Every parliamentary written question tabled by Andrew Pakes this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1–19 of 19 · this parliament
Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support local visitor economies.
The Government is supporting the visitor economy through partnerships with VisitBritain and VisitEngland to promote Britain globally and drive local growth. The new Visitor Economy Advisory Council brings together industry leaders, regional voices, and experts to help shape a growth plan aimed at welcoming 50 million inbound visitors annually by 2030.
How much funding her Department has provided to Ofsted for the inspection of independent schools in each of the last five years.
Ofsted inspects around 50% of the 2,496 (July 2025) registered private schools in England. There is currently disparity between the fees charged for inspections and full cost recovery.The table below sets out the budgeted cost of inspections compared to the fee income, over the last three years. Ofsted do not hold comparable data for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years as Ofsted inspections were still in part affected by Covid and were therefore not typical years of inspection activity.YearFull cost - £millionFee income - £million% of costs recovered2022/236.81.928%2023/246.42.336%2024/256.52.234% Government policy is that costs associated with inspections by government bodies should be recoverable. This will reduce the need for government subsidy. The government is considering options to close the gap.
How much funding her Department has provided for the (a) operation of the Independent Schools Inspectorate and (b) cost of inspections undertaken by the Inspectorate in each financial year since 2015-16.
The department does not provide funding to the Independent Schools Inspectorate, and does not cover the cost of inspections undertaken by the inspectorate.
How many grants have been awarded under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in each month since the scheme started by (a) technology, (b) local authority and (c) constituency.
Up to the end of April 2025, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) has received 79,964 applications, and has paid out 51,109 vouchers to the cost of ~£343 million. The Government publish monthly data on the progress of scheme which can be found here. Published BUS statistics include data between May 2022 to March 2025 on technology type by month (tab M1.1); applications and redemptions for country/region by month and financial year (tab M1.2 & A1.1A); heat pump redemptions by local authority for each financial year (tab A1.7); and the number of redemptions paid for technology type by parliamentary constituency (Q1.3).
What the staff capacity is at the civil service hub building in Peterborough; and what the average staff occupancy is.
Quay House, in Peterborough, was opened in March 2023, bringing together approximately 1,200 civil servants from several government bodies to work in one shared building. Not all civil servants will be in the office at the same time. The building has a maximum safe occupancy of 1,082. The Government publishes average occupancy data for all departmental HQs at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data. The government does not publish data for any building that is not a departmental HQ.
What steps he is taking to increase public awareness of the symptoms of sepsis.
Sepsis has no specific diagnostic test, and the signs and symptoms can vary, making it challenging to identify and diagnose.We are focused on improving the clinical awareness and recognition of sepsis by healthcare professionals, so that unwell and deteriorating patients are identified promptly and started on life-saving treatment. NHS England has launched several training programmes aimed at improving the diagnosis and early management of sepsis. These programmes are regularly reviewed and revised with support from subject matter experts as updated national sepsis guidance is implemented.Local National Health Service trusts may choose to run local public awareness campaigns on sepsis.
If he will take steps to include the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of sepsis in the 10 Year Health Plan.
We have committed to develop a 10 Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. This will include how we improve access to, and the experience of, urgent and emergency care, such as for when people develop sepsis.
What steps his Department is taking to encourage more organisations to sign the Armed Forces Covenant.
Since taking up post, I have had the opportunity to engage with hundreds of organisations, including Local Authorities, who are signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant; doing fantastic work for our people, and their families. The Covenant pledge and the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme provide the opportunity to pledge, demonstrate and advocate support for the Armed Forces community. The provision of guiding principles for employers and organisations across the UK ensures an understanding of the Covenant and the impacts of Service life. Over 12,800 organisations have signed the Covenant, a number that continues to grow weekly. This Government has committed to fully extend the Covenant into Law, which will increase education and awareness of the unique nature of Service
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of educational access visits to farms over the last five years; and what plans he has to support educational visits to farms in future.
Educational access features as part of the wider Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes and we are developing it further as a new 3-year capital item; we expect this to be available later in 2025. It will be a stand-alone capital item, though applicants must have an agri-environment or woodland agreement with management actions for this capital item. In countryside stewardship, currently eligible visitor groups are school age children and care farming groups only, but in the new educational access capital item, more diverse groups of people will be able to visit and benefit from an educational experience on farms and woodland across England. The Farming in Protected Landscapes programme (FiPL) provides grant funding for farmers and land managers to work in partnership with National Parks and National Landscape bodies in England to deliver projects achieving positive outcomes for climate, nature, people, and place. Between July 2021 and March 2024, the programme delivered over 3,400 educational access visits and engaged over 600 schools to create more opportunities for diverse audiences to explore, enjoy and understand farming in these unique landscapes.
Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the spread of mitten crabs to Cambridgeshire.
The Government understands concerns regarding the impact of Chinese mitten crab in Cambridgeshire. However, whilst we continue to take steps to prevent the further spread of Chinese mitten crab, Defra is not currently aware of any cost-effective or proven methods of controlling this species in areas it is currently present, such as Cambridgeshire. Due to the known impact of this species we continue to monitor for any new viable methods of controlling and managing populations and to preventing further spread. Although control in currently impacted areas is not currently possible, Defra has taken clear steps towards reducing the spread of this species. Chinese mitten crab is listed as a ‘Species of Special Concern’, this means it cannot be brought into GB, kept, bred, transported, sold, used or exchanged, allowed to reproduce, grown or cultivated, or released into the environment. Defra also funds the Fish Health Inspectorate to carry out work to prevent the illegal sale and spread of this species and continues to support the ‘Check Clean Dry’ campaign which offers aquatic biosecurity advice to minimise the risk of spreading invasive plants and animals to new areas.
Whether Skills England will be required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equalities Act 2010.
Skills England will be required to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) under the Equality Act 2010. While currently operating in shadow form, Skills England will (subject to final approvals) be established as an Executive Agency of the department, and as such will be subject to the same requirements as the rest of the department.My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has considered PSED in her decision making in the development of Skills England.
How many NHS trusts use apprenticeship funding to develop their clinical workforce.
Provisional data, published by the Department for Education and covering all apprenticeships, indicates that there were 18,400 NHS apprenticeship starts from 191 NHS employers for the 2023/24 financial year.'Public sector apprenticeships - aggregate retur...
How many physiotherapy apprentices there are at each level of study in England.
The information requested can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/2241facc-8e02-44c3-7d16-08dcf4c39769.These figures are published in the Apprenticeships statistics publication, which can accessed at: h...
Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on the proposed sale of the Observer.
The Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport has not had any discussions with Cabinet Colleagues on the proposed sale of the Observer. Consideration of media mergers is a quasi-judicial decision for the DCMS Secretary of State to undertake alone, on...
What steps her Department is taking to improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of science teachers in Peterborough constituency.
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, but this government must do more to ensure the country has the workf...
What estimate her Department has made of the number of science teachers in Peterborough constituency in the 2023-24 academic year; and if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the number of science tea
High quality teaching is the factor that makes the biggest difference to a child’s education. There are now 468,693 full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, but this government must do more to ensure the country has the workf...
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the security of UK-funded humanitarian projects in Gaza.
UK funding is delivered mainly through trusted international partners on the ground. Humanitarian actors can only operate effectively if they have access to the whole of Gaza and it is safe for them to work there.That is why we are calling for unfettered access for humanitarian organisations alongside an immediate ceasefire, the protection of civilians, the release of all hostages and a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department plans to take to help (a) secure an immediate ceasefire and (b) the release of hostages in Gaza.
This Government is determined to do all we can to help bring the conflict in Gaza to an end and make progress towards long-term peace and security in the Middle East. We are pushing for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, the protection of civilians and unfettered humanitarian access to enable a rapid increase of aid into Gaza. We want a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution: a safe, secure Israel alongside a viable, sovereign Palestinian state.The Foreign Secretary discussed these issues with Prime Minister Netanyahu, President Herzog, PM Mustafa and others during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 14-15 July. He also met with the families of those murdered and taken hostage by Hamas and assured them that the UK will continue to push for an immediate release of all hostages.
Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when his Department last met representatives of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA); and whether he plans to meet UNRWA in future.
The Foreign Secretary called UNRWA Commissioner General Lazzarini on 19 July to discuss the reinstatement of UK funding. Development Minister Anneliese Dodds also met with Lazzarini following the announcement on 19 July. They discussed how the UK's £21 million of new funding will support UNRWA's lifesaving work in Gaza and the provision of basic services in the region. We also condemned the killing of almost 200 UNRWA workers in the conflict. The Foreign Secretary also spoke with UNRWA Gaza Director Scott Anderson on 15 July during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They also discussed the need for further protection of civilians in Gaza.