Levy remains effective and fit-for-purpose. Further action on obesity under the Government’s Health Mission will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessments his Department has made of the (a) functionality and (b) operational effectiveness of the Border Target Operating Model.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra continues to monitor and review the impact of the Border Target Operating Model. We are working closely with industry, trade partners and enforcement agencies to minimise disruption and costs to trade, while continuing to protect our biosecurity.
The effectiveness of the import controls was demonstrated throughout September and October 2024 by the interception at Sevington of consignments of plants infested with Pochazia Shantungensis, a fruit tree pest native to China but now present in mainland Europe. The consignments were destroyed, preventing the potential for a damaging outbreak for UK fruit growers.
In January 2025, following a confirmed case of Foort and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Germany, Defra has issued instructions to officials at Border Control Posts, ensuring all impacted commodities are selected for checks at the border. Such measures prevent significant economic losses due to production losses in the affected animals such as reduced milk yields as well as loss of access to foreign markets for animals, meat and milk for affected countries.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to tackle the shortage of social care packages in (a) Royal Hampshire County Hospital and (b) Winchester.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the needs of their population, which is why, under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are tasked with the duty to shape their care market and to commission services to meet the diverse needs of all local people. In performing that duty, a local authority must have regard to current and likely future demand for such services and consider how providers might meet that demand.
The Market Sustainability and Improvement Fund includes grant conditions which require each local authority to submit an adult social care capacity plan. These were submitted to the Department in June 2024.
The Government is supporting local authorities by making available up to £3.7 billion of additional funding for social care authorities in 2025/26, which includes an £880 million increase in the Social Care Grant.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost of agency staff employed by Royal Hampshire County Hospital was in the last 12 months.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not available. Information regarding expenditure on agency staffing will be held locally by the National Health Service trust, the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. NHS England collects some information on the staffing expenditure of NHS bodies, but this information has not been centrally validated.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average wait time in the Royal Hampshire County Hospital's Accident and Emergency department was between December 2024 and January 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data is not available in the format requested. The latest provisional published data for the median average time spent at emergency departments at the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for November 2024 was 218 minutes. Information relating to December 2024 will be published on 13 February 2025.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to maintain the Mental Health Investment Standard.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Operational and Planning Guidance for 2024/25 makes clear that integrated care boards are expected to continue to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard by increasing their investment in mental health services in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will set out expectations for mental health funding, including its share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of extra NHS funding announced at the budget will be allocated to NHS mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Operational and Planning Guidance for 2024/25 makes clear that integrated care boards are expected to continue to meet the Mental Health Investment Standard by increasing their investment in mental health services in line with their overall increase in funding for the year.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care will set out expectations for mental health funding, including its share of overall National Health Service expenditure in 2025/26, in due course, as required under section 3(2) of the Health and Care Act 2022.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
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 integrate accredited (a) counsellors and (b) psychotherapists into mental health support teams for students.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and that waits for mental health services are far too long. We will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school so that mental health conditions, such as anxiety and depression, can be identified early on and prevented from developing into more serious conditions in later life. We are working with our colleagues at NHS England and the Department for Education to consider options to deliver this commitment.
Department for Education guidance encourages mental health support teams to work with other existing professionals, such as school or college-based counsellors, educational psychologists, school nurses, pastoral care, educational welfare officers, voluntary, community and social enterprise organisations, local authority provision, primary care, and NHS Children and Young People Mental Health services.