Written questions by Dance.

Food and Rural Affairs, when she plans to publish the conclusions of the research project on operational challenges preventing some cats from being reunited with their keepers after road traffic accidents.

The research report for the project entitled "Impact of waste management processes on reunifying owners with their dead cats and dogs found by the roadside" is undergoing review. A report will be published once those procedures have concluded.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 23770 on Motor Vehicles: Lighting, whether she plans to publish the findings of the Government-commissioned independent research into headlamp glare.

Researchers are currently finalising the headlamp glare report so that it can be published in the autumn.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help improve mobile phone signal in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) other rural communities.

In Ofcom’s Connected Nations Spring Update, published on 8 May 2025, it is reported that 4G is available across 96% of the Yeovil constituency from all four mobile network operators (MNOs), while 5G is available outside 97% of premises in the constituency from at least one operator.Our ambition is for all populated areas, including rural areas, to have access to higher quality standalone 5G by 2030. Government continues to work closely with the MNOs, ensuring that we have the right policy and regulatory framework in place to support investment into mobile networks and competition in the market. This includes removing barriers to deployment where they exist.We also continue to work with the MNOs to deliver the Shared Rural Network to boost 4G mobile coverage in rural communities.

What steps she is taking to help schools in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset Council maintain external specialist (i) educational psychologists and (ii) therapists.

Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). That is why we are already investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists over two cohorts, starting their studies in 2024 and 2025. This is in addition to the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023.As these trainees complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to statutory assessments.The department is also working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to improve access to community health services, including speech and language therapy, for children and young people with SEND.

Whether she plans to publish a definition of inclusive education.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

Whether she plans to draw on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to define inclusive education.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.The department is continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to fund inclusive education in England beyond the funding allocated in (a) the Autumn Budget 2024 and (b) March 2025.

In the 2025 Spending Review, we announced that funding for schools is increasing by £4.2 billion by 2028/29 compared to 2025/26. This additional funding will provide an above real terms per pupil increase on the core schools budget, which will take per-pupil funding to its highest ever level and enable us to transform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system.The funding announced at the Spending Review means a significant investment in the support available for pupils with SEND within mainstream schools. We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children get the outcomes and life chances they deserve. We will be setting out further steps later this year.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of CPR training in schools in (a) Yeovil constituency (b) Somerset.

All state funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum in relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) education. This includes how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services and administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.Schools have the autonomy to decide how they teach CPR and which resources to use, often choosing to use expert organisations to deliver additional content. The department does not monitor this as schools decide what to adopt in their local areas, choosing lesson plans and materials that are relevant to them.Ofsted are responsible for inspecting schools’ RSHE provision as part of their personal development judgement.

What steps she is taking to support (a) schools and (b) Somerset Council to encourage the recruitment and retention of Special Educational Needs Coordinators.

The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.The funding announced at the last Spending Review means a significant investment in the support available for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) pupils within mainstream schools. This will support the government’s plan to deliver an excellent, inclusive education for every child, with a world class curriculum and highly trained, expert teachers.The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) must be a qualified teacher, or the head teacher, working at the school. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ ensures SENCOs receive high quality, evidence-based training and equips them with the knowledge and skills to work with other leaders to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome, safe and that they belong. Since going live, over 10,500 members of the school workforce have started their SENCO NPQ journey.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support Somerset Council with the provision of the Disabled Facilities Grant in Yeovil constituency.

The government recognises the importance of home adaptations, to enable older and disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide adaptations for people who satisfy a needs assessment, eligibility criteria and a means test, and have powers to agree a more generous local policy. To support this duty, government have boosted funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) by £86 million per year to £711 million for both 2024-25 and 2025-26. Government provides guidance to local authorities on the effective delivery of the grant, which can be found on gov.uk here. This guidance also outlines how councils can develop a local housing assistance policy to improve efficiency and better address the needs of their local communities.Government also funds a national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies, currently Foundations, to provide support and advice to local authorities to help them deliver the DFG as efficiently as possible.

Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to support homeless people in Yeovil constituency.

The Government is committed to getting back on track to ending all forms of homelessness across the country. Our cross-Government homelessness strategy will set out the actions needed across central and local government and the homelessness sector to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping. The Government is supporting people at risk of and experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping across the country with more than £1 billion funding, a £316 million increase on last year. This includes £84 million new funding announced on 10 October 2025. Councils are able to use this funding to meet the needs of people in their area, and local authority allocations are published on gov.uk.

What steps she is taking to help improve the quality of special educational needs and disabilities provision in Yeovil constituency.

