Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the application process will open for the Technical Excellence College scheme.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

At the Spring Statement 2025, this government committed £100 million to establish ten new Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction across every region in England and to further build capacity to boost the provision of skills in construction. Boosting skills in construction is a crucial part of delivering on this government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament and progress vital infrastructure projects. The department will set out further details on Technical Excellence Colleges in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how colleges can apply to the Technical Excellence College scheme.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

At the Spring Statement 2025, this government committed £100 million to establish ten new Technical Excellence Colleges specialised in construction across every region in England and to further build capacity to boost the provision of skills in construction. Boosting skills in construction is a crucial part of delivering on this government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes in England this Parliament and progress vital infrastructure projects. The department will set out further details on Technical Excellence Colleges in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support schools with budgetary challenges resulting from teacher salary increases.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Overall school funding is increasing by over £3.2 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, meaning it will total over £64.8 billion compared to almost £61.6 billion in 2024/25. The department recognises that the increases for individual schools will vary, with some getting more and some getting less than the average increase.

The guidance ‘Schools’ costs: technical note’ forecasts £400 million of headroom in schools’ budgets nationally in the 2025/26 financial year, before staff pay awards.

This follows the government’s written evidence to the School Teacher’s Review Body, published in December, which proposed a pay award for teachers of 2.8%. Schools will be expected to fund the 2025 pay award from the additional investment provided at the Autumn Budget 2024, alongside their existing funds.

All parts of the public sector are being asked to improve their efficiency. The department will be developing a suite of productivity initiatives to help schools manage their budgets to maximise opportunities for learners.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what changes he plans to make to rules governing SME procurement in public contracts, in the context of the Spring Statement 2025.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

This Government is taking major steps to give SMEs greater access to public contracts - including the publication of the National Procurement Policy Statement (NPPS) which sets out a mission-led procurement regime focused on driving economic growth that supports Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSEs), giving them greater opportunities to win public contracts by instructing contracting authorities to maximise their spend with these organisations. To support implementation of the NPPS in central government, we have announced new rules requiring all government departments and their executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies to set three-year targets for direct spend with SMEs from 1 April 2025, and from 1 April 2026 for VCSEs, and publish progress annually.

We will be consulting on more reforms including a requirement for large contracting authorities to publish their three-year targets for small business and social enterprise spend and report on this annually - as well as the exclusion of suppliers from contracts worth more than £5million if they don’t complete prompt payments of invoices.

In the Spring Statement, the Chancellor also announced measures to reform our procurement system to give small businesses across the UK better access to Ministry of Defence contracts.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the differences in school funding across different counties.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Every year the department uses the schools national funding formula (NFF) to distribute core funding for 5- to 16-year-old pupils in mainstream state-funded schools in England. In the current NFF, the vast majority of funding is distributed on the basis of pupil numbers and characteristics.

The purpose of the NFF is not to give every school the same level of per pupil funding. It is right that pupils with additional needs attract additional funding to help schools respond and meet their needs. In addition, schools in more expensive areas, like London, attract higher funding per pupil than other parts of the country to reflect the higher costs they face.

Through the dedicated schools grant, Gloucestershire County Council is receiving over £522 million for mainstream schools in the 2025/26 financial year, which equates to £6,201 per pupil on average, excluding growth and falling rolls funding. Schools' final funding allocations are determined by local authority funding formulae and based on updated pupil numbers, and so the final per pupil funding amounts for individual schools may differ.

The department is reviewing the schools NFF for both the 2026/27 financial year and the ensuing years, recognising the importance of a fair funding system that directs funding where it is needed.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support secondary schools with increases in SEND costs.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Through the national funding formula in the 2025/26 financial year, secondary schools are being allocated over £4 billion through formula factors that act as a proxy for their pupils’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and other additional needs. In addition, high needs funding will total over £12 billion this financial year, a proportion of which local authorities will use for supporting secondary schools with their pupils who have more complex SEND. Of the total high needs funding, Gloucestershire County Council is being allocated over £105 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant.

