Laura Kyrke-Smith

We have no plans for including asexuality as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010.

The Equality Act 2010 covers discrimination in employment, the provision of goods, services, and public functions, housing, premises, education, transport, occupational pensions, clubs, and associations. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of nine characteristics, including sex and sexual orientation. Sexual orientation is defined under the Act as a person’s orientation towards persons of the opposite sex, the same sex, or of either sex. The Act also prohibits discrimination based on the perception that someone has a protected characteristic, for example, that they are heterosexual, lesbian, or gay when they are not.

This Government’s position is that conversion practices are abuse. Such practices have no place in society and must be stopped.

Through the development of the Conversion Practices Bill, this Government will deliver on our manifesto commitment to bring forward a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, implementing key safeguards for LGBT people.

We are committed to listening to all viewpoints as this work progresses, and to engaging with a wide range of stakeholders, organisations and all LGBT communities.

Research is critical to ensure the safety of the products we interact with daily. This includes online platforms.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is considering options for research into the impact being online has on children and will shortly be making announcements.

Alongside this, the Data Use and Access Bill contains a provision granting the Secretary of State power to create a framework enabling researchers to gain privacy-preserving access to online safety related data and conduct vital research into online trends, helping to support future action for a safer online world.

Public libraries are funded by local authorities and each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a library service to meet those needs within available resources.

DCMS is aware of the current consultation on proposed changes to opening hours at a number of libraries in Buckinghamshire, including Aylesbury. DCMS officials have met with Buckinghamshire County Council officers to ensure that they are aware of the Council's statutory duty under the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service, and to advise officers on the Secretary of State's duty of superintendence, which includes the consideration of formal complaints that a library authority is not carrying out their duties under the 1964 Act.

Following the ruling in the Bowen vs Kent County Council case, the department published additional guidance for local authorities regarding the membership of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs). The guidance sets out the department’s view on the ruling and makes clear that, where an application has been received, representatives from non-religious belief systems may be appointed to Group A of a SACRE and/or to an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). The non-religious beliefs adhered to by the person/s to be appointed must be analogous to a religious belief, in accordance with case law under the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, and attain the necessary level cogency, seriousness, cohesion, and importance to attract protection under the Convention Rights. The final decision on appointment of persons to a SACRE or ASC, however, is a matter for local authorities.

Locally agreed syllabuses should take account of non-religious worldviews. As referenced in the department’s 2010 guidance, religious education (RE) should encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs, whether they are religious or non-religious. Inclusion of non-religious worldviews should be seen as part of a well-rounded RE curriculum.

Following the ruling in the Bowen vs Kent County Council case, the department published additional guidance for local authorities regarding the membership of Standing Advisory Councils for Religious Education (SACREs). The guidance sets out the department’s view on the ruling and makes clear that, where an application has been received, representatives from non-religious belief systems may be appointed to Group A of a SACRE and/or to an Agreed Syllabus Conference (ASC). The non-religious beliefs adhered to by the person/s to be appointed must be analogous to a religious belief, in accordance with case law under the European Convention of Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998, and attain the necessary level cogency, seriousness, cohesion, and importance to attract protection under the Convention Rights. The final decision on appointment of persons to a SACRE or ASC, however, is a matter for local authorities.

Locally agreed syllabuses should take account of non-religious worldviews. As referenced in the department’s 2010 guidance, religious education (RE) should encourage pupils to explore their own beliefs, whether they are religious or non-religious. Inclusion of non-religious worldviews should be seen as part of a well-rounded RE curriculum.

Artificial intelligence (AI) represents an opportunity to give our schools’ leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life, but only if the technology is safe and reliable and risks are managed appropriately.

The department has undertaken a range of research and engagement to understand the risks and opportunities posed by AI in education. The call for evidence on generative AI in education sought views and experiences from practitioners across all stages of education, as well as the education technology sector and AI experts. The report highlights the opportunities and risks of AI, including consideration of the impacts on pupils and concerns around the quality and reliability of tools.

