Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending free childcare funded hours to people undertaking accredited professional healthcare courses in (a) nursing and (b) other subjects.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
From September 2025, the government will expand government-funded childcare so eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of funded childcare per week, over 38 weeks of the year, from the term after their child turns nine months old to when they start school. Accessible and high-quality early education and childcare is a crucial part of giving every child the best start in life, boosting children’s life chances and giving parents work choices.
Students who work in addition to their studies and earn the equivalent of at least 16 hours a week at National Minimum Wage, equivalent to £195 per week or £10,158 per year in 2025/26, and under £100,000 adjusted net income per year, may be eligible for this offer. If they are unable to meet this threshold, they will remain eligible for the universal 15 hours of free early education, which is available to all three and four-year-olds regardless of family circumstances.
The government recognises the value of parents continuing in education and provides a range of support for students in further or higher education to support them with childcare. Support available to full-time students with dependent children includes the Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. Entitlement to these grants is based on a student’s household income. Healthcare students may also be entitled to the NHS Learning Support Fund. Information on eligibility and how to apply can be found at: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-learning-support-fund-lsf.
Further information on the childcare offers available to parents can be found at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure on-site biodiversity net gains offsets are (a) formally registered and (b) adequately monitored.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has provided over £35 million of new burdens funding to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), county councils and combined authorities thus far to help them implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). The uses to which the funding can be put are broad and there is no definitive list as requirements will differ across authorities. Some of this funding may be used for monitoring and enforcement responsibilities, including for ‘on-site’ BNG requirements. Decisions on any further funding are subject to the outcome of the spending review.
All significant on-site BNG must be legally secured by a planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant for 30 years. If a developer does not meet BNG requirements they may be in breach of the planning condition or legal agreement, and the LPA has a range of planning enforcement powers and may take enforcement action. Where significant on-site gains are secured by a conservation covenant, the responsible body is responsible for enforcing the agreement.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of ringfencing funding for local authorities from planning fees for (a) monitoring and (b) enforcing on-site biodiversity net gain.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has provided over £35 million of new burdens funding to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), county councils and combined authorities thus far to help them implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). The uses to which the funding can be put are broad and there is no definitive list as requirements will differ across authorities. Some of this funding may be used for monitoring and enforcement responsibilities, including for ‘on-site’ BNG requirements. Decisions on any further funding are subject to the outcome of the spending review.
All significant on-site BNG must be legally secured by a planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant for 30 years. If a developer does not meet BNG requirements they may be in breach of the planning condition or legal agreement, and the LPA has a range of planning enforcement powers and may take enforcement action. Where significant on-site gains are secured by a conservation covenant, the responsible body is responsible for enforcing the agreement.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what (a) resources, (b) mechanisms and (c) funding his Department plans to make available to enable effective (i) monitoring and (ii) enforcement of on-site biodiversity net gain.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has provided over £35 million of new burdens funding to Local Planning Authorities (LPAs), county councils and combined authorities thus far to help them implement mandatory biodiversity net gain (BNG). The uses to which the funding can be put are broad and there is no definitive list as requirements will differ across authorities. Some of this funding may be used for monitoring and enforcement responsibilities, including for ‘on-site’ BNG requirements. Decisions on any further funding are subject to the outcome of the spending review.
All significant on-site BNG must be legally secured by a planning condition, planning obligation or conservation covenant for 30 years. If a developer does not meet BNG requirements they may be in breach of the planning condition or legal agreement, and the LPA has a range of planning enforcement powers and may take enforcement action. Where significant on-site gains are secured by a conservation covenant, the responsible body is responsible for enforcing the agreement.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with Nottinghamshire County Council to improve its Education Otherwise Than At Schools provision; and whether she plans to make additional funding available for Education Otherwise Than At Schools provision in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
When a local authority decides to make an ‘education otherwise than at school’ arrangement for a child or young person with an education, health and care plan, it funds this through its high needs budget. Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Nottinghamshire County Council is being allocated over £130 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.8 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.