In the high needs funding system, it is the top-up funding allocated to schools by the local authority which is intended to reflect the cost of provision for pupils with complex SEND. Schools should therefore discuss with their local authority the funding that they believe is necessary to make the provision that has been commissioned, taking into account expected levels of inflation and particular costs such as for energy and staff pay, as well as any reprioritisation within their budget that schools can achieve to ensure best value from their overall resources.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase levels of recruitment and retention of teachers in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

High quality teaching is the most important in-school factor to a child’s educational outcomes. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child. This is why the department will recruit 6,500 new expert teachers, get more teachers into shortage subjects, support areas that face recruitment challenges and tackle retention issues. To deliver this pledge we are resetting the relationship with the sector to ensure teaching is once again a valued and attractive profession.

The department agreed a 5.5% pay award for teachers in 2024/25, and increased the funding available for bursaries for trainee teachers to £233 million from 2025/26, to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in some shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign ‘Share your Skills’.

A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy and we want to ensure teachers stay and thrive in this profession. In the first five years of their careers, new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools. There are three schools in the Cheltenham constituency where teachers are eligible for targeted retention incentives.

The department has also taken steps to improve teachers’ workload and wellbeing, to support retention and help re-establish teaching as an attractive profession. This includes opportunities for greater flexible working, by making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.

The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, ensuring schools are capturing the benefits of flexible working, whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Malmesbury School is the flexible working ambassador school providing local, tailored peer support for Cheltenham schools.

High quality Continuing Professional Development is also key to ensuring the retention of an effective teaching workforce. The department has established teaching school hubs across the country, who play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the early career framework and National Professional Qualifications. Balcarras Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Cheltenham, Cotswolds and Stroud.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her policy is on support for schools with budget shortfalls due to levels of high needs funding.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

Through the national funding formula in the 2025/26 financial year, secondary schools are being allocated over £4 billion through formula factors that act as a proxy for their pupils’ special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and other additional needs. In addition, high needs funding will total over £12 billion this financial year, a proportion of which local authorities will use for supporting secondary schools with their pupils who have more complex SEND. Of the total high needs funding, Gloucestershire County Council is being allocated over £105 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant.

In the high needs funding system, it is the top-up funding allocated to schools by the local authority which is intended to reflect the cost of provision for pupils with complex SEND. Schools should therefore discuss with their local authority the funding that they believe is necessary to make the provision that has been commissioned, taking into account expected levels of inflation and particular costs such as for energy and staff pay, as well as any reprioritisation within their budget that schools can achieve to ensure best value from their overall resources.

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 (a) the recruitment and (b) levels of training of GPs.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have invested an additional £82 million into the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) in 2024/25 to enable the recruitment of over 1,000 recently qualified general practitioners (GPs). Under the 2025/26 GP contract changes, the ARRS will become more flexible to allow primary care networks to respond better to local workforce needs. The two ARRS pots will be combined to create a single pot for the reimbursement of direct patient staff costs. There will be no restrictions on the number or type of staff covered, including GPs and practice nurses.

The curriculum for postgraduate training is set by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges for foundation training, and by individual Royal Colleges and faculties for specialty training. The General Medical Council approves curricula and assessment systems for each training programme. Curricula emphasise the skills and approaches that a doctor must develop to ensure accurate and timely diagnoses and treatment plans for their patients.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the formula for reimbursing schools after increases in employer National Insurance contributions.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

In developing our National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant methodology for mainstream schools and academies, the department considered both the impact of the change to National Insurance rates and the changes to the threshold at which NICs are applied. By taking this approach, we have ensured that funding accounts for where increases to NICs will be most significant.

The department knows that the impact of the increase to NICs differs depending on the proportions of staff on relatively higher or lower salaries and have taken that into account in determining how much funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools. The technical details of how the funding is split between those phases of education has been discussed with stakeholders, including the Association of School and College Leaders.

