Robert Buckland Portrait

Robert Buckland

Conservative - South Swindon

First elected: 6th May 2010


Secretary of State for Wales
7th Jul 2022 - 25th Oct 2022
Taxi and Private Hire Vehicles (Safeguarding and Road Safety) Bill (England and Wales)
2nd Nov 2021 - 3rd Nov 2021
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
24th Jul 2019 - 15th Sep 2021
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
9th May 2019 - 24th Jul 2019
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
15th Jul 2014 - 9th May 2019
Human Rights (Joint Committee)
11th Feb 2013 - 30th Mar 2015
Committee on Standards: Standards Review Sub-Committee
10th Jun 2014 - 30th Mar 2015
Consolidation Bills (Joint Committee)
6th Dec 2010 - 24th Nov 2014
Consolidation, &c., Bills (Joint Committee)
6th Dec 2010 - 24th Nov 2014
Committee on Standards
7th Jan 2013 - 11th Sep 2014
Committee on Privileges
7th Jan 2013 - 11th Sep 2014
Committee of Privileges
7th Jan 2013 - 11th Sep 2014
Justice Committee
10th Jun 2014 - 8th Sep 2014
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
12th Jul 2010 - 10th Mar 2014
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
12th Jul 2010 - 10th Mar 2014
Justice Committee
12th Jul 2010 - 11th Feb 2013
Standards and Privileges
12th Dec 2012 - 7th Jan 2013
Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee)
14th Jul 2011 - 12th Mar 2012
Speaker's Advisory Committee on Works of Art
18th Nov 2010 - 8th Nov 2011


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Robert Buckland has voted in 755 divisions, and 24 times against the majority of their Party.

20 Apr 2022 - Nationality and Borders Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 11 Conservative No votes vs 291 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 294 Noes - 242
26 Apr 2022 - Nationality and Borders Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 4 Conservative No votes vs 282 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 288 Noes - 212
14 Dec 2022 - Asylum Seekers (Removal to Safe Countries) - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 4 Conservative No votes vs 67 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 69 Noes - 188
6 Jun 2023 - Committee on Standards - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 28 Conservative Aye votes vs 32 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 185 Noes - 40
14 Jun 2023 - Animals - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 276 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 284 Noes - 14
11 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative No votes vs 293 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 297 Noes - 231
11 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 13 Conservative No votes vs 286 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 290 Noes - 242
11 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 15 Conservative No votes vs 279 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 284 Noes - 242
11 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 16 Conservative No votes vs 281 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 285 Noes - 243
11 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 13 Conservative No votes vs 273 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 282 Noes - 234
17 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 5 Conservative No votes vs 292 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 300 Noes - 212
17 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 11 Conservative No votes vs 281 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 289 Noes - 220
17 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 13 Conservative No votes vs 279 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 282 Noes - 227
17 Jul 2023 - Illegal Migration Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 12 Conservative No votes vs 280 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 284 Noes - 226
13 Sep 2023 - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 4 Conservative No votes vs 267 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 276 Noes - 210
4 Sep 2023 - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 2 Conservative No votes vs 282 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 294 Noes - 206
4 Sep 2023 - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative No votes vs 278 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 291 Noes - 209
4 Sep 2023 - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative No votes vs 285 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 297 Noes - 209
25 Oct 2023 - Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 3 Conservative Aye votes vs 267 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 208 Noes - 274
4 Dec 2023 - Victims and Prisoners Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 22 Conservative Aye votes vs 238 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 246 Noes - 242
18 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 310 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 320 Noes - 251
18 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 311 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 321 Noes - 252
18 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 315 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 324 Noes - 253
18 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Robert Buckland voted No - against a party majority and against the House
One of 1 Conservative No votes vs 305 Conservative Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 312 Noes - 255
View All Robert Buckland Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Robert Neill (Conservative)
(40 debate interactions)
David Lammy (Labour)
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
(36 debate interactions)
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(33 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Ministry of Justice
(664 debate contributions)
Home Office
(59 debate contributions)
Cabinet Office
(29 debate contributions)
Department of Health and Social Care
(23 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Robert Buckland's debates

South Swindon Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Petition Debates Contributed

The Government should create an emergency fund to deal with the massive waiting lists for autism & ADHD assessments for children AND adults. This would provide resources for local health services deal with current waiting lists and new patients.

The Government should commission a review of how Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessments are managed by the NHS, including through Shared Care Agreements, and increase funding to reduce waiting times.


Latest EDMs signed by Robert Buckland

Robert Buckland has not signed any Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Robert Buckland, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


1 Urgent Question tabled by Robert Buckland

Monday 6th March 2023

3 Adjournment Debates led by Robert Buckland

7 Bills introduced by Robert Buckland

Introduced: 20th May 2020

A Bill to make provision about the sentencing of offenders convicted of terrorism offences, of offences with a terrorist connection or of certain other offences; to make other provision in relation to terrorism; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 29th April 2021 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 8th January 2020

To require the Parole Board to take into account any failure by a prisoner serving a sentence for unlawful killing or for taking or making an indecent image of a child to disclose information about the victim.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 4th November 2020 and was enacted into law.

Introduced: 11th February 2020

A Bill to make provision about the release on licence of offenders convicted of terrorist offences or offences with a terrorist connection; and for connected purposes.

This Bill received Royal Assent on 26th February 2020 and was enacted into law.