In partnership with The Responsible Technology Adoption Unit within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the department commissioned research to understand parent and pupil attitudes to the use of AI in education. This research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-on-parent-and-pupil-attitudes-towards-the-use-of-ai-in-education/research-on-public-attitudes-towards-the-use-of-ai-in-education.

Parents and pupils were found to be supportive of opportunities for teachers to use AI to help reduce workload and allow them to focus on face-to-face interactions with pupils, but had concerns about pupil use of AI, including the impacts on wellbeing through over-reliance on technology and privacy and safeguarding risks.

The department’s approach to AI in education is informed by these insights. We have committed to publish expectations for the safety of generative AI products used in education to address concerns around safeguarding and privacy. Our project to develop a store of educational content optimised for use with AI aims to drive up the reliability and quality of tools. We are providing funding for innovation to develop tools which will help to reduce everyday feedback and marking workload for teachers, whilst avoiding AI use for high stakes marking, responding to parent and pupil views.

The department will continue to gather feedback and evidence on AI in education to inform the policy direction and remains committed to working in partnership with the sector to respond to technological developments.

The department has published guidance for schools on how to comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010. The Public Sector Equality Duty also requires public bodies, including maintained schools and academies, to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and other conduct prohibited by the Act, advance equality of opportunity for people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it, and foster good relations across all characteristics.

Education is a key component of building a fairer and more equal society. As part of a broad and balanced curriculum, there are opportunities in the curriculum for children to learn about:

• Citizenship education, which teaches about diversity, mutual respect and understanding.
• Relationships education, which teaches about the impact of prejudice and the importance of respect.
• Religious education, which teaches about religious tolerance.

The department is making sure that all children in England will learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of mandatory relationships, sex and health education. These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe and healthy lives, and to foster respect for other people and for difference.

The department has published ‘Respectful School Communities’, which is a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This can combat bullying, harassment, and prejudice of any kind, including hate-based bullying. This tool is available here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/.

Educate Against Hate provides education settings with access to free, quality-assured teaching resources that build students’ resilience to all forms of extremism and hatred. These resources help settings discuss sensitive topics with students, including discrimination, hate-crime and holding classroom debates and discussion.

Non-crime hate related incidents are often managed under school and college behaviour policies and procedures. The Home Office’s statutory guidance on Non-Crime Hate Incidents is clear that if a report is made to the police about an incident that occurs in a school and does not amount to a crime, the appropriate police response would be to refer the matter to the school management team and to offer advice to the complainant about available support.

The school management team will assess the risk and decide on a proportionate response. When considering resolution of such incidents, the school management team should implement safeguarding measures for any children involved, and in appropriate circumstances ensure that a parent or guardian is notified and present when a child may be questioned.

Ofsted inspectors will expect to see records and analysis of bullying incidents, discriminatory and prejudiced behaviour, either directly or indirectly, which puts the onus on schools to keeping these records already. Where bullying, aggression, discrimination and use of derogatory language has occurred, inspectors will expect that this is dealt with quickly and effectively and is not allowed to spread. Ofsted’s school inspection handbook sets out that the behaviour and attitudes judgement is likely to be inadequate where such incidents are frequent, and pupils have little confidence in a school’s ability to tackle them successfully.

Religious education (RE) is an important subject that should provide pupils with an opportunity to learn about a wide range of religious and non-religious beliefs. RE should help pupils to better understand the values and traditions of different religious communities, which is why it remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18. To support high-quality teaching, the department offers a £10,000 bursary for those undertaking RE postgraduate initial teacher training in the 2024/25 academic year.

The government does not specify of what a local RE curriculum should consist. These considerations, in relation to mainstream state funded schools, are a matter for individual schools or for Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs), which review and recommend a locally agreed syllabus to their local authority for approval.

Academies and most maintained schools with a religious designation are permitted to develop their own RE syllabus. In the case of schools with a religious designation these may be in accordance with their trust deeds or tenets of their faith. For other schools, and in locally agreed syllabuses, schools must reflect: “the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”.

