Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of allowing academy trusts to prioritise feeder schools within their own trust on the distances that children travel to school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Hazel Grove to the answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 92797.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve oversight and coordination of road works undertaken by local authorities and utilities companies.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government supports lane rental as an effective measure to reduce congestion from the most disruptive works by incentivising better planning. It allows highway authorities to charge up to £2,500 per day for works on the busiest roads at peak times, incentivising quicker completion, off-peak scheduling, or alternative locations. We are facilitating the expansion of lane rental schemes, with updated guidance and application templates to be published shortly.
The Department’s digital service, Street Manager, is used by all highway authorities and utility companies in England to plan and manage works. Permits are applied for and granted through the service before works commence, providing a single source of information for the sector. This enables authorities to identify potential conflicts before approving permits. We also publish open data on live and planned works in real time, allowing developers to create tools that inform road users about disruptions.
Street Manager continues to evolve. Recent updates have enhanced coordination by highlighting potential clashes and improving collaboration features. In 2026, new functionality will support works on lane rental streets. Additionally, the new digital traffic orders system will centralise information on temporary road closures, making these details available as open data for wider public use.
The Department issues statutory guidance through the Code of Practice for the Co-ordination of Street and Road Works. We are currently working with industry stakeholders via the Highway Authorities and Utilities Committee to update this guidance with the aim of further improving coordination.
From January 2026, fixed penalty notices for certain street works offences, such as working without a permit or breaching permit conditions will double. Charges of up to £10,000 per day for overrunning works will also apply to weekends and bank holidays. These measures aim to strengthen compliance and improve coordination across the network.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has considered a national workforce strategy to retain ADHD and autism clinicians within NHS services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to publishing a 10 Year Workforce Plan to set out action to create a workforce ready to deliver the transformed service set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. We are working through how the plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
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 ensure that patients receiving (a) ADHD and (b) autism treatment through the Right to Choose pathway receive safe and uninterrupted care when GPs are unable to accept shared care arrangements.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Shared care within the National Health Service refers to an arrangement whereby a specialist doctor formally transfers responsibility for all or some aspects of their patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, over to the patient’s general practitioner (GP). The General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates and sets standards for doctors in the United Kingdom, has made it clear that GPs are not contractually obliged to enter into shared care agreements, and GPs may decline such requests on clinical or capacity grounds. The GMC has also issued guidance to help GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities.
In deciding whether to enter into a shared care agreement, a GP will need to consider a number of factors to determine whether it is within their sphere of competence, and therefore safe and suitable for their patient’s needs. This includes being satisfied that any prescriptions or referrals for treatment are clinically appropriate.
On initiating a treatment, the specialist clinician must follow GMC guidance that if continuation of the treatment is dependent on shared care, then an agreement with the GP must be in place before the treatment is started. If a shared care agreement is not in place, the responsibility for ongoing prescribing remains with the specialist clinician, and this applies to both NHS and private medical care.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism services and support, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to meet with fireworks industry stakeholders, such as Fireworks Impact Coalition, to discuss the potential merits of a comprehensive review of current fireworks legislation.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has made no assessment to determine if the 120 dB noise limit is sufficiently protecting animals and vulnerable people from harm. The Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting animals and vulnerable people, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action and review into the current fireworks legislation.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department conducted to determine if the 120 dB noise limit is sufficiently protecting animals and vulnerable people from harm.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has made no assessment to determine if the 120 dB noise limit is sufficiently protecting animals and vulnerable people from harm. The Government is continuing to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities, including those supporting animals and vulnerable people, to gather evidence on the issues with and impacts of fireworks to inform any future action and review into the current fireworks legislation.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any assessment has been made of the potential impact of allowing academy trusts to prioritise feeder schools within their own trust in their admissions policy on the average distance that children have to travel to school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The School Admissions Code permits a trust naming another school in the trust as a feeder school. As with any selection of a feeder school, the trust must ensure that the named school is chosen on reasonable grounds, and the arrangements must be lawful and fair according to local circumstances.
Admission authorities must consult on any change to their admissions arrangements. Once set, anyone who believes a school's admission arrangements are unfair or unlawful can object to the independent schools adjudicator.
In its 2015/16 annual report, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) noted an increasing trend for trusts to name all trust primaries as feeders for a secondary school, for reasons including promoting continuity and reflecting trust-wide links.
The report noted some objections to feeder school arrangements were upheld as unfair where distant feeders were prioritised over local children, resulting in longer journeys. However, where priority for distant feeders came after priority for local children, this was unlikely to be found unfair.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing compensation schemes for small businesses affected by prolonged or disruptive roadworks.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government remains committed to supporting small businesses across the country and helping them thrive. While we recognise the importance of minimising disruption, essential works do need to take place from time to time, and many businesses will ultimately benefit from the improvements these works deliver. Responsibility for road works on local roads rests with the relevant local highway authority. Decisions on whether to offer compensation to affected traders are entirely a matter for the local council. In some cases, when street works are carried out by gas or water companies, small businesses may be able to claim compensation for losses incurred. Business owners should contact the utility company directly in such circumstances. There are currently no legislative provisions requiring electricity or telecoms companies to provide compensation for works, and the Department for Transport has no plans to change the existing compensation arrangements.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to hold discussions with (a) fireworks industry stakeholders, such as Fireworks Impact Coalition, and (b) animal welfare focused charities on the adequacy of fireworks legislation.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues.
The insights from these discussions, as well as other evidence gathered on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people will guide future action. They also helped to inform the public safety campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season.
The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review the adequacy of fireworks legislation to determine whether it is fit for purpose and protects animals and vulnerable people.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Building on the work of my predecessor, I will continue to engage with businesses, consumer groups and charities to gather evidence on fireworks-related issues.
The insights from these discussions, as well as other evidence gathered on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people will guide future action. They also helped to inform the public safety campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season.
The safety of the public and the impact on people, animals and property will be central in decisions on how the Government proceeds in relation to the regulation of fireworks.