Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) businesses and (b) charities that provide activities for children with SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides funding to deliver £24 million worth of grants each year to provide support to low-income families raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. We have also funded innovative grants that promote best practice for delivering services for short breaks.
To support young people aged 16 to 24 with an education, health and care plan to secure and sustain employment, we are continuing to invest in supported internships by providing up to £12 million to March 2026. This funding will support local authorities to sustain their special educational needs and disabilities Employment Forums, training on employer engagement and training for job coaches. Indicative data from local authorities shows we reached our previous target of doubling the number of supported internships to 4,500 per year and our continued support will enable areas to sustain this.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department has taken to recognise the service of people killed in the Battle of Arnhem.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The war dead of the Battle of Arnhem are commemorated in perpetuity, predominantly at Arnhem Oosterbeek War Cemetery, which is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). Over 1,700 casualties of the Battle of Arnhem and Operation Market Garden are buried there, with over 240 being unidentified. The majority of those commemorated at Arnhem Oosterbeek are British servicemen, but the cemetery also contains Polish, Dutch and German casualties from the Battle of Arnhem.
To this day, visiting veterans of the battle are greeted by crowds of appreciative Arnhem citizens who attend annual ceremonies, showing their gratitude for the efforts made by the Allies to liberate their city. Additionally, just under 40 CWGC World War Two graves are located in Arnhem (Moscowa) General Cemetery, which is Arnhem’s civilian cemetery. A single burial also lies in Arnhem Jewish Cemetery.
The 80th anniversary of Operation MARKET GARDEN was commemorated last year, with a number of events attended by senior representatives from across Defence and Government, including the Minister for the Armed Forces in the House of Lords (Lord Coaker), the Minister for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories (Stephen Doughty MP), and senior military representatives. This year, like every other year, we commemorate all who have served and their sacrifice as part of the national act of remembrance.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department has considered making identity theft a police recordable crime.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
At present, identity theft is not a standalone criminal offence, but criminal acts which exploit stolen identities are already covered under existing legislation such as the Fraud Act 2006, Computer Misuse Act 1990, and Data Protection Act 2018. However, we recognise the evolving nature and increasing prevalence of identity-related crime and are taking additional proactive steps to address it. That is why the Independent Review of Fraud Offences will also consider whether a specific offence for identity theft is needed.
Alongside this, we will also consider whether to include further initiatives to prevent the misuse of stolen identities and strengthen protections for the public as part of the Government’s upcoming Fraud Strategy.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former Seasonal Workforce officers for the UK Border Force were successful in gaining employment through regular recruitment processes after their contracts were ended in 2024.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
In accordance with the Civil Service Recruitment Principles, all recruitment of this nature is conducted using a sifting process where identifying information is removed, and all appointments are made on merit through open and fair competition. As a result, it is not possible to determine whether any candidates were previously part of the seasonal workforce.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of funded support through Access to Work on deaf professionals who require full-time BSL interpreters.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Pathways to Work Green Paper, we consulted on the future of the Access to Work scheme, including how we may better support deaf professionals who require full-time BSL interpreters. Following the conclusion of the consultation, we are now considering our responses and will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to help prevent receiving parents from limiting access of children to those parents paying child maintenance in order to receive higher payments.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) operates on the principle that a child's welfare is best served by the continued involvement of each parent in their life, provided that involvement is safe and meets the needs of the child. It is aware that paying parents can face difficulties when attempting to spend meaningful time with their child following separation. Issues relating to access and contact are managed by family courts.
The aim of the child maintenance shared care regime is to try and reflect, as far as possible, the actual patterns of care taking place between parents, and the financial consequences of that for the costs of the child. It does not dictate what should happen or require any particular conduct from parents – except that they are truthful in reporting what happens between them in respect of care. Where parents do not tell the truth, the CMS has powers to investigate if fraud is suspected.
Reductions can be made for the extra cost of care where it is shared by the paying parent. The paying parent must have overnight care of any qualifying children for at least 52 nights a year, equivalent of 1 night per week. The amount payable is reduced by a maximum of fifty per cent within bands based on the number of nights overnight care is provided over a 12-month period. The bands are used to give greater stability to maintenance payments and as a result there is greater reliability of payments, which contributes towards the welfare of the children in the case.
Where a dispute does arise, the CMS will seek to collect evidence from parents, for example a Court ordered arrangement, to establish the correct figure.
The evidence acceptable in these circumstances is
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that hospitals are able to provide (a) nutritious and (b) good-quality food for patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Access to good quality, nutritious, and aesthetically pleasing hospital food can improve patient morale and contribute to their recovery.
All National Health Service trusts, including in Hazel Grove, are expected to follow the NHS National Standards for Healthcare Food and Drink. There are eight mandatory standards all trusts are required to meet. This includes having a food and drink strategy and demonstrating that they have suitable food service provision 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which is appropriate for their demographic.
The guidance requires that NHS organisations must show that they comply with the British Dietetic Associations’ Nutrition and Hydration Digest, which identifies actions to be taken in relation to the provision of nutritional food, and which is available at the following link:
Furthermore, A key part of the specific standards for retail, staff, and visitors in healthcare settings is the need to comply with the Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services mandatory nutrition standards. These standards are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/national-standards-for-healthcare-food-and-drink/
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the dermatology workforce.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We will publish a 10-Year Workforce Plan to create a National Health Service workforce in England ready to deliver a transformed service.
The 10-Year Workforce Plan will ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to deliver the best care for patients, when they need it, including those requiring dermatology services. From now on, we will ensure that staff will be better treated, have better training, more fulfilling roles, and hope for the future, so they can achieve more.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of available units of dental activity.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including National Health Service dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. Dentists delivering NHS dental care are contracted to deliver a certain number of Units of Dental Activity (UDAs) per year. ICBs can commission high performing dental practices to deliver up to 110% of their contracted UDAs.
The Government’s ambition is to fundamentally reform the dental contract by the end of this Parliament. As a first step, we are consulting on a package of changes to improve access to, and the quality of, NHS dentistry which will deliver better care for the diverse oral health needs of people across England. Further information on the consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/nhs-dentistry-contract-quality-and-payment-reforms
The consultation was launched on 8 July and will close on 19 August.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions to Official Development Assistance on women and girls’ reproductive (a) health and (b) rights.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), recognising that health and rights are co-dependent and mutually reinforcing. Official Development Assistance (ODA) is one of multiple levers to achieve this. We will continue to work with international partners and use targeted funding, technical partnership and diplomatic engagement to provide leadership on SRHR.
Following the recent Spending Review, detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of ongoing resource allocation processes. Decisions on individual programmes and thematic areas, such as sexual and reproductive health and rights, will be based on various factors including equality impact assessments. We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ODA allocations for Financial Year 2025/26 in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.