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Written Question
Schools: Work Experience
Wednesday 20th March 2024

Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that school work experience placements are accessible to students living with disabilities.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Work experience is an important aspect of the support pupils receive to follow rewarding learning and training pathways which lead to fulfilling careers.

The department works with The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support secondary schools in providing pupils with multiple interactions with employers from year 7 to year 13 in line with Gatsby Benchmark 6 - Experiences of the Workplace. This 2023/24 financial year, the department has asked CEC to drive this agenda forward at pace to increase workplace opportunities, targeting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is in response to evidence that these pupils are less likely to access work experience opportunities than their peers.

The CEC Careers Hub network has been asked to use a proportion of their Hub Delivery Fund to stimulate meaningful employer-led activities to increase the quantity and quality of opportunities for young people to engage in encounters of the workplace. Within the fund, there is a focus on alternative provision, SEND and Pupil Referral Units across all year groups. One funded activity, ‘Let’s Explore VR’ delivered fully immersive experiences to SEND pupils across the Liverpool City Region, who faced social barriers to accessing and engaging with workplace careers insights and traditional work experience. The activity provided unique and engaging insights into a variety of workplaces, careers and sectors using virtual reality to transport the students into the world of work.

The CEC’s training is designed to promote SEND inclusion. The CEC have developed SEND awareness training for their Enterprise Coordinators and Enterprise Advisers and provide SEND Careers training to Careers Leaders and special educational needs co-ordinators in schools, to support the development of careers plans and employer experiences appropriate to the needs of students with SEND. There are now 38 named SEND specific Enterprise Coordinators in place across 31 Careers Hubs. Enterprise Coordinators are trained professionals who work with a cluster of 20 schools and colleges to build careers plans and make connections to local and national employers. In addition, 300 Enterprise Coordinators have undertaken masterclass training to gain an understanding of how to support schools, colleges and special schools with young people with SEND.

Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and want to move into employment. They equip young people with the skills they need to secure and sustain employment through learning in the workplace.

The department is investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the supported internships programme and support more young people with EHC plans into employment.

In the 2023 Spring Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced up to £3 million to pilot extending supported internships to young people with learning difficulties and disabilities without an EHC plan by March 2025. The pilot is being rolled out in 12 local authorities.


Written Question
Mental Health Services: Liverpool
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS trusts in the Liverpool City Region on the adequacy of mental health provision for adults.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

NHS England is responsible for supporting integrated care boards (ICBs), National Health Service providers, and their local partners, in delivering their plans. The relevant NHS England regional team holds the primary relationship with ICBs and their partner NHS providers.

No such discussions have taken place within the last 12 months, between my Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and NHS trusts in the Liverpool City Region, on the adequacy of mental health provision for adults. In June 2023 ministers met with ICBs to discuss the Right Care, Right Person policy, which included representation from the Liverpool city region.


Written Question
Housing First: Offenders
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the impact of the Housing First programme on levels of offending behaviour.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Following the Government’s manifesto commitment to expand Housing First, DLUHC launched three Housing First pilots in the West Midlands (WMCA), Greater Manchester (GMCA) and Liverpool City Region (LCRCA) in May 2018. Since then, DLUHC’s expert advisers have been working closely with each of the three pilot regions to monitor and support progress.

DLUHC has published several evaluation reports during the pilots’ lifetime and will publish a final synthesis report following the pilots’ end. The evaluation will include findings on offending history and contact with the criminal justice system. DLUHC will use the findings of their evaluation of the Housing First pilots, together with their experiences from the three pilots, to inform next steps.

The Ministry of Justice will collaborate with DLUHC to contribute to the development of the next steps for Housing First to ensure that those with an history of offending are supported effectively through the service going forward.

The evaluation reports are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-first-pilot-national-evaluation-reports.


