Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to improve training for teachers to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in (a) mainstream and (b) specialist education.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

​The government has a central mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost life chances for every child. 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. 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.

​All teachers are teachers of SEND, and high quality teaching is central to ensuring that pupils with SEND are given the best possible opportunity to achieve at school.

Consideration of SEND underpins the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF), which were both produced with the support of sector experts. They have been designed around how to support all pupils to succeed, including those pupils identified within the four areas of need set out in the SEND Code of Practice. ITT courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level, including the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils. Headteachers use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils.

All mainstream schools must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO) who must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ will play a key role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high quality, evidence-based training. This is crucial given the central role SENCOs play in supporting pupils with SEND.

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 increase the number of General Practitioners in rural communities.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We acknowledge the urgent challenge of ensuring that rural areas, including West Dorset, have the resources to continue serving their patients. To address this, we will increase capacity in general practice (GP) and ensure rural areas have the necessary workforce to provide integrated, patient-centred services.

We are committed to training thousands more GPs across the country, including in rural areas. We have also committed to recruiting over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through an £82 million boost to the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, which will increase the number of appointments delivered in GPs. This will increase capacity, secure the future pipeline of GPs, and alleviate the pressure on those currently working in the system.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2024 to Question 13971 on Financial Services: Euro, what steps her Department is taking to mitigate against the risk of the EU not extending its equivalence decision for UK central counterparties after June 2025.

Answered by Tulip Siddiq

As set out in my previous response, it is a decision for EU authorities whether to extend further the Article 25 EMIR decision for UK CCPs. As the Bank of England has noted previously, there are financial stability risks which might arise from EU firms having to exit from UK CCPs at pace. HM Treasury, alongside the financial services regulators, will therefore continue to monitor the situation.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with his European counterparts to ensure that (a) cross-border energy projects and (b) the GridLink interconnector in Rochester and Strood constituency are completed to meet clean power targets.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan outlines our approach to delivering a clean electricity system, including our approach to cross-border energy projects. It expects 12-14GW of electricity interconnection by 2030, up from the 9.8GW currently installed.

Under the UK-EU reset we are working with the EU to identify areas (such as electricity interconnection) where we can strengthen cooperation for mutual benefit.

GridLink’s completion is, like all interconnector projects, contingent on the project receiving approval in both connecting countries. The project has regulatory approval in GB, however the French approval process remains ongoing. The UK Government has no role in this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in relation to people from (a) Rochester and Strood constituency, (b) Medway and (c) Kent in each of the last five years.

Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not publish data on the number of referrals made to the Prevent programme below regional levels because it could enable a threat picture to be built which could be used for terrorist purposes.

The number of referrals made to the Prevent programme in the South-East region, in which the areas the Hon Member has asked about are contained, is provided in the table below.

Number of individuals referred to the Prevent Programme within the South East region each year since the financial year ending 2020

Further information on the individuals referred to Prevent can be found in the published annual statistics on GOV.UK: Individuals referred to Prevent: to March 2024.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an estimate of the total value of investment made in research and development in the (a) public and (b) private sector in each of the last five years.

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Office for National Statistics routinely publishes official statistics on Gross Expenditure on Research & Development (GERD), including breakdowns of expenditure by sector. These statistics show the total value of R&D performed, for each of the past five years for which data is available (2018 – 2022), was:

Current prices (£m)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces on tackling vandalism of bank branches.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides the police, local authorities and other local agencies with a range of flexible tools and powers that they can use to respond quickly and effectively to anti-social behaviour, including acts of vandalism and criminal damage.

It is for local areas and individual police forces to decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances of each case, but the Government is determined to restore the neighbourhood policing that enables local forces to respond visibly and effectively to incidents of crime in our country’s high streets and town centres, including putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police and community support officers back on the beat in local communities to help lead that fight.

Found: Members present: Simon Hoare (Chair); Richard Baker; Markus Campbell- Savours; Charlotte Cane; Lauren Edwards

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Simon Hoare (Chair); Richard Baker; Charlotte Cane; Lauren Edwards

Submit Evidence (by 7 Feb 2025)

Governments have created Public Bodies when it is felt that certain functions are best conducted outside the normal departmental structures and at some distance from direct ministerial control. There are currently around 500, though classification can be vague. They vary hugely in terms of their size, governance arrangements, and the types of roles they perform. They are ‘owned’ by their sponsoring department but subject to Cabinet Office and HM Treasury guidance. This states that that they should only be created and continue to operate as a last resort and when: