Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving public engagement with politics.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Public engagement and participation are vital to the health of our democracy, and the Government will continue to support the public to make their voices heard.
Engagement with the political process must be built on trust. The Government is committed to returning to a politics of service, for example by exploring further tightening of the rules on MPs' outside interests via the House of Commons Modernisation Committee.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to maintain environmental standards to chalk streams in the (a) planning and (c) building of new towns.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that to protect and enhance biodiversity and geodiversity, local plans should identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological networks such as chalk streams. It is for local planning authorities to apply this policy when planning for new development.
Chalk streams are specifically referenced in the definitions of ‘natural environment’ and ‘environmental protection’ for the new system of Environmental Outcomes Reports that the government intend to introduce. This will ensure the protection of chalk streams is taken into account as part of this new approach to environmental assessment.
The government will consult on draft regulations in due course following policy development and engagement with key stakeholders. While we want to realise the benefits of reform as quickly as possible, we recognise the need to manage the transition to the new system carefully. Until a new system is implemented, current legislation on environmental assessment and its supporting guidance continues to apply.
The New Towns Programme aims to create environmentally resilient places that support the government’s net-zero agenda through sustainable design, nature enhancement, low-carbon infrastructure, and responsible development, including flood risk mitigation. The building of the next generation of new towns will not involve the lowering of existing environmental protections in the National Planning Policy Framework.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether local councils and communities will be consulted about New Towns before the final designation by the New Towns Taskforce.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
As set out in its Terms of Reference, which can be found on gov.uk here, the New Towns Taskforce will work in partnership with local leaders and communities, but its selection of sites will be made in the national interest.
The Taskforce also plans to undertake a series of engagement events to understand what the public think the core components of new towns should be and to further test the design and placemaking principles published in the Building new towns for the future policy paper published on 12 February which can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on introducing mandatory training on hidden disabilities for all (a) school, (b) further education and (c) higher education staff.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
High quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and Early Career Framework, for trainees and early career teachers (ECTs) respectively, cover the first three years or more at the start of a teacher’s career. They set out the core body of knowledge, skills and behaviours that define great teaching, and are underpinned by the most up-to-date evidence. From September 2025 they will be superseded by the combined Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF), which sets out a minimum entitlement to training and must be used by ITT providers to create their curricula. All ECTs will be entitled to a two-year induction underpinned by the ITTECF which will be known as the Early Career Teacher Entitlement (ECTE).
During the department’s review which led to the development of the ITTECF, particular attention was paid to the evidence base and needs of trainees and ECTs when supporting pupils with SEND. There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND, including those with neurodiversity.
The department recognises that continuous improvement is essential and have recently committed to a full review of the ECTE in 2027, including the ITTECF, to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs. This review will include a focus on the support we provide new teachers in teaching pupils with SEND.
School support staff play a vital role in children’s education. They are crucial to ensuring we give children the best possible life chances. The availability of training and career progression opportunities for school support staff helps ensure schools have the skilled staff they need to deliver high quality education. For example, in September 2024 the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) approved a new Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant apprenticeship, allowing teaching assistants to specialise in one of three areas: SEND, Social and Emotional Wellbeing, or Curriculum provision. The apprenticeship will be available for candidates to undertake in 2025.
We recognise the importance of supporting further education (FE) students with complex needs, and the valuable role colleges play in SEND education. We are currently supporting the recruitment and training of SEND specific teachers in FE through:
The department also runs a Universal SEND Services contract to provide SEND-specific professional development and support for the school and FE workforce. The programme helps professionals to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, earlier and more effectively. Since the programme commenced, school and college staff have completed over 20,000 online training modules.
All education and training providers, including universities and other related service providers, have a duty to ensure reasonable adjustments for disabled people, so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled students. This includes people with a learning difficulty. This duty is set out under Section 20 of the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
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 help ensure the effective prosecution of people who commit environmental crimes.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency (EA) is the main regulator responsible for the enforcement of environmental law and the prosecution of environmental crime in England. Other regulators responsible for environmental compliance and prosecution in England include local authorities, Natural England and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Natural Resources Wales is the responsible authority for Wales and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency in Scotland.
Supported by Defra the EA must follow the requirements of the Regulators’ Code and prosecutes in accordance with its published Enforcement and Sanctions Policy. Prosecutions are directed towards the activities that cause the greatest risk of serious environmental damage, where the risks are least well-controlled, the regulatory framework is undermined and where deliberate or organised crime is suspected. The EA delivers the equivalent constitutional check with prosecutions that the CPS provides to the police. The EA reviews whether evidence is adequate and whether a prosecution is in the public interest in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.
