Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is considering changes to miscarriage care pathways, including earlier access to investigations and support for people who experience miscarriage.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving the care received by women and families through the pending maternity and neonatal national action plan, overseen by the Government’s National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce.
We welcome the report on the Tommy’s Graded Model of Miscarriage Care pilot study at Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital. As set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, will carefully consider the findings presented in the Tommy’s report as part of our broader work on miscarriage care.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with Tommy’s on the potential wider rollout of its Graded Model of Miscarriage Care.
Answered by Preet Kaur Gill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women’s Health and Mental Health (Baroness Merron) has previously met with Tommy’s regarding the Graded Model of Miscarriage Care, and officials have recently met with the charity to discuss its report and pilot study at Birmingham Women and Children’s Hospital.
As set out in the Women’s Health Strategy, we will carefully consider the findings presented in the Tommy’s report as part of our broader work on miscarriage care.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which limits on social media usage the Government is considering beyond a minimum age, including on addictive features, algorithmic amplification, and harmful content.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government will restrict harmful functionalities including communicating with strangers and creating livestreams for under-16s on online services, including gaming. These functionalities will also be off by default for 16 and 17 year olds. As the Secretary of State outlined, she is also considering implementing an overnight curfew by default on social media for 16 and 17 year olds, as well as addressing persuasive features such as infinite scroll with further default restrictions.
The Government is committed to addressing functionalities posing the greatest risks to children. Further announcements will be made in July.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what measures are being taken to ensure age verification on social media platforms is effective in preventing their usage by under-16s.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Age assurance technologies play a critical role in protecting children online.
The Secretary of State has asked Ofcom to launch a rapid assessment of what constitutes highly effective age assurance for establishing whether someone is over 16, as part of the announcement to ban social media companies from offering their services to under 16s.
In its assessment, Ofcom will consider how age assurance can be highly effective while avoiding excluding users without passports and driving licenses. This assessment will also prioritise data protection in the context of age assurance.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, a) what tools Government can use to ensure big technology companies comply with the new proposals, b) enforce strong age verification systems, and c) make their social media platforms safer for the wider public.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom has strong enforcement powers under the Online Safety Act 2023 and has the government’s support to use the full range of the powers available to it. These powers will support the effective enforcement of the ban on social media companies from offering their services to under 16s, and requirements such as robust age assurance.
The Secretary of State wrote to Ofcom’s leadership this week to make clear that enforcement of the Act, and these new protections, must be treated as a top priority.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what alternative models of compensating Coastguard Rescue Officers for training, operational duties and emergency callouts were considered before the Maritime and Coastguard Agency decided to remove hourly remuneration.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Changing the Coastguard Rescue Service operating model was not something which we wanted to do but is a mandated consequence of the Court of Appeal ruling. The revised model is due to be implemented in September 2026.
Public safety remains our priority and careful consideration was given to the options for a revised operating model. The legal position, the operational implications, and the wider organisational impact have all been looked at in detail, as well as the views of current Coastguard Rescue Officers. They were clear that serving their community was a major reason why they volunteer.
Contingency plans are in place to enable the continuation of maritime and coastal search and rescue.
Coastguard Rescue Officers will continue to receive training, equipment and operational support as well as uniforms and personal protective equipment as they do today.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will request the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to pause the implementation of changes to Coastguard Rescue Officer remuneration while further consultation with Coastguard Rescue Officers and their teams takes place.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Changing the Coastguard Rescue Service operating model was not something which we wanted to do but is a mandated consequence of the Court of Appeal ruling. The revised model is due to be implemented in September 2026.
Public safety remains our priority and careful consideration was given to the options for a revised operating model. The legal position, the operational implications, and the wider organisational impact have all been looked at in detail, as well as the views of current Coastguard Rescue Officers. They were clear that serving their community was a major reason why they volunteer.
Contingency plans are in place to enable the continuation of maritime and coastal search and rescue.
Coastguard Rescue Officers will continue to receive training, equipment and operational support as well as uniforms and personal protective equipment as they do today.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has conducted an equality impact assessment of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s decision to remove hourly remuneration for Coastguard Rescue Officers.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Changing the Coastguard Rescue Service operating model was not something which we wanted to do but is a mandated consequence of the Court of Appeal ruling. The revised model is due to be implemented in September 2026.
Public safety remains our priority and careful consideration was given to the options for a revised operating model. The legal position, the operational implications, and the wider organisational impact have all been looked at in detail, as well as the views of current Coastguard Rescue Officers. They were clear that serving their community was a major reason why they volunteer.
Contingency plans are in place to enable the continuation of maritime and coastal search and rescue.
Coastguard Rescue Officers will continue to receive training, equipment and operational support as well as uniforms and personal protective equipment as they do today.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has made of the potential impact of ending hourly remuneration for Coastguard Rescue Officers on team availability for emergency callouts.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Changing the Coastguard Rescue Service operating model was not something which we wanted to do but is a mandated consequence of the Court of Appeal ruling. The revised model is due to be implemented in September 2026.
Public safety remains our priority and careful consideration was given to the options for a revised operating model. The legal position, the operational implications, and the wider organisational impact have all been looked at in detail, as well as the views of current Coastguard Rescue Officers. They were clear that serving their community was a major reason why they volunteer.
Contingency plans are in place to enable the continuation of maritime and coastal search and rescue.
Coastguard Rescue Officers will continue to receive training, equipment and operational support as well as uniforms and personal protective equipment as they do today.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool West Derby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government intends to introduce accountability mechanisms in legislation to ensure that the National Inclusion Standards and updated SEND Code of Practice lead to improvements in outcomes for pupils with SEND in mainstream settings; and how the Department intends to monitor and evaluate compliance by schools and local authorities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department plans to introduce National Inclusion Standards, which we propose should set out minimum standards all settings must adhere to, including a range of evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
We are investing £1.6 billion in an Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years, placing conditions on this funding to ensure it is used to support schools in moving towards practices that are inclusive by design. We will also place a duty on schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy, outlining what they will provide to remove barriers to learning. Ofsted will be able to draw on Inclusion Strategies to assess how leaders are delivering on inclusion and how staff are equipped to deliver it.
An updated SEND Code of Practice (subject to consultation and passage of legislation) will clarify responsibilities for education settings and local partners, with a stronger emphasis on evidence-based support and a whole setting approach to inclusion.
There will be a new remit for the Children’s Commissioner to oversee and scrutinise the implementation of SEND reforms. We are currently in the process of exploring and defining the options for this role.