A Bill to make provision for Institutes of Technology to apply to receive a Royal Charter; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading
Friday 6th May 2022
Introduced: 15th October 2019

A has been called and Parliament is no longer sitting. The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before . This means the Bill will make no further progress. To require the Parole Board to take into account any failure by a prisoner serving a sentence for unlawful killing or for taking or making an indecent image of a child to disclose information about the victim.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 15th October 2019

The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require the Secretary of State to record certain statistics relating to people receiving treatments for mental health conditions; and for connected purposes.

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 17th December 2013

The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to require the Secretary of State to make a referral to the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to develop and publish quality standards for autism spectrum disorders; and for connected purposes

Commons - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Commons
Tuesday 24th May 2011

Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
21st Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England, published on 29 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Visitor register scheme used in the Netherlands.

A call for evidence on developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England was held between June and September 2022, and received almost 4,000 responses. Respondents were asked, amongst other questions, to provide insights or evidence on the impact of schemes or approaches that are already in place elsewhere in the world.

The findings of the call for evidence have indicated that there is a case for light-touch regulation of the sector, and therefore the Government is introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The exact details of how the scheme will operate will be explored through a public consultation which will be published shortly. Where appropriate, schemes that have already been implemented in other countries such as in the Netherlands may be considered as we develop the details of how the scheme in England will be designed.

Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
9th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to support sustainable investment in Southern Africa; and if she will publish a sustainable investment plan for Southern Africa.

The UK’s Economic Partnership Agreements with southern African countries and the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme enable trade and promote development. UK Export Finance supports the region with billions of pounds of finance or insurance cover available for projects involving UK suppliers. The Prime Minister has announced that he will host the second UK-African Investment Summit in 2024, which will help UK businesses secure sustainable investment into the region and maintain the UK’s position as the leading investor in Africa.

The Government’s plans for sustainable investment in developing economies is set out in the International Development Strategy.

Greg Hands
Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
27th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the Developing Countries Trading Scheme in Africa on the UK's renewables industry; and what plans she has for developing partnerships between UK companies working in renewables and their African counterparts.

The Developing Countries Trading Scheme supports the UK renewables industry by allowing duty-free imports on everything but arms from 33 Least Developed Countries in Africa.

In addition, the UK Global Tariff allows duty-free imports of raw materials such as cobalt, nickel and graphite from all countries, including those in Africa.

We are supporting partnerships between UK and African firms in renewables. Through the Africa Energy Forum in June, we brought together UK investors and exporters and African governments in renewables and the 2024 UK Africa Investment Summit will further develop commercial partnerships including in renewables.

Nigel Huddleston
Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
6th Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to launch the Alternative Funding scheme for people without a domestic electricity meter.

The application portal, (and accompanying contact centre helpline for those without online access), for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) will open for all eligible households without a relationship to a domestic electricity supplier in England, Scotland, and Wales by 27 February. The EBSS AF for Northern Ireland is also due to launch in February, with details to be released in due course.

Graham Stuart
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
29th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to tackle the proliferation of malign AI generated content farms.

The Government takes the issue of information threats to national security very seriously, including threats posed by foreign states, and the use of AI and deepfakes. DSIT works closely across government and with social media platforms, civil society groups, academia, and international partners, to tackle these risks.

DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) is focused on threats from foreign states, as well as risks emerging from the use of deepfakes to imitate elected leaders and interfere with elections and the use of bots to drive disinformation and fuel division.

The Online Safety Act will also address a range of threats posed by AI. The Act will force companies to take action against illegal content online, including illegal AI-generated content, and will require companies to take steps to remove this illegal content if they become aware of it on their services. This includes the Foreign Interference Offence, which has been added as a priority offence in the Act, forcing companies to remove a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-linked interference online.

Saqib Bhatti
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
5th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle digital astroturfing on social media.

The Government recognises the range of tactics which could be employed to spread mis- and disinformation and the threat that these can pose. DSIT’s National Security Online Information Team (NSOIT) analyses coordinated attempts to artificially manipulate the online information environment, working with a range of partners, including social media platforms, civil society groups, academia, and international partners, to tackle it.

Digital astroturfing, amongst other techniques sometimes used by state actors to interfere with UK society, will be captured by the Foreign Interference Offence. This has been added as a priority offence in the Online Safety Act and will capture a wide range of state-sponsored disinformation and state-backed operations. Companies will have a legal duty to take proactive action to prevent users from encountering material that amounts to an offence of Foreign Interference, which could include content linked to digital astroturfing, and minimise how long any such content is present on their services.

Under the Act, Ofcom’s Disinformation Advisory Committee is empowered to conduct research and build understanding on mis- and disinformation related issues, which may include the threats posed by digital astroturfing. In addition, Ofcom’s updated statutory duty to promote media literacy includes specific duties to raise the public’s awareness of how to keep themselves and others safe online, including by understanding the nature and impact of mis- and disinformation. This could include initiatives related to specific malicious tactics.

Saqib Bhatti
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
24th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether British companies will have access to European Innovation Council funding for solutions to (a) bias and (b) discrimination in AI systems following the UK's re-admission to Horizon.

UK applicants will be able to participate in the full Horizon Europe programme and UK entities are eligible to receive grant funding through all instruments of the European Innovation Council. The UK is not part of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund – which provides equity finance support to EIC Accelerator projects.

24th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether representatives from (a) the Government and (b) British industry will attend the European AI, Data and Robotics Forum on 8 and 9 November 2023.

Given the proximity of the Safety Summit to the European AI, Data and Robotics Forum on 8 and 9 of November, the Government will not be sending any Ministers or officials to the event. However, both UK Government Ministers and officials participate in European technology-focused events, with an SCS-led official delegation attending the IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) Europe Data Protection Conference this November, which will seek to facilitate our EU data objectives.

