Written questions by Pinkerton.

What steps her Department is taking to help tackle academic dishonesty arising from the use of generative AI in higher education.

Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, diversity of provision, course content, teaching and assessment. As such, they are responsible for designing their own policies regarding the use of artificial intelligence and for taking steps to prevent academic misconduct, as set out in the Office for Students’ regulatory framework.Academic integrity is crucial to protecting the reputation of the UK’s world-class higher education sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of environmental contamination caused by sewage discharges by water companies in Surrey Heath constituency.

For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Bill. The Bill will drive meaningful improvements in the performance and culture of the water industry as a first important step in enabling wider, transformative change across the water sector. For Price Review 2024 (PR24), which runs from 2025 – 2030, Thames Water will invest £784 million to reduce the use of storm overflows including in and around the Surrey Heath constituency. Additional improvement actions also include increasing treatment capacity at sewage works, providing storage for high flows, reducing flows entering the system and provision of treatment for storm overflows which are separate from the main treatment route. There have been significant pollution incidents at Camberley and Chobham Sewage Treatment Works in the last few years and these are still subject to Environment Agency investigations. We will not let companies get away with illegal activity and where breaches are found, the EA will not hesitate to hold companies to account. The Environment Agency has also undertaken recent inspections of Sewage Treatment Works, including at Camberley, Lightwater and Chobham.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the training provided to mainstream school teachers for inclusive teaching practices towards pupils with special educational needs in Surrey Heath constituency.

From September 2025 the Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework (ITTECF) will set out a minimum entitlement to training for new teachers and must be used by providers of Initial Teacher Training and those delivering provider-led early career training to create their curricula. The department’s review of content for the ITTECF paid particular attention to the needs of trainees and Early Career Teachers (ECTs) when supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). There is now significantly more content related to adaptive teaching and supporting pupils with SEND. The content includes, for example, developing an understanding of different pupil needs, and learning how to provide opportunities for success for all pupils. The department tested this approach with SEND educational experts with consensus that the approach of ‘quality-first teaching’ would be the best way to improve outcomes for all children, particularly those with SEND. The department recognises that continuous improvement is essential and have recently committed to a full review of the Early Career Teacher Entitlement in 2027 to ensure it continues to provide the best possible support for ECTs. This review will focus on the support we provide new teachers in teaching pupils with SEND. Ofsted inspect all teacher training that leads to qualified teacher status, as well as department-funded lead providers of training for ECTs. Their inspections give an independent, external evaluation of a provider’s effectiveness and, where appropriate, highlight areas for improvement. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs). The NPQ must be completed within three years of taking up a SENCO post. The new NPQ will play a key role improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training. The £12 million Universal Services programme also helps the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively. The programme offers online training, professional development groups, bespoke school and college improvement projects, sector-led research, autism awareness training and an embedded focus on preparation for adulthood, including employer-led webinars for college staff.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help foster collaboration between (a) housing associations and (b) local authorities to align their energy efficiency targets in the construction of new residential properties.

The government intends to introduce future standards later this year through Building Regulations. These will raise the minimum energy efficiency of all new homes, including social housing. Homes built to the new standards will have very good building fabric and be fitted with low carbon heating technology.It is for local authorities and housing associations to determine whether energy efficiency targets beyond Building Regulations are appropriate for their areas and then to work together to achieve them.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of incentives to landlords to improve the energy efficiency of residential properties.

Current regulations require privately rented homes in England and Wales are to meet a minimum standard of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band E, unless a valid exemption applies. Government will shortly consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. Support is currently available to landlords and tenants to improve rental properties. An eligibility tool is available on our ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page that will help people find the support available to them via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme. There is also a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures, such as insulation and low-carbon heating.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the energy efficiency of rental properties on carbon emissions in Surrey.

Delivering the Warm Homes Plan is central to the clean energy mission. Targeting decarbonisation of heat in buildings, including the rental sector, will account for around 75% of reduction in all building emissions as well as reducing demand. Government will shortly consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will be accompanied with the Department’s assessment of the potential emissions savings of consultation proposals.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing funding to improve (a) services and (b) research for individuals affected by neurological conditions.

There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with neurological conditions in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Progressive Neurological Conditions Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP). The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across the country. The report highlighted differences in how services are delivered, and provided the opportunity to share successful initiatives between trusts to improve patient services nationally. In addition, the NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards (ICBs) to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home. The NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support ICBs to deliver the right service, at the right time for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home. The NTP has developed an online, interactive adult neurology dashboard to support systems to understand their local neurology landscape and benchmark against other ICBs. It sets out key metrics and visualisations for neurology services locally, providing information about the scope and quality of local neurology services, using existing whole population, whole pathway data. Once diagnosed, and with a management strategy in place, the majority of people with neurological conditions can be cared for through routine access to primary and secondary care. NHS England commissions the specialised elements of care that patients may receive from 27 neurology centres across England. Within specialised centres, neurological multidisciplinary teams ensure patients can access a range of health professionals, including neurological nurses, psychologists, and allied health professionals such as dieticians and speech and language therapists, and that they can receive specialised treatment and support, according to their needs. The Department delivers research into neurological conditions via the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In the financial year 2023/24, the NIHR spent £72.9 million on research into neurological conditions across research projects, programmes, and infrastructure. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including neurological conditions. The amount of funding for research into neurological conditions is determined by the number and quality of research applications received. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

What assessment she has made of the fire service's preparedness to effectively (a) manage and (b) respond to forest fires in Surrey.

