Desmond Swayne

The department collects information from local authorities on penalty notices issued for unauthorised absence. This is published in the statistical release on Parental Responsibility Measures, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.

Information is not collected on the type of school the penalty notice relates to. Independent schools set their own attendance policies and penalty notices are not issued for pupils in these schools.

In England, in the 2022/23 academic year, 356,181 penalty notices were issued for unauthorised family holiday absence in state funded schools, including academies.

Pesticides are strictly regulated based on the risks and benefits of use. The Government will always take decisions according to these legal requirements and with full consideration of the evidence.

This government recognises that nature is at a crisis point across Britain. We will therefore change existing policies to prevent the use of those neonicotinoid pesticides that threaten our vital pollinators.

A temporary arrangement has been in place since 2018. The previous administration held a call for evidence last year and we will consider the evidence carefully before coming to a view.

EEA and Swiss citizens with pre-settled status have the same access to benefits as they did prior to the UK leaving the EU. They will be able to access income-related public fund benefits, such as Universal Credit, if they are exercising a qualifying right to reside in the UK, for example by being a worker. This is similar to the rules for UK citizens residing in EU member states on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement. The eligibility of claimants with pre-settled status is verified through the Habitual Residence Test.

We are aware of the challenges faced by those living with rare diseases such as Cauda Equina Syndrome and remain committed to making improvements across the healthcare system through implementation of the UK Rare Diseases Framework. The Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme is a national NHS England programme designed to improve the treatment and care of patients through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change. GIRFT’s work to raise awareness and support implementation of the NHS England pathway for patients with suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome is ongoing, and we have been encouraged to see signs of progress in many trusts across England since the pathway was shared in February 2023. Where trusts report barriers to implementation, for example, in the staffing of magnetic resonance imaging scanners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, we are working to support them by sharing best practice and recommendations to help ensure the pathway can be fully adhered to. We are undertaking a programme of stakeholder engagement events at the national, regional, system and site level to promote the benefits of the pathway.

The government is confident that United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is taking action to ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality and is strengthening its procedures. £1 million of the £21 million of UK funding announced in July is earmarked to support UNRWA to implement the management reforms recommended by the Colonna review. Together with other donors, we will continue to monitor UNRWA's progress on implementation of its action plan. The FCDO will also continue to conduct our own annual assessment of UK funding to UNRWA.