Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on securing funding for repair and maintenance works on the early years building at The Brigg Infant School in South Normanton.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of the department’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life.
The department is investing almost £3 billion per year by 2034/35 in capital maintenance and renewal to improve the condition of the school and college estate, rising from £2.4 billion in 2025/26.
As part of this, the Embark Multi Academy Trust, which The Brigg Infant School joined in May, received an annual School Condition Allocation of £1,690,088 for the 2025/26 financial year. The department expects to set out allocations for the 2026/27 financial year in the spring. The school should speak to the Trust about any issues with its buildings, so the Trust can consider them when prioritising investment to improve the condition of its schools.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with Derbyshire County Council on the adequacy of support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Bolsover constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
A joint local area special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) inspection was undertaken by Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in September 2024, which found widespread and systemic failings leading to significant concerns about the experiences and outcomes of children and young people with SEND.
An improvement notice was issued on 14 January 2025. Ofsted and the CQC approved the priority action plan submitted by the local area partnership (LAP), and a monthly, independently chaired, assurance board monitor’s progress.
The department has put in place systems to track outcomes against the LAPs plan. This includes commissioning a SEND adviser to work collaboratively with an NHS England adviser to challenge, support and monitor progress. Additional support is provided through an intervention support fund, and training through a consortium led by the Council for Disabled Children. Council leaders have written to the department setting out their progress and confirming their commitment to making the improvements necessary.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate she has made of the (a) quality and (b) area coverage area for (i) 5G and (ii) other wireless data reception in Bolsover constituency; and what steps she is taking to help improve 5G coverage in that area.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for assessing and reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. As part of the work to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage data, Ofcom updated their definition of ‘good’ mobile coverage in June 2025 to align with user’s expectations of their mobile service today.
According to their Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, when applying Ofcom’s updated definition of ‘good’ coverage, which represents combined 4G and 5G coverage, 98.7% of the constituency area of Bolsover has access to this level of connectivity from at least one network operator, with 70.6% of the constituency landmass having ‘good’ coverage from all four.
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, and government is working closely with mobile network operators to ensure that the investment that they have committed translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including in Bolsover. This includes the identification and removal of barriers to deployment where required.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to ensure full mobile phone signal in Bolsover constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom is responsible for assessing and reporting on mobile network coverage across the UK. As part of the work to improve the accuracy of mobile coverage data, Ofcom updated their definition of ‘good’ mobile coverage in June 2025 to align with user’s expectations of their mobile service today.
According to their Connected Nations Annual Report, published on 19 November 2025, when applying Ofcom’s updated definition of ‘good’ coverage, which represents combined 4G and 5G coverage, 98.7% of the constituency area of Bolsover has access to this level of connectivity from at least one network operator, with 70.6% of the constituency landmass having ‘good’ coverage from all four.
Our ambition is for all populated areas to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030, and government is working closely with mobile network operators to ensure that the investment that they have committed translates into benefits for communities right across the UK, including in Bolsover. This includes the identification and removal of barriers to deployment where required.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what comparative estimate she has made of the average download broadband speed in (a) Bolsover constituency, (b) other Derbyshire constituencies and (c) the East Midlands; and what steps she is taking to help improve download speed in that constituency.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
According to independent website Thinkbroadband, approximately 94% of premises in the Bolsover constituency have access to gigabit-capable broadband, this is higher than the UK average of 89%. They report that the average download speeds in the constituencies of Bolsover, North Derby, South Derby and Derbyshire Dales all exceed 200 Mbps, and exceeds 100 Mbps in the East Midlands region.
To extend coverage, approximately 1,900 premises in the Bolsover constituency are currently in scope of the Project Gigabit contract for Derbyshire, being delivered by Connect Fibre.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to assist British road haulage companies which also operate in the European Union to obtain dual registration of their vehicles.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport implemented the dual registration measure in summer 2022 to support the UK’s road haulage companies that specialise in cultural touring internationally. This was in recognition of the particular challenges this sub-sector faced resulting from EU exit, affecting their ability to support multi-stop international tours. Dual registration is not available for general haulage supporting other sectors.