25th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals in the next parliamentary session to put the new Digital Markets Unit in the Competition and Markets Authority on a statutory basis.

The Government consulted on our proposed approach to a new pro-competition regime, overseen by the Digital Markets Unit, last year. The consultation closed in October, and we are carefully considering the responses. We will set out the final design of the regime in our response shortly, and will introduce legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
25th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals in 2022 to provide the Digital Markets Unit with full statutory powers.

The Government consulted on our proposed approach to a new pro-competition regime, overseen by the Digital Markets Unit, last year. The consultation closed in October, and we are carefully considering the responses. We will set out the final design of the regime in our response shortly, and will introduce legislation as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Chris Philp
Minister of State (Home Office)
25th Feb 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) legislative and (b) regulatory steps the Government is taking to enable UK news publishers to negotiate for fair payment by technology companies for the news content that they generate.

Newspapers play an invaluable role in the fabric of our society and the government is committed to considering all possible options in the interest of supporting the sustainability of the press. As society continues to move online, the news publishing sector is facing significant challenges in transitioning to sustainable digital business models. As part of this, we are aware of concerns about the effect of the power and position of some online platforms when dealing with news publishers, as identified by the Cairncross Review.

The government set out its proposals for a new pro-competition regime for digital markets in a public consultation in July 2021. The regime will drive a more vibrant and innovative economy across the UK. In line with codes proposed in the Cairncross Review, the regime’s conduct requirements will improve competition and transparency and so make an important contribution to the sustainability of the press. We have also sought advice from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and Ofcom on how the regime would govern the relationship between platforms and content producers including news publishers. No final decisions have been made.

A consultation response will be published in due course and we will legislate to put the regime on a statutory footing as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Julia Lopez
Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
29th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the progress that has been made since the publication of the SEND and AP Improvement Plan; how many additional education psychologists have been employed by local authorities and; how many additional teachers have undertaken SENCO training since the publication of that plan.

Children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) frequently require access to additional support from a broad specialist workforce across education, health and care. To support this, the department has completed the following:

  • Since May 2022, the department has supported 135,000 professionals to access autism awareness training developed by the Autism Education Trust through the £12 million Universal services training programme.
  • In January 2024, the department announced a new initial teacher training and early career framework that includes new and updated content on SEND to ensure teachers have the skills and confidence to support all children.
  • The department is providing free training to up to 7,000 early years Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) to boost understanding of SEND in early years, and increase early identification and collaborative working with parents, carers, and other professionals. As of December 2023, 5,200 people had already registered for their training.
  • The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from September 2024. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.
  • In August 2023, the department confirmed that a new National Professional Qualification for SENCOs will replace the existing National Award for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (NASENCO) qualification from Autumn 2024. This will ensure SENCOs receive consistent high quality, evidence-based training. The department does not hold data regarding the number of professionals who have undertaken the NASENCO qualification since March 2023.
David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
29th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's publication entitled Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, what progress she has made on developing digital requirements for Education, Health and Care Plans.

The department is working with local authorities and suppliers to deliver a digital project to digitise the Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan process for England. The department started this project in summer 2023 to understand what role digitisation should play in the EHC plan process, and the potential longer-term benefits of digital solutions.

The department launched a second project phase in October 2023. This helped the department to understand the benefits, barriers, and limitations of the digitisation of the EHC plan process. This phase resulted in recommendations.

The department launched a third project phase in February 2024 to test the recommendations, which are due to be shared with local authorities and the wider sector this month.

David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
16th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the withdrawal of CPLA-linked funding in British universities on local economies.

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous and therefore responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance and risk management procedures in place. The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners.

The government’s International Education Strategy makes clear that the internationalisation of the HE sector cannot come at any cost. A key element of that strategy is diversification. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation or a single country.

The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator of HE in England, monitors the risk of over-reliance on overseas income at a sector level. The role of the OfS is not to direct how HE providers manage themselves or to limit their recruitment from a particular country of origin, but to ensure they understand where there is greater reliance and how any risks are being managed, and to take action to protect students from the consequences of unmanaged financial risk, if necessary.

6th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of universities accepting funding from entities linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army on academic freedom.

The Integrated Review Refresh, which this government published in March 2023, sets out in clear terms the UK’s policy towards engagement with China and Chinese entities.

Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous institutions and are responsible for ensuring they have adequate governance, risk management procedures and policies in place, including on the acceptance of donations. HE providers will also have their own due diligence procedures which should consider reputational, ethical and security risks.

The department expects the HE sector to be alert to risks when collaborating with any international partners. Guidance published by Universities UK advises HE providers how to engage in international collaborations safely and securely. This guidance also includes a recommendation that due diligence should be conducted on all international partnerships and it is available here: https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/what-we-do/policy-and-research/publications/managing-risks-internationalisation.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 will ensure that HE providers in England have the tools they need to deal with interference with, and threats to, freedom of speech and academic freedom wherever they originate. The Act will enable the Office for Students to monitor the overseas funding of registered HE providers and their constituent institutions and student’s unions, and to take appropriate action. Provisions in the Act dealing with overseas funding are expected to come into force from 1 September 2025.

13th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's publication entitled 2022 School Workforce Census, published 8 June 2023, whether her Department has had discussions with any of the secondary schools that reported zero hours of religious education in Year 11 in the 2022 census.

