Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that (a) Leicestershire County Council and (b) other local authorities, apply the statutory guidance on Free Early Education Entitlement funding in a manner that (i) supports flexibility for working families and (ii) does not penalise private nurseries based on parental drop-off and collection times.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department regularly speaks with all local authorities in England, including Leicestershire County Council, to monitor childcare sufficiency.
The statutory guidance makes clear that local authorities should ensure that providers work with parents so that parents understand which hours and sessions can be taken as free provision. Not all providers will be able to offer fully flexible places, however providers should work with parents to ensure that, as far as possible, the pattern of the entitlement hours is convenient for parents’ working hours.
Over 500,000 children will benefit from additional funded hours this term which means that hundreds of thousands of families are better able to balance work and family life, with parents who use their full entitlement saving an average of £7,500 a year, and more children getting the high quality early education that will give them the best start in life.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that (a) nurseries in Mid Leicestershire and (b) other early years providers receive adequate levels of support to access childcare entitlements due to be implemented in September 2025; and what steps she is taking to support providers with (i) staffing, (ii) SEND provision and (iii) capital funding to meet increased demand.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
It is the department’s ambition that all families have access to high-quality, affordable and flexible early education and care, giving every child the best start in life and delivering on our Plan for Change. In 2025/26, we plan to provide over £8 billion for the early years entitlements, an additional £2 billion (over 30% increase) in comparison to 2024/25 as we roll out the expansion of the entitlements. The department continues to help people discover rewarding early years careers through the ‘Do something Big’ national recruitment campaign, building on our pilot of delivering financial incentives in 38 local authorities this year. With regards to special educational needs and disabilities, inclusion funding will fund extra resources for providers to better support inclusion and early intervention.
We have awarded £37 million of capital funding in the first phase to 300 primary schools which we expect will deliver up to 6,000 nursery places, with over 4,000 available from September 2025 to support the childcare expansion.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many civil servants have salaries over (a) £150,000, (b) £200,000 and (c) £250,000.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Information on the number of civil servants by salary band is published annually as part of the Cabinet Office accredited official statistics publication, Civil Service Statistics. Information on the number of civil servants earning more than £150,000 and £200,000 as at 31 March 2025 can be found at Table 26 of the statistical tables published here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/civil-service-statistics-2025
Across the Civil Service, there are five earning over £250,000.
All outputs are rounded to the nearest five in accordance with the disclosure control protocols for these accredited official statistics.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has received representations from his US counterpart on freedom of speech in the UK.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Like the United States, the UK supports freedom of expression as a fundamental right and we have a long history of promoting freedom of expression globally, underpinned by our commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
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 the time taken to (a) obtain and (b) renew black powder licenses.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Under the Explosives Regulations 2014, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) sets the legal framework for the safe acquisition and possession of explosives, including black powder. However, the responsibility for issuing and renewing explosives certificates rests with individual police forces, who act as licensing authorities under those Regulations.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's guidance entitled Firearms licensing: statutory guidance for chief officers of police, updated on 5 August 2025, what assessment she has made with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care of the potential impact of the requirement to undertake a medical assessment every six months on the (a) financial cost and (b) bureaucratic burden to people when renewing a firearms license.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Statutory Guidance does not require medical assessments for firearms certificate holders every six months. When applying for a certificate, or making a renewal every five years, an applicant is required to supply a medical report from their GP or another doctor. Subsequently, certificate holders must advise the police if they are diagnosed with, or treated for, a relevant medical condition.
In addition, and as part of the medical arrangements for firearms licensing, GPs are asked to place a marker on the medical records of those who hold a firearms certificate. This marker prompts the GP to alert the police if the certificate holder is diagnosed with a relevant medical condition at any time during the validity the certificate.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to extend the enforcement powers of local authorities in respect of (a) parking infringements and (b) obstructions to the public highway.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government recognises the importance of effective enforcement in maintaining safe and accessible public highways. Local authorities have a range of powers to enforce parking regulations and address obstructions on the highway under existing legislation, including the Traffic Management Act 2004 and the Highways Act 1980. We do not have plans to extend them.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy to introduce local referenda as part of Government consultations on local government reorganisation in Leicestershire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As stated in the previous answer to Question UIN 68332 on 22 July, we do not have any plans to require local referenda as part of the local government reorganisation process. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, Parliament set out the statutory process for establishing unitary councils in two-tier areas. As set out in the invitation letter, areas must demonstrate how the local community has been engaged in developing proposals.
As stated in the previous answer to Question UIN 53424 on 28 May, feedback on interim plans has been provided to all councils in Leicester and Leicestershire to support them as they progress work on developing final proposals. Their final proposals are due by 28 November 2025. Once any final proposals are submitted it will be for the government to consult as required by statute before deciding which proposal, if any, to implement. An indicative timetable is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what his planned timetable is for the implementation of local government reorganisation in Leicestershire.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As stated in the previous answer to Question UIN 68332 on 22 July, we do not have any plans to require local referenda as part of the local government reorganisation process. Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, Parliament set out the statutory process for establishing unitary councils in two-tier areas. As set out in the invitation letter, areas must demonstrate how the local community has been engaged in developing proposals.
As stated in the previous answer to Question UIN 53424 on 28 May, feedback on interim plans has been provided to all councils in Leicester and Leicestershire to support them as they progress work on developing final proposals. Their final proposals are due by 28 November 2025. Once any final proposals are submitted it will be for the government to consult as required by statute before deciding which proposal, if any, to implement. An indicative timetable is available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Peter Bedford (Conservative - Mid Leicestershire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of train operators since the announcement of the creation of Great British Railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Great British Railways is set to be the ‘directing mind’ for the rail industry, bringing together the management of the network and the delivery of passenger services into a single public body. Establishing Great British Railways as a new arm’s length body will take time, but we must and have begun the process of fixing our railways now – improving services for our customers and taking a whole-system approach, so we deliver a more sustainable, affordable and reliable railway.
We are starting to see train reliability stabilise following a decade of decline, and cancellations are no longer rising. We have ended the national industrial dispute, bringing passenger confidence back and we are seeing passenger journeys increasing. Furthermore, we have made station-specific performance information available for the first time, as a visible sign that we are determined to improve standards.