The dual registration measure is for operators working on a ‘hire or reward’ basis who have an established haulage base outside Great Britain (GB) and who also maintain a GB haulage base. It allows operators to temporarily transfer their vehicles between their two operator’s licences. Guidance setting out the criteria that must be met in order for an operator to use the dual registration measure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dual-registration-for-specialist-events-hauliers.
Individual British road haulage companies should decide whether to use the dual registration measure, based on their eligibility and business operating models.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when domestic properties located in Newton purchased as part of the HS2 project will be brought back onto the property market for purchase.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government recognises there is a desire for more detail on the long-term future of the properties acquired for HS2, following the lifting of safeguarding along the former Phase 2 Eastern Leg and the announcement of the planned disposal programme for Phase 2 properties in July this year.
The government is currently procuring a specialist agent to lead development of a disposal strategy and to deliver the programme. The programme will start on the former Eastern Leg. We expect to begin sales on the open market from Spring 2026 onwards. We aim to dispose of surplus property in a sensitive and sensible way in compliance with Treasury rules. We will ensure that wherever possible tenancies can come to their natural end and that we do not flood local markets.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department is ensuring that NHS weight management services comply with NICE guidance on the use of (a) established community-based programmes and (b) combined behavioural and pharmacological support for obesity.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guidance on overweight and obesity management sets out the core components and standards for community-based weight management programmes, including multi-component behavioural interventions. Commissioning organisations, including local integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities, and NHS England, and providers are expected to take the guidance into account when designing and delivering services. Support for compliance includes:
- detailed advice within the NICE guidance itself on the structure and content of effective community-based interventions;
- implementation support toolkits and practical guides from NICE; and
- funding through NHS England allocations for ICBs and the Public Health Grant for local authorities.
NICE guidance recommends that pharmacological treatments for obesity should only be offered alongside behavioural interventions, to provide ‘wraparound care’. ICBs have a legal duty to make NICE-recommended medicines available and are expected to ensure that patients prescribed these medicines also receive appropriate behavioural and lifestyle support. There is further support for ICBs in addition to that listed above, including:
- NHS England’s interim commissioning guidance and a centrally funded wraparound care service, Healthier You: Behavioural Support for Obesity Prescribing, with procurement underway for a longer-term offer; and
- additional funding to support the delivery of services within primary care and the cost of obesity medicines in line with the interim commissioning background.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the average number of weeks that learner drivers are waiting to take their driving test in Derbyshire; and what steps she is taking to reduce this.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - 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.
The driving test centres (DTC) that serve candidates in the Derbyshire area are Derby, Chesterfield, Worksop, Ashfield and Buxton. The current average waiting time in weeks for a car practical driving test at these DTCs is 24 weeks.
Average waiting times are measured by calculating, at a full-time test centre level, the first week in the 24-week booking window where at least 10% of slots released to the public are available to book.
DVSA is continuing with recruitment campaigns across the country to provide as many tests as possible. Since July last year, DVSA has recruited and trained 290 driving examiners (DE) who are now in post and delivering driving tests. A full-time DE can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.
From recent recruitment in Derbyshire, one new entrant DE, following successful completion of training, will join Derby DTC. A further DE is also transferring into this test centre at the beginning of November.
A new DE started in July at Chesterfield DTC and a further two new entrants are waiting to start their training course. DVSA also has a new entrant DE awaiting a training course for Worksop.
At Ashfield DTC a new DE started in August, with a further new entrant starting on 6 October. A further three new entrants are also awaiting to start their training course. DVSA has also recruited four new entrant DEs for Buxton DTC and they are delivering driving tests.
Asked by: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of withdrawing funding for level 7 apprenticeships on the number of people completing these apprenticeships.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
From January 2026 the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships except for young apprentices under the age of 22 and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will enable apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers. All current level 7 apprentices and any who start before 1 January 2026 will be funded through to completion.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s evidence suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding.
We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. There are alternative training options available to employers at level 7 including non-apprenticeship routes.