The School Workforce Census collects information from a large sample of secondary schools in England for a typical week. This identifies hours taught of a subject, year group taught to, and the teacher. Data provided by schools is captured by their individual electronic timetabling systems. Results are weighted to produce national estimates but are not intended to be used as a means of monitoring compliance with the duty to teach religious education (RE), particularly as there may be other RE teaching time in schools that has not been recorded as schools may have allocated it under other subjects.

Following publication in June this year of 2022 census data, the department has not had discussion with schools that reported zero hours of religious education in Year 11 in the sample period.

Damian Hinds
Minister of State (Education)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support schools to make adjustments for children and young people on the waiting list for an autism assessment.

I refer my right hon. Friend, the Member for South Swindon to the answer of 25 September to question 199770.

David Johnston
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
6th Jun 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to improve swimming rates among primary school children.

Swimming and water safety are compulsory in the primary National Curriculum for Physical Education (PE) and Sport.

The PE and Sport Premium can be used by primary schools to support swimming and water safety lessons, including funding teacher training and additional swimming lessons for pupils not able to meet National Curriculum expectations after their PE and Sport lessons. On 8 March 2023, the Government announced a total of over £600 million across the next two academic years for the PE and Sport Premium.

The Department also provides up to £300,000 a year to a consortium grant to improve opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities to take part in PE and Sport. This includes a focus on swimming and water safety. A new inclusion hub on the Swim England website has been created to provide resources for schools and swimming teachers.

A range of swimming and water safety resources and guidance documents have been developed by sector organisations and are available online for teachers and parents.

23rd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the reforms to the SEND system make it easier for parents to get an assessment for their children.

In May 2022, the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper set out the government’s assessment of the challenges the SEND and AP system faces, including assessments and education, health and care (EHC) plans.

In March this year, the government published its proposals to deliver improvements through developing reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent EHC plan process, which makes greater use of digital technology, with the aim to increase consistency and the speed with which support is put in place.

The government continues to support local authorities, with their core budgets increased to £60 billion for the next financial year. Local authorities have the flexibility to spend according to local needs and priorities, including undertaking EHC needs assessments.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
9th Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to reduce the drop out rate of neuro-divergent apprentices.

Apprenticeships offer great opportunities for people of all backgrounds to get the skills that they need to begin, or progress in, a rewarding career. The department recognise that apprenticeship achievement brings huge advantages in terms of future earnings and employment prospects, and we are committed to supporting more learners who have declared a learning difficulty or disability (LDD) to start and achieve apprenticeships.

The department is working with the Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network to explore the barriers that disabled apprentices face in accessing and achieving apprenticeships. The Network published its latest annual report in February 2023, which contains useful information for employers to help them better support apprentices with LDD and can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1135471/ADCN_Annual_Report_2022_to_2023.pdf.

In addition, our Disabled Apprentice Network, in partnership with Disability Rights UK, provides valuable insight and evidence on how to attract and retain people with disabilities into apprenticeships. The Network’s latest annual report considers what works well for disabled apprentices based on their experiences and will help government, employers and training providers to improve how apprenticeships are delivered. The department has also improved it’s Find an Apprenticeship service, to allow people to identify Disability Confident Employers offering opportunities.

In addition, the department continue to pay employers and providers £1,000 when they take on apprentices under 25 years old with an education, health and care plan, and provide monthly financial support to providers to help them make reasonable adjustments for eligible apprentices with LDD.

The department is also taking a broader range of actions to drive up apprenticeship quality and achievements for all apprentices, including neuro-divergent apprentices.

We are supporting employers through our Employer Quality Roadmap which provides guidance on what employers need to be doing at each stage of the apprenticeship, and Ofsted will be fully inspecting all apprenticeship providers by 2025. A new exit feedback tool has also been launched for apprentices who have withdrawn, alongside a new feedback tool for existing apprentices to provide feedback on their training provider. The department will use this feedback to inform further improvements.

22nd Feb 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she expects to publish the full response to the Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) green paper consultation before the Easter recess.

The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper consultation closed in July last year. The department is currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people, and their families.

The department will be publishing a full response to the paper in an Improvement Plan imminently.

We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change, and to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

Claire Coutinho
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
28th Jun 2022
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to gather information about the number of education professionals who have training on autism.

The department does not hold or plan to gather information on the number of education professionals who have training specifically on autism.

Once teachers qualify and are employed in schools, headteachers and school staff use their professional judgement to identify any further training, including specific specialisms, for individual staff that is relevant to them, the school, and its pupils. Schools do not report information to the department on additional specialist training of this nature. However, all teachers are teachers of students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and we are committed to ensuring that all pupils can reach their potential and receive excellent support from their teachers.

Consideration of SEND underpins both the initial teacher training (ITT) core content framework (CCF) and early career framework (ECF), which were both produced with the support of sector experts.

ITT courses must be designed so that teacher trainees can demonstrate that they meet all of the Teachers' Standards at the appropriate level, including the requirement in Standard 5, that all teachers must have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils.

The government invested £74 million into the first year of our new National Autism Strategy, published in July 2021 and extended to children and young people for the first time. It aims to improve the lives of people with autism, for example through improving access to quality education. We will publish our second implementation plan this year.

In February, the department announced funding which includes nearly £12 million for the new Universal Services contract, to deliver SEND-specific continuing professional development to the school and further education workforce. This will help schools and colleges to support children and young people with SEND, including autism, and includes specific support on the needs of autistic children and young people.

