Written questions by Thomas.

What steps she is taking to ensure that the progress of children with SEND is accurately measured.

Through the school census, the department collects data on the performance of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities across the country. We use this to routinely publish data on the outcomes of pupils with special educational needs throughout their education, including attainment, absence, exclusions and progression to further and higher education.The Curriculum and Assessment Review is reviewing how performance measures incentivise behaviour and outcomes for every child. Once the final report is published, the government will respond, including consideration of its recommendations on performance measures.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) her Nigerian counterpart and (b) governors of Nigerian states on malnutrition in that country.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 October to Question 73649.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of its policies in tackling malnutrition in Nigeria.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 October to Question 73649.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the provision of multi-sensory impairment teachers.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.

What steps she is taking to introduce a standardised national framework for supporting children with SEND.

This 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 aware of the challenges in the SEND system and understand how urgently they need to be addressed.We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight.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.

What steps her Department is taking to improve recruitment and retention of multi-sensory impairment teachers.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of reductions in the international aid budget on malnutrition in Nigeria.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 October to Question 73649.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with NGOs on tackling malnutrition in Nigeria.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 2 October to Question 73649.

What recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of taking steps to help ensure that all local authorities employ multi-sensory impairment teachers.

It is the responsibility of local authorities, schools, and further education (FE) settings to commission appropriately qualified staff to support the education of children and young people in their area.To teach a class of pupils with sensory impairments, a teacher is required to hold the relevant mandatory qualification in sensory impairment (MQSI). This is in addition to qualified teacher status (QTS) and must be achieved within three years. Teachers working in an advisory role to support these pupils should also hold the appropriate qualification. To offer MQSIs, providers must be approved by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. There are currently seven providers of the MQSI.An apprenticeship in sensory impairment has been available since September 2025 and will open up a paid, work-based route into teaching children and young people with sensory impairments. This will improve the supply of those qualified to teach this important cohort and further help to improve their outcomes.Trainee teachers intending to work as special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) specialists in the FE sector are eligible for a training bursary worth £15,000, tax free. The bursary will again be offered in the 2026/27 academic year. SEND specialist teachers working with learners with sensory impairments are eligible to apply for the bursary.

What steps she is taking to put the SEN support arrangements on a statutory footing.

This 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 aware of the challenges in the SEND system and understand how urgently they need to be addressed.We will build a better system which is grounded in evidence, identifies and supports need at the earliest opportunity, and ensures families can secure support swiftly without a fight.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.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure provision is available for all disabled children to receive an education in schools rather than at home.

The government 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.We expect schools to welcome all pupils, including those with disabilities. The Equality Act 2010 outlines the duties of schools to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children and young people. Settings will be held to account for their support for pupils with disabilities through Ofsted, who are focusing on inclusion in their new approach to inspection.

Whether the recently announced £15,000 bursary for SEND-specialist teacher trainees will include those training to become multi-sensory impairment teachers.

The department recently announced that the further education (FE) initial teacher education bursaries programme will continue to be available for the 2026/27 academic year. Eligible subjects include special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), with bursaries worth £15,000 each, tax free.The SEND bursary is intended to support new teachers training to work with learners with a wide range of SEND in FE settings. This could include learners with multi-sensory impairments.

What steps her Department is taking to help protect parliamentarians from espionage carried out by foreign intelligence services.

The Defending Democracy Taskforce works closely with Parliament and the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD), to raise awareness and strengthen the protection of our Parliamentarians and their teams against a range of threats including foreign interference and espionage.As Chair of the DDTF, I wrote to all Members of Parliament in July to highlight the security offers available to them. On 13 October 2025, MI5’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) published guidance for Parliamentarians, other elected officials and their staff to ensure awareness of the steps they can take to better protect themselves and the institutions they work in from state threats.

If he will make it his policy to extend the eligibility criteria for the covid-19 vaccine to include people with asthma.

The Government is committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The primary aim of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme remains the prevention of serious illness (hospitalisations and deaths) arising from COVID-19. Population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since COVID-19 first emerged.The focus of the JCVI advised programme has therefore moved towards targeted vaccination of the two groups who continue to be at higher risk of serious disease, including mortality. These are the oldest adults and individuals who are immunosuppressed.On 13 November 2024, JCVI published advice on who should be offered vaccination in autumn 2025. On 26 June 2025, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice that in autumn 2025, a COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to the following groups:adults aged 75 years and over;residents in care homes for older adults;individuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the ‘immunosuppression’ sections of tables 3 or 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book).The Government has no plans to change eligibility for autumn 2025. It has accepted the JCVI advice for this campaign in full. As for all vaccines, the JCVI keeps the evidence under regular review.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that disabled people have access to all modes of public transport on every day of the week.