We keep our grant methodology under review to ensure funding can best support schools and their pupils. That is why, for the first time, we are providing additional grant funding for mainstream schools with special units and resourced provision to support them with the higher staffing costs they typically face.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on school budgets.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

In developing our National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant methodology for mainstream schools and academies, the department considered both the impact of the change to National Insurance rates and the changes to the threshold at which NICs are applied. By taking this approach, we have ensured that funding accounts for where increases to NICs will be most significant.

The department knows that the impact of the increase to NICs differs depending on the proportions of staff on relatively higher or lower salaries and have taken that into account in determining how much funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools. The technical details of how the funding is split between those phases of education has been discussed with stakeholders, including the Association of School and College Leaders.

We keep our grant methodology under review to ensure funding can best support schools and their pupils. That is why, for the first time, we are providing additional grant funding for mainstream schools with special units and resourced provision to support them with the higher staffing costs they typically face.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the Association of School and College Leaders on increases in employer National Insurance contributions.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

In developing our National Insurance contributions (NICs) grant methodology for mainstream schools and academies, the department considered both the impact of the change to National Insurance rates and the changes to the threshold at which NICs are applied. By taking this approach, we have ensured that funding accounts for where increases to NICs will be most significant.

The department knows that the impact of the increase to NICs differs depending on the proportions of staff on relatively higher or lower salaries and have taken that into account in determining how much funding is allocated to primary, secondary and special schools. The technical details of how the funding is split between those phases of education has been discussed with stakeholders, including the Association of School and College Leaders.

We keep our grant methodology under review to ensure funding can best support schools and their pupils. That is why, for the first time, we are providing additional grant funding for mainstream schools with special units and resourced provision to support them with the higher staffing costs they typically face.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the status is of the independent economic review of pharmacies, in the context of the recently announced abolition of NHS England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing immediate cash-flow funding for pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publishing the independent economic review of pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England commissioned Frontier Economics to undertake an independent economic analysis of National Health Service pharmacy funding in 2024. The findings of this work were published by Frontier Economics on 28 March 2025.

We have now concluded the consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the framework governing private clinics offering ADHD diagnoses.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made these assessments. Medical practitioners must demonstrate that they work in line with the principles and values set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Good Medical Practice. This applies to all doctors, whether they work in the National Health Service, the independent sector, or undertake private work. The GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates practising in the United Kingdom, and is directly accountable to Parliament.

Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent public body that provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. The guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aims to improve recognition and diagnosis, as well as the quality of care and support for people with ADHD. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. The NICE guideline recommends that an ADHD diagnosis should only be made by a licenced specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other healthcare professional with specialist training in ADHD diagnosis. We expect integrated care boards and private providers to take the NICE’s guidelines fully into account when commissioning and providing services on behalf of the NHS.

Independent providers who offer diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are currently in scope of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and are therefore regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, independent providers who only offer diagnosis of ADHD, without any form of treatment, are not within scope of CQC registration, as the regulations currently stand. Further information on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111117613/schedule/1

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of ADHD diagnoses made by private sector specialist clinics.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has not made these assessments. Medical practitioners must demonstrate that they work in line with the principles and values set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC) Good Medical Practice. This applies to all doctors, whether they work in the National Health Service, the independent sector, or undertake private work. The GMC is the regulator of all medical doctors, anaesthesia associates, and physician associates practising in the United Kingdom, and is directly accountable to Parliament.

Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is an independent public body that provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. The guideline for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) aims to improve recognition and diagnosis, as well as the quality of care and support for people with ADHD. When exercising their judgement, professionals and practitioners are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences, and values of their patients or the people using their service. The NICE guideline recommends that an ADHD diagnosis should only be made by a licenced specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician, or other healthcare professional with specialist training in ADHD diagnosis. We expect integrated care boards and private providers to take the NICE’s guidelines fully into account when commissioning and providing services on behalf of the NHS.

Independent providers who offer diagnosis and treatment of ADHD are currently in scope of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, and are therefore regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, independent providers who only offer diagnosis of ADHD, without any form of treatment, are not within scope of CQC registration, as the regulations currently stand. Further information on the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 is available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111117613/schedule/1

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential role of the cyber security industry in Cheltenham in growing the UK defence industry.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

This Government is committed to bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy which ensures the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned.

