Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department’s award notice entitled UK5 - Transparency Notice, published 17 December 2025, what definition the Department uses for technical lock‑in.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence does not use a single formal definition of ‘technical lock in’. In the context of the referenced award, the term is used to describe situations where changing a supplier would create disproportionate operational technical difficulty, disruption, or incompatibility with existing systems.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department made of the potential impact of onboard connectivity and mobile signal coverage on productivity and passenger experience on long-distance rail services in the South West.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today.
Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the pilot of enhanced onboard Wi-Fi services on Great Western Railway routes in the South West and South Wales.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today.
Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to support the rollout of enhanced onboard Wi-Fi services across Great Western Railway routes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is committed to improving on-train Wi-Fi for passengers, including on the Great Western Railways route, where poor connectivity remains an issue. That is why we have secured £57 million as part of the recent Spending Review to improve on train Wi-Fi using low earth orbit satellite connectivity on our mainline trains, which will include services on the Great Western Railways route. Officials have also been working with the Peninsula Taskforce and Motion Applied on the trial Peninsula Taskforce funded to test low earth orbit and 5G connectivity. The tests on the train itself have evidently been successful. Other operators, such as London North Eastern Railways, have also shown that low earth orbit technology provides high speeds – up to 200 megabits per second, enabling passengers to receive a much better mobile connection through the on-train Wi-Fi than they receive today.
Network Rail's Project Reach will also address mobile connectivity in 57 key mainline tunnels, which include ones on the Great Western Railways route, and this will complement the low earth orbit solution.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has reviewed the findings of the National Association of Disability Practitioners’ December 2025 critique of the Equality Impact Assessment relating to Disabled Students’ Allowance changes; and what steps she plans to take in response that critique.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether any further reductions or restrictions to DSA-funded assistive technology or non-medical support are currently under consideration.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many formal requests for meetings her Department has received from disability sector organisations regarding recent DSA policy changes since October 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has collected post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of changes to Disabled Students’ Allowance support on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is aware of the response written on behalf of the National Association of Disability Practitioners in December 2025 to the change made from March 2025 to remove Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances. The department keeps all support funded through DSA under regular review to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of disabled students. Any future changes will be communicated publicly.
Since October 2025, the department has received one formal request for a meeting regarding recent DSA policy changes from a disability sector organisation.
The department’s policy change to remove DSA funding for non-specialist spelling and grammar software other than in exceptional circumstances applied only to DSA applicants whose needs assessments took place from 17 March 2025. Students who had already been awarded this software had their awards left in place. It is therefore not the case that software has been removed from students' part-way through their courses. While it is too early to collect any post-implementation data on the academic performance or withdrawal rates of students previously supported with specialist assistive software, given that the policy change came into effect less than a year ago, the department is continuing to monitor the participation, attainment, and completion rates for disabled students in higher education.
The department has not undertaken a specific assessment of the impact of DSA changes on demand for Access to Work or other employment support schemes. DSA is designed to address disability related barriers to study, while Access to Work provides support in employment-related barriers to study. The department and the Department for Work and Pensions are in regular contact.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what criteria is being used to identify areas as critical mineral areas in Cornwall.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
“Potential for Critical Raw Material Prospectivity in the UK” was a 2023 study undertaken by the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, sponsored by the Department for Business and Trade and delivered by the British Geological Survey. This report identifies target areas of potential for critical minerals within the UK, including in Cornwall. As a preliminary assessment, its findings do not mean that the prospective areas identified will necessarily be targeted for exploration and mining. The Government is working with the British Geological Survey to understand any possible next steps.