Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extreme heat and consecutive drought on tree planting and established woodland.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Forest Research (FR) has assessed that extreme heat and drought can reduce tree growth and increase tree mortality. Consecutive droughts may have cumulative impacts. Tree mortality will be recorded through the field work associated with FR’s National Forest Inventory; however, it will be challenging to attribute mortality to weather conditions in a particular year.
Newly planted trees are particularly vulnerable during establishment, while established woodland may become more susceptible to pests, diseases, wildfire and windthrow. FR continues to assess these risks and promote adaptation measures, including resilient species selection and greater species diversity.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of spatial targeting of tree planting in urban areas to help reduce social inequalities.
Answered by Jenny Riddell-Carpenter - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trees Programme includes a number of schemes that support urban tree planting. Lower urban tree cover often correlates with higher socioeconomic deprivation. The Government supports urban tree planting through the Tree Council and England’s Community Forests. Both plant trees in and around urban areas to improve wellbeing, tackle climate change and create places for nature. The Community Forests planted over 1,800 Hectares in 2025/26.
In line with development of spatial targeting, informed by the Land Use Framework, we are exploring new datasets and tools to better target new trees and woodlands, including future support for urban trees, and how to prioritise areas of deprivation.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the extent to which non-traditional educational pathways affect access to (a) academic careers and (b) leadership positions within higher education institutions.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of whether career progression outcomes differ for neurodivergent academics between highly selective universities and the wider higher education sector.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address inequalities in career progression among academics from ethnic minority backgrounds who are also (a) disabled or (b) neurodivergent.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to issue guidance to higher education providers on reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent academic staff throughout recruitment, promotion and disciplinary processes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers faced by neurodivergent academics in higher education institutions to progressing through academic career pathways.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The English higher education (HE) sector is independent of government, and institutional autonomy is a defining principle of our world-class sector. This autonomy protects academic freedom and means that decisions regarding staff appointment and selection rightly sit with providers, not ministers.
Nevertheless, the government’s view is that a diverse workforce is essential to supporting innovation and creating the right conditions for debate and challenge. Moreover, young people from diverse communities should be inspired to see excellent role models in the academic sector.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) publishes data on staff within the sector. This data can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff.
The department continues to monitor published sector data, while recognising that responsibility for staff recruitment, support and career progression ultimately rests with HE providers.