The department continues to support improvements in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in Somerset, including in Yeovil.This financial year, Somerset Council received £8.4 million through the High Needs Provision Capital Allocation to expand specialist provision and improve accessibility in mainstream schools.Six primary schools in Yeovil are also participating in the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme. This initiative brings together health and education professionals, and expert parent carers, to strengthen whole school SEND provision, upskill staff, and improve outcomes for neurodivergent pupils.The department and NHS England continue to engage with the Somerset SEND partnership and are occasional observers to their SEND partnership board to support system-wide improvement.We also support educational outcomes through academy trust oversight and regional improvement for standards and excellence initiatives.The government’s ambition is that all children and young people with SEND or in alternative provision receive the right support to succeed.

What steps she is taking to ensure there is consistent onboard information on request stops on rail services across the South West.

The process for request stops is standard for all stations on Great Western Railway’s (GWR) network. Alighting passengers must inform the conductor to request the stop, and boarding passengers need to signal the driver by raising their hand as the train approaches. However, I am aware that the operator has issues with some of their older fleet specifically for onboard information as the Passenger Information System is not always working as it should be. GWR are working with their technology supplier to improve the consistency of passenger information.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing government testing of period products for harmful chemical residues.

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 require that only safe products, in their normal or reasonably foreseeable use, are placed on the market. There are obligations on Producers and distributors to where reasonable, sample test products to check safety. The Government employs a risk-based approach to product testing, targeting categories with a high potential for danger and do not test period products. During the passage of the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025, the Government committed to consult on period product safety. Officials are currently reviewing the need for any further research and testing in this area to complement the consultation.

What assessment she has made of the need to collect data on special (a) the number of special school places and (b) the waiting lists for such places in (i) Yeovil constituency, (ii) Somerset and (iii) England.

For the first time in 2023, the School Capacity Survey (SCAP) asked local authorities to provide data on the capacity of special schools and the capacity of special educational needs units and resourced provision in mainstream schools.The department now have a second year’s worth of data which tells us approximately how many places local authorities think were available on 1 May 2024. This is only approximate at the moment as it is the second year of data collection, and the data are still being developed in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.The survey also asked local authorities to submit forecasts for the number of pupils with education, health and care plans resident in their local authority who are expected to need a place in specialist provision.Specialist capacity and forecast data for all local authorities can be accessed on GOV.UK here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-capacity/2023-24.

What steps she plans to take to ensure that a child's legal right to special educational needs support will be included in the upcoming whitepaper.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life.We will build a system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight. There will always be a legal right to additional support for children and young people with SEND.We are continuing to engage closely with children, parents and experts as we develop plans to ensure all children and young people get the outcomes and life chances they deserve.

What steps she is taking to encourage the (a) provision and (b) use of (i) accessible and (ii) free CPR training resources in schools in Yeovil constituency.

All state funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum in relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) education. This includes how to deal with common injuries, call the emergency services and administer CPR and understand the purpose of defibrillators.Schools have the autonomy to decide how they teach CPR and which resources to use, often choosing to use expert organisations to deliver additional content. The department does not monitor this as schools decide what to adopt in their local areas, choosing lesson plans and materials that are relevant to them.Ofsted are responsible for inspecting schools’ RSHE provision as part of their personal development judgement.

What steps she plans to take to help protect the data of home educated children, in the context of provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill contains provisions requiring local authorities to maintain registers of children who are not in school. These registers are intended to aid local authorities in identifying children who are missing education and support them.The department is aware of the importance of protecting personal data. Existing laws, including the Data Protection Act and UK-GDPR, will apply to all data that is processed as part of the duty to maintain registers. These laws put in place robust restrictions on data collection, storage and sharing as well as respecting the rights of the individuals to access, rectification and erasure. However, there are circumstances where data sharing is essential, particularly when it concerns a child’s safety or wellbeing. The Bill provides a restricted list of individuals and agencies with whom data may be shared, solely for the purposes of safeguarding a child’s education or welfare. Any breach of these protections by a local authority could be subject to penalties or regulatory action by the Information Commissioner.We will outline in statutory guidance how local authorities must balance the need to share data for safeguarding and educational support purposes with individuals’ right to privacy.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of recognising (a) mental health and (b) learning difficulties as separate protected characteristics to disability.

I refer the hon Member to the answer given to PQ 64372

What assessment she has made of (a) trends in the level and (b) the potential impact of school meal debt on families in Yeovil constituency.

To help break down barriers to opportunity and tackle child poverty, the government will be extending free school meals (FSM) to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit from September 2026. This will lift 100,000 children across England out of poverty and put £500 back in families’ pockets, supporting parents in decisive action to improve lives ahead of the Child Poverty Strategy. Department for Work and Pensions data shows that 5,450 children in Yeovil will be eligible to receive FSM when provision is extended from September 2026.This autumn, the Child Poverty Strategy will deliver measures to tackle the structural and root causes of child poverty. The Taskforce is considering all available levers to reduce child poverty and recognises the importance of financial resilience for low-income families. Increasing financial resilience is one of the four key themes for the strategy, and in February the Taskforce met with external experts to discuss this topic specifically.