Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Royal National Institute of Blind People's research entitled Provision under pressure: Gaps in Educational Support for Children and Young People with Vision Impairment in England (2023), published in February 2024; and what steps her Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure that children and young people with vision impairment have equitable access to education.

Answered by David Johnston

The department’s ambition is that all children and young people receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan outlines the government’s mission to establish a single, national SEND and AP system, with the proposal to develop national standards a fundamental foundation for this.

This new single national system will set standards on what support should be made available in mainstream settings, including for children with vision impairment. The National Standards will outline the types of special educational provision that should be available, who is responsible for delivering that support, and clarify expectations on mainstream settings and local services. To inform national standards, the department is engaging with stakeholders across education, health and social care, as well as children, young people and their families, this includes members of the Royal National Institute of Blind People.

The department is committed to ensuring a steady supply of teachers of children with vision impairment in both specialist and mainstream settings. To teach a class of pupils with vision impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification for sensory impairment (MQSI). There are currently six providers of the MQSI, with a seventh from September 2024. The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) is developing a new occupational standard for teachers of sensory impairment, expected to be available from September 2025. Children and young people with special educational needs have more access to assistive technology following investment in remote education and accessibility features, which can reduce or remove barriers to learning. ​

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to help strengthen (a) the quality of service targets in the universal service obligation and (b) the effectiveness of Ofcom's enforcement of those targets by Royal Mail.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator, to monitor and enforce Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation. The Government does not have a role in Ofcom’s regulatory decisions.

Ofcom fined Royal Mail £5.6m for failing to meet its obligations in 2022/23. It continues to hold Royal Mail to account and has said it will take appropriate further enforcement action as required in response to failure to meet quality of service targets. I have also raised concerns with Royal Mail’s parent company and will continue do so if service levels fail to improve.

I note that Ofcom’s recent call for inputs on the future of the universal postal service set out the importance of reliability and affordability in consumers’ expectations for postal services and that it will consider if further safeguards are necessary to ensure people’s needs are met.

Found: Feryal Clark MP (Labour, Enfield North); Sir Robert Goodwill MP (Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby); Helen

Found: Clark MP ( Labour, Enfield North ), Sir Robert Goodwill MP ( Conservative, Scarborough and Whitby ), Helen

Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 24 April 2024 36 Not called _NC40 Helen Hayes Ms Marie Rimmer Florence