The government wants everyone to have access to accessible and reliable public transport every day of the week.We are committed to improving bus services, so they are more inclusive and enable everyone to travel safely and confidently. In December last year, the government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill which includes a comprehensive package of measures to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of local bus services. From safer and more accessible bus stops and stations to more comprehensive disability training for drivers and frontline staff and a new requirement for local authorities to regularly review the accessibility of their bus networks.In addition, the government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services and keep fares affordable, including £712 million for local authorities. Local authorities can use this funding to introduce new bus routes, protect crucial bus routes and make sure bus infrastructure is accessible.The government also has ambitious plans to reform the rail sector, unifying track and train under one organisation. The cornerstone of the Government’s plan for rail reform is to establish Great British Railways (GBR), a publicly owned arm’s length body charged with running Britain’s railways in the public interest. Accessibility is one of the Government’s six priorities for the railway and will be central to GBR. To support this, the Railways Bill includes legal requirements relating to accessibility that will ensure that the interests of passengers, including those with accessibility needs, will be a fundamental part of decision-making on the railways.We are already taking action ahead of the establishment of GBR to make rail travel easier and more reliable for disabled passengers, including investing over £10 million in upgrades to the Passenger Assist Scheme which supports disabled passengers and those with additional needs to use the rail network with confidence and in safety. We have improved information about the facilities available to provide support to passengers at stations and will be publishing a rail accessibility roadmap which sets out the actions we are taking to make the railway more accessible. The Department also published the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group’s independent report on 16 July 2025. The report sets out 19 recommendations to improve aviation accessibility across the consumer journey. The Group will continue its work to help industry to implement the recommendations.We are also currently developing a plan for an Accessible Travel Charter which aims to empower disabled voices in establishing clear, unified principles that guide passengers, and assists operators and enforcement bodies in upholding accessibility standards. The Charter aims to set out what disabled travellers can expect from their journeys.

What plans her Department has to allow holders of disability-related concessionary bus passes to use their passes at all times on weekdays.

The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age. The ENCTS costs around £700 million annually and any changes to the statutory obligations, such as extending the travel time criteria, would therefore need to be carefully considered for its impact on the scheme’s financial sustainability.However, local authorities in England do have the power to offer concessions in addition to their statutory obligations, for example, by extending the times travel passes can be used. These are additional local concessions provided and funded by local authorities from local resources. The government has also conducted a review of the ENCTS, which included considering travel times for disabled passholders, and is currently considering next steps. The government has confirmed over £1 billion for the 2025 to 2026 financial year to support and improve bus services in England outside London and keep fares affordable. This includes £243 million for bus operators and £712 million allocated to local authorities across the country. Gloucestershire County Council has been allocated £8 million of this funding. Funding allocated to local authorities to improve services for passengers can be used in whichever way they wish.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of remote gambling harmonisation on the horse racing industry.

The Government consulted on proposals to simplify the current gambling tax system. Responses are now being analysed and a response to the consultation will be published at Autumn Budget 2025. If any changes are made to gambling duties at a future Budget following the consultation, they will be accompanied by a Tax Information and Impact Note which will set out the expected impacts. This government recognises the social and cultural value of horseracing, which is why we exempt on course horserace betting from duty, with no plans to change this. We are working with the horse racing sector to identify possible unintended consequences and mitigations.

What steps she is taking to help ensure fair council tax valuations in areas with new residential developments.

For Council Tax purposes all homes are assessed to reflect their open market value at a valuation date set in law, which in England is 1 April 1991. This is so all properties, even new ones, are valued on a fair and consistent basis. To band a property, the Valuation Office Agency considers the property details and looks for sales of similar properties (in terms of age, location, size and character) which took place on or around 1 April 1991. Further information about how Council Tax bands are assessed can be found here:www.gov.uk/guidance/understand-how-council-tax-bands-are-assessed. The Valuation Office Agency has published a blog article specific to the assessment of new properties here: How we value new properties for Council Tax – Valuation Office Agency

What steps she is taking to enable citizenship applicants to track the progress of their applications.

Citizenship customers can submit their application for British citizenship online, however they are not currently able to track it’s progress.The service standard for the processing of a straightforward application for British citizenship is six months.The most recent migration transparency data confirms that 99.36% of straightforward applications for citizenship are processed within service standard. This can be found at the following link: Migration transparency data - GOV.UKThe Home Office does contacts customers and provides them with an update, where an application cannot be processed within the published service standard.

What estimate her Department has made of the time it will take UK Visas and Immigration to process its backlog of citizenship applications for people with indefinite leave to remain.

The service standard for the processing of a straightforward application for British citizenship is six months.The most recent migration transparency data confirms that 99.36% of straightforward applications for citizenship are processed within published service standard.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/migration-transparency-data#passports-citizenship-and-civil-registration