A joint local area SEND inspection of Nottinghamshire was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January 2023 under the new Area SEND Inspection framework. Ofsted/CQC found widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND which the local area partnership (LAP) must address urgently. The local area submitted a Priority Action Plan to Ofsted/CQC, to address two identified areas for priority action, which was approved 14 July 2023.
Following the inspection outcome, the department has worked closely with its partners in NHS England to monitor, support and challenge the LAP in making the necessary improvements.
The department has also commissioned the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence partnership consortium, led by the Council for Disabled Children, to support the local area to develop their SEND strategy.
Nottinghamshire LAP is also receiving additional support from a specialist SEND advisor, and the department will continue to work with the local area and relevant stakeholders to support them in improving SEND services and provision.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with Nottinghamshire County Council on the allocation of funds for Education Otherwise Than At School provision in Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.
When a local authority decides to make an ‘education otherwise than at school’ arrangement for a child or young person with an education, health and care plan, it funds this through its high needs budget. Following the Autumn Budget 2024, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND to over £12 billion. Of that total, Nottinghamshire County Council is being allocated over £130 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.8 million on their 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.
A joint local area SEND inspection of Nottinghamshire was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in January 2023 under the new Area SEND Inspection framework. Ofsted/CQC found widespread and/or systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND which the local area partnership (LAP) must address urgently. The local area submitted a Priority Action Plan to Ofsted/CQC, to address two identified areas for priority action, which was approved 14 July 2023.
Following the inspection outcome, the department has worked closely with its partners in NHS England to monitor, support and challenge the LAP in making the necessary improvements.
The department has also commissioned the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence partnership consortium, led by the Council for Disabled Children, to support the local area to develop their SEND strategy.
Nottinghamshire LAP is also receiving additional support from a specialist SEND advisor, and the department will continue to work with the local area and relevant stakeholders to support them in improving SEND services and provision.
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, what steps he plans to take to reduce waiting times for autism assessments.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lord Darzi’s independent review of the National Health Service, published in September 2024, highlighted the severe delays for accessing autism assessments and that demand for assessments for autism has grown significantly in recent years.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including autism assessments and diagnosis, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines. In doing so, ICBs should take account of waiting lists, considering how local funding can be deployed to best meet the needs of their local population.
The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act, the autism strategy, and the statutory guidance, and which will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. The Government will consider any relevant findings from the House of Lords’ autism inquiry.
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, what steps he is taking to help ensure that pathfinder sites in the NHS Community Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme are able to provide services without interruption from December 2025 onwards.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Pathfinder programme will conclude in December 2025. NHS England is working with system leaders and stakeholders, using learning from the Pathfinder to design independent prescribing in future community pharmacy clinical services.
NHS England aims to publish a commissioning framework for systems to integrate independent prescribing into community pharmacy post-pathfinder. Any national funding for a prescribing service in community pharmacy will be considered as part of the Spending Review for 2026/27 to 2028/29.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to reduce the duration of the recruitment process for the Royal Air Force.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The current Government inherited a crisis in recruitment and retention from the last administration but are taking steps to address it.
Since June 2024, the recruitment timeline for Enlisted Aviator entrants has reduced by over 10 per cent and work is ongoing to reduce this further to ensure applicants have a positive candidate experience.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) candidate recruitment journey has been improved by an overhaul of the RAF recruitment website and portal, process improvements such as the streamlining of eligibility checks and aptitude assessments, and the introduction of the digital exchange of medical information with civilian GPs.
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, with reference to the Department of Health's document entitled Statutory guidance for Local Authorities and NHS organisations to support implementation of the Adult Autism Strategy, published in March 2015, what plans his Department has to update the Autism Act 2009 statutory guidance.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The House of Lords has established an Autism Act 2009 Committee, which is holding an inquiry to look at the Autism Act, the autism strategy, and the autism statutory guidance, and which will make recommendations to the Government by 30 November 2025. This will inform the Government’s future approach.