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Written Question
Pupils: Autism
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing guidance on how to adapt school environments to support the needs of autistic students.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department’s ambition is for all children and young people, no matter what their Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are, to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department aims for children to achieve well throughout their education, to find employment, to lead happy and fulfilled lives and to experience choice and control.

Under the Equality Act 2010, schools must make reasonable adjustments to prevent them being put at a substantial disadvantage. Additionally, under the Children and Families Act 2014, mainstream schools must use their best endeavours to make sure a child or young person who has Special Educational Needs, including those who are autistic, gets the special educational provision they need. The SEND Code of Practice is clear that teachers are expected to monitor the progress of all pupils and put support in place where needed.

In the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan, the department sets out its vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for the early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will give parents confidence and clarity on how their child’s needs will be met.

As part of this, the department has committed to developing practitioner standards, which were known as practice guides in the Improvement Plan, to provide advice to education professionals. These will set out evidence-based best practice in identifying and meeting individual needs. The department will publish three practitioner standards by the end of 2025, one of which will be focused on autism. The department will begin building on existing best practice and will include guidance on how an education environment may be adapted to better support the needs of autistic pupils.

Additionally, the department’s Universal Services contract brings together SEND-specific continuous professional development and support for the school and further education workforce to improve outcomes for children and young people, including those who are autistic, through one programme, which aims to reach 70% of schools and colleges in England per year.

The contract offers autism awareness training and resources. Over 100,000 professionals have undertaken autism awareness training since the Universal Services programme commenced in May 2022.

There is no specific guidance for adapting physical school environments to support autistic students. However, the department does publish a range of guidance documents, including Building Bulletins, which support the provision of inclusive learning environments. These are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/employers-requirements-part-b-generic-design-brief.

The Building Bulletins which have particular relevance to designing inclusive environments for children and young people with SEND, including those who are autistic, are the following:


Written Question
Higher Education: Admissions
Tuesday 19th July 2022

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of how the number of finally unplaced young people at the end of the 2022 university admission round will compare to years prior to the covid-19 outbreak; if she will make it her policy to (a) fund additional and specific careers guidance and pastoral support, (b) make available an additional year of full further education funding, (c) provide additional access provision in Higher Education and (d) undertake any other measures needed to support young people in that position; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Andrea Jenkyns

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) operates as an independent charity and is separate from the government. The department will continue to work closely with UCAS, schools, colleges, awarding organisations, and the higher education (HE) sector to support the 2022 intake of students, so they can go on to their next step in life, whether that is university, further training, or work.

In November 2021, my right hon. Friend, the former Minister for Higher and Further Education, wrote to Vice Chancellors to recognise the hard work and dedication that the sector has shown to students throughout the 2021 and 2022 admissions cycles. The former Minister asked that additional resilience is built into strategies for the 2022 HE admissions cycle. HE sector bodies were engaged through the HE Taskforce to commend them on their efforts to date and to ask that they continue to put students first.

In June 2022, UCAS reported that 281,500 UK 18-year-olds were holding a firm offer, up 7,000 on last year and the highest on record. UCAS expect more students than in previous years to gain a place at their firm choice institution. It expects that on A level and T Level Results Day the majority of students are likely to be confirmed at their firm choice. However, it is important to note that the exact numbers will not be known until 18 August, A level and T Level Results Day.

If students do not get the required grades, their preferred HE provider may still offer them a place. In the first instance, students are encouraged to talk to their school or college, or to their preferred university, who may be able to offer some flexibility. Students can also seek advice from the Exam Results Helpline run by the National Careers Service. UCAS will help thousands of students to find places through Clearing or explore other options once they have received their grades and predict that over 30,000 courses will be available. Last year, 56,225 students (10%) entered university via Clearing.

While HE opens many doors for those who study at this level, it is by no means the right option for everyone, including those with the highest grades. There are multiple options for students to progress, including HE but also traineeships, T Levels, apprenticeships, the Kickstart scheme, and higher technical qualifications.


