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 improve support for people with (a) multiple sclerosis and (b) secondary progressive multiple sclerosis; and whether he plans to consult (a) the MS Society and (b) people with those conditions on future policy decisions.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Initiatives to support better care for patients with neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, include the Getting It Right First Time Programme for Neurology, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). NHS England’s NTP is a multi-year programme to develop a new model of integrated care for neurology services.

NHS England is also updating its specialised neurology service specification, which includes multiple sclerosis. Service specifications define the standards of care expected from organisations funded by NHS England to provide specialised care.

Involving relevant patient advocacy organisations, including people with lived experience, like the Multiple Sclerosis Society, is central to developing our policies for the National Health Service.

The consultation for our 10-Year Health Plan received over 190,000 responses, including responses from staff and patients. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention. We also plan to publish our refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver a transformed health service over the next decade and treat patients, including those with multiple sclerosis, on time again

The Department has convened a new United Kingdom-wide neuro forum, which brings together the devolved administrations, health services, and Neurological Alliances of all four UK nations. The forum will share learning across the UK, and will discuss important neurology service transformation and workforce challenges, as well as best practice examples and potential solutions.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of additional lorry drivers required after the reduction in volumetric concrete mixers weight limits.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The call for evidence conducted from October to December 2023 was an opportunity for respondents to present evidence, but it did not reveal significant new evidence supporting a change in policy.

The outcome of my department’s review into VCMs was published on 18 March. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/volumetric-concrete-mixers-review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children with additional needs and without an Education, Health and Care Plan receive adequate SEN support in schools; and whether she plans to increase (a) funding and (b) access to specialist support to improve inclusive mainstream education.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has special educational needs (SEN), receives the support they need. The SEND code of practice is clear that meeting the needs of a child with SEN does not require a diagnostic label or test. Instead, we expect teachers to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed.

We are committed to improving expertise and inclusivity in mainstream schools.

This includes building a robust and credible evidence base on what works to drive inclusive education. To support this, an Expert Advisory Group for inclusion has been established, led by Tom Rees, that consists of experts across the SEND sector.

Following the 2024 Autumn Budget, the department is providing an increase of £1 billion for high needs budgets in England in the 2025/26 financial year. This brings total high needs funding for children and young people with complex SEND, including those in mainstream schools, to over £12 billion. Of that total, Leicester City Council is being allocated over £88 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £6.6 million on the 2024/25 DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the number of pubs that will close in (a) Leicester East and (b) the United Kingdom as a result of employer National Insurance contribution rises.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.

The Government decided to protect the smallest businesses from these changes by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500. This means that this year, 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all, and more than half of all employers will either gain or will see no change. It means employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage without paying employer NICs.

Businesses will still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under-21s and under-25 apprentices.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of using carbon neutral backup power sources on infrastructure in (a) Leicester East constituency and (b) England.

Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Annex O of the Energy and Emission Projections [1] presents Net Zero consistent scenarios for the power sector, including estimates of the low carbon power sources required to ensure security of supply out to 2050.

[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6464ac150b72d30013344604/annex-o-net-zero-power-sector-scenarios.pdf

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve access to (a) adult education and (b) lifelong learning opportunities; and whether she plans to increase funding to support (i) adult learners and (ii) local education providers.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government recognises the value of lifelong learning and the department is investing in education and skills training for adults through the adult skills fund (ASF).

Currently, approximately 62% of the ASF is devolved to nine Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas.

In non-devolved areas, learners in receipt of a low wage are eligible for full funding, which directly supports social mobility. The ASF also funds Learner Support, which provides assistance to learners with specific financial hardships.

The department has also committed to introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), a transformation to the existing higher education student finance system. The LLE will launch in the 2026/27 academic year for learners studying courses starting on or after 1 January 2027.

Under the LLE, new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. Learners will be able to use this new entitlement to fund individual modules as well as full courses at levels 4 to 6.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase youth participation in (a) civil society and (b) sport.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

DCMS is committed to the inclusion of young people in civil society, particularly through youth social action and youth voice. DCMS funds the direct youth participation programme #iwill, which supports young people to engage in social action in their communities. DCMS also encourages participation through other funded programmes such as the Duke of Edinburgh and the Uniformed Youth Fund. We are developing a National Youth Strategy and this is an opportunity to look afresh at youth participation in volunteering and civil society.

The Government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child to access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active. The majority of our funding for grassroots sport is through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England - which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year to improve opportunities for local communities to access sport, including children and young people. The Government has also confirmed funding for the School Games Organisers network up to the end of the Financial Year 25/26, which provides over 2 million opportunities for school children to engage in local and inclusive sporting competitions across 40 different sports and activities.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to ensure that consular support is available to British tourists travelling in Pahalgam following the attack near Pahalgam on 22 April 2025.

Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has processed over 2000 consular enquiries since the escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan. We continue to monitor developments closely and British nationals should stay up to date with our travel advice and follow the advice of local authorities. British nationals affected can contact the FCDO for emergency help both in country and from the UK, 24/7. Travel Advice advises against all travel to the region of Jammu and Kashmir, including Pahalgam.

Museums, libraries and community centres in Leicester and the UK

Found: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat; Edinburgh West) Samantha Niblett (Labour; South Derbyshire) Shivani Raja

Found: (89.5%) Samantha Niblett (Labour, South Derbyshire) (added 28 Oct 2024) 15 of 19 (78.9%) Shivani Raja

Found: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat; Edinburgh West) Samantha Niblett (Labour; South Derbyshire) Shivani Raja

No description available