Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what is his planned timetable for the consultation on a new Permitted Development Right for subdividing houses into two flats.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
Announcements will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of early intervention mental health support in schools for children and young people.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The mental health of children is a priority for this government, and the department understands that early intervention in schools can play a vital role. The department is committed to ensuring schools and colleges are safe, calm and supportive environments which promote and support mental wellbeing.
The department knows that school-based provision such as counselling works best in schools that take a whole-school approach, with all staff clear about how mental health is supported. That is why the department is offering senior mental health lead training grants to all state schools by 2025, with over 14,400 settings claiming a grant so far.
The department is also extending NHS Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) to cover at least 50% of pupils in schools and learners in further education by spring 2025. These teams deliver direct interventions for mild to moderate mental health needs, support education staff with their whole-school approach, and liaise with external specialists to help children and young people get the right support. The MHSTs programme received early independent evaluation, available at: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/brace/projects/children-and-young-people%27s-mental-health-trailblazer-programme.aspx. An independent impact evaluation of both MHSTs and the senior mental health lead training programme is expected in 2026.
Bodies such as the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) have also produced reports reviewing the effectiveness of a variety of mental health interventions. A 2021 report from the EIF is available at: https://www.eif.org.uk/report/adolescent-mental-health-a-systematic-review-on-the-effectiveness-of-school-based-interventions.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children and young people with SEND are able to access appropriate support.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March, the department outlined its commitment for children and young people with SEND (or attending alternative provision) to enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes and feel well prepared for adulthood and employment.
The department will give families greater confidence that their child will be able to fulfil their potential through improved mainstream provision in their local setting and strengthened accountability across the system so that everyone is held to account for supporting children and young people with SEND. For those children and young people with SEND who do require an Education, Health and Care plan and specialist provision, the department will ensure they get access to the support they need, and that parents do not face an adversarial system to secure this.
High needs revenue funding will rise to £10.5 billion in 2024-25, a 60% increase on 2019/20 allocations. An additional £2.6 billion of funding will support local authorities to deliver new places in mainstream, special schools and alternative provision and to improve the suitability of existing buildings. Through the £70 million Change Programme, the department is testing and refining the Improvement Plan reforms to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people with SEND and their families.
The department is committed to improving the supply, training and deployment of key workforces, to make the best use of professional expertise, at whatever age or stage it is needed, and prevent needs from escalating. This includes training up to 7,000 early years specialists and investing a further £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists.
To ensure teachers have the knowledge and skills to deliver high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND, the department is implementing a ‘golden thread’ of evidence-based teacher training reforms from initial teacher training through to an early career framework based induction and on to National Professional Qualifications (NPQ) for more experienced teachers. This support includes the introduction of a new leadership level NPQ for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators that will begin teaching in autumn 2024.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided to Hertfordshire County Council for the delivery of their statutory responsibilities to (a) SEND children and (b) their families in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
High needs funding for the provision of education for children and young people with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is increasing by 60% from the 2019/20 allocations to over £10.5 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. The department has announced provisional 2024/25 high needs allocations for local authorities. Hertfordshire County Council’s allocation is £187 million, which is £8.4 million more than the Council will receive this year, a cumulative increase of 29% per head over the three years from 2021/22.
