Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to rural primary schools to provide breakfast club provision under the early adopter scheme.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon to the answer of 03 June 2025 to Question 53170.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to reduce call waiting times for claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers.
The Department is investing in a new capability that aims to better route customers to the right offer at the right time. This will help to reduce waiting times by supporting customers to utilise digital alternatives where appropriate, which enables telephony agents to speak to our customers that really need to speak to someone. If a customer indicates they may be at risk of physical or mental harm e.g. suicide, terminal illness, homelessness, and clinical mental health, they will be routed to a telephony agent in as short a journey as possible.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish an annual report on cyber resilience.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence has a strong cyber security governance function that reports annually to the Defence Board, Defence Executive Committee and the Defence Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee on the Department’s cyber security risk position.
The Department also provides an annual return to the Cabinet Office using the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF), developed by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The Department does not routinely release an annual report on cyber resilience into the public domain due to National Security reasons.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the number of physics teachers on post-16 physics uptake in schools in disadvantaged areas.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in school and college. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics. In 2023/24, we recruited 31% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target for physics trainees. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
Our Plan for Change is starting to deliver, with the 2024 school workforce census showing that secondary and special school teacher numbers increased by 2,346 compared to the 2023 census. This is in addition to 2,000 more prospective teachers undertaking initial teacher training this year compared to last as this government is getting on and delivering the teachers our children need.
To deliver on the pledge, the department has so far invested around £700 million across schools and further education (FE), including £233 million for initial teacher training financial incentives, which provides a £29,000 tax-free bursary and £31,000 scholarship to physics trainees, increased targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 per year for early career physics teachers and developed resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.
In addition, the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a nearly 10% pay award since this government came to power, and ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.
The department also provides significant support to trainees and teachers without the relevant qualifications to become physics teachers. This includes funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses and the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) programme to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.
We know high-quality physics teaching is important to support post-16 physics study. In addition to the targeted retention payment received by sixth-form physics teachers in schools, nearly 100 more physics teachers across FE colleges and 16-19-only schools have received a payment of up to £6,000 this year to keep more physics teachers in post-16 education.
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 help support the retraining of existing science teachers to teach physics in schools without specialist provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in school and college. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics. In 2023/24, we recruited 31% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target for physics trainees. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
Our Plan for Change is starting to deliver, with the 2024 school workforce census showing that secondary and special school teacher numbers increased by 2,346 compared to the 2023 census. This is in addition to 2,000 more prospective teachers undertaking initial teacher training this year compared to last as this government is getting on and delivering the teachers our children need.
To deliver on the pledge, the department has so far invested around £700 million across schools and further education (FE), including £233 million for initial teacher training financial incentives, which provides a £29,000 tax-free bursary and £31,000 scholarship to physics trainees, increased targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 per year for early career physics teachers and developed resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.
In addition, the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a nearly 10% pay award since this government came to power, and ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.
The department also provides significant support to trainees and teachers without the relevant qualifications to become physics teachers. This includes funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses and the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) programme to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.
We know high-quality physics teaching is important to support post-16 physics study. In addition to the targeted retention payment received by sixth-form physics teachers in schools, nearly 100 more physics teachers across FE colleges and 16-19-only schools have received a payment of up to £6,000 this year to keep more physics teachers in post-16 education.
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 adequacy of steps taken to (a) recruit and (b) retain specialist physics teachers in state schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the in-school factor that has the biggest positive impact on a child or young person’s outcome in school and college. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, especially in physics. In 2023/24, we recruited 31% of our postgraduate initial teacher training (ITT) target for physics trainees. This is why the government’s Plan for Change has committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers in secondary and special schools, and in our colleges, over the course of this Parliament.
Our Plan for Change is starting to deliver, with the 2024 school workforce census showing that secondary and special school teacher numbers increased by 2,346 compared to the 2023 census. This is in addition to 2,000 more prospective teachers undertaking initial teacher training this year compared to last as this government is getting on and delivering the teachers our children need.
To deliver on the pledge, the department has so far invested around £700 million across schools and further education (FE), including £233 million for initial teacher training financial incentives, which provides a £29,000 tax-free bursary and £31,000 scholarship to physics trainees, increased targeted retention incentives worth up to £6,000 per year for early career physics teachers and developed resources to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing.
In addition, the department announced a 4% pay award for teachers in maintained schools from September 2025. This builds on the 5.5% pay award for 2024/25, resulting in a nearly 10% pay award since this government came to power, and ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.
The department also provides significant support to trainees and teachers without the relevant qualifications to become physics teachers. This includes funded Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses and the Subject Knowledge for Physics Teaching (SKPT) programme to support non-specialist teachers of physics to enhance their subject knowledge.
We know high-quality physics teaching is important to support post-16 physics study. In addition to the targeted retention payment received by sixth-form physics teachers in schools, nearly 100 more physics teachers across FE colleges and 16-19-only schools have received a payment of up to £6,000 this year to keep more physics teachers in post-16 education.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that dementia specialists are involved in NHS continuing healthcare assessments for people living with dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out the process for determining eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This statutory guidance is clear that the multidisciplinary team involved in CHC assessments should include someone with specialist knowledge of the individual’s condition, such as dementia, or have information available to them from the relevant specialists.
It is important that those contributing to the assessment process have the relevant skills and knowledge. To support staff working in health and social care to apply the principles of the national framework, NHS England has developed and published a comprehensive set of online learning resources.
CHC eligibility is not determined by diagnosis or condition. It is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the totality of an individual’s needs, including the ways in which these needs interact with one another.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is provided to NHS continuing healthcare assessors to support their understanding of the health needs associated with dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care sets out the process for determining eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This statutory guidance is clear that the multidisciplinary team involved in CHC assessments should include someone with specialist knowledge of the individual’s condition, such as dementia, or have information available to them from the relevant specialists.
It is important that those contributing to the assessment process have the relevant skills and knowledge. To support staff working in health and social care to apply the principles of the national framework, NHS England has developed and published a comprehensive set of online learning resources.
CHC eligibility is not determined by diagnosis or condition. It is assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the totality of an individual’s needs, including the ways in which these needs interact with one another.
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 (a) reform e-lending rules and (b) enable digital interlibrary loans for university libraries.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Universities are autonomous institutions and therefore operate independently from government. As such, the responsibility for enabling digital interlibrary loans for university libraries rests with the individual institutions themselves. It is within their purview to develop and implement policies that best meet the needs of their students and faculty. The government supports the autonomy of these institutions and encourages them to collaborate and innovate in the provision of digital resources and services.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
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 improve post diagnostic support for people diagnosed with young onset dementia.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Everyone with dementia should have meaningful care following their diagnosis. This includes information on local services and access to relevant advice and support on what happens next.
The provision of dementia health care services is the responsibility of local integrated care boards (ICBs). NHS England would expect ICBs to commission services based on local population needs, taking account of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines. It is the responsibility of ICBs to work within their geographical area to offer services that meet the needs of their population.
Local authorities are required to provide or arrange services that meet the social care needs of the local population under the Care Act 2014. The Government is committed to improving dementia care and empowering local leaders with the autonomy they need to provide the best services to their local community, including those with young onset dementia.
This is why we have published the D100: Assessment Tool Pathway programme, which brings together multiple resources into a single, consolidated tool. This will help simplify best practice for system leaders and help create communities and services where the best possible care and support is available to those with dementia, including those with young onset dementia. The D100: Pathway Assessment Tool is available at the following link: