Derek Twigg Portrait

Derek Twigg

Labour - Halton

First elected: 1st May 1997


Select Committees
Defence Committee (since May 2020)
Defence Sub-Committee (since May 2020)
Panel of Chairs (since June 2020)
Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Bill
1st Mar 2023 - 8th Mar 2023
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
1st Nov 2017 - 5th Nov 2018
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
15th Nov 2017 - 5th Nov 2018
Liaison Committee (Commons)
6th Nov 2017 - 5th Nov 2018
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
30th Oct 2017 - 5th Nov 2018
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
30th Oct 2017 - 5th Nov 2018
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
13th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
15th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
15th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
13th Jul 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Liaison Committee (Commons)
10th Sep 2015 - 3rd May 2017
Defence Committee
10th Jun 2013 - 30th Mar 2015
Committees on Arms Export Controls (formerly Quadripartite Committee)
1st Jul 2013 - 3rd Nov 2014
Committees on Arms Export Controls
1st Jul 2013 - 3rd Nov 2014
Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill
4th Mar 2013 - 16th Dec 2013
Shadow Minister (Health)
8th Oct 2010 - 7th Oct 2011
Children, Schools and Families
27th Jan 2009 - 6th May 2010
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Veterans)
6th Sep 2006 - 5th Oct 2008
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
10th May 2005 - 6th Sep 2006
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education and Skills) (Schools)
16th Dec 2004 - 10th May 2005
Lord Commissioner (HM Treasury) (Whip)
13th Jun 2003 - 16th Dec 2004
Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
29th May 2002 - 13th Jun 2003
Public Accounts Committee
17th Nov 1998 - 10th Jun 1999


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Derek Twigg has voted in 577 divisions, and 1 time against the majority of their Party.

25 Mar 2021 - Coronavirus - View Vote Context
Derek Twigg voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 21 Labour No votes vs 176 Labour Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 484 Noes - 76
View All Derek Twigg Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Matt Hancock (Independent)
(13 debate interactions)
Grant Shapps (Conservative)
Secretary of State for Defence
(12 debate interactions)
Alex Chalk (Conservative)
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
(12 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Department of Health and Social Care
(36 debate contributions)
Ministry of Defence
(21 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(18 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(17 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Derek Twigg has not made any spoken contributions to legislative debate
View all Derek Twigg's debates

Halton Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

Current legislation allows for public use of fireworks 16 hours a day, every day, making it impossible for vulnerable groups to take precautions against the distress they can cause. Better enforcement of existing law is insufficient; limiting their sale & use to licensed displays only is necessary.

Now the hedgehog has been listed as vulnerable to extinction in the UK, we are calling on the Government to move hedgehogs to schedule 5 of the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 to allow them greater protection.


Latest EDMs signed by Derek Twigg

6th June 2022
Derek Twigg signed this EDM on Monday 6th June 2022

Treatment of Liverpool fans at the 2022 Champions League Final in Paris

Tabled by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
That this House condemns the deeply disturbing treatment by French police of Liverpool and Real Madrid fans outside Stade de France at the Champions League Final in Paris; notes catastrophic failures in stadium management by UEFA and French authorities which threatened the lives and wellbeing of supporters; further notes the …
81 signatures
(Most recent: 20 Feb 2023)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 54
Independent: 7
Scottish National Party: 7
Liberal Democrat: 4
Plaid Cymru: 3
Conservative: 2
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Alba Party: 1
Green Party: 1
Alliance: 1
4th June 2020
Derek Twigg signed this EDM on Wednesday 24th June 2020

Legal Aid and Advice

Tabled by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (S.I., 2020, No. 515), dated 15 May 2020, a copy of which was laid before this House on 18 May 2020, be annulled.
138 signatures
(Most recent: 11 Feb 2021)
Signatures by party:
Labour: 110
Liberal Democrat: 9
Independent: 8
Scottish National Party: 4
Plaid Cymru: 3
Social Democratic & Labour Party: 2
Green Party: 1
Alba Party: 1
Democratic Unionist Party: 1
Alliance: 1
View All Derek Twigg's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Derek Twigg, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Derek Twigg has not been granted any Urgent Questions

1 Adjournment Debate led by Derek Twigg

Derek Twigg has not introduced any legislation before Parliament


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
16th Jun 2022
To ask the Attorney General, with reference to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) guidance on the Full Code Test within the document entitled The Code for Crown Prosecutors, published on 26 October 2018, whether the CPS applies the same survival rate threshold when making charging decisions for people who are trained or licensed (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) other medical practitioners.

The evidential threshold that is applied by the CPS when making charging decisions is the same threshold that is applied in all cases, for all offences and for all suspects. There is no separate threshold that is applied for different types of suspects, such as trained or licensed doctors, nurses and other medical practitioners.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors (the Code) is issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) under section 10 of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. The Code gives guidance to prosecutors on the general principles to be applied when making decisions about prosecutions.

Prosecutors must only start or continue a prosecution when the case has passed both stages of the Full Code Test (FCT), which is set out at section 4 of the Code. The FCT has two stages, the evidential stage, followed by the public interest stage.

At the evidential stage, prosecutors must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. The Code provides further guidance on how the evidential stage should be assessed.

If the case passes the evidential stage, prosecutors must go on to consider whether a prosecution is required in the public interest. The Code provides a series of questions that prosecutors should consider when applying the public interest stage.

When making charging decisions, prosecutors must also comply with any guidelines issued by the Attorney General, and with the policies and guidance of the CPS. CPS guidance contains further evidential and public interest factors for specific offences and is available for the public to view on the CPS website.

Alex Chalk
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
22nd Nov 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the results of the the Veteran's Survey, launched on 10 November 2022.

The Office for National Statistics is due to publish the initial results of the Veterans’ Survey on 15th December this year. Future releases will be announced on the ONS website in due course.

Johnny Mercer
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
1st Mar 2023
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the results of the UK wide survey for veterans and their families.

The Veterans’ Survey was the first UK-wide data collection from the veterans community that was led by the Government. It was a huge success, with more than 30,000 responses received.

The results of the survey are expected to be available by autumn this year and will be published on the Office for National Statistics’ website in due course.

In the meantime, we have recently launched the Veterans’ Data Dashboard, bringing together veterans’ data from different public bodies for the first time. The Dashboard will provide a snapshot to the public, veterans and service providers so they can learn about the community, as well as the different services offered by the Government to support veterans.

Johnny Mercer
Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
13th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of (a) data centres and (b) AI infrastructure on demand for electricity in the next ten years.

The Government does not project demand by type of end use. Instead, it projects forward total electricity demand by sector, based on trends in past data and the observed past relationship with economic drivers, such as price and economic growth. We therefore do not have projections of electricity demand from data centres and AI infrastructure. This would however be picked up in the future through the statistical analysis if increases in consumption from these sources lead to significant deviation from past trends and relationships.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
16th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the competitiveness of the newspaper wholesalers market in England.

Investigations into competition issues are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition authority.

16th Sep 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will hold discussions with the Competition and Markets Authority on increasing competition within the wholesale newspaper suppliers industry.

Investigations into competition issues are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority, the UK’s independent competition authority.

29th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his Answer of 21 September 2020 Question 90945 on Remote Working, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of providing greater protections for online platform workers using crowd work platforms.

The Government is committed to ensuring we make workplaces fairer by bringing forward a range of measures through the Employment Bill, and this will include considering options for new protections for those in the gig economy.

The Director of Labour Market Enforcement’s 2019-20 strategy also recommended the Government examine the threat to labour hire compliance from online and app-based recruitment businesses. The Government will respond to the 2019-20 strategy in due course.

Amanda Solloway
Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
16th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the regulations to protect online platform workers using crowd work platforms.

In the Queens’ Speech, we announced we will bring forward an Employment Bill to deliver on a range of Manifesto commitments.

This legislation will make workplaces fairer by introducing new protections for those in the gig economy.

The preparation of an Employment Bill follows recent assessments of modern ways of working. Many of these aspects are complex and so it is only right that we take time to consider how best to achieve change that works for all.

We will bring forward detailed proposals in due course.

5th Jul 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will take steps to help support the organisation of the 2023 Gratitude Games.

The Government recognises the impact that sport and physical activity has on physical and mental health, and the importance of welfare and wellbeing for everyone participating in sport at all levels.

The Government's role in the support of bidding for and hosting major sporting events is set out in the Gold Framework. The Gratitude Games do not meet the criteria as set out in the Gold Framework and therefore would not be within scope for support. We encourage all organisations to continue to work together to support mental health through sport and physical activity.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
4th Feb 2021
What recent assessment he has made of the financial effect of the covid-19 outbreak on people working in the large entertainment events industry.

We appreciate that the entertainment and events sector has been significantly affected by COVID19. That’s why the Government has maintained a regular dialogue with the sectors via various working groups since the outbreak of the pandemic.

We have undertaken assessments of the financial impact of the pandemic through the DCMS Coronavirus (COVID-19) Impact Business Survey, which is available on GOV.UK.

8th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what support he is providing specifically to (a) people and (b) companies that provide technical services to (i) concerts and (ii) other live events.

