Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will review best practice guidance for play-based learning for five to seven year-olds.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell to the answer of 23 March 2026 to Question 117074.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many staff within her Department are reliant on a visa for employment.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department currently sponsors 28 individuals on a Skilled Worker visa through a Certificate of Sponsorship.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support local authorities such as Dorset Council in managing demand for school transport during peak holiday periods.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, passes for free travel on public transport and contracts with private operators and must ensure the arrangements they make are suitable for the needs of the children travelling.
Most local bus services in England outside London are run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision, including the frequency of services and the type of vehicle used. The government is committed to improving bus services and has confirmed investment of over £3 billion until 2028/29 for local authorities and bus operators to maintain and improve bus services.
Asked by: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat - West Dorset)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability of school bus places during peak holiday periods in West Dorset.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Local authorities are responsible for arranging home-to-school travel for eligible children. They use a mix of in-house services, passes for free travel on public transport and contracts with private operators and must ensure the arrangements they make are suitable for the needs of the children travelling.
Most local bus services in England outside London are run on a commercial basis where the operator decides on routes and provision, including the frequency of services and the type of vehicle used. The government is committed to improving bus services and has confirmed investment of over £3 billion until 2028/29 for local authorities and bus operators to maintain and improve bus services.
Asked by: Lord Sedwill (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghan nationals who supported British military or civilian staff in NATO and International Security Assistance Force command structures have applied under category 4 of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy; and how many of those applicants were found to be (1) eligible, and (2) ineligible.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
It is not possible to provide a comprehensive breakdown of figures by employment dates or job roles, including those who worked in NATO and International Security Assistance Force command structures. This is because this information is not presented in a format that is readily available, nor included in published statistics.
Each ARAP scheme application is assessed individually against the eligibility criteria outlined under the Immigration Rules: Appendix ARAP. Applicants cannot directly apply under a particular category. Further information on this can be found in the attached and at the following link:
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the legal mechanisms to join Erasmus will be subject to the Treaty ratification process under Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As was the case with our association to Horizon under the previous Government, the legal mechanism to associate to the Erasmus+ programme will not be subject to the treaty ratification process set out in Part 2 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Protocol I to the UK-EU Trade Agreement will be amended by a decision of the UK-EU Specialised Committee on Participation in Union Programmes. A decision to amend the Protocol does not require ratification. The power to amend Protocol I to add new programmes is already delegated to this committee. The decision will come into force on adoption by the Committee. Once the Specialised Committee decision is adopted, this will be made publicly available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish applications made by Lord Mandelson to the Advisory Committee to Business Appointments between May 2010 and May 2012.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Information about historic Business Application Rules applications can be found on GOV.UK.
The 2010-2011 Advisory Committee to Business Appointments Annual Report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d965340f0b65084e76188/Twelfth_Annual_Report_2010-2011.pdf, and the 2011-2012 Annual Report can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a74e389ed915d3c7d528bcd/ACOBA_Thirteenth_Annual_Report_2011-12.pdf
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether special advisers provided advice to the Prime Minister on the appointment of the new Cabinet Secretary.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As set out in the GOV.uk announcement of the Cabinet Secretary appointment. “the Prime Minister and the First Civil Service Commissioner agreed a process to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary”.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the reduction of the proportion of the UK's energy needs met by oil and gas.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Through our Clean Power 2030 mission, we are reducing dependency on volatile global fossil fuel markets and delivering a diverse, secure and clean energy system based on renewables and nuclear, backed by a reserve of gas supply to be used only when essential.
Our work to date - reforming the connections queue, taking a clear decision on REMA and publishing roadmaps for key technologies like Solar and Clean Flexibility - has given a clear signal to industry. And we have now delivered the most successful renewables auction in history, with AR7 securing a record-breaking 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, which will power the equivalent of around 12m homes.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the total historic SEND deficits accrued in local authorities in England up to the end of (a) 2024/5 and (b) 2025/6; and what estimate she has made of the level of funding that will be required from central government to offset these historic SEND deficits.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
We have set out plans to address Dedicated Schools Grant deficits up to the end of 2025/26, providing grants to cover 90% of each council’s deficit as at 31 March 2026, once they have produced and received approval for a strong plan to drive sustained and energetic action. This is in accordance with our new system set out in the Schools White Paper, which will begin to improve outcomes for children and bring costs under control through effective early intervention stopping needs from escalating.