Legislation requires each locally agreed syllabus for religious education to be reviewed at least once every five years by an ASC established by the local authority. Membership of the ASC must be drawn from Christian denominations and such other religions and religious denominations as, in the opinion of the local authority, will appropriately reflect the principal religious traditions in the area. Membership must also be drawn from the Church of England, teacher associations and the local authority. This ensures that all relevant faith groups can be consulted.

Existing fireworks legislation controls the sale, availability, and use of fireworks. There is an 11pm curfew in place for the use of fireworks, with later exceptions only for the traditional firework periods. Using fireworks outside the curfew hours is a criminal offence.

Users of fireworks should be aware of animals in the neighbouring area and use them responsibly. As a matter of best practice, those organising displays should give neighbouring owners advance notice and ensure that fireworks are not set off near livestock or horses in fields, or close to buildings that house livestock.

Government officials have been working with Combat Stress, Help for Heroes and the Dogs Trust to share information about safe and considerate use of fireworks. The Government has recently launched an awareness campaign on the Gov.uk website to provide guidance on minimising the impacts of fireworks on people and animals.

We are firmly committed to maintaining and improving animal welfare and want to work closely with the farming sector to deliver high standards.

The use of cages for farmed animals is an issue we will want to fully consider in due course.

Anyone in the business of hiring out horses is required to have a licence under the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) Regulations 2018.

It is a condition, under schedule 5 of the 2018 regulations, that all equipment provided to riders is in good and safe condition. Such activities are licenced by local authorities.

The statutory guidance for hiring out horses provides more details on safety standards, for example the requirement for assessments to be carried out for new riders.

The Secretary of State recently met with water company bosses, including Thames Water, to make it clear that water firms will be held accountable for their performance for customers and the environment. During the meeting, water bosses signed up to the Government’s initial package of reforms to cut sewage dumping and attract investment to upgrade infrastructure.

The Government also announced a new Water (Special Measures) Bill, which will turn around the performance of water companies, in the King’s Speech. The Bill will strengthen regulation, give the water regulator new powers to ban the payment of bonuses if environmental standards are not met and increase accountability for water executives. These are the first critical steps in enabling a long-term and transformative reset of the entire water sector.

We are carefully reviewing the position the government has inherited on rail infrastructure, including how to best support economic growth as well as addressing delivery and capacity challenges. We are looking at ways to improve HS2 Ltd's delivery and HMG oversight, whilst working with the incoming HS2 Ltd CEO to ensure HS2 is delivered to schedule and at the lowest reasonable cost, and we will set out detailed plans in due course.

The Department continues to work closely with Chiltern Railways to support the delivery of its long-term fleet strategy and has recently approved Chiltern Railways’ Mk3 fleet replacement Outline Business Case (OBC). Chiltern now needs to produce the Final Business Case.

Chiltern also continues to review opportunities to maximise its passenger capacity within its current train fleet. In June 2024, Chiltern introduced an additional morning and evening peak service on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, between London Marylebone and Princes Risborough, which operated pre-COVID-19. This provides additional seating capacity in response to customer demand and crowding.

The Department and I are working closely with HS2 Ltd to ensure that, as we deliver the railway, local communities are involved, informed, and treated with the respect they deserve. Construction of a project on the scale of HS2 will inevitably affect many people, including residents of Aylesbury, but a wide range of controls are in place, including a comprehensive Code of Construction Practice, and independent Commissioners, to minimise disruption as far as possible and to respond to any concerns raised. In recognition of those impacts that remain, however, local people may be interested in applying to the HS2 Community and Environment Fund, which provides grant funding for beneficial projects along the line of the route, and to mitigate the impact of HS2 works.

The Equality Act 2010 places a general duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to allow disabled people, including people with assistance dogs, access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. It has published guidance - ‘Assistance Dogs: a guide for businesses and service providers’ - to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners.

Duties and protections under the Equality Act are ultimately enforceable through the courts, and anybody who thinks that they have been discriminated against - including where access to an assistance dog has been refused - can take legal action to seek to resolve the issue. The EHRC will support people who have experienced discrimination through that process.

