Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made towards the development of the Enrichment Framework; and if she will set out a timetable for its publication and implementation.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will publish the new Enrichment Framework in early 2026. The framework has been developed following extensive research and collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and a working group of experts from schools, youth, sports and arts organisations.
We are also putting in place a range of support to help schools further, including PE and school sport partnerships, the national network of Music Hubs, £24million for the TechYouth programme and £22.5 million from DCMS over three years to create a tailored enrichment offer in up to 400 schools. A further £132.5 million of dormant assets funding is being targeted towards services, facilities and opportunities to meet the needs of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the government is continuing to invest an additional £3.6 million per year to support and maintain cadet units in schools as part of the Cadet Expansion Programme.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of establishing an enrichment premium for schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department will publish the new Enrichment Framework in early 2026. The framework has been developed following extensive research and collaboration with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and a working group of experts from schools, youth, sports and arts organisations.
We are also putting in place a range of support to help schools further, including PE and school sport partnerships, the national network of Music Hubs, £24million for the TechYouth programme and £22.5 million from DCMS over three years to create a tailored enrichment offer in up to 400 schools. A further £132.5 million of dormant assets funding is being targeted towards services, facilities and opportunities to meet the needs of young people, particularly those from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. More specifically, the government is continuing to invest an additional £3.6 million per year to support and maintain cadet units in schools as part of the Cadet Expansion Programme.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how she plans to monitor and evaluate the impact of the SEND teacher training programme on inclusion, attendance and educational outcomes for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recently announced investment in a new package of training for staff in nurseries, schools and colleges, with the aim to ultimately improve support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
The new training programmes will also go through stages of quality assurance to ensure they are aligned with evidence of best practice.
A full monitoring and evaluation plan will be developed, and officials are currently scoping options for an independent evaluation.
The new package builds on training that is already available, such as special educational needs and disabilities and inclusion content woven through the suite of national professional qualifications, for which evaluation is already underway and interim reports are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme; and what steps his Department is taking to help tackle reported delays, unanswered correspondence, and difficulties accessing civil service pension records.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
In November 2023, the Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita. This was under the previous government. The Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025. We are aware that Capita’s current performance is having a detrimental impact on some members.
We are working urgently with Capita to resolve these issues, and to ensure that civil servants, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.
We have established a cross-departmental team to work with Capita to develop and implement a recovery plan. Alongside this, Capita is increasing staffing in key areas, to increase processing times in relation to new retirements and support for members, particularly those impacted by delays.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on achieving the Access and Waiting Time Standard for children and young people with an Eating Disorder.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of children and young people starting treatment for eating disorders has increased since the pandemic, rising from 8,034 in 2019/20 to 11,174 in 2024/25, an increase of almost 40%. This increase in demand has affected performance against the Access and Waiting Time standard, which states that 95% of routine referrals should begin treatment within four weeks and 95% of urgent referrals should begin treatment within one week.
In the rolling quarter from September to November 2025, the Mental Health Services Data Set shows improved performance against the standard. During this period, 78.4% of, or 384 out of 490, urgent referrals and 81.7% of, or 2,145 out of 2,625, routine referrals started treatment within one and four weeks respectively.
To support systems to meet the Access and Waiting Time Standard, NHS England has published updated guidance on children and young people's eating disorders. The new guidance focuses on whole pathway approaches to early intervention, whilst ensuring swift access to specialist support as soon as an eating disorder is suspected.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of access to face-to-face appointments for people with Parkinson’s in Hampshire.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for assessing the needs of their populations and for commissioning services that meet those needs, including decisions on the balance between in‑person and remote appointments across primary, community, and hospital care. This includes ensuring that people who need or prefer a face‑to‑face appointment are able to access one, while continuing to develop more flexible and efficient models of care for those who are happy to engage digitally or remotely.
For people with Parkinson’s, multidisciplinary care, including in‑person assessment and review, remains an important part of disease management, and local services in Hampshire are expected to organise appointments in line with national clinical standards and local capacity planning. ICBs are required to keep access under regular review to ensure people can be seen face‑to‑face when this is clinically required, including through specialist neurology clinics, Parkinson’s nurse services, and community‑based support.
NHS England continues to work with local systems, including in Hampshire, to improve outpatient access, reduce waiting times, and ensure equitable provision of face‑to‑face care for people with Parkinson’s across all regions.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement on the delivery of non-statutory services in Hampshire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Local Government Finance Settlement is our most significant move yet to make English local government more sustainable. The provisional Settlement 2026-27 will make available almost £78 billion in Core Spending Power for local authorities in England, a 5.7% cash-terms increase compared to 2025-26. For Hampshire we are making available up to £1,360.0 million in 2027-28 in Core Spending Power, an increase of 18% compared to 2024-25. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is unringfenced recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
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 help ensure that patients with secondary breast cancer have a clinical nurse specialist allocated to them.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In 2024/25, approximately 8,000 people received training to either enter the cancer and diagnostics workforce or to develop in their roles. As part of this, over 1,600 people were on apprenticeship courses, with over 270 additional medical specialty training places funded. Over 1,000 clinical nurse specialist grants were made available to new and aspiring clinical nurse specialists.
NHS England is also investing in structured career development and education support. The Aspirant Cancer Career and Education Development programme provides a nationally agreed framework for capability, career development, and education for nurses, allied health professionals, and the support workforce working in cancer care. This is also beneficial for the training and development of clinical nurse specialists working in breast cancer care.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the proposed Modern Service Frameworks for palliative and end of life care will mandate Integrated Care Boards to commission hospice services in an equitable way.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. The MSF will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards (ICBs) to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care. This will be aligned with the ambitions set out in the recently published 10-Year Health Plan.
We will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of our MSF. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. Equity is at the heart of this government’s approach to strategic commissioning and, by supporting ICBs to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.
It would not be right to pre-empt exactly what will be in the final MSF at this time, as we develop it with our palliative care and end of life stakeholders.
I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of potholes in Eastleigh constituency.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to tackling the poor state of our roads which is why it has confirmed a record £7.3 billion investment into local highways maintenance over the next four years. This new, four-year funding settlement is in addition to the Government’s investment of £1.6 billion this year, a £500 million increase compared to last year.
The Eastleigh constituency’s local highway authority is Hampshire, who will be eligible to receive over £266 million in highways maintenance funding over the next four years.
Furthermore, the Department published a new traffic light rating system on 11 January. Under this system, all local highway authorities in England received a red, amber or green rating based on the condition of their roads, how much they spend to maintain their roads, and whether they do so using best practice. The Department has also published an interactive map which means residents can see how their authority is performing and allow the Government to target support to those who need extra help. Hampshire received an overall amber rating, with individual scorecards showing green for condition, amber for spend and amber for best practice.