Written Question
Higher Education: Admissions
Tuesday 19th July 2022

Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether UCAS plans to analyse its data to track young people who (a) receive lower A Level grades in the 2021-22 academic year than predicted as a result of their academic performance having been adversely affected by lockdown and other restrictions introduced to prevent the spread of covid-19 during 2020 and 2021 and (b) will consequently be without any Higher Education place at the end of the 2022 admission round; what discussions she has had with UCAS on steps to take to support young people in that position; and if she will make a statement.

Answered by Andrea Jenkyns

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) operates as an independent charity and is separate from the government. The department will continue to work closely with UCAS, schools, colleges, awarding organisations, and the higher education (HE) sector to support the 2022 intake of students, so they can go on to their next step in life, whether that is university, further training, or work.

In November 2021, my right hon. Friend, the former Minister for Higher and Further Education, wrote to Vice Chancellors to recognise the hard work and dedication that the sector has shown to students throughout the 2021 and 2022 admissions cycles. The former Minister asked that additional resilience is built into strategies for the 2022 HE admissions cycle. HE sector bodies were engaged through the HE Taskforce to commend them on their efforts to date and to ask that they continue to put students first.

In June 2022, UCAS reported that 281,500 UK 18-year-olds were holding a firm offer, up 7,000 on last year and the highest on record. UCAS expect more students than in previous years to gain a place at their firm choice institution. It expects that on A level and T Level Results Day the majority of students are likely to be confirmed at their firm choice. However, it is important to note that the exact numbers will not be known until 18 August, A level and T Level Results Day.

If students do not get the required grades, their preferred HE provider may still offer them a place. In the first instance, students are encouraged to talk to their school or college, or to their preferred university, who may be able to offer some flexibility. Students can also seek advice from the Exam Results Helpline run by the National Careers Service. UCAS will help thousands of students to find places through Clearing or explore other options once they have received their grades and predict that over 30,000 courses will be available. Last year, 56,225 students (10%) entered university via Clearing.

While HE opens many doors for those who study at this level, it is by no means the right option for everyone, including those with the highest grades. There are multiple options for students to progress, including HE but also traineeships, T Levels, apprenticeships, the Kickstart scheme, and higher technical qualifications.


Written Question
Clothing and Textiles
Wednesday 8th June 2022

Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to (a) reduce textiles waste in the UK, (b) improve the environmental sustainability of materials and production processes used in the production of textiles sold in the UK, (c) tackle exploitative labour practices used in the supply chains of textiles sold in the UK, (d) tackle lack of access to clothing in the context of the rise in the cost of living and (e) support consumers to make sustainable clothing choices.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Government’s Resources & Waste Strategy for England identified textiles as a priority sector for action. We fund Textiles 2030, a voluntary partnership with industry to reduce the environmental impact of textiles, with signatories covering over 62% of all clothing put on the UK market. This programme is underpinned by ambitious science-based targets, including halving the carbon footprint of new products and reducing the water footprint by 30%, both by 2030.

Our landmark Environment Act 2021 provides general powers to introduce Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, design standards and require information on the resource efficiency of products, which will enable us to act more effectively

With those powers in mind, we are considering what wider framework of policy measures could best help reduce the environmental footprint of fashion and building our evidence base. This could include options to reduce waste through increased producer responsibility for goods at end of life, measures to drive increased reuse and longevity of garments as well as better product design and information standards to support consumers to make the most environmentally friendly choice.


Written Question
Plastics: Packaging
Thursday 8th July 2021

Asked by: Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what further steps they are taking to discourage plastic packaging.

Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park

Our 2018 Resources and Waste Strategy for England sets out our ambitions of doubling resource productivity and eliminating avoidable waste by 2050. To help us achieve this we are working with the devolved administrations to jointly reform the packaging producer responsibility regulations and introduce a UK-wide extended producer responsibility (EPR) scheme for packaging.

Our second consultation on Packaging EPR closed on the 4 June. This will see packaging producers paying for the management of the packaging that they place on the market, including at end of life. This will ensure producers think carefully about the necessity of any packaging they use. Producer’s fees would also be varied to account for certain criteria, including recyclability, so that producers who use easily recyclable packaging will pay less than those who use packaging that is not. Producers will also be required to achieve ambitious recycling targets for packaging obligated under the scheme. This will include plastic packaging. In addition, the consultation sought views on the introduction of obligations to encourage the use of re-useable and re-fillable packaging

Aside from Packaging EPR, we have seen progress in the reduction in the use of single-use carrier bags. Their use by the main supermarket retailers in England has reduced by 95% since the introduction of the 5p charge. To drive further progress we have increased this charge to 10p and extended to all retailers on 21 May 2021.