We recognise the crucial role that technicians play in the UK’s live music and events sector. The Self-Employed Income Support Scheme has helped millions of people across the UK, with those eligible receiving a cash grant worth 80% of their average monthly trading profit over the last three years. This has covered 95% of people who receive the majority of their income from self-employment.

In addition to this scheme designed to support the self-employed, the Government announced an unprecedented £1.57bn support package for organisations in the Arts and Culture sectors. This funding will help preserve and resume cultural activity, initially with socially distanced audiences and subsequently kick start employment opportunities for freelancers.

To complement the funding for organisations made available by Government, Arts Council England have announced £95m of additional support for individuals, including freelancers. This involves:

  • An additional £75m in project grants. These will be focused on applications that maximise employment opportunities and those from under-represented groups. Freelancers are eligible to apply directly. National Portfolio Organisations can also apply to create new work with bids that create employment opportunities prioritised.

  • A further round of the ACE programme ‘Discover Your Creative Practice’ will open in the autumn. This will make approximately £18m available for individuals looking to develop new creative skills that will help them to further develop their career.

  • ACE will also be adding £2m into relevant benevolent funds to support those less well supported by the programmes outlined above, including stage managers and technicians.

We are committed to continuing to work with the live music and events sectors to understand the difficulties they face and help them access support through these challenging times and through recovery.

19th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2021 to Question 618 on Home Education: Standards, what his planned timetable is for publishing his Department's response to the consultation which closed on 24 June 2019.

The Department is committed to publishing the Children Not in School consultation response in due course. We hope to have this published in the coming months.

12th May 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps he has taken to help ensure the quality of education for children who are home-schooled.

The Government has substantially strengthened its guidance to local authorities on exercising their powers in relation to elective home education. The revised guidance, which was published in April 2019, sets out the steps that local authorities should take to satisfy themselves that the education provided by parents at home is suitable, and the actions that they can take if they are not satisfied.

In the spring of 2019, a consultation was held on proposals for:

- a mandatory register of children not attending state or registered independent schools to help local authorities carry out their responsibilities in relation to children not in school.

- a duty on parents to register their child with the local authority if not registered at specified types of schools.

- a duty on proprietors of certain schools or colleges to respond to enquiries from local authorities.

- a duty on local authorities to provide support to parents who educate children at home.

The consultation closed on 24 June 2019, with nearly 5000 responses. The Department remains committed to a registration system for children not in school. Further details on this will be in the Government response to the consultation, which will be published in due course.

23rd Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many pupils in each local authority area have been expelled from their school in each year since 2010; and of those pupils how many have been expelled more than once.

The information requested about pupils being off rolled is not held by the Department and cannot be estimated from current data sources.

However, the Government is clear that informal and unofficial expulsions are unlawful, and off rolling is unacceptable in any form. The Department will continue to work with Ofsted to define and tackle it. Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and revisions to the framework in September 2019 strengthened the focus on this. Where inspectors find off rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.

A pupil’s name can lawfully be deleted from the admission register only on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in regulation 8. This should be done as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register.

The Department publishes annual figures from the school census on the number of pupils permanently excluded from schools in England. Local authority figures for the period from 2010/11 to 2018/19 can be found in the publications listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions.

23rd Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of school age children who have been off-rolled since April 2020.

The information requested about pupils being off rolled is not held by the Department and cannot be estimated from current data sources.

However, the Government is clear that informal and unofficial expulsions are unlawful, and off rolling is unacceptable in any form. The Department will continue to work with Ofsted to define and tackle it. Ofsted already considers records of children taken off roll and revisions to the framework in September 2019 strengthened the focus on this. Where inspectors find off rolling, this will always be addressed in the inspection report, and where appropriate, could lead to a school’s leadership being judged inadequate.

A pupil’s name can lawfully be deleted from the admission register only on the grounds prescribed in regulation 8 of the Education (Pupil Registration) (England) Regulations 2006 as amended. All schools must notify the local authority when a pupil’s name is to be deleted from the admission register under any of the grounds prescribed in regulation 8. This should be done as soon as the ground for removal is met and no later than the time at which the pupil’s name is removed from the register.

The Department publishes annual figures from the school census on the number of pupils permanently excluded from schools in England. Local authority figures for the period from 2010/11 to 2018/19 can be found in the publications listed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-exclusions.

23rd Apr 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps has he taken to ensure the quality of education for children who are home schooled.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) primary and (b) secondary pupils who have been sent home from school due a pupil in their cohort testing positive for covid-19 in (a) Halton constituency, (b) the North West and (c) England since 1 August 2020.

