Lauren Edwards MP: written questions 2025
30 published records · newest first.
Written questions
National Careers Service: StaffDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100532More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many professionally qualified Level 6 and 7 careers advisers the National Careers Service employs; and how this number will change under the planned new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answer: Accurate information on the number of level 6 and 7 qualified careers advisers employed by the National Careers Service is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. Following a Written Ministerial Statement made on 16th Se...
Answered 7 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordJobcentresDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 16 Dec 2025AnsweredUIN 100531More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how people will access professional careers advice within the new Jobs and Careers Service.
Answer: We are committed to continuing the delivery of high quality, impartial careers advice in the new Jobs and Careers Service through professionally qualified careers advisers and recognise that their expertise is essential to enabling the government’s missio...
Answered 7 Jan 2026
Original Parliament recordHospitals: Special Educational NeedsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 3 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 87591More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 80707 on Hospitals: Special Educational Needs, if he will publish a breakdown by region of the over three million people who have completed the
Answer: Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure that their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. The Government is rolling out its preferre...
Answered 11 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Nationals Abroad: DeathForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 22 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 906051More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to provide support to families whose relatives have died abroad in suspicious circumstances.
Answer: We recognise how heartbreaking it is for families in Britain when their loved ones die in suspicious circumstances overseas, and they are left desperate for support and for answers. When the worst happens, Foreign Office staff are available around the clo...
Answered 28 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: ContractsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 15 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 82592More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that hospice contracts reflect (a) the cost of the services they provide and (b) the needs of their local populations.
Answer: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, to meet the needs of their local populations. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service spec...
Answered 22 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: Special Educational NeedsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 10 Oct 2025AnsweredUIN 80707More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what general training all hospital and general practice staff are expected to receive in order to understand the needs of neuro-divergent and autistic patients; and what plans he has to improve the
Answer: Under the Health and Care Act 2022, all Care Quality Commission registered providers are required to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. This training will ensure staff can provide saf...
Answered 20 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordUnemployment: HealthDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71778More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the causes of economic inactivity related to poor health.
Answer: There were 2.8m people who were economically inactive with long-term sickness as their main reason in the UK in April to June 2025.1 This group accounts for 30.7% of the total inactive population and is the most common reason given for inactivity; this pe...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordOlder WorkersDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71777More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to support older people to remain in work.
Answer: The Government knows that work helps everyone play active and fulfilling roles in society while building financial security for retirement. The Department is therefore committed to supporting older workers through a wide-ranging strategy that promotes inc...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71776More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to extend mental health education in schools to (a) colleges and (b) post-16 institutions.
Answer: The department has made health education compulsory in all state-funded schools, helping pupils to make good decisions about their health and wellbeing and seek support when needed.While there is no national curriculum in post-16, the government encourage...
Answered 5 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: TrainingDepartment for EducationTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71775More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has any plans to reopen Senior Mental Health Lead training grants.
Answer: The government has committed to expand coverage of mental health support teams (MHSTs) to cover every school, and one of the functions of an MHST is to support mental health leads to introduce or develop a whole school or college approach in their setting...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Mental HealthDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure SMEs can access (a) robust and (b) high-quality mental health training for staff.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Health and SafetyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71773More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to incentivise businesses to support the health of their workforce.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth and SafetyDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 71772More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve (a) transparency and (b) awareness of health support in workplaces.
Answer: To support health in the workplace, the landmark Employment Rights Bill will boost access to Statutory Sick Pay and make it more likely that flexible working requests are accepted. We have published our Plan for Small Businesses, which provides positive a...
Answered 3 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordChildren: Care HomesDepartment for EducationTabled 9 Jun 2025AnsweredUIN 58484More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to implement recommendation 1 of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel national review into safeguarding children with disabilities and complex needs in residential settings, published
Answer: The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s recommendations for safeguarding children with disabilities and complex health needs in residential settings were set out in their phase 2 report published in April 2023. Recommendation 1 concerned the provis...
Answered 13 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordGrowth and Skills LevyDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52152More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the time taken to publish guidance on funding rules and criteria for the Growth and Skills Levy on the number of apprenticeship starts in the 2
Answer: The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2025/2026 academic year were published on 15 May 2025 on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-rules-2025-to-2026.These include guidance for employers and providers on the gro...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGrowth and Skills LevyDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52151More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of funding through the growth and skills levy will employers be able to spend on non-apprenticeship training.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member for Rochester and Strood to the answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 40142.
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGrowth and Skills LevyDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52150More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to provide guidance to (a) providers and (b) employers on the growth and skills levy.
Answer: The apprenticeship funding rules for the 2025/2026 academic year were published on 15 May 2025 on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-rules-2025-to-2026.These include guidance for employers and providers on the gro...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGrowth and Skills LevyDepartment for EducationTabled 13 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52149More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Growth and Skills Levy effectively reduces skills gaps identified by Skills England.
Answer: I refer the hon. Member for Rochester and Strood to the answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39389.
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: Risk ManagementMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49248More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, whether she plans to provide (a) additional (i) funding and (ii) other resources and (b) guid
Answer: On 5 February I formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. It is for councils to develop robust and sustainable proposals that are in the best interests of their whole area. Local gov...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Information SharingCabinet OfficeTabled 29 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 49247More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to share data between Departments on matters that affect trends in the level of the cost of living.
Answer: The Government has set out a Plan for Change, outlining our ambitious yet achievable milestones, including raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom to ensure working people have more money in their pockets. The Government is working to...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordClean EnergyDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 23 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 903861More
Question: What steps he is taking to work with his European counterparts on cross-border energy projects to achieve clean power in the UK by 2030.
Answer: Cross-border cooperation with our European neighbours is vital for our energy security. Through the government’s wider reset of relations with Europe we have strengthened our relationship with key partners, and will work together to secure our safety, sec...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ReorganisationMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46554More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, when she plans to communicate decisions on unitary structures.
Answer: On 5th February 2025 I formally invited unitary proposals from all the councils in two tier areas and their neighbouring small unitaries. In this invitation I set out the timelines for the submission of proposals for each area. Once proposals have been su...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordLocal Government: ContractsMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46553More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how existing local authority third party contracts for the new unitary authorities with end dates beyond the proposed vesting dates will be managed, in the context of her proposa
Answer: The potential impact of local government reorganisation on individual areas will be a matter for local councils to consider as they develop their proposals for reorganisation. It is essential that councils developing proposals for reorganisation continue ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordNew Businesses: WomenDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 11 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 37486More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of British Business Bank funding is dedicated to supporting female entrepreneurs by sector.
Answer: The British Business Bank delivers most programmes via third parties, limiting data on gender and sectoral breakdowns, however it aims to increase gender data in 2025.The Start Up Loans programme is an example of where gender data is held, and since 2012,...
Answered 20 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordApprenticesDepartment for EducationTabled 6 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 29672More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of functional skills requirements on access to apprenticeships; and what the cost of Functional Skills training for people who already have a degree was in e
Answer: The government has announced changes to the rules relating to achievement of English and mathematics qualifications as part of an apprenticeship for those aged 19 or over at the start of their programme. Upskilling in English and mathematics will continue...
Answered 24 Feb 2025
Original Parliament record
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