Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the Music and Dance Scheme on (a) trends in the level of regional economic growth and (b) contributing to the Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) have providers in every region of England and is open to young people across the UK. It supports the Creative Industries Sector Plan commitment to increase access to quality specialist creative education provision across England to strengthen our cadre of highly trained young musicians and dancers.
The department currently provides £36.5 million for the MDS this academic year and future funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the costs and benefits of the Music and Dance Scheme.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) have providers in every region of England and is open to young people across the UK. It supports the Creative Industries Sector Plan commitment to increase access to quality specialist creative education provision across England to strengthen our cadre of highly trained young musicians and dancers.
The department currently provides £36.5 million for the MDS this academic year and future funding will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
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 impact of clean energy industries on the economy of Hartlepool.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Clean energy is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver economic security for workers in every part of the country.
Our Clean Energy Jobs Plan showed how by 2030 we could create over 400k good new clean energy jobs across the country, including up to 15k direct roles in the North East. Hartlepool will be a key driver for the region, we recently announced plans X-Energy and Centrica’s have announced proposed advanced modular reactors to create up to 2,500 good, skilled jobs in the town. Alongside wider roles in the region supporting the East Coast Cluster and Viking CCUS which could support tens of thousands of jobs across the region.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has considered sites in the Northeast of England for the location of the six new munitions factories.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) committed to build at least six new energetics and munitions factories in the UK. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is currently developing a plan to deliver this commitment alongside our wider Defence Industrial Strategy, delivering long-term investment to boost UK growth and generating skilled UK jobs and export opportunities. The MOD is carefully considering arrangements for those factories including their potential locations, and more detail will be set out in due course. It is currently considered to be premature to discuss specific proposals or sites until the necessary preparatory work has concluded.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Children’s Commissioners survey on school phone policies, published on 10 April 2025; what assessment he has made of the potential merits (a) of the recommendations for parents and carers to receive more support to manage their children’s online activities and (b) of evidence-based parenting programmes, like Triple P and Incredible Years, to deliver this support.
Answered by Feryal Clark
The Government recognises the vital role of parents in supporting children’s online safety, and work on media literacy, including helping families build healthy digital habits, is an ongoing priority. DSIT has funded a range of media literacy projects, including parent-focused interventions, and commissioned research into parents’ needs. These have contributed to the evidence base highlighting what works and identifying areas where further progress is needed. Using these insights, the Government is considering the next phase of work in this area. Meanwhile, DfE publishes guidance and hosts parent-specific resources on its ‘Educate Against Hate’ website.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department provides funding to (a) the independent schools inspectorate and (b) cover the cost of inspections undertaken by the inspectorate.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The department does not provide funding to the Independent Schools Inspectorate, and does not cover the cost of inspections undertaken by the inspectorate.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether (a) tennis and (b) padel will have access to Government funding for (i) new and (ii) upgraded grassroots sport facilities.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the nation following the Spending Review.
We will now work closely with sporting bodies - including the Lawn Tennis Association - and local leaders to establish what each community needs and then set out further plans.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport through Sport England - which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. Sport England provides long term investment to the LTA, which receives up to £10.2 million for 5 years from 2022 to invest in tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether (a) food, (b) drink and (c) other (i) aseptic and (ii) chilled liquid cartons are included in the core set of recyclable waste streams required to be collected from all households in England by 31 March 2026.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Yes, aseptic and refrigerated cartons made of a fibre-based composite are included within the plastic recyclable waste stream, required to be collected from all households in England by 31 March 2026.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of PIP recipients are in employment in Hartlepool.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
At the end of March 2024, 14% of PIP recipients in Hartlepool were in employment.
Notes:
- HMRC data is used to determine whether a claimant was in employment. HMRC data covers up to the end of the tax year 2023/24, therefore March 2024 has been provided as the latest data available.
- Self-employment data from the financial year 2023/24 is not available until the end of the 2024/25 financial year, so self-employment data for the financial year 2022/23 has been used as a proxy for 2023/24 instead.
- The data provided includes both normal rules and special rules for end of life claimants.
Asked by: Jonathan Brash (Labour - Hartlepool)
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 British suppliers are used for major energy infrastructure projects.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We have always been clear; our country’s clean energy future must be built in Britain. That’s why we launched the Clean Industry Bonus for offshore wind. The first round was hugely successful – more than doubling the budget for developers to invest in UK factories. It’s why we set up our National Wealth Fund to invest in crucial supply chains. And it’s why we created Great British Energy – which has already announced £300 million to invest in domestic offshore wind supply chains.