The Department is currently collecting data on attendance of pupils and staff, and the availability of remote learning, from schools on a daily basis and publishes data from this collection as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data is published from 9 September 2020, but prior to 12 October 2020 information on pupils isolating was not collected.

Data on the number of pupils sent home due to a pupil in their cohort testing positive is not collected. The closest estimate of this figure is the number of pupils isolating in each school due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 within the setting.

Data is collected as totals for each school. It is therefore not possible to calculate a cumulative total, instead figures for each individual week (which may include the same pupils in both weeks) are provided. It is also not possible to calculate the number of school days lost as a result of absence.

Data is collected from schools and aggregated to local authority level. The Department intends to publish regional and local authority level data on 15 December. This data will be included as part of the publication ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’.

The frequency of the publication ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’ will be reviewed in the new year.

The Department is constantly reviewing the content of its publications. Announcements about future content will be made through the official statistics release page: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of school days that have been lost as a result of pupils being sent home due to a covid-19 outbreak in (a) primary schools and (b) secondary schools in (i) England (ii) the North West and (iii) Halton constituency since 1 August 2020.

The Department is currently collecting data on attendance of pupils and staff, and the availability of remote learning, from schools on a daily basis and publishes data from this collection as part of the official statistics series. The publication can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak. Data is published from 9 September 2020, but prior to 12 October 2020 information on pupils isolating was not collected.

Data on the number of pupils sent home due to a pupil in their cohort testing positive is not collected. The closest estimate of this figure is the number of pupils isolating in each school due to a potential contact with a case of COVID-19 within the setting.

Data is collected as totals for each school. It is therefore not possible to calculate a cumulative total, instead figures for each individual week (which may include the same pupils in both weeks) are provided. It is also not possible to calculate the number of school days lost as a result of absence.

Data is collected from schools and aggregated to local authority level. The Department intends to publish regional and local authority level data on 15 December. This data will be included as part of the publication ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’.

The frequency of the publication ‘Attendance in education and early years settings during the coronavirus (Covid 19) outbreak’ will be reviewed in the new year.

The Department is constantly reviewing the content of its publications. Announcements about future content will be made through the official statistics release page: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics.

30th Oct 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions he has had with headteachers on (a) the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on (i) pupil attendance and (ii) teaching time and (b) whether year 11 pupils will be ready to sit their GCSE examinations in 2021; and if he will publish the outcome of those discussions.

The Government has been clear that it is a top priority to keep schools open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and ensure all pupils benefit from a high quality education.

On 12 October, the Department announced that assessment by examination will be part of a normalised year for Year 11 pupils because examinations are the fairest form of assessment. The Department also announced that the examinations will start on 7 June and end on 2 July for almost all GCSEs. This is three weeks later than the usual start dates from previous years to help teachers and pupils prepare for examinations. The delay and the changes already agreed to what will be assessed in some GCSE subjects, as well as changes that ease the burden of assessment in some subjects at GCSE , will give pupils extra time to study, without causing unnecessary disruption to the usual timetable of the academic year. These changes to the assessment of GCSEs were announced in August, following a public consultation. The outcome of Ofqual’s consultation on summer 2021 exams is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-changes-to-the-assessment-of-gcses-as-and-a-levels-in-2021.

The Department, along with Ofqual and exam boards, is engaging extensively with the sector on plans for exams in summer 2021, including with head teachers, principals of further education colleges, trade unions and sector representative bodies. Engagement with head teachers and their representatives are through a number of different forums and cover a range of issues, including the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on pupils’ attendance, teaching time and GCSE examinations in 2021. These engagements will inform our planning for all foreseeable scenarios to safeguard pupils’ ability to sit exams and achieve qualifications which allow them to progress to the next stage of their education or employment. We expect to share details of these contingency plans later in the autumn.

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans his Department has to provide support for pre-school children affected by the closure of nurseries during the covid -19 outbreak.

We know that young children have missed out on early education at a crucial period of cognitive and behavioural development. This is especially significant for vulnerable and disadvantaged children, which may widen the early development gap.

The most effective intervention government can take to address this is to get children back into early education.

Since 1 June, early years settings have been able to welcome back children of all ages. We want to ensure councils and early years providers can get children back into settings as quickly as possible, where they can be fully supported during this crucial period for their development.

Fifteen hours of high quality free early education is provided for all three- and four-year olds and disadvantaged two-year olds. An additional fifteen hours (30 hours) is provided for eligible working parents for three- and four-year olds.

We will work with the sector to explore how best to continue to support children’s early development, including through the department’s Hungry Little Minds campaign which we will use to continue to provide support for parents to develop their children’s early language and literacy.

Information on the Hungry Little Minds campaign can be found at: https://hungrylittleminds.campaign.gov.uk.

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what basis the £1bn fund announced by the Prime Minister on 18 June 2020 to help children catch up on what they have missed while schools have been closed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak was determined.

Children and young people have experienced unprecedented disruption to their education during lockdown. We expect the most disadvantaged children to have fallen further behind than their peers. The Education Endowment Fund’s (EEF) median estimate suggests the attainment gap between children from economically deprived households and their peers could widen by 36% as a result of school closures [1].

The Government has therefore announced a package of support to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all children and young people make up for lost teaching time, with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most.

This package of measures includes:

  • A universal catch up premium for state-funded primary and secondary schools in England of £650 million to help them make up for lost teaching time.
  • A new £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils.

The evidence strongly shows that tutoring is an effective way to accelerate educational attainment. We therefore believe targeted tutoring is the best way to narrow the gaps that emerged during the closure of schools.

To support schools to make best use of the catch up premium, the EEF has published a COVID-19 Recovery Guide for Schools with evidence-based approaches to catch-up for all students: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Covid-19_Resources/Covid-19_support_guide_for_schools.pdf.

[1] https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/EEF_(2020)_-_Impact_of_School_Closures_on_the_Attainment_Gap.pdf

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the £1bn fund announced by the Prime Minister on 18 June 2020 to help children catch up on what they have missed while schools have been closed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak will be allocated to Halton.

The Government has announced a package of support worth £1 billion to ensure that schools have the support they need to help all children and young people make up for lost teaching time, with extra support in the form of a tutoring programme for those who need it most.

This package of measures includes:

  • A universal catch up premium for schools of £650 million to help them make up for lost teaching time.
  • A new £350 million National Tutoring Programme for disadvantaged pupils.

The universal catch up premium will be paid as a grant to all state-funded primary and secondary schools in England over the 2020/21 academic year.

This premium will be in addition to schools’ core budgets for 2020-21. We will confirm the timetable for publishing institution-level allocations in due course.

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate he has made of the number of tutors that (a) will be required and (b) are available in the 2020-21 academic year to help disadvantaged students catch up following the closure of schools as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

As plans continue for a full return to education from September, we have announced a £1 billion Covid “catch-up” package to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time.

£650 million will be shared across state primary and secondary schools over the 2020/21 academic year. This one-off grant to support pupils recognises that all young people have lost time in education as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, regardless of their income or background.

In addition, a National Tutoring Programme, worth £350 million, will increase access to high-quality tuition for the most disadvantaged young people. This will help accelerate their academic progress and prevent the gap between them and their more affluent peers widening.

We are working closely with our delivery partners, including the Education Endowment Foundation, Sutton Trust, Impetus and Nesta, to roll out a programme that ensures we reach the maximum number of disadvantaged students possible while ensuring that tutors all meet a high quality bar.

We will be supporting the highest quality tutoring organisations to increase their recruitment of tutors. Alongside this, we will be supporting a small number of schools in the most disadvantaged areas to directly employ tutors. We will be publishing more detail of the scheme shortly.

This £1 billion package is on top of the £14.4 billion three-year funding settlement announced last year - recognising the additional work schools will need to do to help students to catch up.

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many headteachers he consulted in (a) Halton and (b) England on the resources required to help pupils catch up following the closure of schools as a result of covid-19 outbreak.

We have consulted with stakeholder groups across the sector. We have also conducted more than 300 social and user research interviews with school leaders, teachers and parents from schools across England and Wales to inform our response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

19th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to provide additional funding to support (a) students at Riverside College, Halton and (b) other students affected by the closure of colleges as a result of the covid-19 outbreak to catch-up on their studies.

We are committed to supporting all children and young people to make up for time spent out of education. We’re giving colleges the flexibility to offer a combination of face-to-face and online delivery to more of their students and apprentices and we know that remote education has been working well for many students in post-16 education.

We will continue to work with the sector to establish the best methods of supporting students to make up for disruption due to COVID-19.

18th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 15 June 2020 to Question 55133 on Schools: Coronavirus, for what reasons his Department is not reimbursing schools that have used their existing resources to fund increased costs resulting from the covid-19 outbreak.

We are providing additional funding to schools, on top of existing budgets, to cover certain unavoidable costs incurred due to the COVID-19 outbreak that cannot be met from their existing resources.

Schools are eligible to claim for increased premises related costs associated with keeping schools open over the Easter and summer half term holidays; support for free school meals for eligible children who are not in school, where schools are not using the national voucher scheme; and additional cleaning costs required due to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, over and above the cost of existing cleaning arrangements.

