Every parliamentary written question tabled by Siân Berry this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 21–40 of 308 · this parliament
How much National Highways is setting aside for the next ten years, in (a) revenue, and (b) capital costs, to operate and maintain the A1(M) now that it has been handed back to National Highways after the expiry on 31 March 2026 of the 30-year Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract.
Awaiting answer.
Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing a duty on local authorities to provide a minimum level of provision of free access to public toilets in (a) town and city centres and (b) other areas with high numbers of visitors and resident need.
Awaiting answer.
If she will take action to review and reform student loan repayment terms, including (a) unfreezing the repayment threshold, (b) reviewing the current application of interest rates, and (c) abolishing or capping interest.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what recruitment process has been followed for the appointment of a Chief Executive or equivalent lead to the Sovereign AI Unit, and whether that process has been conducted in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what steps have been taken to ensure that any appointment to lead the Sovereign AI Fund is made on merit through a transparent and open competition, rather than being influenced by personal or political connections, including those linked to former senior political figures.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what steps are being taken to ensure value for money for taxpayers in the deployment of the £500 million Sovereign AI Fund, and what criteria will be used to assess the Fund’s success in supporting UK-based AI companies.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what governance structures are in place to oversee investment decisions made by the Sovereign AI Fund, and what role Ministers, the Department, and the Fund’s Chair will have in approving individual investments.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what the formal remit, decision-making powers and accountability mechanisms will be for the individual appointed to lead the Sovereign AI Fund, including how they will be held accountable to Ministers and to Parliament.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, what assessment has been made of potential conflicts of interest in relation to the proposed appointment of Suzanne Ashman to lead the Sovereign AI Fund, including her previous roles in venture capital and her personal connections, and what mitigation measures are being put in place.
Awaiting answer.
Innovation and Technology, whether the government will guarantee that the Sovereign AI Fund will only invest in companies that it reasonably believes adhere to UK copyright law.
Awaiting answer.
If she will make an assessment of the cost for providing potential redress to people who were arrested for supporting a proscribed organisation whose proscription was reversed; and clarify whether her department or individual police forces would be expected to cover any such costs.
The investigation and prosecution of criminal offences, including determining whether an offence has been committed or not, is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) who are operationally independent of government.Proscription decisions are not taken lightly. This Government will not shy away from taking decisions necessary to protect UK national security and keep the British public safe.
Whether proposed SEND reforms will consider the experiences of SEND children with regards to SATs.
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are designed to ensure that every child can access a high quality, inclusive education, with early and consistent support in place across the system.Key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in SEND, as well as trials with hundreds of year 6 pupils. Children with SEND have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they can participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools can utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEND and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review 2025, led by Professor Becky Francis. In line with the Review’s recommendations, we are strengthening the national curriculum so that it is more accessible and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
In the context of recent uncertainty about the future of the ASGSF, what steps her Department is taking to ensure consistent, high quality therapeutic support for adopted children and their families and Regional Adoption Authorities (RAAs) is continued beyond 2028.
The government has carefully considered the impact of changes to adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) funding as part of the wider Spending Review process. That is why we have confirmed continued funding through to 2027/28, alongside consultation on reform, to ensure families continue to receive support while we improve how it is delivered.The current consultation, available at: https://consult.education.gov.uk/adoption-and-special-guardianship-support-fund-team/adoption-support-that-works-for-all/supporting_documents/adoption-support-that-works-for-all-consultation-document-feb-2026pdf recognises that while many adopted and kinship children thrive, support can be slow, fragmented and inconsistent when needs arise. It sets out a vision for a more predictable and joined-up system, with universal and targeted early help, clearer support pathways and stronger multi‑disciplinary working across social care, health and education where people need more intensive support. The consultation is also a key opportunity for stakeholders to share their views on what support is effective for children. A report on the outcomes of the consultation, together with next steps, will be published later this year.
What steps she is taking to hold universities to account on their duty of care to students.
The department’s position is that a duty of care in higher education (HE) may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the HE sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE mental health implementation taskforce. The taskforce published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.
Whether the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will explicitly apply to all universities.
The duty of candour and assistance will apply to any body when exercising public functions. This would capture some aspects of the work of universities and other Higher Education Institutions. The duty also extends to those with a relevant health and safety responsibility; as well as relevant public sector contractors.
When she plans to announce the future funding settlements for the Music and Dance Scheme Schools; and whether Music and Dance Scheme Schools will receive a long-term settlement.
I refer the hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion to my answer of 12 February 2026 to Question 111335.
