Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the number of unfilled vacancies on school governing bodies.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
According to the National Governance Association’s 2024 survey, 25% of respondents stated that their board did not have any vacancies. 76% of respondents reported difficulty in recruiting new governors and trustees. 44% of boards had two or more vacancies.
The department has had extensive discussions about recruitment and retention with sector partners, including the National Governance Association and the Confederation of School Trusts. These discussions have informed the development of a joint department-sector resource that will support boards with sustainable governance, especially those facing recruitment and retention challenges.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the level of administrative workload placed on early years providers in implementing the early years funding system; and whether she is taking steps to streamline (a) reporting and (b) funding claim processes.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Local authorities are responsible for paying early years providers to deliver the early education and childcare entitlements. The department does not provide guidance to local authorities on how they pay providers as each local authority will have its own local process for making funding payments.
Local authorities must enter into arrangements with childcare providers for the delivery of free early education and childcare to ensure the providers comply with legislative requirements.
As set out in our statutory guidance, local authorities should be clear in their agreements with providers about how and when providers will be paid and the documentation required from providers in order to receive payment.
The department will continue to work closely with the sector to continue to look at how the system is working, and ensure every child gets the best start in life.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that early years funding rates reflect the actual cost of delivering high-quality childcare.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
I refer the hon. Member for Henley and Thame to the answer of 27 May 2025 to Question 53702.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he has made an assessment of the potential impact of reopening Bathing Water applications before changes including (a) core reforms and (b) wider reforms are implemented.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations will modernise the system so that it reflects how and where people use bathing waters.
We have taken the decision to reopen applications this year and published interim guidance for applicants wishing to apply for designation in 2026.
To manage this transition to the reformed Regulations we shall enact a triage system for new applications submitted in 2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bathing-waters-apply-to-designate-or-de-designate/designate-a-bathing-water-guidance-on-how-to-apply.
For the wider reforms, we have begun policy development and research, including epidemiological studies, to determine how best to implement these reforms in the future, considering any potential environmental, societal and access impacts.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to revise the funding formula used to allocate the dedicated schools grant in areas which have a high cost of living but low area cost adjustment.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5 to 16 year-old pupils (reception through to year 11) in mainstream state-funded schools in England.
The area cost adjustment (ACA) means that funding allocations to schools are adjusted to reflect the geographic costs they face. Importantly, because the department uses the hybrid methodology, schools’ funding allocations reflect differences in both general labour market costs and teacher salaries.
The ACA takes into account the four geographical pay bands for teachers, as well as regional variations in the labour market for non-teaching staff.
The department will continue to keep the NFF, including the operation of the ACA, under review for 2026/27 and beyond.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's consultation outcome entitled, Reforms to Bathing Water Regulations 2013, published on 12 March 2025, when (a) core reforms and (b) wider reforms will be implemented.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In November and December 2024, the Government, jointly with Welsh Government, consulted on Reforms to The Bathing Water Regulations 2013, in the first shake-up to the Bathing Water Regulations since they were introduced.
Reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations 2013 has been a priority for this Government since taking office in July 2024. The reforms to the Bathing Water Regulations will modernise the system so that it reflects how and where people use bathing waters. In their current form, the Regulations take a generally ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, so we are working to facilitate the enjoyment for water users.
Subject to parliamentary approval, we intend to proceed with planned regulatory reform for the 3 Core Reforms and 9 Technical Amendments outlined in the consultation ahead of the next bathing season. For the wider reforms, we have begun policy development and research, including epidemiological studies, to determine how best to implement these reforms in future and take into account any potential environmental, societal and access impacts.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the Chalk Stream recovery pack.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Cleaning up our waters, including iconic sites such as chalk streams is a top Government priority. That is why on 23 October 2024, the Secretary of State announced the launch of an independent commission to fundamentally transform how our water system works.
Fixing the systemic issues in the water system is essential to address the multiple pressures facing chalk streams, namely over abstraction, phosphorous pollution and physical modifications of habitats. Restoring our chalk streams to better ecological health is part of our overall programme of reforms for the water sector.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 2 of his Department's publication entitled General terms for the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Economic Prosperity Deal, how he will allocate the 100,000 vehicle quota among companies.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The United States as part of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal, has created a quota of 100,000 vehicles for UK automotive imports at a 10 percent tariff rate, down from 27.5% We have been engaging with industry to seek their views on how we can ensure that the quota works for industry as a whole. The quota has been implemented today, 30 June, by the US and came into effect at 00:01 US Eastern time.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his German counterpart on the sale of 36 Eurofighters to Turkey.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State for Defence regularly engages with his Eurofighter Partner Nation counterparts, including Germany. Discussions routinely cover an array of bilateral issues, as well as opportunities to support Türkiye to enhance their defence capabilities as a NATO partner.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients have accessed Vamorolone since it was given NICE approval for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy; what assessment he has made of the adequacy of availability of Vamorolone to patients with DMD in that period; and whether the NHS had fully implemented the NICE recommendation by the April 2025 deadline.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its technology appraisal, titled Vamorolone for treating Duchenne muscular dystrophy in people 4 years and over, on 16 January 2025. NHS England routinely commissioned vamorolone in line with the guidance, from 16 April 2025.
When a patient is started on vamorolone, the prescribing clinician submits an electronic prior approval form, confirming that NICE’s recommendation criteria are met. NICE’s costing report, included in the technology appraisal, suggested that 1,390 people expected to receive vamorolone in 2025/26. The NICE’s technology appraisal is available at the following link:
There is only 10 full weeks of data available since routine commissioning commenced in mid-April, and over this period there have been 32 prior approval forms submitted. Whilst submission of a form is not confirmation that treatment has begun, this is used as a proxy indication for the number of patients starting treatment.