27th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the level of risk to bird life in the British Antarctic Territory following the discovery of Avian Influenza on the continent; and whether the Government plans to take steps to mitigate that risk.

We receive regular reports from the British Antarctic Territory on the status of suspected avian influenza cases.

We provide support to the region and other British Overseas Territories proactively, to rapidly test for, track and monitor progression of disease spread and impact in Southern Oceans/Antarctica. This includes working with others to define risk.

National Antarctic programmes have protocols in place to manage and mitigate the spread of outbreaks and best practice on reporting and biosecurity standards is also shared through International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Commission for the Conservation Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
24th Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce food waste at farms and (b) support farmers to ensure that surplus food is redistributed.

The Government supports a thriving, productive and efficient farming sector that prevents waste occurring in the first place. For instance, we are supporting investment in productivity-boosting equipment, technology and infrastructure through the Farming Investment Fund. This provides grants to farmers, foresters, and growers (including contractors to these sectors) that will help their businesses to prosper, while improving their productivity and enhancing the environment.

We acknowledge that more can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage. The ‘fair dealings’ powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 can be used to prevent these kinds of unfair trading practices where they occur, as we are aware that unreasonably late cancellations or specification changes can sometimes lead to produce being unharvested. Last year we launched two new supply chain fairness reviews, looking into the egg and fresh produce supply chains, and building on what we have already got underway to improve transparency and contracts in the pork and dairy markets. The review into the egg supply chain closed on 22 December, and the review of the fresh produce supply chain will close on 22 February. We will publish a summary of responses within 12 weeks of each consultation closing.

The Government works closely with businesses through our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to overcome any barriers to redistribution. This includes the development of guidance and best practice through a sector wide working group, and support for the Target Measure Act approach to understanding and acting on food waste in supply chains, including the redistribution of any surplus should it arise and is supported by the National Farmers Union. Where the NFU stands on food waste – NFUonline

Since 2018, Defra funding of nearly £13 million has supported both large and small redistribution organisations across the country to increase their capability and capacity.

The total amount of food redistributed in the UK in 2022 was over 170,000 tonnes and a value of around £590 million, an increase of 133% since 2019.

Mark Spencer
Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
5th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access to Work claims for the cost of employment coaches for supported interns were (a) approved and (b) unpaid on 5 February 2024; and if he will make an assessment of the total value of these claims.

The information requested about Access to Work claims for employment coaches for supported interns is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, Access to Work statistics include how many applications result in provision being approved from 2007/08 to 2022/23. Please see Table 3 of the Access to Work statistics.

The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time was for Access to Work claims for the costs of employment coaches for supported interns to be paid in the latest period for which data is available.

The information requested about Access to Work payment journey times for the cost of employment coaches for supported interns in the latest period is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

However, the Access to Work statistics includes number of people who received a payment for any Access to Work provision from 2007/08 to 2022/23. Please see Table 6 of the Access to Work statistics.

The latest Access to Work statistics can be found here.

Mims Davies
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Dec 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to help integrate neurodiversity into working (a) practices and (b) culture in the (i) public and (ii) private sector.

We know that neurodivergent people bring many positive benefits to businesses and therefore understand the importance of encouraging employers to adopt more neuro-inclusive working practices.

The Secretary of State and Tom Pursglove (former Minister for Disabled People) are very grateful for the work you have been leading on the Review into Autism Employment, which has been exploring working practices or initiatives which can reduce stigma and create a more inclusive working environment for autistic and neurodiverse employees in the public, private and voluntary sectors. We look forward to the publication of the report early in 2024, and then to working with you, with employers, and with stakeholders to implement the recommendations from the report and encourage a more neuro-inclusive culture in the workplace.

We are also supporting employers via Disability Confident to increase their understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and those with long term health conditions. The scheme provides employers with the skills and knowledge to remove barriers that might be preventing disabled people, neurodivergent people and those with long term health conditions from accessing employment and allows them opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
5th Dec 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to encourage industry to foster a more inclusive working environment for neurodivergent people.

We know that neurodivergent people bring many positive benefits to businesses and therefore understand the importance of encouraging employers to adopt more neuro-inclusive working practices.

The Secretary of State and Tom Pursglove (former Minister for Disabled People) are very grateful for the work you have been leading on the Review into Autism Employment, which has been exploring working practices or initiatives which can reduce stigma and create a more inclusive working environment for autistic and neurodiverse employees in the public, private and voluntary sectors. We look forward to the publication of the report early in 2024, and then to working with you, with employers, and with stakeholders to implement the recommendations from the report and encourage a more neuro-inclusive culture in the workplace.

We are also supporting employers via Disability Confident to increase their understanding of how to recruit, retain and support disabled employees and those with long term health conditions. The scheme provides employers with the skills and knowledge to remove barriers that might be preventing disabled people, neurodivergent people and those with long term health conditions from accessing employment and allows them opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

Paul Maynard
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
26th Feb 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to monitor the treatment of (a) babies, (b) children and (c) young people by integrated care systems.

Organisations within integrated care systems (ICSs) that hold the commissioning responsibility for children and young people’s services, provide treatment to the whole population, including babies, children, and young people. There are various mechanisms for monitoring the treatment provided by different organisations, for example general practice services, including immunisations, are monitored via General Practice Indicators.

Statutory guidance sets out that all integrated care boards (ICBs) have an Executive Lead for children and young people, and that all ICB Joint Forward Plans include a section on babies, children and young people.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is due to begin assessing ICSs. The Department has asked the CQC, as part of its new scrutiny, to assess whether each ICS is adequately considering health and wellbeing outcomes for babies, children, and young people.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to ensure the national allocation of funding for adult social care reflects (a) the number of autistic adults and (b) their potential level of need.

