Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what funding her Department has allocated to support teachers through (a) subject knowledge enhancement courses for trainees, (b) Oak National Academy Resources (i) planned and (ii) existing, (c) subject hubs, (d) support for level 3 provision and (d) bursaries and other support for continuing professional development for (A) maths and numeracy, (B) English and literacy, (C) science, (D) music, (E) history and (F) Religious Education in the last five years.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Teachers are the foundation of the education system; there are no great schools without great teachers. The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor for improving pupil outcomes. This is particularly important for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The department is creating a world class teacher development system, which builds from Initial Teacher Training (ITT), through to early career support, specialisation, and onto school leadership. The funding breakdown requested over the last five years is included in the attached table. The department is providing support across a range of subjects via a network of hubs that help build teacher capability and pupil access to subjects. This focuses on support for teachers in schools and extends to sixth form provision in some schools.

In addition to this funding, in 2021, as part of the government’s long term recovery plan, £184 million of new funding was allocated to enable teachers employed at state-funded organisations to access fully funded training scholarships for National Professional Qualifications (NPQs) for three years until the end of the 2023/24 academic year. This includes two specialist NPQs in Leading Literacy (NPQLL) and the NPQ in Leading Primary Mathematics (NPQLPM). In March 2024, the government announced scholarship funding for NPQs for the October 2024 cohort. This includes a guarantee that the NPQLPM will be fully funded until October 2025 to further expand teaching of mathematics mastery approaches through primary education.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to publish additional non-statutory guidance on religious education syllabus content in schools.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Religious education (RE) is an important part of a school’s curriculum and can contribute to a young person’s personal, social, and academic development. When done well, it can develop children’s knowledge of British values and traditions, help them better understand those of other countries, and refine pupils’ ability to construct well-informed, balanced, and structured arguments. This is why RE remains a compulsory subject in all state-funded schools in England for each pupil up to the age of 18.

The department has no plans to publish additional non-statutory guidance on RE syllabus content in schools. The department’s policy is to allow RE curricula to be designed at a local level, whether this is through a locally agreed syllabus conference or by individual schools and academy trusts developing their own curricula. The department feels this is the most appropriate way for local demographics to be accounted for.

The department does however welcome the work that the Religious Education Council has done to assist curriculum developers by publishing its National Content Standard for RE in England.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many pharmacies have closed in Worthing West constituency since 2019; and what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of these closures on NHS primary care services in Worthing West constituency.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 19 pharmacies in Worthing West constituency on 31 December 2023. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed and no new pharmacies opened in Worthing West.

Access to pharmaceutical services remains good. 99 percent of the population in Worthing West live within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. In addition, residents of Worthing West can access distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.

It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of community pharmacy closures on other NHS services.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There were 19 pharmacies in Worthing West constituency on 31 December 2023. Between 31 December 2019 and 31 December 2023, three pharmacies closed and no new pharmacies opened in Worthing West.

Access to pharmaceutical services remains good. 99 percent of the population in Worthing West live within a 20-minute walk from a pharmacy. This exceeds the national average of 80 percent. In addition, residents of Worthing West can access distance selling pharmacies that operate nationally.

It is the role of local authorities in England to undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas, every three years, to ensure provision continues to meet their population’s needs. Integrated care boards have regard to those assessments when commissioning services and where a pharmacy closure impacts on the access to services, a new contractor can apply to open a pharmacy in the area.

Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 24 April 2024 2 _NC3 Ms Harriet Harman Dame Margaret Hodge Sir Peter

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Found: REPORT STAGE Wednesday 17 April 2024 2 _NC3 Ms Harriet Harman Dame Margaret Hodge Sir Peter