Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many Mental Health Support Teams there were in (a) Wellingborough constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) London in each year since 2010.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) are now in place in around nearly 8,500 schools and colleges across the country, with 498 expert teams offering support to children experiencing anxiety, depression, and other common mental health issues. MHSTs have achieved their NHS Long Term Plan coverage ambition a year early and more teams are coming. By March 2025, there will be over 600 MHSTs up and running. Further information regarding this can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6641f1e1ae748c43d37939a3/Transforming_children_and_young_people_s_mental_health_implementation_programme_2024_data_release.pdf.
Data from NHS England shows that since 2018/19, when the first wave of MHSTs were commissioned, there are currently nine MHSTs in Northamptonshire and 99 MHSTs for the London integrated care system region. A link to the data can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mental-health/cyp/trailblazers/#_Mental_Health_Support.
Data on the number of MHSTs by constituency is not currently available.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, how many officials in his Department are stationed on the British Antarctic Territory as of 20 May 2024.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no officials stationed in the British Antarctic Territory. The Territory has no permanent population and is administered by officials in London. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) operates three research stations in the BAT and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) manage the historic base, post office and museum at Port Lockroy.
Asked by: Lord Carrington (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending the area covered by the London Fringe Allowance to facilitate teacher recruitment in urban areas adjacent to London.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Decisions on pay ranges are based on recommendations by the School Teachers’ Review Body, which is the independent body that advises on teachers’ pay and conditions.
The geographical areas covered by the different ranges were defined some years ago to reflect a practical approach to compensate teachers working in London. The Review Body has not recommended any changes since then, although the department will consider these issues in the future.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how much funding his Department has provided for library resources in the London Borough of Havering in each of the last five years.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The majority of the funding provided through the Local Government Finance Settlement is not ringfenced, in recognition of local authorities being best placed to understand local priorities. This includes funding for libraries.
The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024-25 makes available up to £64.7 billion, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £4.5 billion or 7.5% in cash terms on 2023-24. This above-inflation increase demonstrates how the Government stands behind councils up and down the country.
For Havering Council, this Settlement represents an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £15.82 million (7.2%) – making available a total of up to £236.4 million in 2024-25. We have also published details of support agreed with a small number of councils, including Havering Council, that have requested financial support on an exceptional basis due to specific local issues that they are unable to manage themselves.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department has provided for school library resources in the London Borough of Havering in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The government believes that all pupils deserve to be taught a knowledge-rich curriculum that promotes the extensive reading of books and other texts, both in and out of school. School libraries complement public libraries in allowing pupils to do this.
It is for individual schools to decide how best to provide and maintain a library service for their pupils, including whether to employ a qualified librarian. Overall school funding is increasing by more than £2.9 billion in the 2024/25 financial year compared to 2023/24, taking the total to £60.7 billion, which is the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. Many headteachers recognise the important role school libraries play in improving literacy and encouraging pupils to read for pleasure and ensure that suitable library facilities are provided. School libraries can take many forms, with some schools preferring to make books a focus in other ways, including housing them within classroom.
The department’s Reading Framework, updated in July 2023, offers non-statutory guidance for teachers and school leaders, including helpful guidance for schools on how to organise their school library, book corner or book stock to make reading accessible and attractive to readers. Given this autonomy, the department does not collect information on school libraries.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of electric vehicles with vehicle-to-grid technology that will be on the road in (a) Slough, (b) London and (c) the UK by 2030.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation
Asked by: Gen Kitchen (Labour - Wellingborough)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many degree apprenticeships were (a) advertised and (b) completed in (i) Wellingborough constituency, (ii) Northamptonshire and (iii) London in each of the last five years.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help support children with special educational needs in the London Borough of Bexley.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of hybrid working models in the Civil Service; and what steps they are taking to adapt policies to balance the benefits of both remote and in-office work.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Work is ongoing to update policies and practices to ensure we maximise the benefits of both remote and face to face working, including investing in our estate to ensure we provide a positive workplace experience with the right technology and facilities and enhancing our line managers capabilities to manage effectively in a hybrid working environment.
The Civil Service has had a hybrid working model for some years now, and it is applying this flexibly to help balance business and personal requirements. Hybrid working is part of the Civil Service approach to flexible working as set out in the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: 2022-2025, which recognises the importance of flexibility in the ways of working and location as key to increasing innovation, performance and engagement as well as attracting diverse talent and representing the UK as a whole.
Carrying out tasks in the right place allows us to maximise efficiency and helps us to identify parts of the estate that are not optimally configured or can be released at the earliest opportunity, with appropriate lease breaks.
Hybrid working is important in making a success of the government’s Places for Growth Programme, including the creation of the non-London headquarters announced by ministers over the last year. The Treasury, for example, is positioning the new economic campus in Darlington as a full second headquarters with senior policy roles currently performed in Whitehall. Without hybrid meetings combining colleagues online and others ‘in the room’ this model cannot work.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many women in England were rough sleeping in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The annual Rough Sleeping Snapshot includes the number of women estimated to be sleeping rough in England on a single night in autumn between 2019 and 2023.
The annual autumn snapshot statistics remain our official and most robust measure of rough sleeping on a single night given they are independently verified and are published in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
We recognise that women sleeping rough may experience rough sleeping differently and may be less likely to be seen during the annual snapshot count. DLUHC is supporting the Women’s Rough Sleeping Census – developed by Solace Women’s Aid, SHP and London Councils - which aims to collect more comprehensive data on women experiencing rough sleeping and trial different methods of data collection.