Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) help reduce exam stress and (b) support pupils with exam stress.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department recognises that it is normal for young people to experience some stress around exams. It is important that this stress is identified early and the right support is in place to help young people manage it in a healthy and constructive way. Schools play a key role in supporting students through this, and mental health charities such as YoungMinds have published guidance on staying well during revision and exams. Their guidance is available at:
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/mqljrydj/staying-well-during-revision-and-exams.pdf.
The department is providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding Mental Health Support Teams (MHST), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. By April 2026, we estimate that 60% of pupils in schools and learners in further education in England will be covered by an MHST, up from 52% in April 2025.
The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review carefully considered evidence on wellbeing and found that many factors can impact student mental health. The Review recommended reducing exam volume to help improve the overall student experience. We will work closely with Ofqual and exam boards to reduce GCSE exam time by 2.5 to 3 hours for the average student, while maintaining high standards and protecting the integrity and validity of the qualifications system.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when they will set out a timescale for their review of agricultural permitted development rights.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under existing nationally set permitted development rights, farmers are already able to undertake specific development on their farms. Guidance on the rights in question is available on gov.uk here.
The government continues to keep permitted development rights under review.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost incurred by children and young people from North Norfolk for attending their cancer treatment in the nearest specialist treatment centre in Cambridge; how many of them are not receiving support for their travel costs; and whether he will introduce a Young Cancer Patient Travel Fund to support with these costs.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the current statutory thresholds at which a local authority is required to declare an Air Quality Management Area.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Air Quality Objectives set under the Air Quality (England) Regulations 2000 set out the statutory thresholds that determine the need to declare an Air Quality Management Area. These continue to drive local authority action on NO2 and other pollutants. We remain committed to continuous improvement and will keep air quality objectives under review.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has attended meetings with the Secretary of State for Education on the allocation of new dental school places since 1 January 2025.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers regularly engage with ministerial colleagues on a range of issues.
The independent Office for Students (OfS) has statutory responsibility for allocating funding for medical and dental school places. Allocation outcomes are based on guidance issued by the Government, alongside an OfS assessment of provider capability.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of rural exception site policy in securing affordable rented housing in perpetuity for local people in rural and coastal towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 57293 on 16 June 2025.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2025 to Question 88046 on Economic Crime: British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, if she will make it her policy to collect data on the use of Exchange of Notes Arrangements in investigations.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
While we do not collect specific data on the use of Exchange of Notes Arrangements in investigations, we regularly review the effectiveness and usefulness of these arrangements as part of our ongoing policy considerations, including with law enforcement partners.
We are also mindful of the need to strike the appropriate balance when introducing any new reporting requirements on law enforcement agencies, ensuring that such measures support operational effectiveness without creating unnecessary burdens.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of registers of beneficial ownership in the Overseas Territories on the effective prosecution of fraud and economic crime.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government regards registers of beneficial ownership as key tools for tackling illicit finance, including investigating fraud and economic crime by law enforcement both in the UK and the Overseas Territories (OTs). The UK expects OTs to implement legitimate interest access registers at a minimum, and as soon as possible, in line with the commitments made at the Joint Ministerial Council in 2024. Our ultimate expectation is that the OTs implement fully public registers. I refer the Hon Member to my Written Ministerial Statements of 3 July and 22 July on this subject, and my contribution to the Westminster Hall debate on 5 November. I will provide a further update following the Joint Ministerial Council this month.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times exchange of notes arrangements have been used in investigations relating to economic crime to share beneficial ownership information between the UK on the one hand and the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories on the other in financial years (i) 2019-20, (ii) 2020-21, (iii) 2021-22, (iv) 2023-24 and (v) 2024-25.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
In 2016 the UK, the three Crown Dependencies and six participating British Overseas Territories committed to share company beneficial ownership information on a bilateral basis between their participating law enforcement agencies.
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of investigations where the Exchange of Notes Arrangements have been used in investigations.
Asked by: Steff Aquarone (Liberal Democrat - North Norfolk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the availability of research into less survivable cancers; and what steps his Department is taking to incentivise people to undertake research into this area.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The Government is investing in new lifesaving and life-improving research to support those diagnosed with less survivable cancers. An example of this is the announcement of the NIHR’s new national Brain Tumour Research Consortium, which will bring together researchers from a range of different disciplines and institutions with the aim of making scientific advances in how we prevent, detect, manage and treat rarer but less-survivable cancers in adults and children.
The NIHR continue to welcome further high-quality proposals from researchers to inform approaches to prevention, treatment and care in relation to less survivable cancers.
Furthermore, the Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with rare cancers, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials and innovative, lifesaving treatments. The forthcoming National Cancer Plan will include further details on how the National Health Service will improve diagnosis and outcomes for all cancer patients in England, including for rare and less common cancers.