Written questions by Minns.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of different modes of delivery of SEND education.

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 thrive and succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Most pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including most with an education, health and care plan, already attend mainstream state-funded schools, and the department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in these settings so that children with SEN can achieve with their peers, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs revenue funding to over £12 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. We have also published local authority allocations for £740 million of high needs capital funding for 2025/26 to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.The department recognises that special schools, including independent schools, play a critical role in the SEND system, providing expertise and particularly supporting pupils with low incidence or complex needs. We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, alongside their friends and peers.

What assessment she has made of the cost effectiveness of the different modes of delivery of SEND education.

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 thrive and succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.Most pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including most with an education, health and care plan, already attend mainstream state-funded schools, and the department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in these settings so that children with SEN can achieve with their peers, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.The department is providing £1 billion more for high needs budgets in 2025/26, bringing total high needs revenue funding to over £12 billion. This funding will help local authorities and schools with the increasing costs of supporting children and young people with complex SEND. We have also published local authority allocations for £740 million of high needs capital funding for 2025/26 to invest in places for children and young people with SEND or who require alternative provision.The department recognises that special schools, including independent schools, play a critical role in the SEND system, providing expertise and particularly supporting pupils with low incidence or complex needs. We also want more children and young people to receive the support they need to achieve and thrive in their local mainstream school, alongside their friends and peers.

What the validation process for new phonics programmes is.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Carlisle to the answer of 29 March 2025 to Question 36216.

If she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the University of Florida's UFLI phonics programme.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Carlisle to the answer of 29 March 2025 to Question 36216.

What the validation process for new phonics programmes is.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The last Labour government’s promotion of phonics greatly improved the reading and writing abilities of a generation of children.The department has not made an assessment of the University of Florida’s phonics programme, but the government has published a list of 45 validated phonics programmes. The full list can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/choosing-a-phonics-teaching-programme/list-of-phonics-teaching-programmes.The department’s list of validated, high quality phonics programmes aims to help schools to select programmes that provide the support, guidance, resources and training needed to teach systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) well.There is no statutory requirement for schools to choose one of the SPP programmes on the department’s validated list. However, validation indicates that a programme has been assessed by a small panel with relevant expertise that considers it meets all the department’s criteria for an effective SSP programme.There are currently no further validation rounds planned.

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the University of Florida's phonics programme.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. The last Labour government’s promotion of phonics greatly improved the reading and writing abilities of a generation of children.The department has not made an assessment of the University of Florida’s phonics programme, but the government has published a list of 45 validated phonics programmes. The full list can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/choosing-a-phonics-teaching-programme/list-of-phonics-teaching-programmes.The department’s list of validated, high quality phonics programmes aims to help schools to select programmes that provide the support, guidance, resources and training needed to teach systematic synthetic phonics (SSP) well.There is no statutory requirement for schools to choose one of the SPP programmes on the department’s validated list. However, validation indicates that a programme has been assessed by a small panel with relevant expertise that considers it meets all the department’s criteria for an effective SSP programme.There are currently no further validation rounds planned.

Food and Rural Affairs, which properties received Farming Recovery payments in Carlisle and North Cumbria constituency in each of the last five years.

The Rural Payments Agency can confirm that no payments were made to properties under the Farming Recovery payments in Carlisle and North Cumbria constituency in each of the last five years.

What steps her Department is taking to help increase the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the year one phonics screening check.

High and rising school standards, with excellent foundations in reading, writing and mathematics, are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. Through our Plan for Change, we will give children the best start in life and that means an excellent foundation in core subjects. Since the right hon. Ruth Kelly, as a previous Secretary of State for Education and Skills, accepted the recommendations of the Rose Report in 2006, England has made significant progress in the teaching of early reading, especially phonics.The current national curriculum at key stage 1 states that “skilled word reading involves both the speedy working out of the pronunciation of unfamiliar printed words (decoding) and the speedy recognition of familiar printed words… phonics should be emphasised in the early teaching of reading to beginners when they start school”. The department has introduced a range of measures to support early reading and help increase the proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in the year 1 phonics screening check. In July 2024, we announced that funded support for the 11,100 schools registered for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) programme would continue for the 2024/25 academic year. NELI is an evidence-based programme targeting reception aged children needing extra support with their speech and language development. It is proven to help children make four months of additional progress, with seven months progress for those eligible for free school meals. Further, the English Hubs school-to-school support programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Since starting in 2018, the programme has engaged over 10,000 schools (60% of all primary schools). So far, the department has invested over £90 million in the programme, and a further £23 million has been committed for the 2024/25 academic year. The government’s reading framework also provides guidance on improving the teaching of reading from reception to key stage 3, including guidance on how to help pupils who need more support to learn to read proficiently.

If she will make an estimate of the number of pupils that have experienced hygiene poverty in each of the last five years.

This government is committed to tackling child poverty as part of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child.Child poverty has gone up by 700,000 since 2010, with over four million children now growing up in a low-income family....

What assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent trends in the level of hygiene poverty.

Tackling poverty in all forms, from reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels to ensuring people can afford essentials like hygiene products, is a priority for this government. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people...

How many and what proportion of people have experienced hygiene poverty in (a) England, (b) Cumbria and (c) Carlisle constituency in each of the last five years.

Tackling poverty in all forms, from reducing mass dependence on emergency food parcels to ensuring people can afford essentials like hygiene products, is a priority for this government. We know that good work can significantly reduce the chances of people...

Whether the Child Poverty Taskforce plans to (a) assess the (i) extent and (ii) potential impact on children of and (b) make recommendations on tackling hygiene poverty.

The Taskforce recognises families' access to essentials, including hygiene essentials, as a fundamental aspect of child poverty. Addressing acute poverty, including access to essentials, is a core focus of the work to develop through the child poverty str...

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Health System, New York, published on 2 October 2024, on treating invasive bladder ca

The Department has not made a formal assessment of the policy implications following this clinical trial. The adoption of new treatments into the National Health Service in England is generally the result of National Institute for Health and Care Excellen...

What steps she is taking to improve support for kinship carers.

This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play. This government also appreciates that kinship carers often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.We have recently ann...

What assessment he has made of the potential economic impact of extending the Borders Railway line from Tweedbank to Carlisle.

The UK Government is committed to working with local partners in the Borders to boost economic growth, in line with our growth mission. The project referred to sits within the Borderlands Growth Deal. Local partners are submitting proposals for a reset to...

How many annual fitness tests were cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded (a) one (b) two and (c) three hours before the start time in each year since 2013.

The Ministry of Defence does not hold any information of annual fitness tests being cancelled due to the safe temperature being exceeded because this information is not recorded.

With reference to his Department's response to the Coroner report on the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole, dated 27 January 2020, when the common tri-service suite of reporting and investigation forms was completed

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving ...

What improvements have been made to (a) how and (b) what data is reported for heat illness cases following the inquest into the death of Corporal Joshua Hoole in 2019.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has overhauled safety policy beginning in 2020 to provide clear direction that all suspected or confirmed heat illness cases must be reported, and to improve the quality of reporting safety occurrences. The MOD is now moving ...

How many service personnel died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test in each year since 2013.

Since 2013, two Army personnel have sadly died whilst undertaking the combat fitness test element of the annual fitness test. No other personnel have died within 24 hours of completing their annual fitness test during this period.

If he will list the (a) date and (b) place of every coroner's inquest that established heat as a cause of death for service personnel since 2013.

From 1 January 2013 to 13 October 2024, three UK Armed Forces personnel tragically died from heat related causes confirmed by a Coroner and listed on the death certificates. All three deaths occurred in July 2013. The inquest for all three deaths began on...