Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve educational opportunities in former coalfield areas.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
All children and young people should have every opportunity to succeed. Our mission is to make this a reality across the country, including in former coalfield areas.
We’re investing £9.5 billion into early years next year to help families access affordable high-quality childcare places all over the country including those in former coalfield areas. We are also taking bold action to lift 550,000 children out of poverty, tackling the high levels of deprivation seen in many former coalfield areas.
Our “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” white paper sets out our plan to provide a stretching, enriching and inclusive school experience for every child. We are consulting on funding reforms to reflect different lengths and depths of disadvantage that children may be experiencing including the persistent challenges faced in former coalfield areas.
The department is also strengthening routes into post-16 education, employment and training so every young person can progress into secure, well-paid work. We recognise that former coalfield areas face some of the biggest barriers to opportunity and this government will ensure those Children and Young People benefit from the landmark reforms we are making to education and beyond.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure all secondary schools offer a wide range of GCSE subject options.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of their duty to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, schools are expected to offer a range of subject options to help meet the aspirations of all pupils.
On 23 February, the department published a consultation which includes proposals to improve the Progress 8 model to maintain a strong academic core and ensure breadth and choice for every child. The consultation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/key-stage-4-performance-measures-and-targeted-rise-extension. We want to recognise the value of subjects that strengthen our economy and society, for example the arts and sciences, and the importance of a broad pre-16 curriculum.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help improve GCSE pass rates among pupils eligible for free school meals in the Ashfield constituency.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper sets out our plans to build a system that supports every child to achieve and thrive.
It sets a clear path to raising standards and broadens children’s education. This includes a refreshed curriculum, improved transitions and an enrichment entitlement for every child.
To help improve GCSE outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, we are driving standards through new RISE teams, a refreshed high-quality curriculum and assessment system, recruiting 6,500 additional teachers and piloting a new place‑based Headteacher Retention Incentive to attract and support headteachers in the areas that need them most.
Additionally, in the 2026/27 financial year, £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding will support improved outcomes for disadvantaged pupils, and the National Funding Formula will allocate £5.6 billion according to deprivation. We are also developing a new model to better target disadvantage funding at the most entrenched need.
When this generation finishes secondary school, our ambition is for all pupils to reach at least a grade 5 across their GCSEs and for the disadvantage gap to be halved, with 30,000 more disadvantaged pupils passing English and maths GCSEs.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the availability of (a) apprenticeships and (b) training courses in the electronic device repair industry.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Level 3 Digital Device Repair Technician apprenticeship standard is available to support the electronic device repair industry, and other occupational standards are available to facilitate engineering and manufacturing skills more widely.
To improve the availability of apprenticeships, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeship training costs for eligible people aged under 25 at non-levy paying employers. The department currently pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21 at non-levy paying employers and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.
From October 2026, non-levy paying employers will also receive a £2,000 incentive payment when they take on, as new employees, apprentices under the aged of 25, to help them meet the additional costs of supporting a young person at the beginning of their career.
This is in addition to the £1,000 that the Government already pays to both employers (of all sizes) and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. On top of this, employers will receive additional payments of up to £2,000 for foundation apprenticeships and employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the waiting time for emergency ultrasound scans at Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB hospitals.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold information on waiting times for emergency ultrasound scans.
However, in December 2025, the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board carried out 2,021 unscheduled, or emergency, non-obstetric ultrasound tests. Unscheduled tests are defined as including the number of diagnostic tests or procedures carried out during the month on patients following an emergency admission, and any diagnostic tests or procedures on patients in accident and emergency.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the adequacy of mental health support in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold specific assessments of the adequacy of mental health support in Ashfield constituency. Mental health services across Nottinghamshire, including Ashfield, are delivered by the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation. The Care Quality Commission’s most recent inspections at the trust found no services rated inadequate and noted strengthened governance and safer care. However, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has made clear that care has fallen short at the trust and expects to see improvements. My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has been closely monitoring the implementation of the recommendations from previous Care Quality Commission reports and has committed to meeting the new leadership of the trust once in place.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of prescription charges on people with IBD.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government currently has no plans to review or amend the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of prescription charges on people with inflammatory bowel disease.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the medical exemption list for prescription charges.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government currently has no plans to review or amend the list of medical conditions that entitle someone to apply for a medical exemption certificate. No assessment has been made of the potential impact of prescription charges on people with inflammatory bowel disease.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help promote British made buses.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to supporting the long-term strength and competitiveness of our bus manufacturing sector. In March 2025, the Minister for Roads and Buses launched the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel, bringing together industry experts and local leaders to ensure the UK remains a leader in bus manufacturing. A key objective of the panel is to develop a pipeline of future bus orders to give better planning certainty to the sector and UK-based manufacturers. This pipeline has been published at: 10-year zero emission bus order pipeline - GOV.UK.
Separately, on 12 March 26, my Department announced an additional £73.2 million of funding for 484 zero emission buses through the Zero Emission Bus Regional Area Programme (ZEBRA) for which UK manufacturers have already won the majority of orders for the 2,500 buses delivered so far.
We are also providing further opportunities for UK manufacturers with the £15.6 billion of funding available over five years to improve local transport across some of the biggest city regions, giving local leaders the ability to allocate funding to upgrade and decarbonise their fleets.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to promote British made electronic (a) devices and (b) appliances to consumers.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is supporting British made electronic devices and appliances by backing domestic manufacturers, promoting innovation, and strengthening product standards. We work closely with industry bodies such as AMDEA (Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances), who lead consumer information campaigns helping shoppers identify high quality UK made products. We also continue to uphold strong safety standards through the Office for Product Safety and Standards. Through this partnership approach, we aim to boost the visibility, competitiveness and consumer confidence in British made electronics and appliances.