Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people are in receipt of the warm home discount in Runcorn and Helsby constituency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The most recent published statistics on Warm Home Discount can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/warm-home-discount-statistics-2023-to-2024
The published statistics use parliamentary constituency boundaries as defined prior to the 2024 General Election.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with (a) Halton Council and (b) Cheshire West and Cheshire Council on the adequacy of SEND provision.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The statutory duty to provide sufficient school places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sits with local authorities.
The department supports local authorities to meet this duty by providing annual capital funding. In March 2024, local authorities were notified of £850 million of investment in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.
Local authorities can use this funding to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings. It can also be used to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.
Halton Council has received just under £5.5 million in capital funding through this route between 2022 and 2025. Cheshire West and Chester Council has received £11.6 million.
In summer 2023, the department began collecting annual data from local authorities on available capacity in special schools, SEND units and resourced provision. This data will help the department to more effectively support local authorities to fulfil their statutory duty to provide sufficient specialist places.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of wraparound care provision for children with SEND in (a) England, (b) Cheshire West and Chester Council area and (c) Halton borough.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows know that parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) need childcare provision that meets their needs. The department has funded the national wraparound programme to support working families and improve the availability of before and after school childcare to ensure that parents have the flexibility they need to care for their children.
The programme is being delivered through local authorities, given their existing sufficiency duty. The Childcare Act 2006 places a legal duty on local authorities to make sure that there are enough childcare places within its locality for working parents or parents who are studying or training for employment, for children aged 0 to 14, or up to 18 for disabled children. All local authorities should be able to demonstrate how they have discharged this duty and should include specific reference to how they are ensuring there is sufficient childcare to meet the needs of children with SEND, as per the statutory guidance. This should be available from the local authority.
The wraparound programme is helping local authorities discharge this duty by distributing funding on the basis of anticipated need. Local authorities across England can decide how best to use the funding to set up or expand wraparound childcare in their area to meet the needs of their local community, including children with SEND. To date, the department has paid £926,235.79 to Cheshire West and Chester Council, and £876,187.28 to the Borough of Halton.
The government is also committed to making quick progress to deliver on its commitment to offer breakfast clubs in every primary school. The department’s officials are working closely with schools and sector experts to develop a programme that meets the needs of all children, including those with SEND.
On 23 September, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that up to 750 state funded schools with primary aged pupils will begin delivering free breakfast clubs from April 2025. Funding will allow these schools to run free breakfast clubs for their pupils in the summer term (April-July 2025) as part of a test and learn phase to inform delivery of a national rollout.
This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs, restoring parents’ trust that their child will get the support they need.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Runcorn and Helsby)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of access to defibrillators in (a) Halton and (b) Cheshire West and Cheshire.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No assessment has been made on the adequacy of access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the Halton and Cheshire West and Cheshire. The Government is committed to improving access to AEDs in public spaces, and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. We have made a further £500,000 available from August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the Department’s Community AED Fund. The criteria specified for the original grant continues to apply and will go to applications for AEDs in areas where there is the greatest need, including in areas of high footfall, hot spots for cardiac arrest, and areas that already have low access to AEDs.