Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what permits his Department has issued to UAV Tactical Systems Ltd for the export of (a) hardware, (b) software and (c) technical support to Israel since October 2023.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
From 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2024, the latest date covered by our most official statistics release, UAV Tactical Systems LTD have been issued 3 export licences covering exports to Israel.
Each licence has been assessed to ensure that the items were not for use by the Israeli military in military operations in Gaza, pursuant to the decision on 2 September 2024 to suspend exports of equipment to Israel that might be used by the Israeli military in operations in Gaza.
Licences for military equipment which is not for use in operations in Gaza or which relate to components for products which are ultimately for re-export to other countries were not included in the scope of the suspension.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of reductions to USAID on humanitarian aid in Sudan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK notes the US' decision to disband United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and cancel certain USAID programmes. This is a matter for the US. We are currently working to assess the implications of the US funding pause across all humanitarian and development sectors, including on joint and coordinated programming. Sudan remains a priority for the UK. After the London Sudan Conference, the Foreign Secretary announced a further £120 million in funding which will target over 650,000 people. This brought the total pledged by the attendees of the conference to over £800 million in humanitarian aid, a positive step that will have important protection outcomes for civilians.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average time taken was to get an Education, Health and Care Plan in place for a child in each of the last five years; and what steps she is taking to reduce this time.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Information for each of the last 5 years on the number and percentage of education, health and care (EHC) plans issued within the statutory 20-week deadline, with and without statutory exceptions to that deadline applying, is published as part of the statistical release, ‘Education, health and care plans’ (reporting year 2024), which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/education-health-and-care-plans/2024.
Local authorities identified as having issues with EHC plan timeliness are subject to additional monitoring by the department, who work with the specific local authority. Where there are concerns about the local authority’s capacity to make the required improvements, the department can secure specialist special educational needs and disabiltiies advisor support to help identify the barriers to EHC plan process timeliness and put in place practical plans for recovery.
When inspections indicate that there are significant concerns with local authority performance, the department will intervene directly. This may mean issuing an improvement notice, statutory direction and/or appointing a commissioner, deployment of which is considered on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Tom Morrison (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that (a) experienced and (b) new teachers in mainstream schools receive adequate training for teaching neurodivergent children.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department provides continuing professional development to the school and further education (FE) workforce through the Universal Services programme, led by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen). This programme helps the school and FE workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) earlier and more effectively.
From September 2025, the new initial teacher training and early career framework (ITTECF) will set out a minimum entitlement to training for all new teachers. The ITTECF contains significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and SEND which was tested with SEND educational experts, to ensure new teachers are equipped to support pupils with a range of additional learning needs.
The department recognises that continuous improvement is essential and has committed to review the ITTECF in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support. This review will include a focus on teaching pupils with SEND.
Also in November 2024, the department established the Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group, which includes clinicians, scientists, academics, education experts and third sector organisations. The group will make recommendations on the best ways to support and meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people in mainstream education settings.
The department is also investing in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme, which is a national programme backed by £22 million of investment. PINS deploys specialists from both health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children.