Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to reply to correspondence of 5 February 2025 from the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire on healthcare in Northstowe.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I replied to the Hon. Member on 28 March 2025.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help schools deliver (a) physical education and (b) school sports initiatives.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 36741.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the infrastructure available to provide (a) physical education and (b) outdoor activities in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Physical education (PE) is a foundation subject that is compulsory at all four key stages in the national curriculum. As part of the national curriculum, pupils should be taught in key stages two, three and four to take part in outdoor and adventurous activities. This government is committed to securing the infrastructure needed to protect time for PE in schools and to support the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport.
To support schools to provide opportunities for pupils to access high quality PE and sport, the government has committed £320 million for the primary PE and sport premium this academic year, 2024/25, benefiting over 18,000 schools and around 3.9 million pupils in England. The department also launched an open procurement for a new grant programme from spring 2025, of up to £300,000 a year. This will focus on improving and increasing PE, school sport and physical activity opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
In July 2024, the government commissioned Professor Becky Francis CBE to convene and chair a panel of experts to conduct the Curriculum and Assessment Review. The interim report has been published and the final report is due in autumn 2025. The interim report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to Skills England’s report entitled Skills England: driving growth and widening opportunities, published on 24 September 2024, what steps she has taken to support cross-departmental working by Skills England (a) in general and (b) to provide training on green skills to employees in sectors that plan to decarbonise.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In September 2024, Skills England published their first report, titled, ‘Skills England: Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’. This report sets out Skills England’s role, the key skills challenges that limit economic growth and opportunity, and an initial assessment of skills needs in the economy.
Part of Skills England’s role is to ensure that skills sit at the heart of joined-up decision making across government. This includes working closely with:
i) The Industrial Strategy Council, so that we have the skilled workforce needed to deliver a clear, long-term plan for the future economy.
ii) The Department for Work on Pensions, on the government’s plan to Get Britain Working.
iii) The Migration Advisory Committee, so that growing the domestic skills pipeline reduces our reliance on overseas workers.
iv) Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to ensure that regional skills needs are met and there is alignment with national priorities.
v) The devolved administrations, to ensure join-up across the UK.
vi) The full range of central government departments including the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), which has set up the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to meet our clean energy superpower mission.
Skills England will ensure that skills development aligns with the UK’s carbon emission and environmental targets, working in partnership with businesses, educational institutions, and regional and local organisations. Following the publication of its first report, Skills England consulted over 700 employers and other key stakeholders, including from the green economy, on their skills needs and priorities for training funded through the new growth and skills offer.
To meet carbon emission and environmental targets, skills training programmes must respond to the demands of a low-carbon economy, with qualifications and training pathways designed to directly address the ways in which jobs will change. Skills England will work with businesses and other government departments to help develop understanding of the importance of this shift including for employers and training providers.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has (a) evaluated the effectiveness and (b) undertaken a lessons learned review of the Green Jobs Delivery Group.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have been building on the progress that the Green Jobs Delivery Group previously made by setting up the Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ). The OCEJ has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions.
The Department has undertaken lessons learned exercises of the work undertaken by, and to support the Green Jobs Delivery Group. This included an informal assessment of its effectiveness. The outputs have informed the establishment of the OCEJ and its work.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Office for Clean Energy Jobs makes use of the research and evidence collected by the Green Jobs Delivery Group.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is committed to ensuring that research and evidence gathered by the former Green Jobs Delivery Group directly inform its initiatives. In December 2024 we published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, accompanied by an Annex titled Assessment of the Clean Energy Skills Challenge. This Annex provides a comprehensive analysis of the skills landscape within the clean energy sector, highlighting workforce challenges and opportunities. We continue to engage with industry, unions, and educational bodies to ensure our policies align with latest labour market intelligence and effectively address workforce challenges in the clean energy sector.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
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 plans to encourage the (a) reuse and (b) repair of items to help create a circular economy.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The Strategy will map our transition to a circular economy, supported by a series of roadmaps that detail the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis.
Defra recognises that reuse and repair are fundamental tenets of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to eliminate waste and promote sustainability through reuse and resource efficiency. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the Strategy.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to p.57 of the report by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award entitled Youth Voices, published 23 July 2024, if she will make it her policy to ensure that the views of young people are represented (a) at all levels of policy and decision-making and (b) in decisions on issues that affect young people.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
This Government recognises the value of effective youth participation in decision making at all levels. We understand this leads to impactful policy locally, regionally and nationally.
Youth consultation opportunities are being held across various government departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to shape policies on youth employment, communities, and environmental improvement.
We are currently co-producing the National Youth Strategy in partnership with young people and the youth sector. DCMS has already conducted Ministerial roundtables with young people and over the coming months will conduct a number of different engagement activities with young people, including focus groups. We launched a national survey on 5 March 2025 to ask young people about their issues and priorities.
We have also produced an engagement toolkit so MPs can run their own workshops and discussions with young people, or share this toolkit with organisations in their constituencies who work with young people.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues ahead of the publication of the Immigration White Paper.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Secretary is in regular dialogue with colleagues about all aspects of her responsibilities within the Government’s Plan for Change.
Asked by: Ian Sollom (Liberal Democrat - St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had recent discussions with pharmaceutical companies on taking steps to ensure an adequate supply of hormone replacement therapies for women experiencing the menopause.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department manages medicine supply issues at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information on stock levels within Cambridgeshire is not held centrally.
Previously, there have been issues with the supply of a limited number of these products, primarily driven by very sharp increases in demand. Following the Department’s intensive engagement with industry, the supply position has improved considerably. As part of this we have met with suppliers on a very regular basis and have held nine hormone replacement therapy (HRT) supply roundtables since April 2022, with the most recent in September 2024, with suppliers, wholesalers, and community pharmacists, to provide updates on the supply position and the actions being taken to address the issues, share data, and discuss relevant policy developments and their potential impacts.
There are over 70 HRT products, and the vast majority are in good supply. Where there are issues with HRT products, we continue to work closely with suppliers and other stakeholders, such as the National Health Service and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, to expedite resupply dates of disrupted products to resolve the issues as soon as possible