Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her Israeli counterpart on ending the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 16 September to Question 76963.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase early diagnosis for blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer, including blood cancers, as early and fast as possible.
To increase early diagnosis of blood cancer, the NHS has implemented non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type such as blood cancer. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England, with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of art and design education on outcomes for students with SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in July 2024, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including in arts subjects.
The Review is currently looking closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, particularly in relation to those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have special educational needs or disabilities.
The Review is also looking at specific subjects, including art and design. Any subject-specific findings and recommendations will be included in the final report in the autumn.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential number of jobs that can be created from nature restoration projects.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to supporting job creation through nature restoration initiatives. In our policy-making process, we carefully consider a range of factors, including the potential for economic growth and employment. Our Nature for Climate Fund—which supports tree planting and peatland restoration—plays a vital role in generating green jobs across the country. These projects are expected to create a substantial number of employment opportunities, particularly in rural and environmentally sensitive areas.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to include skills training for nature restoration and ecological programmes as part of the new Technical Excellence Colleges.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces which industry needs in priority sectors. This starts with the launch of ten construction TECs from September 2025. This will be followed by the launch of TECs to address shortages in engineering, which is critical to the skills needed in priority sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, and digital and technologies.
The department will also invest in the estate and facilities needed to deliver priority training with £200 million capital investment via the Skills Mission Fund to tackle sector-specific shortages, including expanding TECs beyond construction.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Learning Disability annual health check has been removed as a national target for primary care in the 2025-26 NHS plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national target to complete annual health checks for 75% of people with a learning disability is not included in the 2025/26 NHS Planning Guidance. Most recent data from 2023/24 shows 79.6% of checks were delivered, surpassing the previous 75% National Health Service target.
To ensure these important checks continue, 2025/26 Planning Guidance still requires integrated care boards (ICBs) to report on the number of people on the Learning Disability Register who receive an annual health check, supported by a health action plan, each quarter. These checks are the first line of defence for people with a learning disability, many of whom live with additional health needs including long-term conditions. Over the past few years, and particularly through the pandemic, strong support from general practitioners to maintain learning disability annual health checks has enabled more people than ever before to have a health check and health action plan, an increase of more than 20% since 2020.
NHS England is working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals and ICB commissioners to produce an annual health check quality framework. The Annual Health Check quality framework will set out both the purpose, content and outcomes expected within an annual health check and the accompanying health action plan.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Enrichment Framework will (a) provide a minimum of 80 hours of enrichment across the academic year and (b) be in addition to curriculum time for arts subjects.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department, working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has committed to publishing a new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. The framework is being developed alongside a working group consisting of experts from schools, youth, sports, arts and research organisations, to identify and reflect effective practice in schools.
The working group will consider how the framework can support equal access and support all pupils to engage with a school’s offer. The department expects the framework to set out benchmarks for high quality enrichment offers and to provide advice for schools with how to plan their offer strategically and intentionally. We do not expect the Framework to set new national requirements for schools, who need the flexibility to plan and deliver enrichment activities in a manner that best suits their unique circumstances and community needs. This is in addition to the teaching of arts subjects in the national curriculum.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department plans to include a strategic nature restoration programme within the Land Use Framework.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is analysing responses to the consultation on Land Use in England. The Consultation focused on the need for a strategic spatial approach to nature restoration, emissions reduction, new homes, and infrastructure.
Responses to the consultation will inform a Land Use Framework for England. The Framework will clarify the Government’s vision for land use change over the next 25 years, including the contribution a strategic spatial approach can make to nature restoration. Work is already underway to implement this strategic spatial approach from the setup of the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority to the revised Environment Improvement Plan.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of art and design education on the school-readiness of children entering primary school.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government’s Plan for Change sets out the department’s ambition for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn. We will measure progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage (EYFS) profile assessment by 2028.
Expressive Arts and Design is one of the areas of learning within the EYFS, as the department recognises the importance of this area within the early years curriculum to spark children’s innate curiosity, build artistic abilities and interests, and develop self-expression and communication skills. In the 2023/24 academic year, 84.7% of children achieved the expected level of development in Expressive Arts and Design in the EYFS profile assessment. This is one of the highest percentages among the different areas of learning.
To improve the department’s understanding of children’s progress throughout key phases of learning and education, we have commissioned and funded the ‘Children of the 2020s’ study. We continue to monitor all available data to consider how we shape future policy for early education, to ensure every child has the best start in life and is prepared for school.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 56822 on Israel: Military Aid, how many Israel Defense Forces personnel have been trained by the UK armed forces in the last 12 months.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK has a long history of providing assistance to other nations in the security and justice fields and continues to do so around the world.
Fewer than ten IDF personnel have been trained in non-combat military courses in the UK in the last 12 months.
These are strictly academic, longstanding courses which are open to many countries around the world.
Personnel from almost 50 different countries around the world will attend non-combat military courses in the UK in 2025.