Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of the benefits to educational outcomes of regular physical activity.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Physical education (PE) and sport are vital elements of a rounded and enriching education that every child deserves. As outlined in the government's response to the curriculum and assessment review recommendations, the department will be strengthening the national curriculum for PE, recognising its role in supporting pupils’ wellbeing and educational outcomes.
We have also made a commitment to set out a core enrichment offer that every school and college, in every community, should aim to provide for all children beyond the statutory curriculum. Our ambition is that all schools should provide an offer to all pupils that meets the new benchmarks. This includes access to sport and physical activities, civic engagement, arts and culture, nature, outdoor and adventure, and developing wider life skills.
As announced last June by my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, the department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to develop a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network which aims to support schools to ensure all children and young people have equal access to high quality PE and extracurricular sport.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the fiscal impact on her Department’s budget of supporting the resettlement of the Chagossian community.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers provided on 12 January in response to Question 103250, and in the Urgent Question debate on 26 January.
The costs of the Treaty will be split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the level of regulation of rented homes on landlords.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Impact Assessment for the Renters’ Rights Act can be found here.
The government’s policy statement, impact assessment, and response to the Decent Homes Standard consultation can be found on gov.uk here.
The government’s response to the 2025 consultation on Improving the Energy Performance of Privately Rented Homes in England and Wales, along with the accompanying impact assessment, can be found on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure all children can access cycle training at school.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to increasing activity levels for all children. Schools have the flexibility to decide on the activities they provide to deliver a rounded and enriching education to suit their pupils’ needs.
The government currently funds a cycling training programme called Bikeability, with the aims to equip more children and families with the skills, confidence, and knowledge needed to cycle safely on roads, while encouraging active travel in everyday life. This investment is part of a broader effort to support local authorities in developing and constructing walking, wheeling, and cycling facilities across England.
The department welcomes the opportunity for continued collaboration with Bikeability to create sustainable improvements in physical activity for young people. For example, through active travel and promoting the overall wellbeing benefits of physical activity, including through cycling.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of levels in the availability of specialist school places in constituencies such as Aldridge-Brownhills.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
It is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure there are sufficient school places for pupils in their area, including those with special educational needs and disabilities. If a local authority identifies a shortage of places, resulting in a significant number of pupils needing to travel a long way to access a placement, they should consider creating, adapting, or expanding provision to meet that need.
The department has announced at least £3 billion for high needs capital between 2026/27 and 2029/30. Local authorities can use this funding to create specialist facilities within mainstream schools, adapt mainstream schools to be more accessible, and create special school places for pupils with the most complex needs.
This builds on the £740 million invested in 2025/26, which is on track to create around 10,000 new specialist places. Of this, Walsall Council received an allocation of just over £5 million. We will confirm local authority allocations for 2026/27 later in the spring.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate she has made of the total cost to her Department of implementing the proposed treaty with Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelago.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answers provided on 12 January in response to Question 103250, and in the Urgent Question debate on 26 January.
The costs of the Treaty will be split between the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to HCWS1248, what arrangements are in place to monitor patient outcomes following the expanded use of abiraterone at earlier stages of prostate cancer; and whether those outcomes will be published on a national and regional basis.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Approximately 2,000 men diagnosed in the last three months with non‑metastatic prostate cancer will now be able to receive abiraterone where it is of clinical benefit, alongside prednisolone. An additional 7,000 men are expected to be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and will be eligible for the drug. The clinical treatment criteria are available via the Cancer Drugs Fund list at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/national-cancer-drugs-fund-list/
These national clinical treatment criteria ensure equity of access for patients across England.
NHS England sets national service standards for those elements of cancer care designated as specialised services. Integrated care boards, supported by Cancer Alliances, are expected to plan and organise access to prostate cancer treatment in line with national standards. The integration of specialised and nonspecialised commissioning allows them to join up care and target resources where they can have the greatest impact on outcomes.
The National Prostate Cancer Audit (NPCA) assesses the process of care and its outcomes in men diagnosed with prostate cancer in England and Wales. Further information about the NPCA can be found via the National Disease Registration Service at the following link:
https://digital.nhs.uk/ndrs/our-work/ncras-partnerships/national-prostate-cancer-audit-npca
Information regarding the annual cost of expanding access to abiraterone is commercially sensitive. The availability of generic abiraterone means the National Health Service in England can procure the treatment at a lower cost than Zytiga under patent. NHS England has been able to give the green light to the rollout of generic abiraterone for thousands more eligible patients thanks to the health service buying and delivering treatments at better value, following the clinical advice to roll the treatment out last year.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent mistaken prisoner releases.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Releases in error are never acceptable, and we are bearing down on those errors that do occur. Following the release in error of Hadush Kebatu from HMP Chelmsford, we took immediate steps to make the processes that take place when a prisoner is released more robust. This includes implementing a clear checklist for governors to determine that every step has been followed before any release takes place.
On 11 November, the Deputy Prime Minister announced this Government’s five-point action plan to address the causes of releases in error. This includes an urgent query process with a dedicated unit and court experts to allow prisons to quickly escalate warrant-related queries and reduce release errors, a multi-million pound investment to deploy digital tools and upgrade outdated paper-based processes, and an independent review into the recent errors and systemic issues, with recommendations to prevent further inaccuracies.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what recent progress his Department has made in delivering 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 19066 on 20 December 2024.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current employment support programmes in former industrial areas.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Our Get Britain Working Labour Market Insights publication contains a range of analysis of how labour markets are performing in different types of labour market across the country - including former industrial areas - Get Britain Working: Labour Market Insights - GOV.UK.
We are committed to ensuring employment support meets the needs of local areas. To do this, we are:
Employment support programmes such as the Get Britain Working Trailblazers, WorkWell and Connect to Work will be evaluated to assess the extent to which they help people to enter and remain in work.