Schools are not eligible to make a claim against this fund if they expect to add to their existing historic surpluses in their current financial year (September 2019 to August 2020 for academies and April 2020 to March 2021 for maintained schools). This means schools cannot claim if they began their current financial year with an accumulated historic surplus and expect to increase that surplus this year and thereby finish the year with a higher level of reserves than they started.

Schools are eligible for reimbursement where the additional costs associated with COVID-19 would result in a school having to use historic surpluses; increase the size of a historic deficit; or prevent the planned repayment of a historic deficit.

It is reasonable for taxpayers to expect that further public funding through this period is not adding to existing surpluses that are held by schools. Schools will continue to receive their budgets for the coming year, as usual, regardless of any periods of partial closure or reduced operations.

13th Mar 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of (a) data centres and (b) AI infrastructure on demand for water in the next 10 years.

The Environment Agency will be publishing its updated National Framework for Water Resources in 2025. This will reflect the expectation that regional water resources plans explore opportunities to deliver cross sector mutual benefits, as set out in a joint letter from Government and water regulators to regional water resources groups in January 2023.

This will include the need to work with data centre and AI industries to establish and understand their potential water demands, seeking to identify potential mutually beneficial solutions.

In some parts of England which are designated as water stressed, water companies may not be able to supply the required volume of water. The data centre and AI industry will need to investigate and plan for alternative sources of water, including on site water storage and water recycling.

Robbie Moore
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
31st Oct 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what advice her Department provides to people with asthma on the safe and environmentally-friendly disposal of used inhalers.

HM Government is committed to reducing and managing waste safely and carefully. Defra supports Recycle Now, the national recycling campaign for England and Northern Ireland, which advises the public on what items can be recycled and where they can be recycled. The Recycle Now website makes clear that inhalers should be returned to pharmacies to be disposed of safely.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
29th Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with United Utilities on the control and eradication of Japanese knotweed on land owned by that company.

The Secretary of State has not had any recent discussions with United Utilities about Japanese knotweed.

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
7th Dec 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Avanti trains between Runcorn and London have been cancelled each month since November 2021.

Generally, Runcorn is served by one Avanti West Coast train per hour to and from London Euston.

Period

Number of Avanti West Coast services cancelled between Runcorn and London Euston (Avanti West Coast caused, both directions)

Number of Avanti West Coast services cancelled between Runcorn and London Euston (All causes, both directions)

14 November – 11 December 2021

19.5

23.5

12 December – 8 January 2022

46

49

9 January – 5 February 2022

12

13.5

6 February – 5 March 2022

20

27.5

6 March – 31 March 2022

28.5

29

1 April – 30 April 2022

46

53

1 May – 28 May 2022

31

41

29 May – 25 June 2022

44.5

56

26 June – 23 July 2022

115

138

24 July – 20 August 2022

80.5

88

21 August – 17 September

42.5

51

18 September – 15 October 2022

42.5

43

16 October – 12 November 2022

36.5

48.5

Cancellation data by rail period was provided by the operator.

1 = A train ran less than half its planned mileage

0.5 = A train was cancelled but ran more than half its planned mileage

‘All causes’ includes cancellations resulting from infrastructure failure as well as any other external cause such as trespass or other train/freight operator failure. In the same period there were seven instances of services failing to call at Runcorn on route, as these services ran more than half their booked mileage they are counted as part cancellations in the table. None were Avanti West Coast caused.

Huw Merriman
Minister of State (Department for Transport)
7th Jan 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2022 to Question 92818, for what reason the DVLA is confident that it can trace 92.1 per cent of vehicles from its records; what records that Answer refers to; and how many vehicles comprise the 92.1 per cent of vehicles in that Answer.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) carries out quarterly scans of the vehicle register. The most recent scan shows that 92.1 per cent of vehicles on the database are traceable, equating to 46,284,393 vehicles that have been taxed or had a statutory off road notification made in the last five years. Traceable means that each of these vehicle records will have contact details (name and address) for the registered keeper of the vehicle to which the DVLA can send correspondence.

14th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2021 to Question 89507 on Motor Vehicles: Registration, how many vehicles have not been able to be traced in the latest period for which figures are available.

While the DVLA is confident it can trace 92.1 per cent of vehicles from its records it does not hold specific information on how many vehicle keepers it has been unable to trace over a set period.

8th Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment the DVLA has made of the accuracy of the V5C database.

