Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a public awareness campaign to promote the new Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Adam Dance (Liberal Democrat - Yeovil)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has has made of trends in the level of public awareness of updated Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes, with the percentage of road users reporting they knew a little or a lot about the changes going from 36% in January 2022 to over 50% in August 2022 and 70% in September 2023. By that time 86% of road users reported having heard of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Strategy to boost UK education abroad in major £40bn growth drive, published on 20 January 2026, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility of achieving the target to grow UK education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed the government's continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. They join one of the world’s most vibrant, diverse and inclusive learning communities, form lifelong friendships and professional networks, and earn qualifications respected around the globe. Higher education providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.
Future international student numbers are inherently uncertain. The international student market is highly competitive, and inflows depend on a range of factors, including recruitment strategies from international competitors, exchange rates and other economic variables. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the sustainable recruitment of high-quality international students to the UK’s world-class higher education institutions from a diverse range of countries.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to her Department’s press release entitled Strategy to boost UK education abroad in major £40bn growth drive, published on 20 January 2026, what estimate her Department has made of the expected numbers of international students when targets are removed.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed the government's continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK. They join one of the world’s most vibrant, diverse and inclusive learning communities, form lifelong friendships and professional networks, and earn qualifications respected around the globe. Higher education providers in the UK received an estimated £12.1 billion in tuition fee income from international students in the 2023/24 academic year, which supported the provision of places for domestic students and research and development.
Future international student numbers are inherently uncertain. The international student market is highly competitive, and inflows depend on a range of factors, including recruitment strategies from international competitors, exchange rates and other economic variables. The International Education Strategy will continue to support the sustainable recruitment of high-quality international students to the UK’s world-class higher education institutions from a diverse range of countries.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that mature students who wish to retrain as doctors are able to access available financial support; and what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which those mature students who previously had a student loan that is now fully repaid are eligible to access that financial support.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is committed to ensuring the country develops the skills needed to break down barriers to opportunity and so is introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). This will launch in the 2026/27 academic year for learners up to aged 60 studying courses that start on or after 1 January 2027.
The LLE will remove the Equivalent Level Qualification rules meaning more people can train, retrain and upskill flexibly. Also under the LLE, a priority additional entitlement will be available to support graduates who study a second degree in certain courses, including medicine. Courses eligible for priority additional entitlement funding have been chosen based on their alignment to the government’s Industrial Strategy and the UK’s priority skills needs.
Medical students taking a second degree using the LLE will also be able to access standard maintenance support for those years not covered by the NHS bursary.
Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will introduce an enhanced public awareness campaign to improve understanding of the updated Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Improving road safety is one of my Department’s highest priorities. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the Department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the Strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and ensuring overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the Strategy, to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK the Government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the Government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has been made of the merits of providing training to mental health teams to support children with lifelong speech and language difficulties.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such specific assessment has been made. The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
In addition to the undergraduate degree route, speech and language therapists can now also train via a degree apprenticeship. This route is going into its fourth year of delivery and offers an alternative pathway to the traditional degree route into a successful career as a speech and language therapist.
In partnership with NHS England, the Department for Education has extended the Early Language and Support for Every Child programme, trialling new ways of working to better identify and support children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs in early years settings and primary schools.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of employer investment in skills training since 2017.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
According to the Employer Skills Survey, a biennial site level survey of tens of thousands of employers across the UK, total employer expenditure on training fell by 17% in the UK between 2017 and 2024.
The apprenticeship levy was introduced in 2017 to support employers to invest in high-quality apprenticeships training and to ensure sustainable funding for all employers of all sizes.
We continue to engage with industry to support the upskilling and training of employees. The reforms set out in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper support adult skills training for industries across our economy through the Growth and Skills Levy (which received an additional £725m of investment at Budget 2025), the Adult Skills Fund, and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), which will be available from academic year 2026/27.
We will work with business and employers over the coming months to ensure that the Growth and Skills Levy offer is developed to help meet their needs and incentivise employer investment in training.
Asked by: Afzal Khan (Labour - Manchester Rusholme)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans her Department has to ensure national public awareness of recent Highway Code changes as part of the Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Dan Carden (Labour - Liverpool Walton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to increase public awareness of new Highway Code rules.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
Following updates to the Highway Code in 2022, the department ran large-scale THINK! advertising campaigns to raise awareness of the changes.
Via the THINK! campaign, we are also running year-round radio filler adverts encouraging compliance with the guidance to improve safety for those walking, cycling and horse riding. We will also continue to promote the changes via THINK! and Department for Transport social media channels, as well as through partner organisations.
However, as set out in the strategy, more work is needed to continue embedding these changes and overall awareness of the Highway Code. We are considering options in this area, and further details will be shared in due course.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK,the government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.