Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions she has had with Transport for London on the potential impact of extending the DLR to Thamesmead on (a) economic growth and (b) housing delivery.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We appreciate the strategic and economic benefits of new transport infrastructure programmes in London like the DLR extension to Thamesmead.
This government remains committed to supporting London and the transport network on which it depends and regularly engages with TfL to understand its capital portfolio for the long-term.
We continue to work with the Mayor of London and Transport for London on funding for transport in the capital as part of the Spending Review and it will then be for them to decide which projects to take forward.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will invest in data infrastructure to better understand where and when disabled children need support.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department collects and publishes information on disabled children, including through the school census, the SEN2 survey and in the children in need census. These returns provide multiple insights on disabled children and young people such as need and provision type, information recorded as part of the education, health and care (EHC) processes, children receiving support for their disability as a child in need and spending on services for disabled children.
Local authorities have clear statutory duties to provide support for disabled children including Section 17(1) of the Children Act 1989 which places a general duty on local authorities to provide services to safeguard and promote the welfare of children within their area who are in need (which includes disabled children). The provision relating to the child or young person's specific needs can be recorded in an EHC and/or a family help plan which covers non-statutory targeted early help support and services provided to a child in need where requirements are set out in the department’s 2023 ‘Working together to safeguard children’ guidance.
This national and local data infrastructure enables government and local authorities to plan and deliver more effective services and support for disabled children and young people
The department keeps the content of all our data collections under review, including those which collect information on special educational needs and disabilities, whilst ensuring that the data we collect is necessary, feasible and minimises the data collection burden placed on the sector.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Office of Rail and Road on improving access for disabled people on LeShuttle services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government engages regularly with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to discuss a range of matters and officials meet routinely to discuss the Channel Tunnel Safety Authority (CTSA) and ORR’s regulatory activities concerning Eurotunnel. The Government fully supports efforts to continually improve accessibility on Le Shuttle services.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the difference between the (a) fee that will be paid to deliver the NHS Special Schools Eye Care Service and (b) cost of delivering the same clinical care in outpatient paediatric ophthalmology clinics.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The fee that has been put in place to underpin the service is aligned to other fees paid for domiciliary sight testing services. NHS England has committed to investing up to £12.7 million annually on the provision of sight tests and the associated optical vouchers in special educational settings. This provides the potential for these services to reach approximately 165,000 children and young people in over 2,000 educational settings, ensuring sight tests are provided in a familiar environment whilst minimising disruption to the school day.
NHS England has engaged with key stakeholders throughout the life of the programme and continues to work closely with local integrated care board commissioners, and the ophthalmic and voluntary sector, to scale up and roll out sight tests for patients in a special educational setting.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will ensure that Great British Railways has a statutory accessibility duty.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Accessibility is a priority for this Government and we are committed to delivering a rail system which allows disabled people to travel easily, confidently and with dignity. The ongoing Railways Bill consultation is already clear that accessibility will be central to Great British Railways.
GBR will therefore be subject to requirements – either licence conditions
or statutory duties – to ensure this happens. That includes requirements relating to accessibility and engaging accessibility stakeholders.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the NHS special schools eye care service will have an oversight and evaluation programme in 2025-26 (a) monitoring coverage and uptake and (b) assessing whether it is delivering comparable health and education outcomes to the proof of concept.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is in the process of publishing a final service specification for sight testing in special educational settings that will provide for comparable health and education outcomes to the proof of concept. A process is also being established for ongoing reporting against service delivery which will be confirmed with integrated care boards shortly.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what her Department's timetable is for notifying applicants to the Night Shelter Transformation Fund of the outcome of their application.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government has increased homelessness and rough sleeping funding by £233 million in 2025/26, taking total investment to nearly £1 billion. This includes a further £3.5 million for the Night Shelter Transformation Fund extension in 2025-26. NSTF projects that were in receipt of revenue funding in 2024/25 were eligible to apply for additional funding in 2025/26. Successful applicants will be informed about the outcome of their applications, and all allocations be published on gov.uk website in the new financial year.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to provide additional funding for the Night Shelter Transformation Fund in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This government has increased homelessness and rough sleeping funding by £233 million in 2025/26, taking total investment to nearly £1 billion. This includes a further £3.5 million for the Night Shelter Transformation Fund extension in 2025-26. NSTF projects that were in receipt of revenue funding in 2024/25 were eligible to apply for additional funding in 2025/26. Successful applicants will be informed about the outcome of their applications, and all allocations be published on gov.uk website in the new financial year.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of gambling advertising on the uptake of gambling by children.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
While advertising is a legitimate advantage which licensed operators have over illegal gambling firms, increased exposure to gambling advertising can have an impact on gambling participation and some forms of advertising can also have a disproportionate impact on particular groups, such as children.
There are existing robust rules in place to ensure that advertising, whenever it appears, is socially responsible, with a particular regard to the need to protect children, young persons and other vulnerable persons from being harmed and exploited. Gambling adverts cannot be targeted at children and cannot be of ‘strong appeal’ to children, for example they cannot feature Premier League footballers and celebrities popular with children.
However, we recognise that more can be done to improve protections. We have set the gambling industry a clear task to raise standards and this work will be monitored closely.
Asked by: Daniel Francis (Labour - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans her Department has to include local communities in (a) VE and (b) VJ Day commemorations.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are important opportunities for communities to come together to pay tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the Second World War, telling the stories of those who fought and sacrificed in delivering lasting peace. 80 years on, we will come together through a series of national and local events to show our gratitude.
This week, the Government announced a UK-wide programme to mark the commemorations, with the early May Bank Holiday ushering in the beginning of the events to mark VE and VJ Day 80 for communities. The announcement included plans for the 5th May including street parties, barbecues and community get togethers across the UK, to be supported by the Big Lunch and Together Coalition, kicking off with an event on HMS Belfast. These events will echo the celebrations 80 years ago as the population welcomed the end of the war. Funding will be made available through the National Lottery Community Fund Awards for All for organisations across the UK to bid for grants to host community events, activities and exhibitions to help tell the stories of the Second World War at a local level, ensuring the legacy of the war and its impact on individuals and communities across the country is not forgotten.
There will be a service to mark the end of the war in the Far East on 15 August, and a nationwide engagement programme through Spring and Summer 2025 to recognise and honour all those who fought and sacrificed across the UK and Commonwealth.
Further details regarding community events and school resources will be announced soon.