Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of broadening the eligibility criteria for children to receive free school meals.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government has not made a formal assessment of the merits of broadening the free school meals (FSM) eligibility criteria.
This adds to the department’s programmes which provide over 3 million children with free and nutritious meals. Such programmes include FSM, which 2.1 million disadvantaged pupils are registered to receive, and universal infant free school meals which benefit around 1.3 million pupils in reception, year 1 and year 2.
Additionally, the government is committed to introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, to set children up for the day and ensure they are ready to learn.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Oral Statement of 18 July 2024 on Prison Capacity, Official Report columns 175-177, if she will commission a review into the adequacy of (a) the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, (b) the Public Order Act 2023 and (c) sentencing guidelines for protesters arrested following climate protests.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is currently preparing a report on the operation of a number of the public order measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 (PCSC Act). This was a commitment made in parliament when the Act was passed. All other measures in the PCSC Act 2022 will be subject to the standard post-legislative scrutiny period, which will be carried out according to the standard timeframe of three to five years after Royal Assent.
In addition, the previous Government committed to carrying out post-legislative scrutiny of the Public Order Act 2023 two years after it received Royal Assent rather than the usual three to five years, in line with the recommendation made by the Home Affairs Select Committee. That work will begin in May 2025.
Sentencing guidelines are developed by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales. The guidelines produced provide the Court with guidance on factors that should be considered, which may affect the sentence given. The Council monitors and evaluates all definitive guidelines, as per its statutory duty to do so. The Sentencing Council is independent of parliament and Government, and therefore set its own workplan; an indicative business plan is published annually online.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to enable the state education system to provide alternative provision without recourse to the private sector.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The government is committed to meeting children's educational and social needs earlier, so that wherever possible they can remain in their mainstream school. Where alternative provision is required, it should be as part of a planned intervention delivered through local partnerships, with the right educational and welfare expertise to support the child's needs.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of including measures to enable targets of bullying at work to take cases to an employment tribunal in the proposed Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government is committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full and updating Britain's employment protections, so they are fit for our modern economy and the future of work. This includes commitments to support the wellbeing of workers, including their long term physical and mental health, and to ensure employers create and maintain workplaces and working conditions free from harassment. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill that will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a humanitarian visa for people from Gaza to receive medical aid in the UK.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Currently, those seeking to come to the UK for private medical treatment, along with their family members, can apply for a visitor visa and consideration will be given to compelling, compassionate and exceptional circumstances.
The Word Heath Organisation (WHO) position is that people who are medically evacuated should stay as close to home as possible, so that they are likely amongst those who understand their language and culture, and so that their return home, when ready, is easier.
The Government will be reviewing the current arrangements as quickly as possible to ensure that, where it is appropriate for children to travel, this route is effective.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what her policy is on the bus fare cap post 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Delivering reliable and affordable public transport services for passengers is one of my top priorities as I know how important this is for passengers and for local growth. The government is urgently considering the most effective and affordable ways to deliver on these objectives.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to review the licensing of taxis.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government keeps all policies under review. We will be considering what actions can be taken to improve the existing taxi and private hire vehicle licensing system.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to review the (a) distribution and (b) quantum of local government funding.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Future local authority funding decisions will be a matter for the next Spending Review and Local Government Finance Settlement.
We understand that improving how local government is funded is crucial to enabling councils to deliver for local residents and ensuring we can deliver our missions. We will provide councils with more stability and certainty through multi-year funding settlements and by ending wasteful competitive bidding. This will ensure councils can plan their finances for the future properly, delivering better value for money for taxpayers.
We want to hear from councils about the financial challenges they are facing and we are committed to improving the local government finance landscape in this Parliament.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she is taking steps to (a) improve transparency of rail fares and (b) make rail travel more accessible through lower ticket cost options.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As Passenger-in-Chief, affordability is one of the Secretary of State’s key priorities for the rail network. As part of our plan for urgent action for the railways, we are committed to reviewing the overcomplicated fares system with a view to simplifying it and introducing digital innovations. We will explore the options for expanding ticketing innovations like digital pay as you go, and digital season tickets across the network.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of (a) children and (b) young people not in school; and if she will commission a review into the reasons behind such absences.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to taking steps to better understand how many children of compulsory school age in England are not in school. Beginning October 2022, aggregate data on children in elective home education (EHE) and children missing education (CME) was collected from local authorities for the first time.
Recent data shows on census day in autumn 2023, local authorities reported an estimated 33,000 CME that are not registered at school or otherwise receiving suitable education. This is an increase of approximately 4,900 children from the summer 2023 census day. In the autumn 2023 term, where known by the local authority, primary reasons given for CME included the child having moved out of the country, the child having moved out of the local authority and the child is awaiting a school application outcome.
As at the census date in autumn 2023, an estimated 92,000 children were in EHE. This includes adjustments made for non-response and is based on a figure of 87,700 reported by 95% of local authorities. This is an increase from an estimated 80,900 in the previous autumn term. The leading reasons provided for deciding to home educate were philosophical, mental health, lifestyle and school dissatisfaction.
The government is committed to making it a statutory duty for local authorities to maintain children not in school registers and submit data returns to the department when requested to do so. Additionally, from autumn this year, the department is mandating the collection of aggregate data on EHE and CME from local authorities in the 2023/24 academic year. This will increase the amount and detail of information available to local authorities and government on local and national levels, allowing the department to identify outlying local data and improve understanding of the drivers.
Alongside better data, the government will help to tackle drivers of children not being in school including via a requirement for school to cooperate with their local authority on school admissions, special educational needs and disabilities inclusion and place planning.