The Government is also working with retailers and Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to encourage efforts to reduce waste and to explore the introduction of plastic-free supermarket initiatives in which fresh food is sold loose, giving consumers the choice.

The UK Plastics Pact is jointly founded between WRAP and the Ellen McArthur Foundation and is supported by the Government. The Pact brings together organisations from across the plastics supply chain with four key targets for 2025 that aim to reduce the amount of plastic waste generated. Our proposed reforms will support The Pact in achieving these targets.


Written Question
Visas: Applications
Thursday 12th November 2020

Asked by: Jamie Stone (Liberal Democrat - Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect on the financial and mental well-being of visa applicants of extensive travel to (a) complete the English Language and Life in the UK tests and (b) submit a visa application in person.

Answered by Kevin Foster

UKVI work hard to ensure that front-end immigration services are accessible to customers.

UKVI works closely with commercial partners both oversees and in the UK, to ensure that there is a sufficient geographical spread of English language and Life in the UK (UK only) testing and biometric enrolment locations to minimise the amount of travel required by customers by analysing where concentrations of demand are. Our footprints in respect to both services are kept under review and further locations opened where sufficient demand supports.

In addition, our commercial partners offer a range of optional added-value services which provide customers additional choice in how they access biometric enrolment services overseas or in the UK such as mobile enrolment at a location at their convenience.

Individuals applying in the UK who have higher needs, may be vulnerable, or whose circumstances may be complex are directed to the Home Office run Support Centres (SSC) where they receive support with their application.

SSC customers who are unable to pay the application fee may submit a fee waiver request. Customers who have been granted a fee waiver and who fit certain criteria may be eligible to apply for travel assistance to attend their closest SSC.

Within the UK, customers who cannot travel to enrol biometrics due to ill heath are directed to contact either UKVI (if routed to SSCs) or Sopra Steria Limited (if routed to the UKVCAS service which they run on behalf of UKVI) once they have completed their application and before booking an appointment. Information on how to do this is provided at the end of the online application form on Gov.uk.


Written Question
Children: Protection
Wednesday 23rd September 2020

Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to help local authorities improve their support for vulnerable children.

Answered by Vicky Ford

The department aims to provide world-class education, training and care for everyone, whatever their background. We work closely with local authorities to make sure that everyone has the chance to reach their potential and to live a more fulfilled life.

We currently have an improvement system which seeks to identify local authorities with children’s services at risk of failing and to work collaboratively with them to put in place targeted support to help them improve the services they provide to vulnerable children and families.

Working closely with the sector, we have identified areas where help is needed to avoid failure, funding good local authorities to provide peer support on children’s services through the Partners in Practice programme to more than 80 authorities, with work underway to broker support for many more. We are investing £3 million over the 3 years to March 2021 to support leadership across children’s services, working with the Local Government Association. 146 local authorities out of a total of 151 have benefited from the programme.

Since the programme rolled out in November 2017, we have identified many local authorities who would benefit from additional help to avoid the risk of potential failure and have provided immediate support. As a result, we have seen an overall improvement in the quality of children’s services as judged by Ofsted. At the end of August 2020, 50% of local authorities were judged Good or Outstanding at their most recent inspection. This is 14 percentage points higher than the proportion judged Good or Outstanding following each authority’s first inspection under the previous Ofsted framework.

The department also acts quickly and decisively to intervene in local authorities found to be failing in their delivery of children’s services and judged Inadequate by Ofsted. Our intervention brings results: the first children’s services trust in Doncaster moved from Inadequate to Good in just 2 years, and after almost a decade of deeply entrenched failure, children’s services in Birmingham are no longer Inadequate. Where we have intervened and provided support, other local authorities have moved from Inadequate to Good, such as Rotherham and Barnet. All the local authorities judged Inadequate that were inspected in 2019 subsequently improved to be Good or Requiring Improvement.