Fire and Rescue Services are operationally independent in England. Each Fire and Rescue Authority is required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfire) through their Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP), while having regard to the views of other key local responders. In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor to assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector. Landowners and land managers are also encouraged by DEFRA to adopt good quality wildfire management plans, use sustainable land management practices that reduce fuel loads and restore their peatland to make them more resilient to the risk of wildfire.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the use of hydrogen for heating.

As set out last December, the Government will assess the latest evidence on costs, benefits and feasibility before consulting on the role of hydrogen in home heating later this year.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of hydrogen-hybrid vehicles on achieving the UK's net-zero emissions targets.

Hybrid powertrains in vehicles, including hydrogen-based hybrids, are a transitional technology that could support the decarbonisation of UK transport in certain cases. The Government is currently consulting on the role of hybrid cars in the transition to net zero, with a focus on 2030-2035.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of amending the Online Safety Act 2023 to help tackle fake news through (a) AI-generated content and (b) deepfakes.

The Government recognises the challenges that AI-generated content, including deepfakes, can pose to the online environment. The Online Safety Act puts new requirements on social media platforms to swiftly remove illegal misinformation and disinformation - including where it is AI-generated - as soon as they become aware of it. Our immediate focus is getting the Act implemented quickly and effectively. We will then of course look at where we could go further, as set out in the government’s manifesto. It is right that government continually assesses the law’s ability to keep up, especially where technology moves so fast.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of integrating hybrid-fuelled boilers with (a) electric air-source heat pumps and (b) smart technology to help decarbonise residential properties.

Hybrid heat pumps, a heating system comprised of a fossil fuel boiler and a heat pump, have the potential to play an important role in heat decarbonisation over the coming years. The Government will continue to consider their potential and is consulting further through the ‘Raising product standards for space heating’ consultation, which is open until 25 March 2025. The previous Government consulted in April 2024 on a proposal to require smart functionality for electric heating appliances with high flexibility potential and to extend this to hybrid heat pumps. A response to that consultation will be published in due course.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of the integration of (a) political and (b) media literacy into school curriculums.

Political and media literacy are currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which covers parliamentary democracy, the power of government, and how citizens and Parliament hold government to account. It also equips young people to distinguish between fact and opinion and understand the role of a free press. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship, using non-statutory programmes of study at key stages 1 and 2. Complementary aspects of media literacy are also taught through relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing, which together equip pupils to evaluate and apply information technology and to be a discerning consumer of information online. Support for curriculum delivery is available through optional, free and adaptable resources from Oak National Academy (Oak). Oak launched its new curriculum sequences for secondary citizenship earlier this academic year, with the full package of curriculum resources expected to be available by this autumn. Oak resources are available here: https://www.thenational.academy/. The Educate against Hate website also hosts a series of online media literacy resources, which seek to help young people evaluate the validity of information. These resources can be accessed here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, conducted by a group of education leaders (the Review group) and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published last July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review. The Review will seek to deliver a curriculum that is rich and broad, which ensures children and young people are equipped with the essential knowledge and skills to enable them to adapt and thrive in the world and workplace of the future. The Review will consider the skills needed to ensure that children are resilient to misinformation and can distinguish fact from fiction. The role of the Review group is to consider the evidence, the responses to the call for evidence and widespread engagement with the sector, and then make recommendations for the government to consider. The Review group will publish an interim report in early spring setting out its interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work, and will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn. The department will take decisions on what changes to make in light of these recommendations.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of strengthening media literacy programmes in the ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review.

Political and media literacy are currently taught through the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4, which covers parliamentary democracy, the power of government, and how citizens and Parliament hold government to account. It also equips young people to distinguish between fact and opinion and understand the role of a free press. Primary schools can choose to teach citizenship, using non-statutory programmes of study at key stages 1 and 2. Complementary aspects of media literacy are also taught through relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) and computing, which together equip pupils to evaluate and apply information technology and to be a discerning consumer of information online. Support for curriculum delivery is available through optional, free and adaptable resources from Oak National Academy (Oak). Oak launched its new curriculum sequences for secondary citizenship earlier this academic year, with the full package of curriculum resources expected to be available by this autumn. Oak resources are available here: https://www.thenational.academy/. The Educate against Hate website also hosts a series of online media literacy resources, which seek to help young people evaluate the validity of information. These resources can be accessed here: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/. The government has established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review, conducted by a group of education leaders (the Review group) and chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE. The terms of reference were published last July and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/curriculum-and-assessment-review. The Review will seek to deliver a curriculum that is rich and broad, which ensures children and young people are equipped with the essential knowledge and skills to enable them to adapt and thrive in the world and workplace of the future. The Review will consider the skills needed to ensure that children are resilient to misinformation and can distinguish fact from fiction. The role of the Review group is to consider the evidence, the responses to the call for evidence and widespread engagement with the sector, and then make recommendations for the government to consider. The Review group will publish an interim report in early spring setting out its interim findings and confirming the key areas for further work, and will publish its final report with recommendations this autumn. The department will take decisions on what changes to make in light of these recommendations.

