Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with Student Finance England on the (a) ease of access to and (a) adequacy its customer services.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Student Finance England (SFE) is part of the Student Loans Company (SLC). The SLC is a wholly owned government company which delivers student finance services to students on behalf of the four UK Governments (the shareholders).
The department is responsible for oversight of the SLC, and my noble Friend, the Minister for Skills meets regularly with the SLC chair and chief executive. Alongside the other shareholders, the department sets key performance targets in the SLC Annual Performance and Resource Agreement. These targets include measures for customer service and satisfaction and are monitored at the SLC Board and through Board committees. The department and the shareholders scrutinise data relating to the quality of customer experience, including call response times and contact resolution.
Since the 2022/23 financial year the SLC has invested in improving its digital platforms for students and customers. Customers now have a variety of options to contact the SLC, including online account interactions, virtual assistants, live chat, social media and by telephone or in writing.
The SLC reports on customer satisfaction targets for applicants, students, sponsors, and customers in its Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent publication can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/slc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024/slc-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-2024.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
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 improve the quality of wound care, in the context of the disbandment of the National Wound Care Strategy Programme in March 2025.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The outcome of the National Wound Care Strategy Programme was to implement consistently high wound care across England by reducing unnecessary variation, improving safety, and optimising patient experience and outcomes.
NHS England’s work on wound care has now transitioned into its business as usual service, and work is continuing to support the spread of best practice across England. Additionally, to further improve the quality of wound care, a pressure ulcer improvement diagnostic and discovery phase of work was agreed as a priority component of the national wound care programme, undertaken in partnership with the National Wound Care Strategy Programme team, the National Nursing Directorate, providers, and integrated care systems.
Resources developed through the National Wound Care programme are accessible on the NHS Futures website.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating new cars sold to have speed limiters.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We currently have no plans to introduce mandatory speed limiters for new vehicles.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of radiologists working in the NHS in (a) England and (b) Tunbridge Wells Hospital; and what steps he is taking to increase the number of radiologists working in the NHS.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data published by NHS England shows that as of December 2024, there are 3,998 full-time equivalent (FTE) consultants in the speciality of clinical radiology employed in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. Of these, there are 28 FTE consultants employed in the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Data is not available for the workforce of specific hospitals within NHS hospital trusts.
When including doctors of all grades, there are 5,844 FTE doctors working in the specialty of clinical radiology in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, 35 of which are employed in the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.
We are committed to training the staff we need, including radiologists, to ensure that patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions.
Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual NHS employers. NHS trusts manage their recruitment at a local level, ensuring they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) requiring online gaming platforms to join recognised age-rating frameworks and (b) allowing Ofcom to investigate serious individual complaints about gameplay.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While there is no legal requirement for online games to display ratings, most major storefronts require the display of PEGI ratings. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport works closely with the Games Rating Authority in the UK to promote and encourage the display of age ratings online.
We expect all platforms, including user-to-user games services in scope of the Online Safety Act, to comply with the law. This currently requires all user-to-user and search services to have systems and processes in place to remove illegal content, and in the coming months, to protect children from harmful content.
The government keeps all legislation under review and will act where necessary to keep people safe online.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring social media platforms to (a) implement advanced virtual private network (VPN) detection technology to identify users accessing platforms through VPNs and (b) block VPN users' access, in the context of the risk of anonymous (i) exploitation and (ii) grooming of children online.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act will place strict ‘illegal content’ duties on online platforms to protect children from being groomed by online predators, and to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse content on their services.
Ofcom sets out steps providers can take for these duties in draft codes of practice. It can assess the merits of any proposed measures for its codes, including those that relate to VPNs. The first codes for the ‘illegal content duties’ came into force in March 2025 and Ofcom has said it will develop these iteratively.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will take steps to review the potential impact of the provisions of the British National (Overseas) visa on (a) the adequacy of settlement pathways, (b) levels of access to citizenship for UK-born children of BNO visa holders and (c) eligibility for citizenship by people with historical citizenship arrangements.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We keep all aspects of the immigration system under review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) the University of Kent and (b) Canterbury Christ Church University on the potential impact of redundancies of teaching staff on (i) the effectiveness of (1) teaching and (2) research and (ii) student recruitment.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is aware of the financial challenges currently affecting the higher education (HE) sector. The department is aware that some providers, including the University of Kent and the Canterbury Christ Church University, are making difficult decisions around staffing in order to safeguard their financial sustainability. As independent entities, universities are responsible for pay and provision of staff, and the government does not have a role in intervening. However, we expect providers to work with staff, using their knowledge and experience to help identify how best to operate efficiently. All efficiency measures taken by the sector should provide a better long-term future for staff, students and the country.
This government is determined to build a HE system fit for the future. Ministers and departmental officials remain dedicated to engaging with the Office for Students, HE unions, the employer body and the wider sector. Regular discussions are being held to gain a deeper understanding of the issues impacting HE providers, students and staff, and to develop our plans for HE reform, which will be announced in summer 2025.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a railcard for (a) civilian police staff and (b) civil servants.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Railways Act 1993 requires all train operators to participate in approved discount card schemes for young travellers, disabled passengers and those over 60. These groups are offered discounted travel because it is broadly assumed that, because of age or circumstances, they are likely to be earning less than adults of typical working age. Our intention is that, once established, Great British Railways (GBR) should be required by legislation to retain these discounts. Further voluntary discount cards have been introduced by the Rail Delivery Group.
There are no current plans to review railcards in advance of the transition to GBR, but it will have the opportunity to take a fresh look at the justification of the eligibility and restrictions of some railcards. Any long-term changes or concessions made to rail fares policy will require balancing against the potential impacts on passengers, taxpayers and the railway.
Asked by: Mike Martin (Liberal Democrat - Tunbridge Wells)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to support English and Welsh farmers when the Fruit and Vegetable Aid scheme ends on the 31st December 2025.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Responsibility for horticulture is a devolved matter and, as such, is a matter for the Welsh Government to consider in Wales.
We recognise the importance of our domestic growers who play a vital role in our food security, economy and rural communities. In England our approach to future funding for horticulture will be considered alongside Defra’s work to simplify and rationalise agricultural grant funding, ensuring that grants deliver the most benefit for food security and nature.
Horticulture will also be considered within our new food strategy, which will make our food system one we can be proud of, that protects our strong British traditions, helps to grow the economy and improves people’s health.
Underlining this commitment to our growers, we have provided a five-year extension to the Seasonal Worker visa route, giving farms certainty to grow their businesses. In the last month, we have also announced new grants within the Farming Innovation Programme, worth a combined £45.6 million, to support projects across the research and development (R&D) lifecycle. Horticulture has been in scope of this Programme with over £40 million awarded to the sector to date.