Written questions by Jogee.

What steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the industrial strategy and (b) skills policies provide green skills across sectors.

The government is working hard to ensure that the current and future skills system supports the low carbon economy. We will support workers in high-carbon industry by creating good green jobs in our country’s industrial heartlands – enabling people to move into low-carbon roles by drawing upon their wealth of skills and experience. Skills England will work closely with the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council to understand the skills needs of high-growth sectors, including Clean Energy Industries, and will bring together key partners to better meet these needs.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had the Secretary of State for Education on the provision of green skills for a circular economy.

This Government is committed to transitioning to a circular economy. We have convened a Circular Economy Taskforce, comprising experts from industry, academia, and civil society, to help develop a Circular Economy Strategy for England. The strategy will map our transition to a circular economy, supported by a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. The importance of green jobs is evidenced by the UK’s existing circular industries delivering £67 billion to the economy, growing from £44 billion in 2008.This is an annual real growth rate of around 2.9%, more than double the 1.2% growth rate of the wider UK economy over this period. Existing UK circular industries provide 827,300 jobs, as of 2022. Defra recognises that fostering green skills is a fundamental tenet of any circular economy, and a successful transition aims to deliver on strengthening our current green workforce as well as developing the new green skills we will need for the future. We will consider the evidence for appropriate action right across the economy as we develop the strategy.

If he will publish the report of the Green Jobs Delivery Group on skills for the green energy sector.

We are building on the progress that the Green Jobs Delivery Group previously made by setting up the Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ). The OCEJ has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions. We published our analysis on the future of the clean energy workforce as part of the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan in December 2024, including the accompanying 'Assessment of the Clean Energy Skills Challenge' annex.

What steps she is taking to ensure that Skills England helps create green skills in all decarbonising sectors.

The department is working to ensure that learners and businesses can access the skills needed to deliver the green economy.Skills England will play a key role, using up-to-date analysis to identify skills gaps in the green and wider economy, and ensuring there is a comprehensive suite of training and education to meet those skills. It will identify the training that can be accessed through the Growth and Skills Offer and prioritise the eight growth-driving sectors, which includes the clean energy industries. The government will ensure workers in high-carbon sectors are supported during the transition to net zero, for instance through targeted reskilling initiatives such as the Energy Skills Passport and localised skills interventions.Collaborating with industry, regional partners and trade unions, we are creating clear pathways into secure, well-paid, and high quality clean energy jobs. An example of this is Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), where there is a statutory requirement for LSIPs to consider the skills, capabilities or expertise required in relation to jobs that directly or indirectly support net zero targets, climate change and other environmental goals. The LSIPs process will be overseen by Skills England.

How many individual representations her Department has received from Staffordshire County Council on the (a) funding and (b) quality of SEND provision in North Staffordshire in each of the last five years.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to taking a community-wide approach in collaboration with local area partnerships, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.To support this, high needs funding will increase by £1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year, compared to the 2024/25 financial year. This will bring total high needs funding to over £12 billion.Of that total, Staffordshire County Council is being allocated over £143 million through the high needs funding block of the dedicated schools grant (DSG), an increase of £10.4 million on this year’s DSG high needs block, calculated using the high needs national funding formula (NFF). This NFF allocation is an 8.7% increase per head of their 2 to 18 year-old population, on their equivalent 2024/25 financial year NFF allocation.In addition to the DSG, local authorities will also receive a separate core schools budget grant (CSBG) in the 2025/26 financial year. This CSBG continues the separate grants payable in the 2024/25 financial year, which are to help special schools and alternative provision with the costs of teachers’ pay and pension increases and other staff pay increases, as well as the additional funding in respect of the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The department plans to publish individual local authorities’ allocations of this funding for the 2025/26 financial year in May 2025.Following the last Ofsted/Care Quality Commission visit, departmental officials have been working with Staffordshire County Council to closely monitor progress against the areas for improvement identified by inspectors. An Accelerated Progress Plan is in place and progress is monitored regularly.The areas for improvement were:Area 1: Co-production was weak. Parents felt that the local area did not listen to them or their child. The ‘tell it once’ approach was not embedded. The area’s relationships with schools and families were fragile.Area 2: The quality of education, health and care (EHC) plans was poor. Health and care workers did not contribute to the process effectively. The targets and outcomes in plans were not aspirational enough. The annual reviews of EHC plans were often not completed on time or did not contribute effectively to the review of the children and young people’s needs or the support and help they received.The department has appointed a SEND Advisor, along with a bespoke package of support from the Research and Improvement for SEND Excellence Consortium, to support and work alongside the Local Area Partnership.

How many schools in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire have received notices of finance from Staffordshire County Council.

Staffordshire County Council reported that 13 maintained schools were subject to a notice of financial concern during the 2023/24 financial year.The department does not hold details of which schools these were, nor does it hold details at a level lower than County Council.

If his Department will (a) reevaluate the categorisation of chiropractic care as a complementary and alternative medicine and (b) conduct further research into the potential merits of integrating chiropractic into the national musculoskeletal health strategy.

NHS England does not currently support or nationally commission chiropractic care in the National Health Service. Integrated care boards are able to make independent decisions on which health professionals they employ and may commission a limited amount of chiropractic services.There are no current plans in the Department or NHS England to review the categorisation of chiropractic care as a complementary and alternative medicine. The Government has no plans to conduct further research into the potential merits of integrating chiropractic care into the national musculoskeletal health strategy.