Written Question
Liverpool City Region Freeport
Monday 8th January 2024

Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to help support the (a) Liverpool City Region and (b) Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in the context of its status as a freeport.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) supports UK Freeports to attract new investment, boost trade and create thousands of jobs in their surrounding areas.

DBT provides tailored support to Liverpool City Region Freeport to develop and implement an ambitious trade and investment strategy, including to promote the advanced manufacturing and logistics opportunity at Parkside St Helens, as one of the Freeport’s strategic tax sites.

Support provided by DBT includes the creation of bespoke marketing collateral and engaging potential investors at international events through DBT’s global network. In November, DBT supported the Freeport’s presence at the Arab British Economic Summit to target investment from the Middle Eastern market.


Written Question
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Thursday 7th December 2023

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press notice entitled £8 billion boost to repair roads and back drivers, published on 17 November 2023, what proportion of the UK's road length will be resurfaced using the announced funding.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Across England, local highway authorities are receiving an additional £150 million this financial year as the first instalment of the £8.3 billion roads resurfacing fund through Network North.

This is in addition to the £915 million baseline funding for 2023/24 for those English highway authorities which are outside London and outside the Mayoral Combined Authority areas in receipt of City Region Sustainable Settlements, for whom separate arrangements apply. It is also in addition to the £200 million increase for the 2023/24 financial year that was announced at Budget 2023.

All eligible highway authorities in England will receive a further uplift from the additional £150 million that is also being provided in 2024/2025. Further details of how the rest of the £8.3 billion will be allocated will be announced in due course, this is anticipated to take place at a future Spending Review.

The tables below provide confirmed funding levels for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025, and the indicative minimum additional funding allocations between 2023 to 2024 and 2033 to 2034 inclusive.

Local Authority allocations:

Local authority

Current baseline allocation per year (HMB + Pothole Fund) (£000)

2023-24 – additional funding (£000)

2024-25 – additional funding (£000)

Minimum additional overall uplift between 2023-24 and 2033-34 (£000)

Bedford

3,728

470

470

14,725

Blackburn with Darwen

2,408

306

306

20,438

Blackpool

1,501

191

191

12,727

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

4,786

604

604

18,903

Bracknell Forest

2,124

268

268

8,391

Brighton and Hove

3,274

413

413

12,935

Buckinghamshire

13,111

1,654

1,654

51,785

Central Bedfordshire

5,564

702

702

21,983

Cheshire East

13,048

1,658

1,658

110,731

Cheshire West and Chester

9,929

1,262

1,262

84,257

Cornwall

28,325

3,573

3,573

111,883

County Durham

14,841

1,886

1,886

125,951

Cumberland

15,339

1,949

1,949

130,180

Derby

2,765

352

352

20,545

Derbyshire

23,699

3,014

3,014

176,114

Devon

52,823

6,663

6,663

208,657

Dorset

16,391

2,068

2,068

64,749

East Riding of Yorkshire

13,793

1,753

1,753

117,059

East Sussex

13,275

1,674

1,674

52,432

Essex

30,685

3,870

3,870

121,205

Gateshead

3,420

435

435

29,028

Gloucestershire

22,266

2,809

2,809

87,955

Hampshire

33,493

4,225

4,225

132,297

Herefordshire, County of

14,389

1,830

1,830

106,918

Hertfordshire

22,230

2,804

2,804

87,813

Isle of Wight

None – private financial initiative (PFI)