Over the years, Ministers have held discussions with Guide Dogs UK about their ‘Open Doors’ campaign which aims to achieve the fullest possible access for owners of guide dogs and assistance dogs. I fully support that campaign and the principle that Guide Dogs and assistance dogs should always be allowed access, except in the most exceptional circumstances.

DLA Child is currently undergoing transformation as part of DWP’s Service Modernisation Programme. Work is underway to explore options including how to apply, with the aim of providing a sustainable, simplified and accessible service and the ability for customers to self-serve.

There are currently no plans to review the Disability Living Allowance claim form (DLA1).

The questions on the claim form are intended to gather sufficient information from parents/guardians to accurately award children and young people the appropriate Disability Living Allowance award.

The State Pension is the foundation of income in retirement and will remain so, protecting 12 million pensioners through the triple lock. Based on current forecasts, the full rate of the new state pension is set to increase by £1,700 over the course of this Parliament.

The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.

We are also providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.

The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.

Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged 80 and over.

We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside other benefits – hundreds of pounds that could really help them. We will ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.

The latest available Pension Credit take-up statistics, which includes estimates of the number of households eligible for but not claiming Pension Credit, cover the financial year 2021 to 2022 and are available at: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up: financial year ending 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). However, these statistics are only available at Great Britain level and cannot be broken down to smaller geographical areas.

Last week we held a Pension Credit Awareness Week of Action – joining forces with a range of partners such as Age UK, Citizens Advice, local authorities and organisations such as British Gas to promote Pension Credit and encourage take-up. The “Week of Action” had widespread national and regional media coverage.

From 16 September we will be running a national marketing campaign on a range of channels. The campaign will target potential pension-age customers, as well as friends and family who can encourage and support them to apply.

Our campaign messaging will also focus on encouraging pensioners to apply for Pension Credit before 21 December 2024, which is the last date for making a successful backdated claim for Pension Credit in order to receive a Winter Fuel Payment.

We are working with external partners, local authorities, and the Devolved Governments to boost the take-up of Pension Credit.

Type 1 Disordered Eating (T1DE), also referred to as diabulimia, is a relatively newly acknowledged condition. NHS England has provided funding for T1DE services across the National Health Services’ regions over the last five years, to help develop service specifications. The first nationally funded T1DE pilot services commenced in 2019 in London and the South Coast of England, latterly including Bournemouth and Portsmouth. A nationally commissioned evaluation was put in place to evidence the impact T1DE services had on patient outcomes and staff experience, and to provide analysis of the NHS costs and savings accrued in running the services.

On the basis of the positive findings from the evaluation of these initial services, and to further build the evidence base, NHS England has provided funding for a further five pilot services in Cheshire and Mersey, Norfolk and Norwich, Coventry and Warwickshire, Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and Humber and North Yorkshire for two years, with each pilot running until 31 March 2025.

The new services are delivering a national service specification, and the national team has partnered with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to evaluate delivery, with the intention that, subject to positive findings, integrated care systems can consider the evaluation outputs to determine future locally sustained approaches beyond the initial pump prime national support. NHS England has considered early learning from delivery of these services in the development of a proposal for a wider programme of support for patients nationally. However, our ability to take this forward will be subject to the outcome of the national spending review and confirmation of the NHS England diabetes programme budget.

Buckinghamshire Council have stood up a new Dementia Strategic Oversight Board to deliver on local priorities that span across the Well Pathway for Dementia. These priorities include raising awareness of dementia, building up the support available in the community and encouraging timely diagnoses.

Buckinghamshire was selected as one of NHS England’s Diagnosing Advanced Dementia Mandate pilot sites. This pilot was delivered over a 12-month period starting in May 2023. The aim was to reduce the waiting list for assessment and restore the dementia diagnosis rate to pre-Covid levels. Over the course of this project, the Dementia Diagnosis Rate (DDR) has increased by 3.1% (from 56.2% in May 2023 to 59.5% in July 2024).

Buckinghamshire Council are re-commissioning the Dementia Support Service with the new provision due to start on 1st April 2025. This service offers advice, information, care and support for both those with memory concerns and a dementia diagnosis. It is being expanded to enable more residents to access the service and will provide an outreach service to engage clients that don’t usually access dementia support.

