Written questions by Shanker.

If he will issue national guidance on the use of Auditory Verbal therapy for deaf babies and children; and if he will increase funding to promote greater access to Auditory Verbal therapy in (a) Derby South constituency and (b) the rest of England.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. This includes all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including non-hearing children. Auditory verbal therapy is one of a range of approaches that can be used with deaf babies and children.Each integrated care board (ICB) commissions the services they need for their local area, with NHS England supporting them to make informed decisions about the provision of audiology services so they can provide consistent, high-quality, and integrated care to non-hearing children. In July 2016, NHS England published Commissioning Services for People with Hearing Loss: A framework, for clinical commissioning groups. The framework supports National Health Service ICBs to make informed decisions to address inequalities in access and outcomes between hearing services.In 2019, with input from the National Deaf Children’s Society, NHS England also produced a guide for commissioners and providers who support children and young people with hearing loss. The guide provides practical advice on ensuring that non-hearing children receive the support they need.

Pursuant to the Answer of 14 November 2024 to Question 12858 on Special Educational Needs: Teachers and Classroom Assistants, if she will make it her policy to add (a) specialist support teaching assistants and (b) teachers of sensory impairment to the staff roles collected in the annual census.

There are currently no plans to change the collected list of staff roles in the school workforce census.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking with international partners to help tackle irregular migration to the UK.

We engage regularly with our international partners on irregular migration, with a commitment to tackling people trafficking and the gangs profiting from it. In July we announced steps to reinforce our cooperation with Europol and, through our new Border Security Command, we will intensify efforts in transit countries to break the business models of these gangs.

How many (a) specialist support teaching assistants and (b) teachers of sensory impairment with a full mandatory qualification in sensory impairment are employed in (i) England, (ii) Derbyshire County Council area and (iii) Derby City Council area; and what information on these roles is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census.

Information on the school workforce in England is collected as part of the annual School Workforce Census each November and published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Information on staff roles is collected in the annual census. The role categories collected do not identify specialist support teaching assistants or teachers of sensory impairment.

What assessment his Department has made of the implications for pension arrangements for military reservists of Milroy v MOD.

Following legal advice, the Ministry of Defence has lodged an appeal against the Milroy employment tribunal ruling. We are unable to comment further while the appeal is ongoing.