None – PFI

None – PFI

None – PFI

Isles of Scilly

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

Kent

34,058

4,296

4,296

134,531

Kingston upon Hull, City of

2,810

357

357

23,855

Lancashire

28,811

3,661

3,661

244,511

Leicester

3,262

415

415

24,241

Leicestershire

17,755

2,258

2,258

131,939

Lincolnshire

38,723

4,924

4,924

287,750

London

None – separate funding arrangement

7,530

7,530

235,804

Luton

1,708

215

215

6,746

Medway

3,177

401

401

12,552

Milton Keynes

6,397

807

807

25,263

Newcastle upon Tyne

3,389

431

431

28,758

Norfolk

35,757

4,510

4,510

141,240

North East Lincolnshire

2,491

317

317

21,145

North Lincolnshire

5,744

730

730

48,754

North Northamptonshire

8,404

1,069

1,069

62,450

North Somerset

5,011

632

632

19,789

North Tyneside

2,819

358

358

23,922

North Yorkshire

37,021

4,704

4,704

314,185

Northumberland

21,780

2,768

2,768

184,836

Nottingham

2,765

352

352

20,554

Nottinghamshire

18,630

2,369

2,369

138,443

Oxfordshire

20,846

2,629

2,629

82,340

Plymouth

2,903

366

366

11,469

Portsmouth

1,786

225

225

7,054

Reading

1,838

232

232

7,262

Rutland

2,381

303

303

17,696

Shropshire

20,599

2,619

2,619

153,072

Slough

1,129

142

142

4,457

Somerset

28,111

3,546

3,546

111,039

South Tyneside

1,933

246

246

16,408

Southampton

2,128

268

268

8,406

Southend-on-Sea

1,739

219

219

6,868

Staffordshire

25,067

3,188

3,188

186,273

Stoke-on-Trent

2,972

378

378

22,087

Suffolk

27,238

3,436

3,436

107,590

Sunderland

4,129

525

525

35,035

Surrey

20,869

2,632

2,632

82,436

Swindon

3,496

441

441

13,807

Telford and Wrekin

4,311

548

548

32,035

Thurrock

2,489

314

314

9,832

Torbay

1,820

230

230

7,193

Warrington

3,989

507

507

33,858

Warwickshire

16,171

2,056

2,056

120,168

West Berkshire

5,387

679

679

21,279

West Northamptonshire

10,669

1,357

1,357

79,281

West Sussex

17,136

2,161

2,161

67,684

Westmorland and Furness

18,474

2,347

2,347

156,777

Wiltshire

20,727

2,614

2,614

81,869

Windsor and Maidenhead

2,720

343

343

10,741

Wokingham

3,314

418

418

13,095

Worcestershire

18,738

2,383

2,383

139,243

York, City of

2,835

360

360

24,055

Total

945,663

127,249

127,249

5,731,338

Combined local authority allocations

Combined authority (CA)

Current baseline allocation per year (HMB + Pothole Fund) (£000)

2023-24 – additional funding (£000)

2024-25 – additional funding (£000)

Minimum additional uplift from 2023-24 to 2033-34 (£000)

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CA

23,062

2,909

2,909

91,095

Greater Manchester CA

City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS)

4,438

4,438

296,466

Liverpool City Region CA

CRSTS

2,684

2,684

179,225

South Yorkshire MCA

CRSTS

1,994

1,994

133,175

Tees Valley CA

CRSTS

1,499

1,499

100,104

West Midlands CA

CRSTS

2,586

2,586

151,192

West of England CA

CRSTS

2,007

2,007

62,847

West Yorkshire CA

CRSTS

4,633

4,633

309,559

CA total

Most receive funding via CRSTS

22,750

22,750

1,323,663


Written Question
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Thursday 7th December 2023

Asked by: Bill Esterson (Labour - Sefton Central)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his Department's press release entitled £8 billion boost to repair roads and back drivers, published on 17 November 2023, what his planned timescale is for the rollout of that funding.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Across England, local highway authorities are receiving an additional £150 million this financial year as the first instalment of the £8.3 billion roads resurfacing fund through Network North.

This is in addition to the £915 million baseline funding for 2023/24 for those English highway authorities which are outside London and outside the Mayoral Combined Authority areas in receipt of City Region Sustainable Settlements, for whom separate arrangements apply. It is also in addition to the £200 million increase for the 2023/24 financial year that was announced at Budget 2023.