Funding for other services for children with SEND and their families is provided to local authorities through the local government finance settlement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that dogs with similar characteristics to the American XL Bully are not incorrectly affected by the new ban.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
During the transition period, it is up to owners to identify whether they think their dog may be in scope of the XL Bully ban and whether they wish to apply for a Certificate of Exemption. We recommend taking a precautionary approach. If they are unsure if their dog is a XL Bully or whether any puppies may grow up to be of this dog type, owners should comply with the relevant requirements and restrictions as they come into force. The definition and guidance have been published on gov.uk to help owners and enforcement officers understand whether a dog should be defined as an XL Bully. Dog Legislation Officers are responsible for identifying prohibited breed types for the purposes of Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and enforcing the ban once it comes into force. We will be supporting the police to deliver additional training to Dog Legislation Officers to ensure they are upskilled and able to consistently apply the breed standard for the XL Bully breed type.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders on the definition of an XL bully type dog.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra convened a group of experts and other stakeholders to define the physical characteristics of the breed type. This included representatives from the police, local authorities, devolved administrations and the Animal Welfare Committee, which advises the Government on animal welfare issues. The definition and guidance have been published on Gov.uk to help the police and owners understand whether a dog should be defined as an XL Bully.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help support veterinary practices following the ban on American XL Bully dogs.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has produced specific guidance for vets relating to their role in the neutering and euthanasia of XL Bully dogs. Vets can refer to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Code of Conduct with regard to their professional responsibilities.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage students to take up STEM subjects.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department is investing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels to ensure people have access to high quality teaching and can access career opportunities in STEM related sectors. The Department is working with other Government Departments through the UK Science & Technology Framework to deliver talent and skills for critical technologies.
The Department funds several programmes to encourage young people into STEM, including:
The Department also supports the STEM ambassadors programme, which inspires young people from underrepresented backgrounds to engage with STEM subjects. Secondary schools are also expected to provide pupils with at least one meaningful interaction with employers per pupil per year, with a focus on STEM employers.
The Department is harnessing expertise through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce to increase the number of people taking digital and computing qualifications and to attract a diverse range of individuals into digital jobs. The Department is also investing over £100 million in the National Centre for Computing Education to improve the teaching of computing and to increase participation in computer science at GCSE and A level.
The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths works with a network of 40 maths hubs to help local schools improve the quality of their teaching. In April, the Prime Minister announced that every young person will study some form of mathematics up to the age of 18, and that the Department will expand and extend the work of maths hubs.
The Prime Minister also recently announced plans to develop a new baccalaureate-style qualification called the Advanced British Standard (ABS) for 16 to 19 year-olds, which will bring together the best of A levels and T Levels into a single qualification, and ensure students continue with some form of mathematics and English study until they are 18.
The Department is making a £600 million downpayment for the ABS, focused on recruiting and retaining teachers in key STEM and technical shortage subjects, ensuring better attainment in mathematics and English, and providing better resources for teachers and pupils. As part of this, it is investing around £100 million a year to give early career STEM teachers, working in disadvantaged schools and all further education colleges up to £6,000 tax free annually on top of their pay, and an additional £60 million over two years to improve mathematics education. This will help to ensure our young people receive high quality specialist teaching to equip them with the mathematics and science skills the UK needs.
The Department also funds the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme which delivers high quality teacher professional development as well as focused support and enrichment for students and institutions to improve participation and provision in level 3 mathematics.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to become mathematics teachers.
Answered by Nick Gibb
There are now over 468,000 full time equivalent (FTE) teachers in state-funded schools in England, an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010. This makes it the highest FTE of teachers since the School Workforce Census began in 2010.
The Department knows there is further to go to improve recruitment in some subjects, including mathematics. This is why the Department has put in place a range of measures, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax free, to encourage talented trainees to teach mathematics, as well as physics, chemistry and computing. The initial teacher training financial incentives package for the 2024/25 recruitment cycle is worth up to £196 million, a £15 million increase on the last cycle.
Asked by: Dean Russell (Conservative - Watford)
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 publish a dental recovery plan.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are currently working on a plan for dentistry, to be published shortly, to improve access to dental care across England. There are several fronts where we need to take further action to support and recover activity in National Health Service dentistry, to improve access to care for all ages.
Our plan for dentistry will build upon the first package of reforms agreed in July 2022, which included changes to banding and the introduction of a minimum Units of Dental Activity value, and the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which committed to increasing dentistry training places by 40% so that there are over 1,100 places by 2031/32.
Our plan will address how we continue to improve access, particularly for new patients, and how we make NHS work more attractive to ensure NHS dentists are incentivised to deliver more NHS care.