If his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing chiropractors to people with musculoskeletal conditions to help increase the number of people in work.

NHS England does not currently support or nationally commission chiropractic care in the National Health Service. Integrated care boards are able to make independent decisions on which health professionals they employ and may commission a limited amount of chiropractic services.There are no current plans in the Department or NHS England to review the categorisation of chiropractic care as a complementary and alternative medicine. The Government has no plans to conduct further research into the potential merits of integrating chiropractic care into the national musculoskeletal health strategy.

With reference to the Gingerbread report entitled Fix the CMS, published on 25 November 2024, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of enabling Child Maintenance Service users to correspond with caseworkers via the digital platform.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to delivering the best possible digital service for our customers. The CMS Service Modernisation Programme has delivered improvements to the customer experience, enabling parents to access their case on-line through My Child Maintenance Case and ensuring parents can report changes of circumstances and access their digital communications at any time of the day. CMS are currently discussing with stakeholders how we can further improve our digital messaging function for customers as well as updates to our current SMS and email notifications. The aim of further digital Improvements is to further increase flexibility for customers to correspond, gather customer information at an accelerated rate, and reduce inbound and outbound telephony demand allowing caseworkers more time to support vulnerable customers and those who cannot use digital channels. We will continue to engage with stakeholders as we consider CMS reforms and recommendations from the Gingerbread report ‘Fix the CMS’.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) industry, (b) NGOs and (c) other stakeholders on the future of UK REACH.

This Government is committed to protecting human health and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. We regularly engage with a range of stakeholders, including industry representatives, NGOs, academic organisations and other Government departments, in order to seek their input, harness their expertise and provide updates of Defra policy developments.

Food and Rural Affairs, when he expects his Department to respond to the UK REACH Alternative Transitional Registration model (ATRm) consultation, which closed on 25 July 2024.

The Government is currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation, including UK REACH. We will publish the Government response to the ATRm consultation in 2025.

Food and Rural Affairs, what progress has been made on developing a UK Chemicals Strategy.

The Environment Improvement Plan (EIP) 2023 included the commitment to publish a UK Chemicals Strategy. The EIP has been under review and a revised EIP will be published in 2025. The revised EIP will include the Government’s approach to managing chemicals.

What steps his Department is taking to support the ceramics industry in Staffordshire.

DBT works closely with the ceramics sector through Ceramics UK and directly with Ceramic businesses to understand its challenges and provide support to help its global competitiveness.My department also provides limited support to the ceramics sector through our Supercharger scheme.

What steps his Department is taking to help increase trade with countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Department for Business and Trade works across Sub-Saharan Africa offering direct support to UK businesses looking to expand their business in the region. DBT focuses on markets, sectors, and deals where the UK has a competitive edge. The nine new Trade Envoys for Africa, recently announced by the Government, will seek to develop high level relationships with key decision makers to help further increase trade and investment. In addition, the UK is also actively expanding trade with Africa through nine trade agreements, including with 15 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage public bodies to prioritise the purchase of produce from (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and (b) Staffordshire.

The new national procurement policy statement sets out requirements for Government contracts, favouring high-quality products that we believe British producers, including those in Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Staffordshire more broadly, are well-placed to supply: aiding our ambition for half of food supplied into public sector catering to be from local producers or those certified to higher environmental standards.

What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme on the living standards of the recipients of that pension in Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency.

The Government and Trustees of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) have not yet agreed on any changes so we cannot yet make such an assessment. We are currently working with the BCSSS Trustees to consider their proposals.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve digital skills for young people not in education, employment or training in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.

The Government published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, identifying five target groups to benefit most from digital inclusion initiatives, including older and young people. The Government understands there are many other impacted groups, and is committed to delivering digital inclusion for everyone across the UK, whatever their circumstances.The Action Plan outlines five immediate Government actions, including enhancing support for the Essential Digital Skills framework that helps people and businesses get essential skills they need to get online safely and confidently, and the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support local digital inclusion initiatives across the UK.

What steps he has taken to increase international investment in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.

The Department for Business and Trade network work with local stakeholders to promote investment opportunities in the region to investors wishing to set up in the area. We work with clients to understand their requirements and to reduce barriers which inform the client’s decision to locate in the region. The funding of a Key Account Management programme is a strategic initiative designed to support FDI by strengthening relationships with existing foreign investors in the Midlands regions. It directs FDI support to businesses playing a crucial role in regional economies, helping foster a conducive environment for businesses to thrive, expand and nurture relationships with investors.

What steps he is taking with his Cabinet colleagues to increase trade between the four nations in the UK.

Statistics show trade between the UK's four nations was worth around £129 billion in 2019, and is particularly important to the economies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As part of meeting our Plan for Change, the Government wants to work to ensure growth across the country, raising living standards for working people across the UK. The Government has also launched IntertradeUK to advise on opportunities to promote and boost trade across the UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help improve digital skills for people over 70 years old in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire.

The Government published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan in February 2025, identifying five target groups to benefit most from digital inclusion initiatives, including older and young people. The Government understands there are many other impacted groups, and is committed to delivering digital inclusion for everyone across the UK, whatever their circumstances.The Action Plan outlines five immediate Government actions, including enhancing support for the Essential Digital Skills framework that helps people and businesses get essential skills they need to get online safely and confidently, and the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund to support local digital inclusion initiatives across the UK.