Sarah Dyke

I have had recent engagement with the UKSV across various aspects of National Security Vetting (NSV).

The NSV process takes into account many aspects of an individual’s life in order to gather a greater understanding of any risks which may make them unsuitable to have access to sensitive information, assets or access to certain sensitive sites. The individual’s health (both physical and mental) are just one of those aspects. Any mitigations to those risks are also taken into account when making a decision on suitability for clearance. I can advise that many people with mental health considerations do hold NSV clearance.

NSV policy is kept under constant review to ensure that policy reflects changes in society and addresses new and emerging global trends.

It may interest the Honourable Member and her constituents to know there is public facing guidance available on the UKSV government website. This includes information about the vetting process as well as mental health considerations and includes efforts made to help demystify the vetting process and ensure improved inclusivity.

In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

The department is committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers. Therefore, consideration of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) underpins both the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework (CCF) and Early Career Framework (ECF) which set out the entitlement of trainee teachers and early career teachers (ECTs) to the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching. To identify opportunities to build teacher expertise, the department reviewed the CCF alongside the ECF during 2023, combining an Education Endowment Foundation-assured review of the ‘Learn that’ statements and underpinning CCF and ECF evidence with evaluation data, lessons learned from the first years of implementation, and extensive expert and sector feedback including from SEND specialists. This included a public call for evidence. Following this review, the updated and combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) was published on 30 January 2024, for delivery from September 2025.

The department's review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and ECTs when supporting pupils with SEND. The ITTECF is based on the best peer-reviewed evidence about what works, and it is designed to emphasise the importance of high-quality teaching. The framework therefore deliberately does not detail approaches specific to particular additional needs, such as autism, but what makes the most effective teaching. During the review, the department tested this approach with SEND educational experts, with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with Special Educational Needs.

The department’s Universal Services contract brings together SEND-specific training and support for staff working in schools and further education. It aims to improve outcomes for children and young people through one programme which reaches 70% of schools and colleges in England per year. The contract offers autism awareness training and resources, which align with the national all-age autism strategy and its ambition to improve autistic children and young people’s access to education and support positive transitions into adulthood. Over 135,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training since the Universal Services programme began in May 2022. More information on the strategy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026.

The large majority of pupils diagnosed with autism as their primary type of need are boys. However, there is emerging research and awareness on the different presentation of autism traits according to gender and the late, under and misdiagnosis of girls and women. This gender imbalance is greater for autism than for any other primary type of need. To help raise awareness of this imbalance, the Universal Services autism awareness training addresses autism in girls and helps education staff understand more about how autism may present differently in girls.

The department does not allocate funding to local authorities that is ringfenced for the purpose of preventing school absence due to chronic health conditions.

Local authorities’ expenditure arising from the authority’s functions under section 19 in chapter III of part I (exceptional provision of education in pupil referral units or elsewhere), and under chapter II of part VI (school attendance), of the Education Act 1996, and their functions under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support the special education of children with health needs, can be funded from their dedicated schools grant allocations.

The majority of absence from autumn to spring term 2022/23 was due to illness, which accounted for 4.5% of possible sessions in autumn term, and 3.6% in spring term. The department does not hold information about the number and proportion of state-educated students whose school absences are recorded as due to a chronic health condition or disability. The most recent school absence data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.

The department does not allocate funding to local authorities that is ringfenced for the purpose of preventing school absence due to chronic health conditions.

Local authorities’ expenditure arising from the authority’s functions under section 19 in chapter III of part I (exceptional provision of education in pupil referral units or elsewhere), and under chapter II of part VI (school attendance), of the Education Act 1996, and their functions under the Children and Families Act 2014 to support the special education of children with health needs, can be funded from their dedicated schools grant allocations.

The majority of absence from autumn to spring term 2022/23 was due to illness, which accounted for 4.5% of possible sessions in autumn term, and 3.6% in spring term. The department does not hold information about the number and proportion of state-educated students whose school absences are recorded as due to a chronic health condition or disability. The most recent school absence data can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england.

There are many pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) status that meet the eligibility criteria necessary for free school meals (FSM). The latest published statistics show that 41.1% of pupils with an Education, Health and Care plan and 37.5% of pupils on SEND support were eligible for FSM provision in 2023. Similarly, many children with disabilities but not Special Educational Needs will be eligible, and those rates are higher than the overall proportion of pupils eligible for FSM in England.

The standard food offering provided by schools will be suitable to the needs of many of these children. However, some pupils with additional needs may require special food provision or arrangements. All schools have duties under the Equality Act 2010 towards individual disabled children and young people, and they must make reasonable adjustments to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. That means that a school cannot treat a pupil unfairly because of their disability.