Charging, under the Care Act 2014, is based on several principles including that people should not be charged more than it is reasonably practicable for them to pay. Local authorities have discretion to implement charging policies which best meet the needs of the local populations they serve, whilst adhering to legislation and statutory guidance.

When assessing a resident’s ability to pay for care in a care home, the local authority may take most of the income and benefits that people receive into account, unless these are specifically required to be disregarded by the regulations. However, it is required to ensure that the resident retains an amount for personal expenses, the Personal Expenses Allowance (PEA), which is currently £30.15 per week. This rate is reviewed annually, and local authorities have the ability to set a higher PEA if they wish.

In addition, where a person has no income, the local authority should support the person to access any relevant state benefits or independent advocacy service.

NHS England has published a two-year action plan, which sets out how it will continue to transform and improve children and young people’s gender services. Investment in children and young people’s gender services in 2024/25 has more than doubled compared to 2023/24 and will increase further as new services are established.

In April 2024, NHS England opened two new services in the North West and London that offer a holistic clinical model, embedding multi-disciplinary teams in specialist children’s hospitals. A third new service will open in the South West later in the autumn, and a fourth in the East of England in spring of next year. NHS England is advancing towards meeting its commitment for there to be a specialist children’s gender service in every region by 2026. These new services will increase service capacity and reduce waiting lists.

NHS England has written to all children and young people on the waiting list for services, to offer them a mental health assessment. It has also rolled out a new referral pathway into children and young people gender services, which ensures that children are assessed more holistically through referral via pediatrics or children’s mental health services.

Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission and a top priority for the Government, as we get the National Health Service back on its feet. Equality of both access to care and outcomes will be at the heart of building an NHS that is fit for the future.

We have committed to achieving the NHS Constitutional standard that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment by the end of this Parliament. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week across the country, and will increase the number of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and other tests, that are needed to reduce elective and cancer waits.

NHS providers, including those serving the Aylesbury constituency, are focused on reducing waiting lists for planned treatment, and specifically focusing on patients waiting over 65 weeks, by the end of September.

In 2023, 64 per cent (£1.4 billion) of the of the UK's country-specific bilateral Official Development Assistance (ODA) was of scored to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) 2022 States of Fragility which provides a list fragile and conflict-affected states. This figure understates the true level as it does not include core contributions to multilateral organisations where funds cannot be directly tracked to benefitting countries. Additionally, this total does not include bilateral non-country specific ODA in the form of regional or centrally managed programmes, for which the beneficiary country cannot be individually identified.

This government has been clear; we are committed to pursuing a lasting solution to the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, including through achieving a two-state solution. We continue to support efforts to this end through our aid programmes, which assist civil society in Israel and Palestine on a range of issues, including peacebuilding and conflict resolution. We further support grassroots local peacebuilding efforts between Israeli and Palestinian civil society, for example on more inclusive and conflict-sensitive journalism.

The Foreign Secretary and Foreign Minister Joly engage regularly on a wide range of topics. They last spoke on 15 October. The UK will continue to work with its partners to tackle all forms of extremism to ensure the safety of our communities. We are clear that incitement of violence or hatred against individuals based on their religion or belief is unacceptable.

The UK is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, as guaranteed under international human rights law and promoting respect and tolerance between different religious and non-religious communities. In July, the Foreign Secretary and I expressed concern about the situation in Bangladesh and called for all sides to work together to end the violence. We support the independent fact-finding mission by the United Nations to identify human rights violations in Bangladesh.

The UK convened the August 2024 emergency session of the UN Security Council to drive urgent action to address the risk of a polio outbreak in Gaza. We are supporting delivery through our funding to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), alongside our wider support to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in Gaza. The Foreign Secretary noted the importance of the full and effective delivery of the polio vaccination campaign in his statement to the House on 2 September. The UK continues to work with international partners to reinforce the importance of pauses in military operation to allow the delivery of the second vaccination campaign this month. The UK also funds Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which is helping wider immunisation of children living in Gaza, the West Bank and within the Palestinian populations in Lebanon.