All eligible highway authorities in England will receive a further uplift from the additional £150 million that is also being provided in 2024/2025. Further details of how the rest of the £8.3 billion will be allocated will be announced in due course, this is anticipated to take place at a future Spending Review.

The tables below provide confirmed funding levels for 2023 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025, and the indicative minimum additional funding allocations between 2023 to 2024 and 2033 to 2034 inclusive.

Local Authority allocations:

Local authority

Current baseline allocation per year (HMB + Pothole Fund) (£000)

2023-24 – additional funding (£000)

2024-25 – additional funding (£000)

Minimum additional overall uplift between 2023-24 and 2033-34 (£000)

Bedford

3,728

470

470

14,725

Blackburn with Darwen

2,408

306

306

20,438

Blackpool

1,501

191

191

12,727

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

4,786

604

604

18,903

Bracknell Forest

2,124

268

268

8,391

Brighton and Hove

3,274

413

413

12,935

Buckinghamshire

13,111

1,654

1,654

51,785

Central Bedfordshire

5,564

702

702

21,983

Cheshire East

13,048

1,658

1,658

110,731

Cheshire West and Chester

9,929

1,262

1,262

84,257

Cornwall

28,325

3,573

3,573

111,883

County Durham

14,841

1,886

1,886

125,951

Cumberland

15,339

1,949

1,949

130,180

Derby

2,765

352

352

20,545

Derbyshire

23,699

3,014

3,014

176,114

Devon

52,823

6,663

6,663

208,657

Dorset

16,391

2,068

2,068

64,749

East Riding of Yorkshire

13,793

1,753

1,753

117,059

East Sussex

13,275

1,674

1,674

52,432

Essex

30,685

3,870

3,870

121,205

Gateshead

3,420

435

435

29,028

Gloucestershire

22,266

2,809

2,809

87,955

Hampshire

33,493

4,225

4,225

132,297

Herefordshire, County of

14,389

1,830

1,830

106,918

Hertfordshire

22,230

2,804

2,804

87,813

Isle of Wight

None – private financial initiative (PFI)

