Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department is taking to ensure pupils, particularly those with imminent exams, can continue to attend schools safely in the context of the meningitis outbreak.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Children and young people, including those identified as contacts of cases, can and should continue to attend school or college as normal, including sitting exams and qualifications, unless directly advised otherwise by the local health protection team.
Meningococcal disease does not spread easily, and outbreaks of the size seen in Kent are rare. Transmission of meningococcal disease requires close and prolonged contact to spread, including living in the same household, and intimate contact such as kissing or sharing vapes.
A targeted programme of preventative antibiotics and meningitis B vaccination has been introduced to provide longer-term protection for students and young people in the area. Vaccination has been offered to all those who have received preventative antibiotics, and to year 11, 12 and 13 students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. Widening the vaccine offer is a precautionary measure to ensure longer-term protection whilst helping to minimise disruption to school attendance at a critical time in the academic year.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether school children who have been in a classroom, dining hall, shared areas with someone who now has confirmed meningitis are being offered a)antibiotics b)vaccinations.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Children and young people, including those identified as contacts of cases, can and should continue to attend school or college as normal, including sitting exams and qualifications, unless directly advised otherwise by the local health protection team.
Meningococcal disease does not spread easily, and outbreaks of the size seen in Kent are rare. Transmission of meningococcal disease requires close and prolonged contact to spread, including living in the same household, and intimate contact such as kissing or sharing vapes.
A targeted programme of preventative antibiotics and meningitis B vaccination has been introduced to provide longer-term protection for students and young people in the area. Vaccination has been offered to all those who have received preventative antibiotics, and to year 11, 12 and 13 students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. Widening the vaccine offer is a precautionary measure to ensure longer-term protection whilst helping to minimise disruption to school attendance at a critical time in the academic year.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2026 to Question 108298, when she estimates to complete their work on producing robust repayment figures broken down by British citizen status.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department and the Student Loans Company (SLC) have strengthened the quality and consistency of the data in this area and now hold reliable information on borrowers’ citizenship status, nationality and residency category.
However, eligibility for student finance is complex, not dependent on nationality and not determined solely by immigration status. We will continue to work with SLC and look at any further data improvements that may provide additional insights.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 14 January 2026 to Question 104334, how many students with settled status obtained a student loan in 2024-25; and how much was spent on repaying these loans in the same time period.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is not able to provide the requested data on settled status in the required timescale.
Settled status is a residency category, which is data held by the Student Loans Company (SLC).
However, changes in the application process over time, including the transition to electronic applications and introduction of new products, systems and processes in line with the legislation, mean that data held for earlier cohorts is held differently across multiple SLC systems.
As a result, it is not currently possible to produce robust settled status data within the required timescales. The department and the SLC are undertaking work to improve the quality and consistency of data provided.
Once this work is complete, the department expects to be able to provide information in response to such questions.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the respective responsibilities of MyCSP and Capita are for administrative failures in the civil service pension scheme; and what steps he is taking to hold them to account.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved.
In prioritising the most urgent cases, Capita has committed to all outstanding death-in-service and ill-health retirement cases to be either in payment, or have
undertaken all activity possible whilst waiting for the member to respond, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.
No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension. We are putting in place interest-free bridging loans of up to £5,000 (and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases) to recent retirees facing payment delays. These loans are to be repaid and will be met from existing departmental settlements.
Additionally, interest will be paid on delayed benefits to avoid financial loss by members.
Furthermore, all member complaints regarding the transition are being handled in accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to provide compensation for civil servants impacted by administrative failures in the civil service pension scheme.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in accessing their pensions are unacceptable.
Our full focus is on stabilising the service and supporting any members experiencing hardship. We will conduct a full review once this has been achieved.
In prioritising the most urgent cases, Capita has committed to all outstanding death-in-service and ill-health retirement cases to be either in payment, or have
undertaken all activity possible whilst waiting for the member to respond, with the vast majority of these having been paid in February.
No former civil servant should be facing financial hardship as a result of delays to their pension. We are putting in place interest-free bridging loans of up to £5,000 (and up to £10,000 in exceptional cases) to recent retirees facing payment delays. These loans are to be repaid and will be met from existing departmental settlements.
Additionally, interest will be paid on delayed benefits to avoid financial loss by members.
Furthermore, all member complaints regarding the transition are being handled in accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many deaths involving refuse collection vehicles have been recorded in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Deaths in reported road collisions, on public roads (including footways) in Great Britian are based on data supplied to the Department by police forces via a collection known as STATS19.
The latest figures available are for 2024, and figures for the last 5 years are shown in the table.
Year | Deaths in collisions involving a refuse collection vehicle |
2020 | 6 |
2021 | 6 |
2022 | 6 |
2023 | 2 |
2024 | 4 |
Collisions on private roads or car parks are not included in the statistics.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, when his Department will launch its consultation on children's social media use.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government’s consultation on the children’s use of technology and social media will be launched in the coming weeks. This will be a short, swift consultation of three months, with the government planning to respond in the summer.
The consultation will be backed by a national conversation about the impact of technology on children’s wellbeing. Ministers are already hearing the views of parents, children and civil society through nationwide events.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether RSL levels will continue once V-Levels are introduced in September 2027.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department has recently closed the consultation on Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways. We are carefully considering transition arrangements to reach the new qualifications landscape set out in the Post-16 Skills White Paper, and will set out plans in due course.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether a student with settled status, who has lived in the UK for three years, can obtain a student loan.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Eligibility for student finance is determined by several criteria, including residency status, the type of course, its location, the student’s previous study history, and whether they already hold a higher education qualification.
Students residing in England who hold settled status and have been ordinarily resident in the UK and Islands (the Channel Islands and Isle of Man) for the three years preceding the first day of the first academic year of their course will be eligible for student finance, subject to meeting all other eligibility criteria. To qualify, this period of residence must not have been wholly or mainly for the purpose of receiving full-time education.