Public spending on adult social care is funded from both local Government revenue and central Government grants and therefore has to be viewed as part of the wider local Government funding settlement. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is responsible for the financial framework within which local Government operates and for ensuring the sufficiency of local Government funding.

Central Government grants for adult social care are largely distributed using the Adult Social Care Relative Needs Formulae, which are developed by independent researchers to reflect differences in councils’ need for local authority funded social care, to ensure councils funding reflects the relative level of need in their area. These formulae account for a range of factors including population, income and wealth, levels of impairment and availability of unpaid care support.

Local authorities have discretion over how to use their funding to meet the needs of their local population, including those of autistic adults.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions she has had with NHS England about reducing waiting times for children and young people’s access to (a) community paediatric services, (b) occupational therapy and (c) speech and language therapy.

The Department holds regular meetings with NHS England on timely access to community health services. Addressing waiting times is a priority for both the National Health Service and the Department. In 2023, NHS England asked local systems to develop plans to reduce community waiting lists.

NHS England is working to improve community health services data to better understand waiting lists and identifying actions to reduce waits, including consideration of new pathways to improve effectiveness and productivity.

Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to change funding incentives to help ensure that funding follows need for the right support in the community for autistic adults.

The Health and Social Care Committee’s report, The treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, included recommendations in relation to assessing the costs of care and support, and redesigning financial incentives in the healthcare system, for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The Government response to the report and position on the recommendations was published 27 July 2022.

In the response, we noted the wide range of capital and revenue funding sources and the range of support that a person may draw on from multiple services. This makes an assessment of costs practically challenging. The response set out that we are clear there must be credible alternatives to inpatient care so that people can live independent, fulfilled lives in their community, without financial incentives or disincentives which prevent this from happening.

To improve our understanding of funding flows, including any financial incentives or disincentives, the Department commissioned an independent specialist consultancy firm, RedQuadrant, in September 2021 to undertake a rapid review of funding flows associated with Building the Right Support. The work concluded in March 2022 and a report was published in July 2022.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the cost of (a) confining autistic adults in mental health hospitals and (b) meeting needs in the community.

The Health and Social Care Committee’s report, The treatment of autistic people and people with learning disabilities, included recommendations in relation to assessing the costs of care and support, and redesigning financial incentives in the healthcare system, for people with a learning disability and autistic people. The Government response to the report and position on the recommendations was published 27 July 2022.

In the response, we noted the wide range of capital and revenue funding sources and the range of support that a person may draw on from multiple services. This makes an assessment of costs practically challenging. The response set out that we are clear there must be credible alternatives to inpatient care so that people can live independent, fulfilled lives in their community, without financial incentives or disincentives which prevent this from happening.

To improve our understanding of funding flows, including any financial incentives or disincentives, the Department commissioned an independent specialist consultancy firm, RedQuadrant, in September 2021 to undertake a rapid review of funding flows associated with Building the Right Support. The work concluded in March 2022 and a report was published in July 2022.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the prevalence of barriers to autistic people accessing social care.

We have not made any specific assessments. Under the Care Act 2014, it is the responsibility of local authorities to assess individuals’ care and support needs, including those of autistic adults, and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. A new duty on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess local authorities’ delivery of their Care Act 2014 duties went live on 1 April 2023 and the formal assessment period has started. The CQC will examine how well local authorities deliver their Care Act duties, including those that apply to autistic people. This will increase transparency and accountability and, most importantly, drive improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.

Our national autism strategy, published in July 2021, acknowledges the importance of autistic people being able to access community support, including social care, and that this should be available at the right time and tailored to their needs. The strategy was informed by a national call for evidence. A summary of the call for evidence findings was published alongside the strategy and included reported barriers to autistic people accessing social care.

We are currently updating the Autism Act Statutory Guidance to support the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people. This will include setting out what local authorities must and should be doing to meet their duties under the Care Act for autistic adults. We expect to publish the updated statutory guidance this year, following public consultation.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) implementation of the Care Act 2014 for autistic adults and (b) extent to which statutory provisions for such adults under that Act are being met.

We have not made any specific assessments. Under the Care Act 2014, it is the responsibility of local authorities to assess individuals’ care and support needs, including those of autistic adults, and, where eligible, for meeting those needs. A new duty on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to assess local authorities’ delivery of their Care Act 2014 duties went live on 1 April 2023 and the formal assessment period has started. The CQC will examine how well local authorities deliver their Care Act duties, including those that apply to autistic people. This will increase transparency and accountability and, most importantly, drive improved outcomes for people who draw on care and support.

Our national autism strategy, published in July 2021, acknowledges the importance of autistic people being able to access community support, including social care, and that this should be available at the right time and tailored to their needs. The strategy was informed by a national call for evidence. A summary of the call for evidence findings was published alongside the strategy and included reported barriers to autistic people accessing social care.

We are currently updating the Autism Act Statutory Guidance to support the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver improved outcomes for autistic people. This will include setting out what local authorities must and should be doing to meet their duties under the Care Act for autistic adults. We expect to publish the updated statutory guidance this year, following public consultation.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
22nd Jan 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 October 2023 to Question 202692 on Autism and Learning Disability: Community Care, what the allocation was to each Integrated Care Board for Community/ CYP key workers.

