Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending financial education to primary school children.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Financial education currently forms a compulsory part of the national curriculum for mathematics, at key stages 1 to 4, and citizenship, at key stages 3 and 4. The primary mathematics curriculum includes arithmetic knowledge that supports pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money, including, for example, calculations with money and percentages.
Primary schools are free to teach financial education within citizenship. The non-statutory primary citizenship programme of study at key stages 1 and 2 equip pupils to look after their money and realise that future wants and needs may be met through saving.
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, covering ages 5 to 18, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The Review is committed to ensuring a high-quality, knowledge-rich curriculum that drives excellence in education across a broad range of subjects and pathways. The next phase of work will consider whether there is sufficient coverage of key knowledge and skills to prepare children and young people for future life and to thrive in a fast-changing world, including financial education. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government response.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of proposed reductions in the funding for the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme on children in Mid Bedfordshire constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Mid Bedfordshire to the answer of 28 April to Question 40352.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press notice entitled PM tells councils to prove action on pothole plague to unlock extra cash and reveals £4.8 billion for major roads, published on 23 March 2025, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing information on councils' progress in mending potholes centrally.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the first instance it will be up to local highway authorities to publish their progress reports on their own websites, as set out in the Department’s letter of 24 March to local authority chief executive officers which is available on gov.uk. The Department will review authorities’ reports and determine in due course what information to publish centrally.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press release entitled PM tells councils to prove action on pothole plague to unlock extra cash and reveals £4.8 billion for major roads, published on 23 March 2025, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential cost of publishing details by local authorities.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The additional costs to local highway authorities of complying with the Department’s new reporting requirements are likely to be minimal. The Department has made clear that it is looking for short reports in plain English, to be published on authorities’ websites, and it has provided templates for these to make the task simpler. It is only right that local highway authorities should be held to account in this way for their use of the £500 million of additional highway maintenance funding in the current financial year.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 35855 on Govia Thameslink Railway: Standards, whether the timetable referred to would reduce the number of services provided on a given line in some cases.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Currently all train operators are required to plan services and timetables designed to meet both current and future passenger demand, while also ensuring value for money for the taxpayer.
In the future Great British Railways (GBR) will be accountable for decisions on the use of the railway including in relation to the planning of train services. GBR will plan and implement an achievable, reliable timetable, so that the services promised to passengers are delivered. It is anticipated that better coordination of the timetable will reduce delays, improve reliability and reduce costs.
GBR will need to continually reassess its services to ensure it provides rail timetables that meet passenger travel patterns, are fit for the future, and carefully balance cost, capacity and performance. This could potentially result in increases or decreases in service levels across different routes to ensure the best outcomes for both passengers and taxpayers.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the press release entitled £2 billion new investment to support biggest boost in social and affordable housebuilding in a generation, published on 25 March 2025, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) social and (b) affordable homes that will be built in Bedfordshire in the 2026-27 financial year.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 44049 on 22 April 2025.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of East West Rail on passenger numbers on Thameslink services (a) from London to Bedford, (b) from Bedford to London, (c) northbound on the East Coast Main Line and (d) southbound on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
East West Rail Co. will be considering abstraction of passengers from other services as part of the Outline Business Case for East West Rail.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 35856 on Railways: Standards, which stations in (a) England and (b) Bedfordshire are most impacted by cancelling stops to make services run faster; and on how many weekdays in 2024-25 one or more cancellations have happened at each of those stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Data on cancellations is published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on their data portal which can be accessed here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/passenger-rail-performance/
Data showing the punctuality of trains at individual stations across England is available for the first time ever on a periodic basis. The statistics cover over 1,700 stations and also show reliability of services. This service can be accessed here: https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/statistics/performance/performance-at-stations
The available data identifies specific stations, but it does not provide cancellation reasons nor on which days cancellations occurred.
Cancellations can be frustrating to passengers, especially when made at short notice. The department expects train operators to recover services as quickly as possible and minimize impact upon passengers. Ministers are meeting with managing directors of Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to address poor performance and demand immediate action to raise standards.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the proposed Luton Airport expansion on Thameslink services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Luton Airport Parkway station is well served with up to eight Thameslink and two East Midlands Railway trains an hour to and from the station.
Most passenger demand for the airport is either in the off-peak period or in the contra-peak direction, when trains are typically less busy.
The two train operators for the station, Govia Thameslink Railway and East Midlands Railway, were involved in the planning process for the airport expansion plans, including in relation to their ability to provide sufficient capacity to meet expected changes in demand.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an estimate of what the median income of farmers was in the 2023-24 financial year who will be affected by the changes to Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Assessing the impact of the new Inheritance Tax policy, which comes into force from 6 April 2026, relies on a number of factors such as ownership structure and debt levels. The Government is aware that each farm is different, and so we encourage farmers to speak to their tax advisors and agents to understand how these changes may impact their specific situation and how to plan for the future.
Published data for all farms in the Farm Business Survey population in England are based on mean average incomes and are available at: Farm business income - GOV.UK.