What steps she is taking to ensure that fire services in Surrey can guarantee public safety during periods of insufficient staffing.

Firefighters play a vital role in keeping the public safe and we are grateful for the work undertaken by fire and rescue services across the country in support of their local communities.The Government is committed to ensuring fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.87 billion during 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m during 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.It is for the Fire Authority to guarantee that their Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) can secure sufficient resources to meet public safety during periods of insufficient staffing. This includes ensuring that their FRS has sufficiently trained, qualified and competent persons to meet their legislated functional requirements.

Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the English Devolution White Paper on the delivery of public services in Surrey.

The White Paper we published before Christmas sets an ambitious new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best. To deliver change, we need strong local leadership and empowered institutions. This is what devolution is all about.A unitary council for Surrey residents will bring lower and upper tier services together, creating opportunities for service transformation which will support improvements in delivery. Ultimately, our goal is mayoral devolution that will prioritise the delivery of high quality, sustainable public services to citizens and communities, above all other issues.Mayors will be equipped with a range of new powers across planning, infrastructure, transport, skills, business and energy, alongside strong and effective relationships with councils and other partners, to deliver the missions we have set out to transform the country.

What steps her Department is taking to provide (a) training and (b) other support to special educational needs coordinators in schools in Surrey.

All mainstream schools (including academies and free schools) must have a special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCO). The SENCO must be a qualified teacher, or the headteacher, working at the school. SENCOs play a vital role in setting the direction for their school and leading on the day-to-day special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision. Schools should ensure that the SENCO has sufficient time and resources to carry out these functions. This should include providing SENCOs with sufficient administrative support and time away from teaching to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities in a similar way to other important strategic roles within a school. On 1 September 2024, the government introduced a new mandatory leadership level National Professional Qualification (NPQ) for SENCOs. The NPQ must be completed within three years of taking up a SENCO post. The new NPQ will play a key role improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND by ensuring SENCOs consistently receive high-quality, evidence-based training. The £12 million Universal Services programme also helps the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND earlier and more effectively. The programme offers online training, professional development groups, bespoke school and college improvement projects, sector-led research, autism awareness training and an embedded focus on preparation for adulthood, including employer-led webinars for college staff.

What steps she is taking to ensure that local councils can (a) recruit and (b) retain educational psychologists in Surrey Heath constituency.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) or in alternative provision, receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. Educational psychologists play a critical role in the support available to children and young people, providing statutory input into education, health and care assessments and advising the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND. As the employers of educational psychology services, it is the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that their services are adequately staffed. The department is however taking measures to support local authorities by investing in building the pipeline. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024. This builds on the £10 million currently being invested in the training of over 200 educational psychologists who began their training in September 2023. To support retention, following graduation, trainees who have had their training funded by the department are required to remain in local authority employment for a minimum period. For trainees beginning their course in September 2024, this requirement has increased to three years.

What steps she is taking to help support students with special educational needs who have left independent schools in Surrey Heath constituency following the application of VAT to private school fees.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and ensuring every child has access to high-quality education. The 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. We are committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to children and young people with the most complex needs. At the Autumn Budget 2024, the government announced a £1 billion uplift in high needs funding in financial year 2025/26, providing additional support and improving outcomes for the more than a million children in the state sector with SEND. Most children with special educational needs, including most with education, health and care (EHC) plans, are already educated in mainstream state-funded schools. All state-funded schools support children with SEND. All children of compulsory age are entitled to a state-funded school place that is free for parents. Where a private school place is necessary to support a child with SEND, the local authority will fund it through an EHC plan. Local authorities have a statutory duty for ensuring sufficient state school places in their area. Local authorities routinely support parents that need a state-funded school place, including where private schools have closed or where pupils move between schools. The department does not collect data on in-year school applications or admissions, but where local authorities are experiencing difficulties in ensuring there are enough school places for children that need them, the department will offer support and advice. The department expects all schools admitting new pupils in-year to provide them with appropriate support, including where they have SEND. Schools will need to work with their local authority where pupils have additional needs that cannot be met within the school.

If he has made an assessment of the potential merits of standardising the GP appointment application process in Surrey.

The GP Contract requires all practices to offer patients an assessment of need, or signposting to an appropriate service, on the day they contact the practice, or the next day if they contact the practice in the afternoon. They will not be asked to phone back another day.As independent businesses, practices have autonomy in the way that they function operationally, including the implementation of digital services and how they manage appointments and related processes. Therefore, each practice will have its own approach to managing appointment bookings in order to best meet the needs of the local population.