With reference to the decision made to remove funding for Specialist Assessments for adopted children and children under special guardianship orders, and in the context of long waiting times experienced by constituents in Brighton Pavilion constituency for assessments through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), if she will publish details of how CAMHS will be supported to provide these specialised services.
Up to £2,500 of Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) funding may still be used for children to access a specialist assessment. ASGSF-funded assessments are not intended as an alternative to the specialised mental health services available through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).The current consultation ‘Adoption support that works for all’ includes proposals for a higher quality approach to assessing the needs of adoptive and eligible kinship families. This includes improved multi-disciplinary assessments and greater linkages between social care, health, and education practitioners to ensure every child gets the right support.For 2026/27, NHS mental health spending will rise to £16.1 billion, a real terms increase of around £140 million, to support service improvements, including CAMHS. The mental health investment standard means spending must at least keep pace with inflation, supporting local systems to maintain and improve specialist services for children.
With reference to her proposals for SEND reform, if she will give assurance to adopters and special guardians that their children, a majority of whom require active in-school additional support, which is currently funded through a patchwork of Pupil Premium Plus at school level and by individual EHCPs, will have their particular needs taken account of in her Department’s decisions on this issue.
As part of our reforms, we will ensure children get the right support in their early years setting, school, and college. We will do this by investing in new training for all staff, early intervention, better buildings and equipment, and making sure that every setting has access to expert professional support when it is needed.The department's consultation ‘Adoption support that works for all’ sets out a vision for more predictable, joined up support for adoptive and kinship children, including stronger multi-disciplinary work across social care, health and education. The consultation runs until 5 May 2026 and the outcomes and next steps will be published later this year. For adoptive special guardianship children, this forms an important backdrop to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) proposals. More details on the consultation are available here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/adoption-and-special-guardianship-support-fund-team/adoption-support-that-works-for-all/supporting_documents/adoption-support-that-works-for-all-consultation-document-feb-2026pdf.Alongside this, Individual Support Plans will be developed by settings, parents and young people, giving every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support a clear and consistent record of their needs. This will be backed by £1.6billion funding flowing directly to schools, colleges and nurseries to meet needs earlier and get support in place, as part of the £4 billion more we are investing over three years.We also want families’ voices and experiences to shape SEND policy and local delivery, ensuring families can influence decision-making around the support they receive. Nationally we will improve access to services by increasing investment in the national helpline. Additionally, we will continue to work with and expand parent carers in strategic partnership roles to support system-wide improvements.We are consulting on the reforms proposed in the recently published “SEND reform: putting children and young people first”, and you can access the consultation here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/.
Whether she will consider the experiences of SEND children in SATs, and include reform of SATs and other statutory assessment in the government's plans to put inclusion at the heart of education.
Statutory tests and assessments at primary school help measure the attainment of pupils in relation to the standards set out in the national curriculum and help teachers and parents identify where pupils may need additional support in a certain subject area. The department’s special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reforms are designed to ensure that every child can access a high quality, inclusive education, with early and consistent support in place across the system.Key stage 2 tests are subject to robust test development processes, which include reviews involving serving teachers and experts in SEND, as well as trials with hundreds of year 6 pupils. Children with SEND have a range of needs and abilities, and it is important they can participate in assessments to demonstrate their achievements. Schools can utilise a range of access arrangements where appropriate, while for any children with SEND and others who are working below the standards of the national curriculum assessments there are alternative teacher assessments.Primary assessments were reviewed as part of the independent Curriculum and Assessment Review 2025, led by Professor Becky Francis. In line with the Review’s recommendations, we are strengthening the national curriculum so that it is more accessible and ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND.
Pursuant to the answer of 5 September 2025 to question 69493, how many: (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) reviews, and (b) Additional Family Member (AFM) reviews have been completed since 17 July 2025, what is the current mean average time for all ARAP and AFM reviews, and how many of each remain outstanding.
Since 17 July 2025, the MOD have made decisions on 618 ARAP reviews, and 178 AFM reviews. Upon taking office, the government inherited a significant backlog in applications which we have been working through. As part of improving performance, I directed the Department to develop and implement ARAP Casework Key Performance Indictors (KPIs) based on the timeliness of decision making. These KPIs commit to indicative timeframes against each different types of ARAP Casework, albeit timelines may differ depending on the complexity of the case. Further information on KPIs is available in the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghan-relocations-and-assistance-policy/introduction-of-kpis-for-arap-eligibility-case-working As of 19 March 2026, 3,487 valid ARAP reviews and 828 valid ARAP AFM reviews remain outstanding from the total number received. A valid review is one which is appropriately and sequentially raised. The current mean average time for processing all ARAP and AFM reviews, closed with a decision made, is 159 days and 322 days respectively.