Natural England (NE) has enforcement powers and views enforcement as an essential tool to ensure that the natural environment is protected. A key element of NE’s wider regulatory role involves helping people to comply with laws that protect wildlife and the natural environment, but where laws are broken and impacts on wildlife or the natural environment have occurred, or are likely to occur, NE will take enforcement action to ensure that the environment is protected, and environmental harm is restored. Where enforcement action is taken, NE will apply established principles of good regulation to ensure fairness and transparency for those we regulate.
NE has access to a range of enforcement sanctions available to secure the right level of environmental protection. Where an offence has resulted in significant harm NE’s enforcement response will be robust, aiming to correct and deter further non-compliance. NE aims to apply the polluter pays principle in all cases to ensure that the public purse does not bear the burden of enforcement and clean-up costs. In appropriate cases, NE works collaboratively with other regulators to ensure appropriate enforcement goals are met.
The conservation of wildlife is an area in which the police play an investigative and enforcement role and where the CPS are called upon to prosecute in accordance with the provisions of the Code for Crown Prosecutors. The CPS sits on a number of working groups to tackle wildlife crime including the National Wildlife Crime Unit’s (NWCU) UK Tasking and Coordinating Group (UKTCG) and the Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime (PAW UK). In some cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions may be able to take over a prosecution brought by another organisation.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will take steps to ensure that the level of funding for mental health services (a) reflects changes in service demand and (b) reduces the imbalance of resource allocation between mental and physical health.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has committed to protecting funding on mental health. We know 2025/26 will be a challenging year, and the National Health Service must live within its means. This will require a relentless focus on operational performance, recovering productivity, tackling unwarranted variation, and reducing delays and waste to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely.
Our focus on mental health will continue to be backed by the Mental Health Investment Standard in 2025/26 to ensure mental health funding is ring-fenced to support delivery of our commitments, including those outlined in the NHS Planning Guidance.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to (a) increase the (i) frequency of trains and (ii) number of carriages per train on all South Western Railway services operating between Winchester and London, (b) reduce the high cost of fares on this route, (c) tackle (A) delays and (B) cancellations affecting these services, (d) improve the compensation scheme for passengers experiencing journey disruptions and (e) ensure that ensure that concerns of South Western Railway passengers are (1) listened to and (2) acted upon.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department officials are in regular conversation with South Western Railway regarding their service provision in response to demand. When reviewing train services, the Department needs to assess business cases and balance demand with value for the taxpayer in its considerations.
The Department’s aim is to keep the price of rail travel at a point that works for both passengers and taxpayers, where possible. We are also committed to simplifying the fares and ticketing system and driving innovation across the network.
The Rail Minister recently met with South Western Railway regarding their operational performance, as he has done and continues to do with all Operators, as this is a key priority of the Department.
On 25th May 2025, SWR will be the first operator to be nationalised following the introduction of the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024. This will lead to the introduction of Great British Railways which will bring track and train together under one directing mind, with a relentless focus on improving services for passengers and customers.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has appointed consultants to assess locations across the country as potential new town sites; whether Lichfields has been appointed to assess the M3/A303 corridor; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in the appointment of consultants particularly in cases where a consultant has a vested interest in the development of a new town site.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has tasked the New Towns Taskforce, an independent expert advisory panel chaired by Sir Michael Lyons, with developing recommendations to ministers on suitable locations for new towns, as well as how to fund and deliver them. The Taskforce will submit its final report this summer.
The Taskforce will not be sharing information about its locations evidence base prior to publication of the final report.
Any use of external expertise will be carried out in line with established procurement rules in place for using external consultants. This includes ensuring that any conflicts are declared before any work begins and that appointed bodies are recused from decisions in which they have a conflict of interest.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether prevention and public health will feature in the 10 year health plan.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Yes. The Government’s Health Mission sets out our ambition to build a fairer Britain, where everyone lives well for longer. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan, which will be published later this year, will set out broader actions for how we shift health and care systems in England towards preventing ill-health rather than treating sickness.
Asked by: Danny Chambers (Liberal Democrat - Winchester)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress his Department has made on the prevention stream of the health mission; and when he plans to publish an update from the mission board.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the United Kingdom’s biggest killers and building a fairer UK, where everyone lives longer, healthier lives. This is why our Health Mission sets out to shift away from a model geared towards late diagnosis and treatment, to one where there is focus on prevention and more services are delivered in local communities.
We have already acted with the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill passing committee stage on 30 January 2025. We are committed to banning junk food advertising to children. A 9pm TV watershed and 24-hour online ban on paid-for advertising of less healthy food and drink products targeting children are on track to come into force across the UK on 1 October 2025. We have also committed to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to young people aged under 16 years old.
Alongside this, we are exploring all interventions that will improve public health across a range of the UK’s biggest killers and help deliver the shift from treatment to prevention. Further details on our approach will be shared as we move forward.
Mission Boards are Cabinet Committees. It is a long-established precedent that information about the proceedings of the Cabinet or of any committee of the Cabinet is not normally shared publicly; this includes mission boards.