All vehicle keepers are legally responsible for ensuring that the information on the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s vehicle record is accurate. This is important to ensure that vehicle keepers receive important information, for example reminders when their vehicle excise duty is due for renewal.

The DVLA regularly assesses the traceability of vehicle keepers from the information held on its records. From the latest available information, the DVLA is confident it can trace a vehicle in 92.1 per cent of its records.

1st Dec 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2021 to Question 80915 on Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Databases, how many drivers have been fined for not providing their correct address to the DVLA in each year since 2015.

The data requested is not available. The police are responsible for prosecuting this offence and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is not routinely notified of convictions as the offence does not attract penalty points on a driving licence.

30th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the time taken by the DVLA to process new driving licence applications in the last three months.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)’s online services have been available throughout the pandemic and are the quickest and easiest way to renew a driving licence. There are no delays in online applications and customers should receive their driving licence within a few days.

However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application for a driving licence. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day which must be dealt with in person. Fewer operational staff have been on site to allow for social distancing, in line with Welsh Government requirements. This, as well as ongoing industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has led to delays.

Currently, driving licence applications made on paper are likely to take six to ten weeks to process. More information on turnaround times is available online. There may be additional delays in processing more complex transactions, for example, if medical investigations are needed.

28th Jun 2021
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for hedgehog road signage, warning motorists of animal hazards in the road, has he received from local authorities in the last three years; and how many of those applications have been approved by his Department.

The Department has received six applications for the small wild mammal traffic sign in the last three years. None of these applications have been approved.

15th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of the DVLA workforce are currently (a) working at DVLA premises and (b) processing driving licences.

All Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) staff who can work from home continue to do so as office space has been prioritised for operational staff who have to be on-site to process paper applications. The DVLA’s online services have worked well throughout the pandemic and this remains the quickest and easiest way of making applications.

The DVLA is employing shift patterns, staggered start times, weekend working and other measures to ensure that social distancing can be maintained. Due to this, the number of staff who can be on-site at any one time is greatly reduced but the working day has been significantly extended. This means that almost all DVLA operational staff are now working on-site but not all at the same time.

Staff are allocated to different work streams at different times depending on where the need is greatest. All driving licences and driving entitlement expiring between 1 February 2020 and 31 December 2020 have been extended for 11 months. This means that no drivers currently need to apply to renew a driving licence or driving entitlement.

15th Sep 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving licence applications had been received but not processed on 30 August 2020; and what estimate he has made of the average time taken to process those applications.

The number of paper driving licence applications waiting to be processed fluctuates on a daily basis as licences are issued and new applications received. On 1 September, there were 127,870 paper driving licence applications where customers had applied directly to the DVLA, awaiting processing. As of 15 September, this had reduced to 94,920.

The average time taken to deal with driving licence applications received across online and paper channels is 5.26 days.

20th Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timescale is for reaching a decision on the potential electrification of the railway line between Liverpool and Manchester via Warrington and Widnes.

Electrification will play a significant role in our programme to decarbonise the railway and will deliver other benefits for railway users and neighbours.

Network Rail’s ongoing work developing a Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy will inform decisions about whether electrification or alternative technologies are the most appropriate option for each part of the network where diesel trains currently run. This work will support the Department’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan, which will be published at the end of this year.

Chris Heaton-Harris
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1st Jul 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2020 to PQ 62300 on Universal Credit: Fraud, at what stage her Department's investigations into cases of universal credit scams for claimants in the Borough of Halton are; and when those claimants will have their benefits restored.

The Department does not store information at a constituency level. As a result, providing the requested information would incur disproportionate costs.

If an individual approaches DWP alleging they have had their identity fraudulently used, we will investigate the matter. We endeavour to ensure that these investigations are brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible.

Where a person has had their details used to make a fraudulent claim for Universal Credit, the Department may consider the reinstatement of legacy benefits where it is clear they played no part in the making of the claim.

22nd Jun 2020
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, at what stage his Department's investigations into cases of universal credit scams for claimants in Halton constituency are; and when those claimants will have their benefits restored.

The Department does not hold this data by constituency and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

29th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients in Halton constituency have been waiting for elective care more that (a) 12 and (b) 18 months.

The information is not held in the format requested. Data is collected on patients waiting over 52 weeks, 65 weeks and 78 weeks, with more information available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-data-2023-24/#Dec23

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
29th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children in the Borough of Halton are waiting for (a) autism and (b) ADHD assessments; and what the average waiting times are for such assessments.

Data on the number of children on a waiting list for an assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not held centrally, but may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners. The Cheshire and Merseyside integrated care board (ICB) has provided data on the number of children awaiting an ADHD assessment, and state that at the end of January 2024, there were 230 children awaiting an assessment in Halton. The longest wait time for an ADHD assessment in Halton is 53 weeks, with an average wait time for assessment and outcome or diagnosis of 46 weeks.