Our aim is to continue the improvements we are making at pace so that, by 2022, less than 10% of local authorities are rated Inadequate by Ofsted, halving failure rates within 5 years and providing consistently better services for thousands of children and families across the country.

Similarly, our vision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is the same as for all children – that they achieve well in their early years, at school and in college, that they find employment, lead happy and fulfilled lives, and experience choice and control. We are driving high performance across local area SEND services, aiming for 75% of areas delivering good quality SEND services. We are working closely with Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission to identify areas of weakness through the Interim Visits programme and the current inspection cycle. To reflect our ambitious programme of improvement in this area, we have commissioned a new, rolling cycle of Area SEND inspections to commence in 2022.

In relation to helping local authorities improve support for vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, the safety and wellbeing of the most vulnerable children has always been our priority. This is why nurseries and colleges have remained open to them because it the safest place for them to be.

Over recent months, we have worked across the government to improve what we know about the children and young people who are most at risk. We have worked closely with local authorities to improve our understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting children’s social care services across the country and how we can best support or challenge individual councils to protect the most vulnerable children in their care.

Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACT) have been established to better co-ordinate how the department captures information and intelligence about local needs and circumstances in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including in relation to vulnerable children, whilst offering support where it is needed.

More widely, during March and April 2020, the government provided £3.2 billion of emergency grant funding and over £5 billion of cashflow support to support local authorities with the COVID-19 outbreak.

On 2 July, the government announced a new comprehensive package of support to address spending pressures and in recognition of lost income. A further £500 million brought funding, given to support local councils with pressures, to £4.3 billion. This funding is un-ringfenced, recognising local authorities are best placed to decide how to meet the major service pressures in their local area, including support for children’s services, that have been caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.


Written Question
Armed Forces: Job Satisfaction
Monday 13th July 2020

Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the level of job satisfaction among armed forces personnel; and what trends, if any, they have identified.

Answered by Baroness Goldie

The 2020 Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) demonstrates that 58 per cent of personnel are satisfied with their job, an increase of three per cent since 2018.

Job satisfaction in the Armed Forces is a high priority for Defence. The Department seeks to measure job satisfaction in a robust, consistent and scientific manner, through forums such as the AFCAS. Although nearly 60 per cent are satisfied with their job, only 45 per cent are satisfied with Service life; we recognise that aspects of the latter can be a factor in decisions to leave. Whilst Armed Forces retention is generally stable and is towards the higher end of historic levels, we are taking active steps to bolster it.

The Ministry of Defence is actively working to modernise the employment offer for Service personnel to attract and retain the right mix of people and skills. This includes addressing the financial aspect of the offer, trialling at scale a new Future Accommodation Model (FAM) giving greater choice over housing options, and the introduction of Flexible Service allowing alteration of career commitment for set periods of time.


Written Question
Bereavement Counselling
Thursday 16th January 2020

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's 2017 response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care, what progress his Department has made on ending variation in bereavement care by 2020.

Answered by Caroline Dinenage

The funding and delivery of National Health Service bereavement services is a local matter. Bereavement care is a key part of the provision of good end of life care as set out in the Government’s end of life care Choice Commitment and Government Response to the Review ‘One Year On’ published in September 2017.

Health Education England, in partnership with Skills for Care and Skills for Health, published a refreshed End of Life Care Core Skills Education and Training Framework in March 2017. This aims to standardise end of life care training and education, including around bereavement care.

The importance of bereavement care is also reflected in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on end of life care, and other NICE end of life care guidance, which commissioners should take into account when planning services for local populations. Further information is available at the following link:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs13/resources/end-of-life-care-for-adults-pdf-2098483631557


Written Question
Plastics: Packaging
Thursday 17th October 2019

Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of polystyrene in packaging.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Packaging materials, including polystyrene, are already covered by the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations which place a legal obligation on businesses that make or use packaging to ensure that a proportion of the packaging they sell is recovered and recycled. This creates an incentive for companies to use less packaging and to ensure that their packaging can be recycled at end of life as it will reduce their costs in complying with the Regulations.

In general, we prefer to help people and companies make the right choice, rather than banning items outright. We have, however, recently consulted on changes to the packaging producer responsibility scheme, looking at all aspects of the regime including mechanisms to encourage increased recyclability.