Defence is not just a cornerstone of national security, it’s also a powerful engine to drive economic growth - this Government’s number one mission.

The new Defence Industrial Strategy will unlock the potential of every region and nation across the UK. We are working collaboratively with colleagues across Government to maximise the linkages between the Ministry of Defence and other Departments.

We will set out our plans for strengthening the UK defence sector in the Defence Industrial Strategy later this year.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that cyber tech businesses in Cheltenham are able to access funding through new defence innovation organisation.

Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) will equip Britain’s Armed Forces with cutting-edge tech faster. It will support the growth of high-tech businesses across the UK – including in Cheltenham, capitalising on new ideas, supporting them rapidly through development and exploitation.

To achieve these aims UKDI will be given a ringfenced budget of £400 million this year. The Spring Statement also confirmed that the Ministry of Defence will spend at least 10% of its equipment procurement budget on novel tech including dual-use technologies such as uncrewed and autonomous systems and AI-enabled capabilities. This will benefit the UKs cyber tech industry.

UKDI will be closely linked to the DE&S and DASA teams which have recently been involved in rapid procurement activities and currently give businesses across the UK access to funding.

UKDI will be operational by July 2025 and work is ongoing to confirm the detailed design of the organisation.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make it his policy to consult on any changes to (a) actors' and (b) performers' employment rights within the cultural sector.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We are committed to giving British creators increased security at work, and providing the creative industries with a regulatory and fiscal environment where imagination and innovation can flourish. To support this aim, DCMS is working closely with the sector to understand the implications of the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay on the Creative Industries.

The Plan to Make Work Pay will represent the biggest upgrade in employment rights in a generation, bringing the UK back into line internationally. It tackles poor working conditions and job security, and by making work more flexible and more family-friendly, will support our wider programme across employment, health and skills policy to get Britain working.

This includes a commitment to consult on a simpler, two-part framework for employment status. Some reforms in The Plan to Make Work Pay will take longer to undertake and implement, and we see this consultation as a longer-term goal.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken to assess the impact of the proposed streamlining of workers definitions on the creative industries.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

We are committed to giving British creators increased security at work, and providing the creative industries with a regulatory and fiscal environment where imagination and innovation can flourish. To support this aim, DCMS is working closely with the sector to understand the implications of the Government’s Plan to Make Work Pay on the Creative Industries.

The Plan to Make Work Pay will represent the biggest upgrade in employment rights in a generation, bringing the UK back into line internationally. It tackles poor working conditions and job security, and by making work more flexible and more family-friendly, will support our wider programme across employment, health and skills policy to get Britain working.

This includes a commitment to consult on a simpler, two-part framework for employment status. Some reforms in The Plan to Make Work Pay will take longer to undertake and implement, and we see this consultation as a longer-term goal.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what advice her Department provides to creative industries considering the use of legal recourse when artificial intelligence has been used in breach of copyright.

Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

It would be inappropriate for the Government to provide direct legal advice to individual creators or organisations, but we fully recognise the serious and evolving challenges posed by the use of copyrighted material in AI development.

The current UK Copyright Framework enables creative rights holders to prevent the unauthorised use of protected works, but this can be very difficult to implement in the context of AI, especially for individual firms and creators. We encourage rights holders who believe their work has been used unlawfully to seek independent legal advice.

More broadly, the Government is working to ensure that copyright and intellectual property frameworks remain robust and fit for purpose in the age of AI. We have received over 11,500 responses to our consultation, principally from creators. It is only right that we take the time to read and understand those responses and use them to shape our approach. We have been clear that AI developers must be more transparent about the content they use to train their models and that rights holders should have effective control of their works.

Addressing this is an urgent priority for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but no decisions will be taken until we are absolutely confident we have a practical plan that delivers for the creative industries.

UK parliamentarians sanctioned by the Russian Federation

Robert May’s school and STEM racing competition

Found: _NC11 Max Wilkinson .