Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of taking (a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps to help improve lithium-ion battery safety; including in the planning application process for new battery energy storage systems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive within a robust framework which requires battery designers, installers, and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety through all stages of the system’s deployment.
Government has updated planning practice guidance to encourage BESS developers to engage with local fire services and for local planning authorities to refer to guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Government has considered the merits of taking further steps, and in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan committed that Defra will consult by June 2025 on including BESS within the Environmental Permitting Regulations.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a weekly cap on domiciliary care costs.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We announced on 3 January 2025 that we are launching an independent commission into adult social care as part of our critical first steps towards delivering a National Care Service.
Chaired by Baroness Louise Casey and reporting to the Prime Minister, the Commission will work with people who draw on care and their families, staff, politicians, and the public, private and third sector to make clear recommendations for how to rebuild the adult social care system to meet the current and future needs of the population.
The Commission will be comprehensive and will build on the expert proposals of other reviews, including that of Sir Andrew Dilnot into care funding and support. It will be broader and wider than ever before, asking essential questions about the shape and future of the social care sector, including what long-term and sustainable funding solutions should look like.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department is encouraging developers to make provisions for (a) hedgehogs and (b) other wildlife.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The revised National Planning Policy Framework we published on 12 December 2024 expects developments to provide net gains for biodiversity, including through incorporating features which support priority or threatened species such as swifts, bats and hedgehogs.
Hedgehog highways are identified in the National Model Design Code and Planning Practice Guidance as a feature to enable movement between development sites, and Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework sets out how development can incorporate a range of nature friendly features including bricks with a hole which can benefit sparrows, tree sparrows, swifts, starling, and bats.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will amend planning regulations to facilitate converting holiday lodges into permanent primary homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is for local planning authorities to consider whether holiday lodges would be suitable to become permanent primary homes. Where a holiday lodge is judged to be unsuitable for use as a permanent home, for example due to its size, location or access to amenities, a local planning authority can attach conditions to the grant of planning permission which restricts the use of the property.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with members of ForThe100 to discuss duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer my hon. Friend the member for Rushcliffe to the answer of 08 January 2025 to Question 21515.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that all further education colleges comply with (a) accessibility regulations on (i) access to assistive technology and (ii) the use of accessible design in learning resources and (b) other accessibility regulations.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring that all learners, including learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life and supports them to achieve positive outcomes.
Further education (FE) colleges must endeavour to secure the special educational provision that students need.
In addition, colleges also have duties and obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that they are acting inclusively and not discriminating against disabled students. As with other FE providers, colleges are obliged to make reasonable adjustments to ensure disabled students are not placed at a substantial disadvantage. This may include making provision for accessibility and assistive technology. Where a student has a learning difficulty or disability that calls for special educational provision, the college must use its best endeavours to put appropriate support in place.
Furthermore, under the SEND code of practice there should be a named person with oversight of SEND provision in every college. They co-ordinate, support and contribute to the strategic and operational management of the college. Curriculum and support staff in a college should know who to go to if they need help in identifying a student's special educational needs (SEN), are concerned about their progress or need more advice.
Colleges should keep the needs of students with SEND under regular review. They should involve the student and, particularly for those aged 16 to 18, their parents, closely at all stages of the cycle. Colleges should ensure that their staff have the skills to do this effectively.
Colleges should be ambitious for young people with SEN, whatever their needs and whatever their level of study. They should focus on supporting young people so they can progress and reach positive destinations in life, including higher education or further training or employment. They should equip them for independent living, good health and participating in the community.
Ofsted also ensures that colleges comply with accessibility requirements, as inspectors will determine whether staff are suitably qualified and/or have appropriate expertise to support learners or specific groups of learners. Ofsted will determine whether learning resources, including assistive technology and online/remote learning resources, are to the required standard and specification and whether they are used effectively to support learners to overcome their barriers to achieving their challenging learning goals.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to take steps to reform funding arrangements for Internal Drainage Board levies.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG recognises the need for a long-term solution and are working with Defra to explore potential approaches.
In line with the previous two years, at the 2025-26 provisional Local Government Finance Settlement the government announced that it will provide £3 million in funding for authorities most impacted by Internal Drainage Board Levies.
MHCLG and Defra will ensure that all potential long-term solutions are given careful consideration.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government (a) participates in and (b) funds geoengineering activities; what information his Department holds on organisations in the UK which participate in geoengineering; and whether he plans to introduce regulations on geoengineering.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Geoengineering can be considered to include both greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRs) and solar radiation modification (SRM). GGRs are important for achieving Net Zero. Government is developing GGR Business Models to incentivise private investment in large-scale projects, and funds small-scale demonstrator projects [1] All projects are subject to relevant Environment Agency and local government regulations. The Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so however it funds modelling research to understand the potential impacts of SRM deployment. Currently there are no UK or international laws specifically governing SRM, but numerous relevant legal frameworks and principles exist [2]
[2] https://co-create-project.eu/publication/scoping-note-on-applicable-legal-frameworks/
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of Vision Impairment education services; and what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recommendations proposed by the report entitled A Vision for VI education by the Thomas Pocklington Trust, published in September 2024.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
For too long the education and care system has not met the needs of all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and this includes pupils with vision impairment. This government’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. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.
Whilst we recognise the urgency and need to drive improvements for children and young people with SEND, we are conscious that there are no quick fixes and want to take a considered approach to deliver sustainable education reform. We are aware that we cannot achieve this alone and want to work with organisations across the SEND sector, including the Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT), as essential and valued partners to deliver our shared mission. We therefore welcome TPT’s report entitled “A Vision for VI education” and are reviewing their recommendations.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will (a) review and (b) update the definition of anti-social behaviour in the (i) Antisocial Behaviour Act 2003 and (ii) Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 was repealed and replaced by the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Section 2(1) of the 2014 Act defines antisocial behaviour as “a) conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person; b) conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person’s occupation of residential premises; c) conduct capable of causing housing-related nuisance or annoyance to any person”.
Section 101(2) of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 defines anti-social behaviour as “behaviour by a person which causes or is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress to one or more other persons not of the same household as the person”.
There are no current plans to amend these definitions.