Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the weight of volumetric concrete mixers on (a) the number of journeys undertaken by volumetric concrete mixers and (b) carbon emissions.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department ran a call for evidence from October to December 2023 seeking views on three potential options on weight limits for Volumetric Concrete Mixers (VCMs). The following factors were considered: reduction in payload per journey, increased waste, and increased vehicle mileage. Information received did not provide any compelling evidence for permitting a weight limit exemption specifically for VCMs.
As part of its consideration of the evidence, the Department for Transport has assessed the potential environmental impacts in accordance with the Environment Act 2021 which requires Ministers of the Crown to have ‘due regard’ to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy.
This is not a change to the policy on weights for VCMs but a decision to continue with the existing policy that a temporary exemption will come to an end in 2028.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to the maximum weight of volumetric concrete mixers on the number of lorry drivers required.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The call for evidence conducted from October to December 2023 was an opportunity for respondents to present evidence, but it did not reveal significant new evidence supporting a change in policy.
The outcome of my department’s review into VCMs was published on 18 March. This can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/volumetric-concrete-mixers-review
This is not a change to the policy on weights for VCMs, but a decision to continue with the existing policy that a temporary exemption will come to an end in 2028.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help improve the energy efficiency of homes.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.
The Government has announced Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund in England, to support social housing providers and tenants, as well as the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to support low-income homeowners and private tenants.
The Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. We will publish further details on the Warm Homes Plan in due course.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the mental health and well-being of school students.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to high and rising standards in schools and breaking down barriers to opportunity, helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.
That is why the government will provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. Mental Health Support Teams continue to roll out in schools and colleges across the country and are expected to cover at least 50% of pupils this year.
The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures hubs with access to mental health support workers.
To support education staff, the department provides a range of guidance and practical resources on promoting and supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, such as a resources hub for mental health leads and a toolkit to help schools choose evidence-based early support for pupils.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support first time buyers.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The affordability challenges facing prospective first-time buyers mean that too many people are now locked out of homeownership. This government is determined to change that, ensuring that young families and hardworking renters can buy a home of their own.
Boosting the supply of homes of all tenures must be at the heart of any strategy to improve housing affordability which is why the government’s Plan for Change includes a hugely ambitious milestone of building 1.5 million safe and decent homes in England in this Parliament.
In addition to increasing the supply of homes of all tenures, we are committed to introducing a permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme, to support first-time buyers who struggle to save for a large deposit, with lower mortgage costs.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support homegrown produce following the closure of the Fruit and Vegetable Aid Scheme.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s commitment to our horticulture sector and its vital role in strengthening food security by ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of home-grown fresh produce remains steadfast.
Underlining this commitment to our growers is our farming roadmap which will set out a 25-year vision and blueprint to make our farming and food production more sustainable and profitable.
Furthermore, we have now confirmed a 5-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route which will provide the sector the certainty they need to plan-ahead, having the labour needed to bring their high-quality homegrown produce to market.
We are also continuing support for crop Genetic Improvement Networks (GINs) investing in R&D for breeding to improve crop varieties supporting crop resilience and efficiency.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions to Official Development Assistance funding on the implementation of his Department's disability inclusion and rights strategy, published on 16 February 2022.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review based on various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of prescribing Mounjaro for Cushing's syndrome on the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment. Mounjaro is not licensed as a treatment option for Cushing’s syndrome. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would consider an evaluation of Mounjaro for Cushing’s syndrome if the company, Eli Lilly, were to apply to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for a marketing authorisation, or licence, for use in the treatment of Cushing’s syndrome.
Clinicians can prescribe medicines outside of their licensed indication, known as “off-label” use, where there is sufficient evidence and/or experience of using the medicine to show its safety, quality, and efficacy, provided there is no suitable alternative licensed medicine, and subject to funding by the National Health Service locally.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the trends in the level of teacher recruitment.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High-quality teaching is the biggest in-school factor that makes a difference to a child’s education, so having sufficient expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes.
Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers entering and leaving service in state-funded schools, is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.
Under the previous government, the rates and numbers of entrants to the state-funded teaching profession in England decreased in 2023/24, while the rates and numbers of leavers from to the state-funded teaching profession in England remained stable. While leavers have returned to pre-pandemic levels, entrants have returned to figures similar to the 2021/22 academic year. Each year, the number of teachers entering state-funded schools in England is higher than those leaving.
With regards recruitment of trainee teachers, information on the numbers and characteristics of new entrants to initial teacher training (ITT) in England is published in the ‘ITT census’ statistical publication which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census.
In 2024/25, there were 27,836 new entrants to ITT, a 6% increase compared to the revised figure of 26,376 in 2023/24. This reverses a trend of year-on-year decreases since the pandemic period with a high of 40,377 new entrants in 2020/21. Despite the increase in the latest year, numbers of entrants remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Postgraduate ITT targets for 2024/25 were set using analysis from the Teacher Workforce Model which can be viewed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/postgraduate-initial-teacher-training-targets.
The percentage of the postgraduate ITT target achieved for all subjects (secondary and primary) was 69%. This is an increase of 9 percentage points, up from 60% in 2023/24.
The department is committed to recruiting an additional 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament, which is why this government accepted the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools from last September. To further boost recruitment, we announced an ITT financial incentives package for the 2025/26 recruitment cycle worth £233 million, a £37 million increase on the last cycle. This includes a range of measures, including bursaries worth £29,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £31,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to train in key subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.
Asked by: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat - Ely and East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to help increase access to (a) technical and (b) vocational pathways for (i) training and (ii) employment in the chemical sciences sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Ely and East Cambridgeshire to the answer of 19 February 2025 to Question 30787.