Written questions by McKinnell.

What steps she is taking to support schools in disadvantaged areas with applications to the Turing scheme; and what assessment she has made of the trends in the level of concern that the current design of the application process incentivises schools to outsource applications to profit-making enterprises.

In order to support schools, especially those in disadvantaged areas, the department provided guidance and webinars to enable potential applicants to find out more about the Turing Scheme, what it could offer their students and how to make their application. Since bringing management of the Turing service in-house for the 2024/25 academic year, in response to feedback from the education sector, the department introduced a streamlined digital application service that was co-designed. The service also includes simplified and shorter guidance and a grant calculator tool to help providers work out how much funding to apply for.It is up to schools to decide whether they choose to use a third party to support them with an application or scheme administration. However, they cannot use Turing Scheme funding towards the cost of appointing an external organisation to write their application.

What steps he is taking to review (a) regulations and (b) consumer protections through the Warm Homes Plan.

This government is committed to protecting consumers undertaking home retrofit work, as well as improving the overall consumer journey. We are leading reform of a system which is clearly not fit for purpose. This reform will involve rapidly changing the landscape of regulation and consumer protections, spanning from how installers working in people’s homes are certified and monitored, to where homeowners turn to for rapid action and enforcement if things go wrong. This work is already underway, but we will set out plans for root and branch reform as part of the Warm Homes Plan, which will be published soon.

Whether she is taking steps to simplify the process for Turing Scheme applications for schools.

Since bringing management of the Turing Scheme in-house for the 2024/25 academic year, in response to feedback from the education sector, the department introduced a streamlined digital application service that was co-designed. The service also includes simplified and shorter guidance and a grant calculator tool to help providers work out how much funding to apply for.We welcome feedback from providers throughout the year and make changes to the Scheme’s operation where possible to increase access to the opportunities it provides.

What steps she is taking to reduce the risk of schools in disadvantaged areas excluding pupils from Turing Scheme-funded excursions due to the cap on funding.

In the current academic year of the Turing Scheme, we applied a cap to the funding that schools could apply for. Schools could receive funding of up to £50,000 for a single application or, applying as a consortium, up to £50,000 per school to a maximum of £300,000. This will limit how many schools are required to replan their intended placements. Setting a limit means that we can offer schools more certainty that they can be awarded the funding they request, without concentrating the funding in the hands of too few schools.An estimated 82% of school placements this year will be for students from a disadvantaged background. The proportion of students from a disadvantaged background in a school’s application is a key factor in deciding which applications are funded. More schools than ever before have applied for funding, with 485 applying compared to 333 last year.

What contingency plans his Department has in place to support schools during the transition period from the Turing Scheme to Erasmus+.

The UK and EU have agreed to work towards association to the Erasmus+ programme, on mutually agreed financial terms. Negotiations are underway and the terms of any association will be subject to further discussions. The department will have to consider the implications for other programmes, following the outcome of those discussions.Details on the Turing Scheme for future years will be shared in due course.

Whether she is taking steps to include schools in the Erasmus+ programme.

The department has agreed to work towards association to Erasmus+, on mutually agreed financial terms. Negotiations are under way, and the terms of association are subject to further discussions.The current Erasmus+ programme is open to a broad audience and provides mobility opportunities for learners and staff across the education, training, youth and sport sectors including for school pupils and school staff. As part of the programme, schools can also develop partnerships and collaborate with other schools or educational organisations.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Northumbrian Water on sewage from storm overflows in the Ouseburn.

Ministers and officials have regular discussions with a range of stakeholders, including water companies, on many issues related to the water sector including sewage pollution. This Government has put in place the building blocks to clean up our rivers, lakes and seas. The Water (Special Measures) Act introduced independent monitoring of every sewerage outlet, with water companies required to publish real-time data for all emergency overflows. This matches the pre-existing duty for storm overflows and create an unprecedented level of transparency. This will meet the Government commitment to ensure monitoring of every outlet. The Independent Water Commission has examined how to strengthen the regulation and delivery of water services to better support long-term water security, sustainable growth, and environmental protection. The Former Secretary of State provided an Oral Statement to Parliament in response to the final report. As Part of Price Review 24, which runs from 2025-2030, Northumbrian Water will be investing £1.1 billion to reduce the use of storm overflows by delivering on 159 spill reduction schemes. Northumbrian Water across 2025-2030 will undertake multiple site specific investigations in respect of the effects of intermittent discharges in respect of Environment Act objectives.

What steps she is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour from (a) illegally modified and (b) off-road bikes in the Northumbria Police area.

Tackling anti-social behaviour and the harm it causes is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.The Crime and Policing Bill will give police greater powers to clamp down on anti-social behaviour involving vehicles of all types, including off-road and illegally modified e-bikes, with officers no longer required to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles. This will allow police to put an immediate stop to offending.The Government has recently consulted on proposals to allow the police to dispose of seized vehicles which have been used anti-socially more quickly. The consultation closed on 8 July and the Government response will be published in due course.These combined measures will help tackle the scourge of vehicles ridden anti-socially and will send a clear message to would-be offenders and local communities that this behaviour will not be tolerated.

Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to roll out gigabit connectivity to remaining properties in Newcastle upon Tyne North constituency.

According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, almost 96% of premises in the Newcastle upon Tyne North constituency can already access a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>=1,000 Mbps).We have created a pro-competition regulatory environment for the rollout of gigabit broadband. We expect further premises in the hon. Member’s constituency to be connected via broadband suppliers’ commercial rollout.Any premises which do not receive a gigabit-capable connection through suppliers’ commercial rollout will be considered for inclusion within Project Gigabit, in line with the government’s commitment to achieving nationwide gigabit coverage by 2032.