Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to protect transport workers a) jobs b) pay c) pensions d) conditions and e) travel facilities in the context of the transition to Great British Railways.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In accordance with TUPE regulations, existing train operator staff transferring to the public-sector operator do so with their contractual terms and conditions protected. The trade unions (TUs) will be consulted at the earliest opportunity, if any changes to their members’ terms and conditions are being proposed as part of the transition to Great British Railways (GBR). In the meantime, we are keeping TU leaders informed on matters through the Rail Engagement Group.
Regarding pensions under GBR, I can confirm that we plan for the Railways Pension Scheme to continue to be the primary vehicle through which most rail employees build up their pension provision. The protections within the 1993 Railways Act remain unchanged by the Railways Bill currently going through parliament.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her Department made as to the impact of having to sit SATS on SEND children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.
The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what rationale does her Department use to support the use of SATS for SEND children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area.
The key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in special educational needs (SEN) and trials with hundreds of Year 6 pupils. Children with SEN have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they are able to participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools are able to utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEN and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.
Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, led by Professor Becky Francis. The review panel, which included an expert in SEN, published their final report in November, concluding that the primary assessment system is generally working well and that the assessments are important for evaluating pupils’ progress.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to include the needs of children in care in the development of his Department's policy.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
MHCLG works closely with the Department for Education on policy development for children’s social care and is responsible for making funding available to local government for children’s social care service delivery through the Local Government Finance Settlement. As a government, we are driving the biggest transformation of children’s social care in a generation with the Families First Partnership programme – backed by a historic £2.4 billion through the multi-year Settlement’s Children, Families and Youth Grant. This historic investment demonstrates the government’s commitment to invest in prevention and will support councils working across the safeguarding partnership to deliver children’s social care reform, making a real, tangible difference to children and families.
Alongside this programme of reform, helping care leavers to make a successful transition from care to independence is a priority for this Government. Together with the Department for Education, MHCLG will develop a cross-government action plan to reduce the proportion of care leavers under 25 experiencing homelessness. And MHCLG has introduced regulations, which came into force on 10 July 2025, so that young care leavers under 25 will no longer need to meet a local connection or residency test in order to access social housing.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Regulation 3 of the Social Security Up-Rating Regulations 2026 laid on 6 March, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of making the provision relating to frozen overseas state pensions by Order rather than Regulations.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 are in general consequential on the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026.
The provisions in the Up-rating Regulations cannot be included in the Up-rating Order because the powers on which the Up-rating Order relies are insufficiently wide to include these provisions.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has produced (a) written advice and (b) guidance setting out the rationale for laying the provision relating to frozen overseas state pensions under the Negative procedure.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The provisions in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 cannot be included in the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 because the powers on which the Up-rating Order relies are insufficiently wide to include these provisions.
The Regulations are subject to the negative procedure, and this is a convention that has been in place for a number of years.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of laying the provision relating to frozen pensions as a standalone instrument.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Regulations 2026 are in general consequential on the Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2026 and can only be laid once the Up-rating Order has been approved by Parliament. The Up-rating Regulations were laid on 6 March 2026 and will come into force on the same date as the Up-rating Order on 6 April 2026.
This is a convention that has been in place for a number of years.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment was he has made of the potential risks of granting Tesla permission to supply electricity to households and businesses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Supply licence applications are a matter for Ofgem as the independent regulator.
Applications for supply licences are considered by Ofgem based on their merits and assessed in line with published guidance, which is available here: Ofgem Licencing Guidance. Companies granted licences are required to comply with all conditions contained within them and the Government and Ofgem take action to address any non-compliance.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he will give an update on the Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Government extends its deepest sympathy to all those who suffered mistreatment during their time at Eastwood Park Detention Centre. The abuse of children and young people is wholly unacceptable, and we remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting victims and survivors who bravely come forward.
The Eastwood Park Detention Centre Settlement Scheme commenced on 14 January 2025 for a period of 12 months, and to ensure that every victim and survivor has sufficient time to come forward, the Government has extended the scheme by a further 18 months until 14 July 2027. This extension underlines our continued commitment to ensuring that all those affected are able to access the support and redress available to them.
Since January 2026, we have received a further 392 claims, and we continue to receive new claims at a steady rate. To date, 1582 claims have been received including 510 claims settled with damages paid. Of the 510 claims settled, the average payment is £3,326.00.
Since the period in which these events occurred, safeguarding practices across the secure estate have been fundamentally transformed. The creation of the Youth Custody Service, together with strengthened safeguarding frameworks, child-specific policies, and enhanced oversight arrangements, has significantly improved protections for vulnerable young people. These reforms ensure that the serious failures of the past cannot be repeated.
All reports of historic abuse at former Detention Centres, including Eastwood Park, have been subject to police investigation. These investigations have led to the conviction and imprisonment of several former staff members, and the Government will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities should any further evidence come to light.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether receiving statutory maternity leave will be considered receipt of public funds and impact a mother’s length of settlement route under the earned settlement model.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Proposals for introducing an earned settlement model, as set out in the Command Paper “A Fairer Pathway to Settlement” (CP1448), were subject to a public consultation, which opened on 20 November 2025 and closed on 12 February 2026.
Contributory benefits and statutory payments are not classed as public funds for immigration purposes. As such, individuals subject to a no recourse to public funds condition but who have paid the necessary National Insurance contributions or have relevant periods of employment or self-employment can access these benefits.
As part of this consultation, we also sought views on the potential impact of the proposed changes, including whether those on maternity leave should be exempt from certain requirements.
Implementation of the earned settlement arrangements will be subject to economic and equality impact assessments, which we have committed to publish in due course.