The department will update its published guidance on FSM to make reference to the reasonable adjustments duty in order to heighten awareness about reasonable adjustments, such as meal provision, amongst schools, local authorities and families. This guidance will be made available in spring 2024.

The department does not collect data on how many Education, Health and Care plans include nutritional information.

High needs funding to support the education of children with complex Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) will total to £10.5 billion in 2024/25 which is an increase of over 60% from 2019/20. The majority of this funding is allocated to local authorities: they, and the schools they fund, can use this funding to subsidise or meet the cost of school food, including for those children with SEND who have nutritional needs.

We are carefully reviewing the feedback gathered from our consultation and wider engagement with stakeholders, and a summary will be published in due course.

The practice of non-exempted mutilations such as cropping dogs' ears is abhorrent and has rightly been banned in the UK for over 10 years.

The Government supports the Private Members’ Bill, Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Bill, introduced by the hon. Member for North Devon on restricting the importation and non-commercial movement of pets. The Bill will contain powers that will enable future regulations for commercial and non-commercial movements of pets into the United Kingdom including prohibiting the import of dogs with cropped ears.

Nutrient neutrality advice aims to halt further pollution of England’s most important protected waterways whose catchments cover an area of approximately 1.8m ha.

Natural England has developed a Nutrient Mitigation Scheme that has so far secured approximately 257 ha of land to reduce nutrient pollution from new housing development. This land will also be managed for the purposes of nature conservation and, where appropriate, public access.

Natural England is currently investigating other sites across England which, if considered feasible, would secure approximately 512 ha of land for the purposes of nutrient mitigation and nature recovery.

Natural England aims to avoid the best and most versatile agricultural land when investing in nutrient mitigation projects.

The nutrient mitigation scheme operates alongside a number of other providers of nutrient mitigation across England, including Local Authorities, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, private markets and developers. Many of the solutions invested in by these providers will be nature-based and will not only reduce nutrient pollution but benefit nature and people.

The Government continues to take positive action to protect the welfare of companion animals - including rabbits and pet rodents such as gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs. The Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (England) Regulations 2018 (the 2018 regulations) require anyone who is in the business of selling rodents as pets to obtain a valid licence from their local authority.

Under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (the 2006 Act), it is an offence to cause any animal unnecessary suffering or to fail to provide for its welfare. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 amended the 2006 Act to deliver the Government's manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty. Anyone who is cruel to an animal (including domestic rabbits and pet rodents) faces being sent to prison for up to five years, or receiving an unlimited fine, or both. This strengthened measure sends a clear message that animal cruelty will not be tolerated.

Advice is available to educate pet owners on providing for the welfare needs of their pet, including fact sheets produced by the Royal Veterinary College.

We also have legislation in place regarding the welfare of wild rodents. A number of native wild species of rodent such as Hazel Dormouse, Red Squirrel, and Water Vole are afforded full protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to intentionally: kill, injure or take them. The welfare of all rodents is protected under both the Wild Mammals Act 1996 which makes certain acts of deliberate harm illegal and the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it unlawful for wild rodents to be subject to unnecessary suffering while under human control. Further to this, through the Glue Traps (Offences) Act 2022, the Government is banning the use of glue traps in England in all but the most exceptional circumstances.

During the agricultural transition we are supporting farmers and land managers with varying rates in literacy and internet capabilities through the changes. The October 2023 Farmer Opinion Tracker (published 7 February 2024) found farmers on 74% of holdings said they either had all or most of the information they need for business planning; or that they knew where they could find information.

We test the readability and users’ understanding of content language via user research panels made up of farmers and in consultation with farming membership bodies and charities.

To further ensure our offer is accessible we have provided free support to over 18,000 farmers through the Farming Resilience Fund. The support has included group workshops, one-to-one advice from experts and farm visits.

We have also funded the Farming Advice Service which provides free, confidential advice both in person and over the phone to help farmers and land managers in England understand farming policy and their legal requirements.

Defra’s 2018 statutory welfare code of practice for pigs confirms that “the aim is for farrowing crates to no longer be necessary and for any new system to protect the welfare of the sow, as well as her piglets”. The UK already has a significant outdoor pig sector with 40% of the national sow breeding herd farrowing freely on outdoor units with no option for confinement.

We are firmly committed to maintaining our strong track record on animal welfare and continue to work with the farming industry to maintain and enhance our high standards. The Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, part of our new domestic agricultural policy, supports farmers to produce healthier, higher welfare animals. The Government’s welfare priorities for the Pathway include supporting pig producers to transition away from confinement systems.