Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the personal allowance threshold for pensioners to £15,000.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

As with all aspects of the tax system, the Government keeps the Personal Allowance under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing the revised NHS Accessible Information Standard.

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

NHS England remains committed to publishing the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) as soon as possible, with the intention of publishing it within the first quarter of 2024/25. The standard is within the publication process, and NHS England are working to both progress the documentation through the publication approval process, as well as ensuring that, when published, the AIS and supporting documentation are available in accessible formats.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of not increasing pupil premium funding in line with inflation on disadvantaged students.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Pupil premium funding is rising to over £2.9 billion in 2024/25, an increase of around £90 million from 2023 to 2024. In 2024/25 the pupil premium funding rate for primary pupils is £1,480, and £1,050 for secondary pupils. Looked-after, and previously looked-after, children attract a higher rate of £2,570.

These rates for 2024/25 were an increase of 1.7% on those for 2023/24. This increase was in line with inflation as measured by the GDP deflator forecasts when the rates were announced for 2024/25. As the inflation forecast for 2024/25 has since reduced, the increase in pupil premium rates of 1.7% is now higher than the latest inflation forecast.

This increase ensures that this target funding continues to help schools to support disadvantaged pupils and close attainment gaps.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the State Pension age to 60.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

As stated in our previous response to the same question published on 24 April 2024, the Government has no plans to make such an assessment.

Changes to State Pension age were made over a series of Acts by successive governments from 1995 onwards, following public consultations and extensive debates in both Houses of Parliament.

Further changes were introduced through the Pensions Acts 2011 and 2014 in order to protect public finances and maintain the sustainability of the State Pension over the long term.

Under the 2011 Pensions Act the State Pension age for women and men rose to 66.

The rise in State Pension age to 67 has been planned since 2014. Since then, the Government has undertaken two statutory State Pension age reviews, one in 2017 and one in 2023. These reviews both considered whether the existing rules about the timetable for State Pension age rising to 67 remained appropriate.

Both reviews, including the Independent Reports that supported them, concluded that the rules concerning the increase in State Pension age from 66 to 67 should continue as planned.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans her Department has to (a) expand and (b) improve autism services in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Preston for (A) adults and (B) children.

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

It is the responsibility of integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including services to support autistic people, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB advises that it is currently reviewing its all-age autism pathway, and is in the initial stages of completing consultations with system partners and stakeholders. The ICB is aiming to complete the review, and proposals for a future pathway for 2025/26, by the end of this calendar year. In addition to this work, the ICB is reviewing the service specifications in place for the keyworker team, specialist autism team, and forensic autism team with the local provider, to ensure that the commissioned offer reflects the current needs of their population.

Nationally, we are taking steps to improve autism services. NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services on 5 April 2023. These documents are intended to help the National Health Service improve autism assessment services, and improve the experience for adults and children who are going through an autism assessment. They also set out what support should be available before an assessment, and what support should follow a recent diagnosis of autism.

We are currently updating the Autism Act Statutory Guidance to support the NHS and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people. This will include setting out what NHS organisations and local authorities must and should be doing to support autistic people.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the backlog in issuing education, health and care (EHC) plans for children; and whether she plans to make an assessment of the impact of delays on the (a) short and (b) long term development of children.

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

Where local authorities are failing to deliver consistent outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) – including failing to produce timely Education, Health and Care (EHC) assessments – the department will work with them using a range of improvement programmes and SEND specialist advisors to address weaknesses.

The department’s SEND and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan recognised the need to reduce delays in children and young people receiving timely assessments and support and has a clear focus on early intervention. Through the SEND and AP Change Programme, the department is testing a range of reforms to improve the EHC plan process, including standardised templates and guidance, the use of multi-agency panels to improve decision-making, digital reforms, and strengthened mediation arrangements.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase the number of places for (a) children with autism and (b) children with special needs in schools.

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

In March 2024, the department announced trusts to run 30 new special free schools, which included 17 designated to cater for pupils with autism. The Spring Budget announced funding for 15 special free schools. The department will announce the location of these new schools in May.

In March the department also published just under £850 million of High Needs Provision Capital Allocations for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years. This funding forms part of our transformational investment of £2.6 billion in new high needs provision between 2022 and 2025. Local authorities can use the funding to deliver new places in mainstream and special schools, as well as other specialist settings, and to improve the suitability and accessibility of existing buildings.

Teachers’ Pension Scheme and universities

Found: Chelmsford ) Barry Gardiner MP (Labour, Brent North ) Mark Garnier MP (Conservative, Wyre Forest ) Sir Mark

Found: Kerry McCarthy Dawn Butler Ms Lyn Brown Dame Diana Johnson Sarah Owen Kate Hollern Sir Mark