NHS England made a funding allocation for learning disability and autism services, otherwise known as community and children and young people keyworker services, totalling £121.7 million in 2023/24. The following table shows the breakdown of this funding allocation by integrated care board (ICB):

ICB

Organisation Region

Funding allocation 2023/24 (£’000)

Healthier Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

North West

3,964

South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw ICB

North East and Yorkshire

3,044

Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB

Midlands

1,618

Mid and South Essex ICB

East of England

2,427

Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB

East of England

1,963

Birmingham and Solihull ICB

Midlands

3,197

Cumbria and North East ICB

North East and Yorkshire

6,929

Joined Up Care Derbyshire ICB

Midlands

2,276

Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

East of England

2,119

Devon ICB

South West

2,584

Lincolnshire ICB

Midlands

1,627

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB

Midlands

2,119

Our Healthier South East London ICB

London

3,954

Kent and Medway ICB

South East

3,862

Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

East of England

2,969

East London Health and Care Partnership ICB

London

4,356

North London Partners In Health and Care ICB

London

3,287

Norfolk and Waveney Health and Care Partnership ICB

East of England

2,280

Staffordshire and Stoke On Trent ICB

Midlands

2,394

Frimley Health and Care ICB

South East

1,435

Sussex Health and Care Partnership ICB

South East

3,629

Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin ICB

Midlands

1,074

Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership ICB

North West

6,623

Humber, Coast and Vale ICB

North East and Yorkshire

3,618

Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB

South West

1,848

Northamptonshire ICB

Midlands

1,545

Gloucestershire ICB

South West

1,267

Hampshire and The Isle Of Wight ICB

South East

3,744

North West London Health and Care Partnership ICB

London

4,924

Somerset ICB

South West

1,242

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Health and Care ICB

Midlands

2,501

Cornwall and The Isles Of Scilly Health and Social Care Partnership ICB

South West

1,304

Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB

South East

3,425

The Black Country and West Birmingham ICB

Midlands

2,691

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB

East of England

1,769

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB

South West

2,067

Dorset ICB

South West

1,705

South West London Health and Care Partnership ICB

London

3,031

West Yorkshire and Harrogate (Health and Care Partnership) ICB

North East and Yorkshire

5,232

Coventry and Warwickshire ICB

Midlands

2,011

Surrey Heartlands Health and Care Partnership ICB

South East

2,034

Cheshire and Merseyside ICB

North West

6,003

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
16th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will have discussions with her international counterparts on mutual recognition of dentistry schemes.

To practise in the United Kingdom, dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) are required to hold registration with the General Dental Council (GDC). To be entered into the dentists register, an individual must hold a recognised UK dentistry qualification; an European Economic Area qualification recognised under European Union exit standstill arrangements; hold one of a small number of overseas qualifications awarded before 2001 and recognised under legacy arrangements; or they must sit the Overseas Registration Exam or Licence in Dental Surgery examinations to demonstrate they have suitable skill and experience to practise in the UK. Under legislative changes which came into force in March 2023, the GDC was granted the flexibility to recognise additional overseas qualifications as sufficient to achieve registration to practise in the UK. The Department will continue to discuss whether there are other qualifications or registration routes that could be considered with the GDC and other relevant partners as appropriate.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
16th Nov 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had recent discussions with the General Dental Council on increased investment in the applications process for dentists with overseas qualifications.

The Department meets regularly with the General Dental Council (GDC) to discuss application and registration processes for dentists with overseas qualifications. The Department welcomes the GDC’s recent announcements that it is increasing the number of places available to sit the Overseas Registration Exam (ORE). The GDC has tripled the number of places on sittings of ORE Part 1 for all sittings from August 2023 to the end of 2024. The GDC has also added an additional sitting of ORE Part 2 in 2024, bringing the total number of sittings up to four.

Andrea Leadsom
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
16th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the independent report by RedQuadrant, entitled Building the Right support: an analysis of funding flows, published by his Department on 14 July 2022.

There are no plans to publish a response to this report. The primary recommendations made in this report by RedQuadrant were used to inform the Building the Right Support Action Plan published in July 2022.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
16th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 May 2023 to Question 183773 on Autism and Learning Disability: Community Care, what analysis his Department undertook to identify the £121 million of funding allocation for the Building the right support programme in the 2023-24 financial year; and what estimate he has made of funding requirements for subsequent financial years.

The £121 million of funding to improve community support for people with a learning disability and autistic people forms part of the wider NHS Long Term Plan (LTP) funding. The £121m allocation in 2023/24 was determined based upon consideration of the following:

  • NHS England priorities for people with a learning disability and autistic people as set out in the NHS Long Term Plan published 2019; and
  • Ensuring that national investment supported all the priorities within the agreed national programme allocation for 2023/24.

Additionally, the following table shows a distribution to integrated care boards on a ‘fair shares’ basis, in line with the LTP trajectory for the learning disability and autism programme, increasing year on year up to the end of the LTP funding cycle:

Financial Year

2020/21 (£)

2021/22 (£)

2022/23 (£)

2023/24 (£)

Community/CYP Keyworkers

18,000

39,000

69,000

119,000

HOPE(S)

1,000

2,000

2,000

2,000

Total

19,000

41,000

71,000

121,000

Note: HOPE(S) is a training model commissioned by NHS England, which aims to embed good practice across inpatient services and reduce the use of long-term segregation and restrictive practices for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Funding for 2024/25 will be confirmed in due course.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
16th Oct 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people with (a) autism and (b) a learning disability reside in a mental health inpatient unit that has most recently been rated as inadequate by the CQC; and for how many of those people have additional (i) safeguards and (ii) mitigations been put in place to monitor their (A) safety, (B) wellbeing and (C) treatment.

