Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for driving tests in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) England.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.
On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce waiting times for all customers across Great Britain.
Further information on these actions and progress of DVSA’s plan to reduce driving test waiting times, which was announced in December 2024, can be found on GOV.UK.
From recent recruitment campaigns for the Preston and Lancashire areas, DVSA has a potential new driving examiner (DE) starting training next month.
DVSA will continue to recruit in the area and has had four successful potential new DEs from the latest campaign. Once background checks have been completed, DVSA will offer these candidates training courses.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to reinstate the Erasmus+ scheme.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government has agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme on much better financial terms for the UK. We will ensure that any agreement reflects a fair balance between the UK financial contribution and the number of UK participants who receive funding from it.
Participation in Erasmus+ on acceptable terms for both sides would be of mutual benefit, providing opportunities for collaboration and cultural exchange across education, youth and sport.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 reduce waiting times for child and adolescent mental health services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need and that waits for mental health services are too long across England. We are determined to change that as part of our shift to prevention and earlier intervention, and in line with our Plan for Change.
Nationally, the Government is providing £7 million of funding to extend support for 24 Early Support Hubs that have a track record of helping thousands of young people in their community. We will also provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, and roll out Young Futures Hubs to provide open access mental health support for children and young people.
In addition, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across child and adult mental health services in England, to ease the pressure on the busy mental health services.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much of the funding allocated in the Spending Review 2025 will be spent on (a) public transport and (b) bus services in (i) the North West and (ii) Preston.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The North-West of England will benefit significantly from increased government investment to improve local public transport. Some larger city regions in the North-West will receive long-term funding through the Transport for City Regions (TCR) programme, with a total of over £4 billion allocated for the period 2027/28 to 2031/32. This funding will help local leaders deliver better bus, rail, cycling and walking networks with greater certainty and flexibility. For areas in the North-West not receiving TCR settlements, the Local Transport Grant (LTG) will provide over £413 million from 2026/27 to 2029/30 in simplified, consolidated funding to support improvements in local priorities such as zero-emission buses, public transport upgrades, and safer, more accessible streets. Together, these investments will make everyday journeys quicker, greener, and more reliable across the region.
The Lancashire Combined County Authority is set to receive a £215 million capital allocation through the Local Transport Grant. As a major town within this area, Preston will benefit from the funding through improvements to local transport infrastructure.
At the 2025 Spending Review, the Government also announced a major long-term investment in bus services, committing around £900 million of resource funding each year to maintain and improve services and to extend the £3 fare cap until March 2027. Including capital investment, this represents over £1 billion a year in total support for the bus sector. Individual allocations for the North-West have not yet been confirmed, as the Department for Transport is still carrying out internal business planning. However, this guaranteed funding will support and improve bus services for passengers across the region, helping to grow the economy, boost household incomes and improve access to opportunity.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have received free school meals in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in the last three academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department publishes data on free school meals (FSM) in the annual ‘Schools, pupils and their characteristics’ publication. The total number of pupils eligible for FSM in the Lancashire local authority and North West region can be seen the following table: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/597f72a3-5fc8-4b48-c6a0-08ddaa184212.
To find FSM data for Preston constituency, refer to the file titled ‘School level underlying data 2025 (CSV, 22 MB)’ under the ‘Additional supporting files’ section.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children who will receive free school meals in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West in the (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26 academic years.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and tackling child poverty. We have now announced that we are extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy coming later this year.
Providing over half a million children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds with a free, nutritious lunchtime meal every school day will also lead to higher attainment, improved behaviour and better outcomes, meaning children get the best possible education and chance to succeed in work and life.
For 2024/25, the department’s data on FSM can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2024-25. To find the total number of pupils in the Preston constituency, see the ‘School level underlying data 2025 (csv, 22 Mb)’ under ‘additional supporting files’.
For 2025/26, the department has published data on the number of children who could benefit from expanded provision by constituency/region/local authority. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-school-meals-expansion-impact-on-poverty-levels.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the rate of re-offending (a) in Preston and (b) nationally; what steps she is taking to reduce this rate in Preston.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The overall proven reoffending rate for Preston was 34.5% for the July 22 - June 23 cohort (the latest reoffending data available by geography). By comparison, for the same cohort, the overall proven reoffending rate for England and Wales was 26.7%.
The Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending by giving people the tools to move away from crime. That's why we're investing in a wide range of interventions to directly support a prisoner’s rehabilitation journey, including employment, accommodation and substance misuse services.
We have, for example, recently launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time will bring businesses together with probation services and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders in prison and the community. Preston is covered by the Cumbria & Lancashire Employment Council.
We are also delivering a transitional accommodation service (CAS3) to provide prison leavers who are under probation supervision and at risk of homelessness with up to 12 weeks of accommodation on release, and have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators to strengthen the links between substance misuse and health services in prisons and the community to support access to treatment. Both CAS3 and the Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators are in place across all 12 probation regions in England and Wales, with Preston falling under the North West probation region.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his planned timetable is for the rollout of solar panels for schools in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Work is progressing on finalising the short lists of projects to participate in this first year of the Great British Energy Solar Partnership programme. We hope to have finalised the selection before the summer break with installs to complete in 2025/26.
In the interim, we are providing support for all schools and colleges to start on their journey towards net zero via our new online sustainability support for education platform and our climate ambassador programme. More information can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sustainability-leadership-and-climate-action-plans-in-education.
Where schools are considering the purchase of solar panels or other sustainable systems, our ‘Get help for buying’ service provides support to ensure that schemes procured are of high quality and value to the sector. More information can be found here: https://gethelpbuyingforschools.campaign.gov.uk/.
Details of other government funding available to public bodies for sustainability can also be found at this website, prepared by the Crown Commercial Service: https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/social-value/carbon-net-zero/funding-and-grants.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to increase the number of school places for children with special educational needs in (a) mainstream and (b) maintained special schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows that many children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) struggle to find a suitable school placement that is close to their home and meets their needs.
We want more children and young people to receive the support they need to thrive in their local mainstream school, reducing the need for pupils to travel a long way to access a specialist placement. Many mainstream settings are already committed to delivering specialist provision locally, including through resourced provision and special educational needs units. We also recognise the vital role that special schools play in catering to children and young people with the most complex needs.
The department has published allocations for £740 million high needs capital in 2025/26 to support children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision. Local authorities can use this funding to adapt classrooms to be more accessible for children with SEND, create specialist facilities within mainstream schools that can deliver more intensive support adapted to suit pupils’ needs, alongside continuing to provide places to support pupils in special schools with the most complex needs.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to extend funding for charities to redistribute food supplies to local (a) charities and (b) community organisations.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra recently announced grant funding of £13.6 million in 2025/26 to increase the capacity and capability of 12 charities to redistribute surplus food from farms into charitable networks. Applications were open to not-for-profit organisations redistributing surplus food including local charities and community organisations.
The longevity of the projects formed part of the selection criteria for funding, so we expect the funding to support the redistribution of farm surplus for many years to come.