None – PFI

None – PFI

None – PFI

Isles of Scilly

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

None – separate funding arrangement

Kent

34,058

4,296

4,296

134,531

Kingston upon Hull, City of

2,810

357

357

23,855

Lancashire

28,811

3,661

3,661

244,511

Leicester

3,262

415

415

24,241

Leicestershire

17,755

2,258

2,258

131,939

Lincolnshire

38,723

4,924

4,924

287,750

London

None – separate funding arrangement

7,530

7,530

235,804

Luton

1,708

215

215

6,746

Medway

3,177

401

401

12,552

Milton Keynes

6,397

807

807

25,263

Newcastle upon Tyne

3,389

431

431

28,758

Norfolk

35,757

4,510

4,510

141,240

North East Lincolnshire

2,491

317

317

21,145

North Lincolnshire

5,744

730

730

48,754

North Northamptonshire

8,404

1,069

1,069

62,450

North Somerset

5,011

632

632

19,789

North Tyneside

2,819

358

358

23,922

North Yorkshire

37,021

4,704

4,704

314,185

Northumberland

21,780

2,768

2,768

184,836

Nottingham

2,765

352

352

20,554

Nottinghamshire

18,630

2,369

2,369

138,443

Oxfordshire

20,846

2,629

2,629

82,340

Plymouth

2,903

366

366

11,469

Portsmouth

1,786

225

225

7,054

Reading

1,838

232

232

7,262

Rutland

2,381

303

303

17,696

Shropshire

20,599

2,619

2,619

153,072

Slough

1,129

142

142

4,457

Somerset

28,111

3,546

3,546

111,039

South Tyneside

1,933

246

246

16,408

Southampton

2,128

268

268

8,406

Southend-on-Sea

1,739

219

219

6,868

Staffordshire

25,067

3,188

3,188

186,273

Stoke-on-Trent

2,972

378

378

22,087

Suffolk

27,238

3,436

3,436

107,590

Sunderland

4,129

525

525

35,035

Surrey

20,869

2,632

2,632

82,436

Swindon

3,496

441

441

13,807

Telford and Wrekin

4,311

548

548

32,035

Thurrock

2,489

314

314

9,832

Torbay

1,820

230

230

7,193

Warrington

3,989

507

507

33,858

Warwickshire

16,171

2,056

2,056

120,168

West Berkshire

5,387

679

679

21,279

West Northamptonshire

10,669

1,357

1,357

79,281

West Sussex

17,136

2,161

2,161

67,684

Westmorland and Furness

18,474

2,347

2,347

156,777

Wiltshire

20,727

2,614

2,614

81,869

Windsor and Maidenhead

2,720

343

343

10,741

Wokingham

3,314

418

418

13,095

Worcestershire

18,738

2,383

2,383

139,243

York, City of

2,835

360

360

24,055

Total

945,663

127,249

127,249

5,731,338

Combined local authority allocations

Combined authority (CA)

Current baseline allocation per year (HMB + Pothole Fund) (£000)

2023-24 – additional funding (£000)

2024-25 – additional funding (£000)

Minimum additional uplift from 2023-24 to 2033-34 (£000)

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CA

23,062

2,909

2,909

91,095

Greater Manchester CA

City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS)

4,438

4,438

296,466

Liverpool City Region CA

CRSTS

2,684

2,684

179,225

South Yorkshire MCA

CRSTS

1,994

1,994

133,175

Tees Valley CA

CRSTS

1,499

1,499

100,104

West Midlands CA

CRSTS

2,586

2,586

151,192

West of England CA

CRSTS

2,007

2,007

62,847

West Yorkshire CA

CRSTS

4,633

4,633

309,559

CA total

Most receive funding via CRSTS

22,750

22,750

1,323,663


Written Question
Railways: North West
Thursday 20th July 2023

Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Liverpool Riverside constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the (a) Liverpool City Region and (b) North West.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.

Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.


Written Question
Railway Stations: Liverpool City Region
Wednesday 19th July 2023

Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in the Liverpool Wavertree constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the Liverpool City Region.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.

Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.


Written Question
Innovate UK
Monday 26th June 2023

Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent steps Innovate UK have taken to promote collaboration and networking within regions; and how it will measure the success of this work.

Answered by George Freeman

UKRI is delivering place-based funding opportunities, such as Local Policy Innovation Partnerships and the Strength in Places Fund, to deliver economic, social, and cultural benefits from research and innovation to all UK citizens to support levelling up.

Innovate UK’s Innovation Accelerators and Launchpad programmes, drive cluster development and support collaboration and networking. In each Launchpad (Tees Valley and Liverpool City Region), Innovate UK will invest up to £7.5 million for business-led innovation projects and wrap-around support. This supports our ambition for more places in the UK to host world-leading and globally connected innovation clusters, creating more jobs, productivity and growth.


Written Question
Electric Vehicles: Charging Points
Tuesday 23rd May 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to support the installation of public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in Southport constituency.

Answered by Jesse Norman

To ensure that the transition to electric vehicles takes place in every part of the country, the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) fund will support local authorities to work with industry to transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking.

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which includes Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, has been allocated £9.65 million in capital funding, and £737,000 in capability (resource) funding through the LEVI Fund. This will enable strategic local provision of public EV infrastructure, particularly for those EV drivers without off-street parking.

Local Authorities can also apply to the £15 million On-Street Residential Chargepoint scheme for support. To date, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council has not applied for these grants.

Data on electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, held by the Department for Transport, is sourced from the electric vehicle charging platform Zapmap. Charging devices not recorded on Zapmap are not included and the accurate number of charging devices may be higher than recorded in these figures. As at 1st April 2023, the Department estimates that there are 12 public charging devices in Southport constituency from this data.