Asked by: Mark Sewards (Labour - Leeds South West and Morley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that Education Otherwise Than At School (EOTAS) is available as part of the continuation of SEND support where a child cannot be educated in school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the specialist provision packages in the SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First consultation on children with complex needs reliant on statutory Education Other Than in School provision.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department’s consultation, “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, proposes the introduction of Specialist Provision Packages for all children and young people with complex needs, including those children and young people whose needs are currently met through Education Other Than At School (EOTAS) packages of support.
After a 12-week consultation period, including over 200 engagement events, meetings and roundtables, the department’s consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing and taking into account all responses submitted to the consultation and continuing to engage widely on our proposals.
As part of that continued engagement, we intend to publish a consultation on the use of EOTAS provision in the coming weeks. It is crucial that we get support for EOTAS children and young people right, particularly given their often complex needs. This consultation will seek views to ensure we meet those specific needs, and that these children and young people benefit from the inclusive education we want for all.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress Greater Anglia has made on (a) expanding its pay-as-you-go ticketing system in 2026 and (b) delivering the extra projected 11 million additional journeys of which three million were designated to be for contactless payment by the end of 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On Sunday 8th March 2026, Pay As You Go (PAYG) with contactless went live at 20 stations at Greater Anglia stations including Stansted Airport. In the four weeks ending 30 May 2026, these additional 20 stations generated around 200,000 taps, this is a 15 per cent increase on the prior four-week period. Greater Anglia is currently on track to see over three million contactless journeys annually across the additional 20 stations which now have PAYG with contactless.
Asked by: Baroness Smith of Llanfaes (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the success of their homelessness strategy.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are taking a cross-government approach to delivering the long-term solutions we need to get us back on track to ending all forms of homelessness. This includes a dedicated Inter-Ministerial Group, bringing together ministers from across government to oversee delivery of our strategy. The Inter-Ministerial Group on Homelessness and Rough Sleeping works across government to maintain collaboration and assure delivery of the commitments in this strategy. The Group will receive quarterly data updates, tracking progress against the targets. We will also publish reports at least every two years that monitor progress on the implementation of measures set out in this strategy, including our national cross-government targets. Our headline targets include: eliminating the illegal use of B&Bs, halving long-term rough sleeping, and increasing prevention and relief rates.
More comprehensive information can be found in Chapter 7 of the National Plan to End Homelessness.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the cost of technical debt to UK productivity; and what steps her Department is taking to address skills shortages linked to the retirement of personnel maintaining legacy IT systems critical to national infrastructure.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
At least 28% of central government systems are classified as legacy. These outdated systems cost around 40% more to maintain than modern alternatives, slow down public services, are harder to join up and increase the risk of disruption, reducing efficiency across government and contributing to wider productivity challenges.
DSIT is committed to addressing this technical debt. We are undertaking work to identify the most cost-effective methods for modernising outdated systems, which will inform the Technology Modernisation Action Plan later this year.
By moving departments off legacy systems, we reduce reliance on retiring specialist expertise. Alongside this, through Get Tech Certified, over 9,000 public servants have accessed free certification pathways in cloud, AI and modern engineering; equipping the workforce with the skills these modern platforms require.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the Government is working with local authorities to improve access to nature in deprived communities in Sussex.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government has committed, as part of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025, to work with 100 local authorities and developers to embed Natural England’s Green Infrastructure Framework. The framework provides guidance and practical tools to help local planning authorities and developers design high quality green spaces in urban areas.
This Government has also announced that we will bring forward an Access to Nature Green Paper to consult on proposals to improve and expand public access to the outdoors.
The Green Paper will set out a range of policy options and invite views from stakeholders, including local authorities, and the public.
This consultation will play an important role in shaping the development of future policy in this area. Further updates and a timeline for publication will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his department has made an assessment of the potential merits of delivering the Synergy payroll service in-house.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bringing Business Process Services in-house was considered as part of the 2020/21 delivery options assessment for Synergy, which concluded that maintaining an outsourced model offered the best value for money.
Cabinet Office and Treasury controls on civil service headcount were a key consideration, as full insourcing would have required over 1,600 additional FTEs.
The assessment also reflected the existing outsourced shared services model, the availability of a mature supplier market, and the Strategy’s requirement to separate technology delivery from transaction service delivery.
Synergy is, however, establishing an in-house Shared Services Hub to manage end-to-end service delivery, partner contracts, and continuous improvement.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations she has made to the Government of Nicaragua on the detention of Protestant Pastor Efren Vilchez.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
A number of Parliamentary Questions have been asked in recent months around the persecution of members and leaders of Christian congregations and other religious groups in Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico and Cuba, and these are issues the Government continues to take very seriously as part of our commitment to promoting Freedom of Religion or Belief around the world. Specifically, on each of the countries raised by the Hon Member, I refer her to the answers provided to Questions 5332 and 5388 on 8 June, Question 5283 on 4 June, and Question 66106 on 17 July 2025.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department is considering requiring developers to assess the impact of redevelopment proposals on telecommunications infrastructure and mobile connectivity as part of the planning process.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124803 on 20 April 2026.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered extending the permitted period for the temporary relocation of telecommunications apparatus following redevelopment-related site loss.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124803 on 20 April 2026.