Asked by: Gideon Amos (Liberal Democrat - Taunton and Wellington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Review of Religious Education (a) considers a (i) broad and (ii) balanced range of (A) academic, (B) educational and (C) community perspectives and (b) is not disproportionately influenced by submissions from any single lobby.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment review, chaired by Becky Francis CBE. The Review aims to ensure a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work. The Review is being informed by evidence, data, and in close consultation with education professionals and other experts, parents, children and young people, employers, universities and trade unions. This includes over 7,000 responses to the public call for evidence and a range of research and polling.
The Review Group published its interim report in March 2025, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6821d69eced319d02c9060e3/Curriculum_and_Assessment_Review_interim_report.pdf.
The Group will publish its final report with recommendations, including recommendations for religious education, this autumn.
Asked by: Iain Duncan Smith (Conservative - Chingford and Woodford Green)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on the ongoing detention of (a) Pastor Kim Jung-Wook, (b) Missionary Kim Kook-kie and (c) Missionary Choi Chun-gil in North Korea; and whether she is taking diplomatic steps to ensure their release.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defending the right to freedom of religion or belief is a key strand of our human rights strategy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and the UK regularly raises its concerns about these issues both bilaterally via the embassy in London and in multilateral fora. On 23 September 2025, our Human Rights Ambassador issued a statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling on the DPRK to engage meaningfully with the international community on human rights issues.
Asked by: Edward Argar (Conservative - Melton and Syston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of pupils were receiving SEN support at school in Leicestershire in July 2025.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The number and proportion of pupils receiving special educational needs support at schools in Leicestershire can be viewed in the table here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/5819b943-986a-45eb-62a4-08ddf03ad3ce.
The figures are from the January 2025 school census publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2024-25.
Asked by: Alex Mayer (Labour - Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of trends in the level of expenditure on special educational needs transport provision in England.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard to the answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 62591.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has received recent representations from relevant stakeholders on the potential impact of (a) rent charge clauses and (b) management company practices on homeowners’ ability to sell their properties.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence and potential impact on freehold property sales of rent-charge clauses.
The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 contains measures to protect homeowners on freehold estates, including specific measures to improve the home buying and selling process by ensuring information required to sell a home on a freehold estate is accessible at a reasonable cost. We will be consulting this year on the secondary legislation that is required to switch on most of these measures.
The government is determined to end the injustice of ‘fleecehold’ entirely and we will also consult this year on legislative and policy options to reduce the prevalence of private estate management arrangements, which are the root cause of the problems experienced by many residential freeholders.
Asked by: Olivia Blake (Labour - Sheffield Hallam)
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 consider introducing legislation allowing councils to introduce landlord licensing powers across whole cities, rather than selective schemes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 23 December 2024, a new General Approval for selective licensing came into force. This enables local authorities to introduce selective licensing schemes of any size without seeking approval from the Secretary of State. Under the previous 2015 General Approval, approval was required for schemes covering more than 20% of a local authority’s Private Rented Sector stock or geographical area.
No changes have been made to the legislative requirements for introducing and managing a selective licensing scheme. Local authorities will still need to meet the requirements under Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 and comply with the condition in the General Approval to consult for at least 10 weeks on any new schemes.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the British Horseracing Authority on the potential impact of proposed gambling restrictions on the racing industry.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Future proposals on gambling duties are a matter for HM Treasury. Should changes to the tax regime be announced in the Autumn Statement, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.
Regular discussions are held between the BHA and DCMS on matters of importance to the horse racing industry. The Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling last met with the Chair of the BHA on 11 September. There is not currently any new gambling legislation being proposed that impacts horseracing.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that the proposed gambling legislation does not affect the long-term sustainability of horse racing.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Future proposals on gambling duties are a matter for HM Treasury. Should changes to the tax regime be announced in the Autumn Statement, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.
Regular discussions are held between the BHA and DCMS on matters of importance to the horse racing industry. The Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling last met with the Chair of the BHA on 11 September. There is not currently any new gambling legislation being proposed that impacts horseracing.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed gambling reforms on the financial viability of horse racing.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Future proposals on gambling duties are a matter for HM Treasury. Should changes to the tax regime be announced in the Autumn Statement, we expect them to be accompanied by tax and impact notes from HMT, as is standard practice.
Regular discussions are held between the BHA and DCMS on matters of importance to the horse racing industry. The Minister for Museums, Heritage and Gambling last met with the Chair of the BHA on 11 September. There is not currently any new gambling legislation being proposed that impacts horseracing.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will he have discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential merits of hosting future major golfing events in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government remains committed to delivering major international sporting events with pride - building upon the UK’s global reputation for excellence in event delivery - and seeking new opportunities to do so. We prioritise support for events based on a range of criteria, which includes how far they help create social and economic benefits for the UK and contribute towards the Government's Plan for Change.
We recognise that major events deliver significant benefits to all parts of the UK including Northern Ireland. Having attended The Open at Royal Portrush this July, I am aware that Northern Ireland is well equipped to successfully deliver major golfing events.
We continue to work closely with our expert arm’s-length body UK Sport to explore future hosting opportunities that will strengthen the UK’s major events pipeline. The UK has already secured a strong pipeline of events over the coming years, including the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the Grand Départ for the Tour De France and the Tour de France Femmes in 2027 and the UEFA 2028 European Championships.