Asked by: Baroness Thomas of Winchester (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure growth and retention in the occupational therapy workforce across health, social care, community and specialist services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10 Year Workforce Plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients, when they need it. While the scope of the 10 Year Workforce Plan is the NHS workforce, we understand the importance of effective integration across social care and community care.
We are working through how the 10 Year Workforce Plan will articulate the changes for different professional groups.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase defibrillator coverage in non-ambulance emergency vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Many non-emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) ambulances operated by National Health Service trusts already carry a defibrillator.
The contractual requirements for the provision of NEPTS services, including carrying defibrillators, are determined by each integrated care board, based on their assessment of the needs of the local population.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps are being taken to ensure that nursery places are available to children with a range of special needs in Poole constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We want every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms we announced in February, will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.
Alongside this, we will work with local authorities to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places. This will provide parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.
Asked by: Damian Hinds (Conservative - East Hampshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department's estimate of local authorities’ projected SEND deficits in 2028/29 assumes that 6.8% of pupils will have an EHCP in the academic year 2027/8, 7.3% in academic year 2028/9 and 7.7% in academic year 2029/30.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The Office for Budget Responsibility, as the independent authority, publishes estimates of future spend.
From 2028/29, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) spending will be covered by the overall government departmental expenditure limit budget, meaning local authorities are not expected to fund future SEND costs from general funds once the Statutory Override ends at the end of 2027/28.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department collects on children with dyslexia to improve understanding of the number of children with dyslexia in schools, their support needs in the classroom and their educational outcomes.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the numbers of children with dyslexia is not collected separately by the department. Dyslexia is included within the wider special educational need type of ‘Specific learning difficulties’ (SpLD).
All the information held by the department relating to children with SpLD is provided by schools via the school census. This data is also available for local authorities, enabling them to take informed decisions when supporting the needs of children in their communities.
Asked by: Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of corporate Environmental, Social and Governance targets in reducing global emissions.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Evidence from DESNZ analysis and evaluations, including the evaluation of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting framework, suggests that well-designed climate and ESG disclosures can strengthen corporate governance, improve monitoring and management of emissions, and support firms to identify and implement emissions reduction measures. The Government therefore supports approaches that promote credible, science-based targets and transition planning.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department requires local authorities to collect in relation to the numbers of children with dyslexia in education in their area.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Information on the numbers of children with dyslexia is not collected separately by the department. Dyslexia is included within the wider special educational need type of ‘Specific learning difficulties’ (SpLD).
All the information held by the department relating to children with SpLD is provided by schools via the school census. This data is also available for local authorities, enabling them to take informed decisions when supporting the needs of children in their communities.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her department is taking to ensure pupils, particularly those with imminent exams, can continue to attend schools safely in the context of the meningitis outbreak.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Children and young people, including those identified as contacts of cases, can and should continue to attend school or college as normal, including sitting exams and qualifications, unless directly advised otherwise by the local health protection team.
Meningococcal disease does not spread easily, and outbreaks of the size seen in Kent are rare. Transmission of meningococcal disease requires close and prolonged contact to spread, including living in the same household, and intimate contact such as kissing or sharing vapes.
A targeted programme of preventative antibiotics and meningitis B vaccination has been introduced to provide longer-term protection for students and young people in the area. Vaccination has been offered to all those who have received preventative antibiotics, and to year 11, 12 and 13 students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. Widening the vaccine offer is a precautionary measure to ensure longer-term protection whilst helping to minimise disruption to school attendance at a critical time in the academic year.
Asked by: Laura Trott (Conservative - Sevenoaks)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether school children who have been in a classroom, dining hall, shared areas with someone who now has confirmed meningitis are being offered a)antibiotics b)vaccinations.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Children and young people, including those identified as contacts of cases, can and should continue to attend school or college as normal, including sitting exams and qualifications, unless directly advised otherwise by the local health protection team.
Meningococcal disease does not spread easily, and outbreaks of the size seen in Kent are rare. Transmission of meningococcal disease requires close and prolonged contact to spread, including living in the same household, and intimate contact such as kissing or sharing vapes.
A targeted programme of preventative antibiotics and meningitis B vaccination has been introduced to provide longer-term protection for students and young people in the area. Vaccination has been offered to all those who have received preventative antibiotics, and to year 11, 12 and 13 students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. Widening the vaccine offer is a precautionary measure to ensure longer-term protection whilst helping to minimise disruption to school attendance at a critical time in the academic year.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure access for pre-school children with additional needs to nursery places in the Poole constituency.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We want every child, including those with additional needs, to be able to access a childcare setting where they can get the best start in life. The special educational needs and disability (SEND) reforms we announced in February, will give early years settings the training, evidence-based tools and expert input they need to welcome children with diverse needs into their settings and provide the right support from day one. We are investing over £200 million to strengthen the SEND offer in Best Start Family Hubs, including funding a family-facing practitioner in every hub to join up support across early years settings, health visitors and SEND teams.
Alongside this, we will work with local authorities to strengthen their childcare sufficiency planning for children with SEND and improve data on the availability of suitable places. This will provide parents greater confidence that their children can access the early education and childcare they are entitled to.