Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of Level 7 apprenticeships in helping people to attain higher-level qualifications while in paid employment.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department knows that level 7 apprenticeships can open up opportunities for young people, supporting them to begin careers as solicitors or accountants for example, and we are keen for this to continue. That is why, in line with our mission to break down barriers to opportunity, we will continue to fund level 7 apprenticeships for those under the age of 22, or those aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan or have been in local authority care. We are also 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. This will enable apprenticeship opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) applicant tracking systems and (b) artificial intelligence-based CV screening on the (i) fairness and (ii) accessibility of job applications.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
AI assurance is crucial to ensuring that AI systems are developed and deployed responsibly and safely. That is why we have designated AI assurance as a key pillar of support for meeting the commitments made in government’s response to the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
To help organisations address the potential risks associated with the use of AI in CV screening, DSIT published its ‘Responsible AI in Recruitment’ guidance in 2024, setting out good practice for the procurement and deployment of AI systems for HR and recruitment. DSIT also ran the Fairness Innovation Challenge, funding the development of novel solutions to address bias in AI systems. One of the winning projects focused on detecting and reducing bias in CV screening algorithms.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of large-scale solar Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects on (a) long-term food production capacity and (b) the natural environment.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra does not collect information on the potential impacts of constructing green energy infrastructure. However, Defra does produce statistical estimates of agricultural land areas each year from the annual June Survey of Agriculture:
It is recognised that solar can, when delivered in line with relevant planning policy, have a positive impact on the natural environment, and large-scale solar farms can contribute significant gains for local biodiversity with intelligent design and planning.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to prevent business owners from closing their business following serious workplace safety incidents.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority for workplace health and safety. HSE has no powers to compel businesses to continue to operate following serious workplace safety incidents.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent the misuse of non-disclosure agreements in employment tribunal settlements.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has been clear that NDAs should not be misused by employers to conceal misconduct. There are already legal limitations on the use of NDAs. For example, an NDA cannot prevent a worker from whistleblowing, require a worker to cover up iniquity, or prevent a worker from doing anything that may be required by law.
We recognise that misuse of NDAs is an important issue which warrants further consideration and are actively looking at all options.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help improve consumer access to minimally processed foods.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, nutritious food. A key priority for the food strategy is to improve consumer access to healthy food, in order to give all children the best start in life and help adults live longer healthier lives.
We are forming a partnership across the food system, Government and the four nations to leverage expertise, while building on existing evidence and analysis, such as Henry Dimbleby’s National Food Strategy. The food strategy is being developed in alignment with the Government’s Plan for Change and the Health and Growth missions. Through the lens of a new food strategy, there is an opportunity to deliver a healthier, fairer, more sustainable and more resilient 21st century food system that grows the economy, feeds the nation, nourishes individuals, and protects the planet, now and in the future.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to review its contract with The Big Word Interpreting Services Ltd for (a) service quality and (b) value for money; and how her Department monitors the performance of that contract.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice routinely reviews all its contracts to ensure service quality and value for money.
The contract with The Big Word for the provision of interpretation and translation services is subject to ongoing performance monitoring and governance. Service quality is assessed against a set of key performance indicators (KPIs), including interpreter attendance rates, fulfilment levels, and customer satisfaction.
Failure to meet KPIs is addressed via the application of service credits (a deduction to the invoiced amount calculated via a prescribed formula in the contract). Reasons for KPI failure are discussed with the supplier as part of routine contract management to ensure any barriers to performance are addressed, or a plan is put in place to mitigate.
Performance data is reviewed monthly, and The Big Word is required to provide regular management information and attend contract review meetings. Recent published data, available on GOV.UK, shows that The Big Word consistently meets the majority of contractual KPIs, with fulfilment rates above 95% in most categories.
The Ministry of Justice regularly and continually evaluates the service performance, identifying improvements that can be implemented within our existing contracts. The Department is also mindful of the need to ensure value for money for the taxpayer. We have recently introduced an increase to a two hour minimum face to face booking (from 1 hour), negotiated with our suppliers and implemented in October 2024 which has contributed to an improvement in service performance, with the most recent data, published on 25 March 2025, showing an increase in success rate to 96%.
The service is currently undergoing a re-procurement in accordance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, and aims to ensure a competitive, high-quality, and value-for-money solution for future language service needs. As part of this re-procurement, a benchmarking exercise was conducted against other government departments to compare value for money, and a lessons learned was conducted on improvements to the quality of services.
The Department remains committed to delivering accessible justice by maintaining high standards in interpretation and translation services across the justice system.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an estimate of the real-terms value of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s £30,000 Quality-Adjusted Life Year threshold since its introduction in 1999.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) considers the overall resources available to the National Health Service when determining whether an intervention represents value for money. Therefore, decisions about a new technology must consider the implications for healthcare programmes for other patient groups that may be displaced by the adoption of the new technology, and the opportunity cost, including those programmes or technologies not evaluated by NICE. NICE’s threshold represents the opportunity cost to the NHS of recommending a new technology. Empirical evidence suggests that the actual opportunity cost is closer to £15,000 per Quality Adjusted Life Year gained. Considering the real terms value of the NICE’s threshold is therefore not directly relevant because it represents the opportunity cost to the NHS.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help secure the release of Peter and Barbie Reynolds from detention in Afghanistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are supporting the family of two British nationals who are detained in Afghanistan. I have met their family and am closely monitoring this case. We are unable to provide comment on the detail of individual consular cases in line with relevant UK data protection legislation: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/foreign-commonwealth-development-office/about/personal-information-charter.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the 2035 Future Energy Scenarios-derived capacity ranges for solar and batteries in his Department’s Clean Power Action Plan connections annex are intended to be used by Ofgem and network operators as (a) technology caps and (b) interim indications.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The 2035 capacity ranges present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system and provide certainty to investors by ensuring a 10-year horizon for connection offers. NESO will use the ranges to underpin connection offers out to 2035. The 2035 figures are interim, to enable connection reform to proceed at pace, and are subject to updates through the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will be published in 2026.