The Department is exploring options for improving national data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way, and in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guideline on ADHD. The National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD assessment waiting time data collection.

With respect to autism, NHS England publishes data on how many people are waiting for an autism diagnosis and for how long, which provides useful information nationally and locally to support local areas in improving their performance and reducing assessment and diagnosis waiting times. Data is not available publicly for the Borough of Halton, but is available publicly for the Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, and therefore the ICB has provided data on numbers of children waiting for autism assessments in Halton. As of the end of January 2024, they state there were 848 children awaiting autism assessment in Halton. The longest wait time for an autism assessment panel and outcome or diagnosis in Halton is 107 weeks.

The NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB advises that it is working with providers to increase capacity, and has put waiting list initiatives in place to help reduce waiting times for autism assessments. The ICB also commissions pre and post diagnosis support for children and young people on autism and ADHD waiting lists, and is planning on commissioning a coordinator role to support families whilst they are waiting for neurodevelopmental assessments.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
13th Dec 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the proposals set out in Cancer Research UK's report entitled Longer, better lives: A manifesto for cancer research and care; and what plans she has to fund cancer research in the next 10 years.

The Government welcomes Cancer Research UK’s report, which rightly highlights progress made in cancer diagnosis and care.

Cancer is a Government priority, demonstrated by the commitment to the ambition of diagnosing 75% of cancers at stages 1 and 2 by 2028. NHS England has implemented interventions to help achieve this ambition, such as Non-specific Symptom Pathways, and will continue to seek new ways to diagnose cancer earlier and save more lives, for example through the NHS-Galleri blood test trial.

Furthermore, the Department has invested over £100 million into cancer research in 2021/22 through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In January 2023, Cancer Research UK, NIHR and the devolved administrations jointly provided funding of £47.5 million to the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre network over the next five years. The Department is working closely with research partners in all sectors, and the Government's continued commitment to cancer research will help to build on that progress, leading to continued improvements for all cancer patients.

Andrew Stephenson
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to Alzheimer’s Research UK’s report entitled Tipping Point: The Future of Dementia, what steps he is taking to increase the number of lumbar punctures conducted to help identify people who may be eligible for new dementia treatments.

NHS England is monitoring the pipeline of prospective disease modifying treatments for early Alzheimer’s disease. NHS England is currently anticipating decisions on whether the first of these medicines will be licensed for use in the United Kingdom next year.

A dedicated programme team has been established within NHS England for early Alzheimer’s treatments. The team is working closely with the medicines manufacturers, patient groups and other key stakeholders to prepare in advance for the roll out of any new medicines in the National Health Service as and when they secure the necessary regulatory approvals. This includes securing additional diagnostic capacity including magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar puncture and positron emission tomography/computed topography.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
18th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the impact of changes to NHS cancer waiting time targets; and if he will make a statement.

On 17 August 2023, NHS England announced that cancer waiting times standards would be rationalised from 1 October 2023. This followed the clinically led review of standards across the National Health Service which recommended consolidating cancer waiting times from ten standards into three.

From October 2023, there will be a Faster Diagnosis Standard of a maximum 28-day wait for communication of a definitive cancer/not cancer diagnosis for patients referred urgently or those identified by NHS cancer screening. There will be a maximum 62-day wait to first treatment from urgent general practitioner referral, NHS cancer screening or consultant upgrade. There will be a maximum 31-day wait from decision to treat to any cancer treatment starting for all cancer patients.

These changes will allow a clearer focus on priorities and give clinicians greater flexibility to adopt new technologies such as remote image review and artificial intelligence, and avoid disincentivising modern working practices such as one-stop shops and straight-to-test.

Alongside the updated standards, the NHS has also committed to publishing a more detailed breakdown of the cancer statistics each month, increasing the number of cancer types for which separate data are published. Statistics on performance against the old standards will continue to be collected.

12th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on increasing rates of early diagnosis for breast cancer.

Improving early diagnosis of cancer, including breast cancer, remains a priority. We are working towards the NHS Long Term Plan ambition of diagnosing 75% of stageable cancers at stage 1 and 2 by 2028. The latest published data shows this was 52% from January to December 2020. Achieving this will mean that, from 2028, 55,000 more people each year will survive their cancer for at least five years after diagnosis.

The Government has also expanded the Breast Screening programme, with an additional £10 million funding for 28 new breast screening units and nearly 60 life-saving upgrades to services in the areas where they are most needed.