Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with Diabetes UK on (a) the open consultation on SEND reform, and (b) reforms to the SEND support system more broadly.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to support people with Addison's disease, in the context of the discontinuation of the manufacture of hydrocortisone sodium phosphate.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Birmingham Northfield on 21 April 2026 to Question 127384.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what data her Department holds on the number of areas in the UK that have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest in each of the last five years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Notification of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) is a devolved matter and data for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are held by the respective administrations. Designation of SSSIs in England is a matter for Natural England.
SSSI designation is a two‑stage process. Sites are first notified, at which point they become legally protected. Notifications are then confirmed, usually within nine months,
once any objections or representations have been considered.
For the purposes of this answer, “designated” is taken to mean confirmed SSSI notifications. On that basis, the number of SSSIs designated in England, by calendar year, is as follows:
Year | Number of SSSIs designated |
2021 | 6 |
2022 | 1 |
2023 | 1 |
2024 | 0 |
2025 | 0 |
Confirmation often takes place in a year following notification, so notified and confirmed figures do not necessarily relate to the same sites.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of reductions to ODA on the (a) UK's ability to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iranian population and (b) escalation of the conflict in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the announcement made on 18 March concerning the UK's support for people fleeing the conflict: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-commits-15-million-for-vulnerable-people-affected-by-middle-east-conflict.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has any newly available (a) evidence or (b) modelling related to carriage studies and the potential impact of routinely offering Meningitis B vaccinations for people aged 13-25 on their health.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department makes decisions on vaccination programmes following careful consideration of independent expert advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI does not currently recommend a routine MenB booster vaccination for adolescents and young adults. The JCVI routinely reviews new evidence as it emerges and my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 17 March that the JCVI has been asked to reexamine eligibility for meningitis vaccines. However, decisions on routine vaccination programmes are taken on the basis of independent scientific advice from the JCVI. As ever, we will carefully consider their advice.
In the meantime, a targeted vaccination programme has been extended to everyone who has been offered preventative antibiotic treatment as part of this outbreak.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the number of intensive livestock farms.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework on the number of intensive livestock farms.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending the statutory guidance on school attendance to allow exemptions for term-time holiday fines for families where the parents have to work during school holidays.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The school year is structured so that there are opportunities for holidays outside of term-time. All schools have the discretion to grant leave of absence in exceptional circumstances, judging each application on the specific facts. However, generally a holiday would not constitute an exceptional circumstance. Schools and local authorities also have considerable flexibility to plan term dates themselves and hold inset days and other occasional days at quieter times of the year, helping families to plan breaks at times that suit them.
Where term-time holidays are taken without permission, it is right that the law protects children’s right to a full-time education. The national framework for penalty notices is designed to improve fairness by ensuring they are considered at a consistent point across the country, and on an individual basis, preventing schools from having blanket rules.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will add data about young people's caring responsibilities to information collected as part of the school census.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The School Census requires schools to indicate if a child has been identified as a young carer, and if so, by whom. Young carers can be identified by parents, the pupil themselves or by the school.
The return of this data is a requirement for all schools, except nurseries, and data must be returned in the Spring Census each year. Schools do not need to seek the permission of the pupil or parent to return this data to the department.
Data on young carers has been collected since the 2022/23 academic year and is published each summer.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to require promotions of paid-entry prize competition, including (a) phone-in competitions and (b) subscription prize draws, to disclose the (i) number of entries and (ii) odds of winning each advertised prize.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Prize draws are a significant and growing market. This Government has made it clear that we want people who participate in prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. In November 2025, we introduced a Voluntary Code for prize draw operators. This Code sets a clear and uniform approach across the sector to strengthen player protections, increase transparency and improve accountability. Signatories have until 20 May 2026 to comply with the Code.
Clause 2.3 of the Code states that where possible, before entering a draw, operators should provide players with clear and easily accessible information regarding the likelihood of winning a prize and how prizes will be allocated. Whilst the exact likelihood of winning a prize will depend on the number of tickets sold, information of that nature could include, but is not limited to, the maximum number of tickets available (where applicable) or data from previous comparable prize draws. The success of this Code will dictate whether greater regulation may be required, including legislation.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the impact in other countries of offering payments to failed asylum seekers who agree to return to their home country on trends in numbers of people claiming asylum in those countries.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The enhanced voluntary return offer is a strategic and time-limited approach mirroring schemes seen in Denmark, where voluntary return is prioritised and families are offered payments up to the equivalent of £30,000 to expedite departures. This has contributed to them halving the number of people awaiting deportation, including rejected asylum seekers and foreign criminals more broadly.