The latest published Assuring Transformation data shows that there are 80 people with a learning disability and autistic people reported in a mental health inpatient setting which the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rates as inadequate. This is based on inpatient data at the end of August 2023, and CQC inspection ratings as of 2 October 2023.

Where, by exception, a person with a learning disability or autistic person is admitted into a setting rated as inadequate at the point of admission, additional safeguards and mitigations should be put in place. NHS England has established a process whereby any such admission should be notified to the relevant integrated care bord (ICB) Chief Executive Officer, National Health Service regional team and Host Commissioner and reported as an exception to the ICB Quality Board or equivalent. Information on specific safeguards and mitigations for individuals is not held centrally.

Each person with a learning disability and autistic person in a mental health hospital should have regular Care (Education) and Treatment Reviews in line with national policy.

Commissioner Oversight Guidance was published in February 2021, which sets out that people with a learning disability and autistic people who are in hospital outside their local area will be visited by the commissioner of their care regularly every six weeks for children and every eight weeks for adults.

In June 2023, we updated the Host Commissioner Guidance, this guidance sets out expectations for ICBs to act as a ‘host’ commissioner to provide additional oversight of care in mental health hospitals in their geographical area, where people with a learning disability and autistic people are cared for.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to reduce the waiting list for autism assessments in Avon and Wiltshire.

We expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to have due regard to relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism when commissioning services. It is the responsibility of ICBs to make available appropriate provision

Each ICB in England is expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, supporting the board in planning to meet the needs of its local population of people with a learning disability and autistic people, including in relation to appropriate autism assessment pathways. NHS England has published guidance on these roles.

On 5 April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services. This guidance will help the National Health Service improve autism assessment pathways and improve the experience for people referred to an autism assessment service.

In addition, NHS England publish quarterly data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment and for how long. These are experimental statistics; however, the data does provide useful information nationally and locally to support local areas to improve their performance and to reduce assessment waiting times.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support the NHS provides to (a) children and (b) young adults after receiving an autism diagnosis.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for York Outer on 12 September 2023 to Question 197738.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
19th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle autism assessment backlogs.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Rt Hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on 8 September 2023 to Question 195909.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
7th Sep 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of the 25 of May 2023 to Question 185279 on Health Services and with reference to Lord Markham's letter of 30 August 2023 to the Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, whether the figures on the average impact across the 24 trusts involved in realising benefits through the Improving Elective Care Coordination for Patients Programme on (a) waiting list reduction and (b) increased efficient usage theatres are available; and if will take steps to publish that data.

The Improving Elective Care Coordination for Patients Programme is still in the pilot stage and data continues to be collated to assess the benefits that are being derived from the implementation of the Care Coordination Solution tool. The tool remains at different stages of implementation in each of the pilot trusts and NHS England is working with the trusts. NHS England is committed to sharing data in due course as the tool is embedded further and more data points become available.

16th May 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential (a) overall impact and (b) impact on each trust involved of the Improving Elective Care Coordination for Patients Programme on (i) waiting lists, (ii) staff performance, (iii) treating patients and (iv) theatre scheduling.

The Improving Elective Care Coordination for Patients Programme is monitoring benefits against waiting lists, staff performance, treating patients and theatre scheduling.

These benefits are collected on a regular basis and will grow as more trusts embed the use of the tool in their operational processes. The programme is assessing benefits at a trust level, monitoring the delivery of the solution and levels of adoption. Benefits are discussed with Trusts and used to support the continued drive for adoption and use of the Care Coordination Solution. As of May 2023, the programme is delivering benefits in 24 trusts for data validation and 23 for theatre utilisation.

23rd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help ensure improved engagement and support for children and families from health and social care services as part of the SEND Improvement Plan.

We are working closely with the Department for Education to implement actions set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and Alternative Provision Implementation Plan, with the aim of improving engagement and support for children and young people with SEND and their families.

This includes working with the Department for Education to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning. We will establish a steering group this year to oversee this work, which we aim to complete by 2025. We will be commissioning analysis on the health needs of children and young people with SEND so these can be better met through effective workforce planning.

We will improve access to speech and language therapy by including Early Language and Support for Every Child pathfinders within our £70 million Change Programme in partnership with NHS England. The pathfinders will trial new ways of supporting children with speech, language and communication needs in early years and primary schools.

Local SEND and AP Partnerships will bring together representatives across early years, schools, further education, alternative and specialist provision, in addition to health, care and other partners, to increase national consistency, putting co-production at the centre of decision making. They will be responsible for working with parents and carers to produce a Local Inclusion Plan setting out the provision and services that should be commissioned in line with the national standards. This will inform the local offer and will be quality assured by the Department for Education.

23rd Mar 2023
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the backlog in health and services for disabled children.

To tackle backlogs in elective care, including where accessed by disabled children, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to drive up and protect elective activity. This funding could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks and procedures and will mean the National Health Service in England can aim to deliver approximately 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than before the pandemic.

In addition, the Department for Education is providing support for families of children with SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability). This support includes an investment of £6.1 million this financial year to strengthen the participation of parents and young people in the SEND system. The Department for Education is also investing £27.3 million this year to support low-income families with seriously ill or disabled with the cost of equipment, goods and services through Support for Families with Disabled Children Funding.

Maria Caulfield
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)